HOW 100

My training plan did not call for a long ride this week, but I really wanted to do this ride. So I did.
The weather was iffy on the way to Nashville. It misted on me most of the way but the weatherman kept saying that the rain had moved out and it was going to be cloudy and mid to high 70's.
I got to the ride start and checked in. They made the announcements and sent us out. I am a tri girl at heart, I want my 3 bike lengths. Pack riding scares me to death. So I kept trying to fall back so that I could have more space, but then it was hard to ride that slow.
I made it to the first rest stop, grabbed half a bagel with peanut butter and got out of there. Now I had some space.
They had told us that we had to be at rest stop 3 by 11:45 to be able to continue on the 100 mile route. So I made a quick potty stop at 2, refilled my aero bottle, and scarfed down two of the best cookies. I also looked over the que sheet. It said
Turn left onto Tom Rail Rd (CAUTION-Goats/Gravel At Turn)
I so hoped that there would be goats in the road. What a great pic that would have been. But I never saw the goats.
I made to to rest stop 3 with time to spare. I ate 2 more cookies, part of a PB&J and refilled my water bottles. It was a little confusing which way to go since this is where the 62 and 100 mile routes split. But I got assistance from one of the rest stop workers and was on my way.
Mile 67 I had my first run in with dogs of the day. Then I rolled into rest stop 4 to cheers of "You're number one, You're number one...". I ran to the bathroom. I got another bagel with peanut butter and refilled my bottles. A group rolled in right behind me and were complaining about the dogs. A guy working the stop said they are out there every weekend. Then one of the girls asked how the rest of our ride would be and he said "hilly". I grabbed a bag of trail mix and headed out.
The guy was right lots more hills to deal with and another dog. This one, a black lab, was scary. First off he was big. Second he had that low growl bark and his fur was standing up from his neck to his tail. I made it by with out getting bit or knocked off my bike.
Rest stop 5 was rest stop 3. I was in and out of there quickly. I passed 2 girls that were riding the metric. There was a head wind and the climbs were so slight that it was hard to tell you were going up hill other then the slow down in speed. I ended up passing 5 people from the metric before making it to the finish.
Whole Foods Market supplied all the food at the rest stops and then provided box lunches at the end. Problem was most of the people did the shorter rides. So even though I was the first 100 miler in the pickins were pretty slim. I wanted a diet coke SOOOOO bad but they were out. I got a slice of pizza and an awesome ham wrap. I feel bad for the others that came in after me, there might not have been enough food for everyone.
All in all it was a great ride. Lots of beautiful country roads with very little traffic. Great rest stops with very helpful encouraging people. A very well marked route. And money raised for a great cause.
I am happy to have gotten another 100 miles done without any bike or stomach issues.
Another week in the bank
swim 11,500 yards
bike 146 miles
run 28.5 miles
17.6 hours total