Black Betty rolls 100!

"A big wheel keeps on turnin'
Proud Mary keeps on burnin' rollin' rollin'
Rollin' on a river
Rollin rollin rollin on a river"

I am all smiles this weekend knowing that I met one of the milestones I thought I'd never have a chance to meet. That's right guys... I did it!!!! I rode my first century - a SWEET 100 miles! Harpeth River Ride 2008. This ride was awesome. So many things went right. Only 1 small knee issue around the 40 mile marker, but it wasn't enough to take me outta the ballgame. It never got a whole lot better, yet it never got a whole lot worse. Roll on, baby...... aint stoppin!

There was a mass start at 7:30am at Thompson Station church. Lana and I arrived there later than expected - imagine that! We signed up, got our t-shirts, then got our bikes off the rack & air'd our tires. With no time to spare, we were off!

Felt great from the start. This route was awesome.... it is roller coastering the whole way. There were no headwinds, the temp could not have been more comfortable, and I wasn't sick this year like I was last year! Right around mile 14 was the infamous Theta hill where I wanted to put a gun to my head last year. This year... it was tough, but not in the league as it felt last year. Made it to the top, piece of cake. I never doubted one time I wouldn't make it. In cyclying it seems like once you make a hill the first time, it never enters your mind that you might not be able to do it. I was GLAD to have that over with. I've dreaded that for 1 year! We coasted on by the first rest stop to try and conserve time. I knew it would be close to mile 35 till the next one, but it was worth rollin on. We took a little longer at this stop than we really wanted... we had to stand in lines to fill up our bottles and it was getting very congested. I tried to fuel up as much as possible, by eating a half of pb & j, 2 orange wedges, and a half of banana. We took off and I was so full from the banana I felt bad for about 3 miles. As in - puking bad! I don't like bananas anyways, but I wanted to avoid cramping if possible. Screw that idea - I think I'd rather get a neck cramp then throw up.

Right around mile 40, I started getting this weird knee pain that I haven't felt since my injury during marathon training. Where is this coming from? It wasn't good for awhile. I was thinking of how embarrased I would be when I had to blog that the SAG Wagon had to take me back to the start. We finally got to the 55 mile rest stop (I was soooooo glad) and this time I ate a watermelon wedge, 2 orange wedges, a rice krispy & filled up my bottles. I stretched my knee and it started feeling better. So off we go! Still rollin and feeling fine at mile 55. Looks like I may have a good shot at makin it! However, other fellow-cyclists were nicely reminding me of what we had ahead of us. Stillhouse mill - that would be HILL. Large climb at mile 75. Oh and I must not forget.... I was still managing to ride with Lana & she was still managing to hang back with me! We traveled down some extremely rough roads and this section seemed slower than the rest of the ride. We climbed a few more hills and mile 73 presented us with Stillhouse. So, up we go - and I'm taking it slow because the easier the gear I was in, the less pressure on my knee. We both made it to the top and celebrated at the 75 mile rest stop with some KILLER banana bread, warm homemade chocolate chip cookies, and orange wedges. Lana and I hopped back on our bikes still feeling surprisingly well, except for neck pain, which is to be expected at 75 miles. Mile 80 and I'm realizing that I'm going to make it. And even though a century ride is a walk in the park for most of my training buddies, I actually got emotional just thinking about it! And thinking back to last year - I said "I will never try 100 miles. That's impossible for me." I thought I was going to cry, but I pushed it back and focused on getting my pedal on! Still rollin! We reached mile 87 to see the last rest stop, but we blazed on by. We wanted to be done and we had plenty of fluids. I was fatigued, but still A-ok! Mile 91 I remember thinking "Wow. My body hurts." But I am about to complete my first century.... I really don't hurt too bad when I think of the reward. So we make it back to the start with only 96 miles. Ouch - I mean - I came to to ride 100 miles today. NOT 96! Whatta ya do? You keep rollin. You do a 4 mile out and back and I do believe we had to pick one of the hilliest out and backs I've ever seen. lol.

I got off my bike and my legs were shaking so bad it was all I could do to get my clothes changed! We went to the finishers tent and grabbed a small bite, a drink and headed home. With one big huge accomplishment for me! And Lana's 2nd century ride! I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed it! If I can do it, ANYONE can!