100

Today was another first: a 100 mile bike ride. One hundred miles does not seem like much compared to what others did this week but it was more than enough for me. At Steve's suggestion, I started at about Tower and Colfax and rode East, first on Colfax and then old US 40 to just beyond Deer Trail.

The ride started out well. The route has gently rolling hills that trend downward from Tower to Deer Trail. There was also a slight tailwind, which I knew that I would pay for when I headed back. Best of all, the traffic was light.

I wasn't sure what to expect on the ride so I kept out an eye for gas stations and other potential places to stop to get more water and other supplies. About an hour into the ride, I saw, to my surprise, a rest area. I decided to stop there, use the restrooms, refill my water bottles, and eat some food.

After the brief stop, I continued towards Deer Trail. The scenery was not much to look at, just either flat ground or rolling hills with an occasional tree. Every 12 miles or so, there seemed to be a small town. After I passed though Byers, there was a sign indicating that it was only 12 miles to Deer Trail. I looked at my watch and saw that I was only 30 miles into the ride. This was not good since Brenda was planning to meet me in Deer Trail, which we thought was about the 1/2 point of the ride based on checking the route on Map My Ride. Oops, so much for accuracy.

At Deer Trail, I called Brenda to let her know that I planned to ride another 7 miles up the road to get to 50 and then turn around and meet her in Deer Trail. This turned out to me good since I was more than 1/2 done when I meet Brenda. As I approached Deer Trail, I saw Brenda's car. As I neared the car, Stella, her dog, started to bark. Stella does not like cyclists. She stopped barking when I pulled off my helmet and wanted to be petted, which I did. Brenda gave me more water and some food to eat. While doing this, Stella took advantage of the situation and ate the remaining half of a cinnamon roll that Brenda had purchased. At times, she is too clever for her own good.

For a brief moment, I thought about packing my bike in Brenda's car and catching a ride back to my car. However, I felt good and wanted to ride the full 100. So we parted ways. I promised Brenda that I would call when I got back to my car. Like Loveland, Brenda did not approve of this ride. She was hoping that Mother Nature would bring stormy weather to cut the ride short. Unfortunately for her, it was still sunny with few clouds in the sky so the ride continued.

Shortly after leaving Deer Trail, I found the headwind. It slowed my progress. By about 70 miles, I was ready to be done with the ride. My car, though, was still thirty miles away so I had to keep on riding. Slowly, the miles passed by. Finally, I reached the rest area. Again, I stopped to use the restroom and take in some more water and food. I decided not to refill the water bottles on my bike.

For 80 miles, I had been carrying a third water bottle in my bike jersey. I had not needed to use it since I had been able to refill the bottles on my bike. The weight of the bottle was starting to bother my back. I decided that I would rather carry an empty bottle than a full back up bottle. There was only another 20 miles to ride, and I knew there was a gas station about 10 miles up the road if I needed water.

Off I went. The brief rest seemed to help as I felt better for the first few miles. After about seven miles, the headwind and the generally uphill nature of the route was beating me down again. The next seven or so miles were tough. However, as I approached the end of the ride, I saw in the distance the interchange for I-70 and E470. This seemed to revitalize me as I knew I was close to the end. The last five miles seemed to fly by. When I finished, my watch showed 100.2 miles of riding. I had done it. Not only that, I felt better after the ride than I did yesterday after the swim/run brick, which took about half the time but physically drained me.

While the scenery left a little to be desired and miles 70 to 95 were tough, today was a good training day. I would definitely like more of these and less swim/run sessions. And, before I forget, thanks Brenda for driving out the Deer Trail to bring me food and water and to make sure I was okay.