Franklin County Fall Finale 100

I picked Kim up at 6:00 and we drove to Winchester. It was 32 degrees and frost was covering everything. The forecast was still calling for 68 by noon. So how do you dress????
We got signed up and Woody, the bike shop owner, told us we could drop clothes at the rest stops. That was all it took for me, I piled it on.
We started the ride a little after 7:00. It didn’t take long for me and Kim, the only females riding the 100, to fall to the back. Joe had decided to ride the 100 vs. the 62 because I told him he could ride with us and we were taking it slow. He stayed with us and so did his friend Rick.
It was cold and foggy. But after a few good hills I was getting warm.
The first rest stop was at about 12 miles and I was ready to shed clothes. I took off my fleece shirt, headband, and gator. They informed us we were the last of the 12 100 mile riders.
The first MAJOR hill came at about 25 miles and I pushed. The next rest stop was at the top. I ate two of the best brownies and drank some Gatorade. On we went.
We continued to ride the hills. I surprised myself and gutted it up the next major one. Joe was at the top cheering me on. He then told me I couldn’t push anymore hills because that was by far the worse and if I could make it up that one then I should be able to make it up the rest. I laughed and said “watch me”.
Turns out Joe was wrong!! There were still may more hills in store for us.
The next rest stop was in Lynchburg. The 62 mile rider caught up with us at this rest stop.
Kim wasn’t sure if her legs could hold out for the 100 and was thinking about taking the 62 mile split but when the time came she took the left turn with us.
I gutted out the next hill and had Jell-O legs at the top and was sucking major wind. I was rewarded with another steep hill not far down the rode. I pushed again.
At 85 miles we get to a sign that says “damn overlook” with an arrow pointing the same direction as our route arrow. I looked at Kim and say “sounds like another climb to me” And it was. I made it without pushing but just barely. At the top was the rest stop. We got there just in time. They were packing it up. They had called Woody to say that we hadn’t made it there yet and he told them to just leave some water bottles in a pile of ice along the side of the rode and go ahead home.
The guys at the rest stop told us we had a major downhill followed by a steep up hill then we were mostly flat until the finish. Just 15 miles to go, we can handle it.
The downhill was steep and so was the uphill. Again I made it without pushing. I was home free now.
The last 5 miles took FOREVER. But I was riding for beer now.
We finished!!!!
We loaded up and drove to the square for our “free lunch”. The bike shop was closed and our clothes that we had shed along the way were in a tub outside. We got our stuff and walked next door to the café that was having the lunch only to find out they were CLOSED. WTF. I would have done the 100 today no matter what but I think they should have told us that there would only be support for x amount of time and that the café sponsoring the lunch was closing at x:xx. Not to mention the emergency number they put on our arm bands was for the bike shop that closed at 1:00.
The ride was beautiful and challenging as promised. They did a great job marking it. I have now gone long. Another item checked off my list for 2006