Century

I apologize that I have not posted like I said I would.  Needless to say, this has been so busy as the ride is JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!!  Yikes!  I am so excited.  I will post over the weekend about my feelings over the past week on what is going on in this pretty little head of mine.  Till then, here is a backwards post.  What is a backwards post.  Well I am posting about my rides from last weekend first as they are fresh in my mind and then I will post tomorrow about the rides from the weekend before, hence a backwards post :)

Saturday 5.19, Century!!  My second, other fellow riders first!  And here is how it went down.  I was sleepy in the morning, didn't get much sleep.  But it was the anxiousness of a ride and a long day ahead of me that kept me up through the night.  So I wake, prep and go for a 630 call time.  Little warm up stretch and then we are off.  Mile 0 of 0.

 So here is how the ride went down.  It was not much.  It was a great route, but to be honest, it was not much.  I don't recall ever having a Zen moment, or moment of quiet.  It was just a ride.  Albeit fun.  I rode the first part with Romi and David and had fun.  They were great to talk with and we enjoyed each others company.  The first 26 miles were rather uneventful.  But again, I love being on my bike.  WAIT!!!! I almost forgot.  I used one of my 9 lives.  I cant believe I forgot this.  We were crossing Grand on a green light.  The red light stopped people have a right hand yielded turn lane.  It was clear so I went, when I looked to my right, I saw a car quickly slowing down, it caught me off guard, but did not scare me.  Well all those behind me were saying that it was much closer than I realized.  Apparently douche bag was not slowing down and literally came super close to Tboning me.  I had no idea.  They told me I truly used one of my 9 lives.  So thankful that I was not hit, and thankful that had he hit me I wouldn't have seen it coming.....  Odd thought, but I would rather not know than to see it coming.

 So we are in Carlsbad and need to get to Oceanside to make our way inland.  This was my first ride in Oside.  It was kinda cool when we got to the pier to realize that I just rode my ass from Mission Bay to Oceanside!!  Wow.  Crazy!!  You can barely make out the pier in the pic below.  I will tell you this followers, I am damn lucky to live in San Diego and near the beach.  It is quite lovely to ride near the ocean and get lost in the waves as they come in and out and just take you away (more on that soon....)

The route inland was nice.  It was a wonderful bike path that was 8 or so miles and running against the 78 I believe.  Very quiet.  So I sorta hit Zen here.  I was by myself.  And there were lots of birds and they were singing.  So I just felt the moment and relaxed in the songs of the birds, the quiet of a narrow winding path, and enjoyed my moment.  And yes, I took pics while riding.... but I felt safe doing so. :)

OK. The rest stops are far between and I am hungry!!  And craving salt.  Luckily there was an optional water/bathroom stop at McDonald's in Vista.  So I ordered fries.  SALT!!!!! GIVE ME SALT!!!!!!  Others joined suit either with fries or burgers.  Keep in mind folks, that you burn about 50 calories a mile.  So a hundred mile ride = 5000 or so calories burned.  Luckily, I ate a whole bunch the day before and drank tons of water.  However, I still needed salt so we dined.  Also, Romi and I had caught up with each other on this leg.  We lost each other for a bit on the bike path.  She was hurting this day taking more time to ride.  It was nice to have her with me.  While going through Oside, I rode past my ex's house, son of a bitch. And it brought back some rather rough and hard memories, son of a bitch.  He was an awesome man, so I thought at the time, but son of a bitch, he hurt me so bad and I was kind of glad to ride by his house.  I have no idea if he still lives there, but he held me back in life (pen and paper, where are you....) and to show up in his area and think, damn straight, I am stronger, better and in the most amazing spot in my life, fuck you, felt good and so petty of me all at once.  I digress, and to be honest, it was a small moment, one which I have already released (I actually released it 5 minutes after i thought it that day). But Oside does not bring back the best of memories, but thanks to Oside and son of a bitch, I must acknowledge them for they did shape through experiences, both good and bad, whom I am today.  But only a little :)  I am the man I am today through my amazing friends, family, and awesome relationships I have in my life.  Oh and a pretty fantastic dame who keeps me rolling, Blanch. (pen and paper, this will all make sense to you once you put this and those words together). And it was nice to have Romi there with me for the quick vent I needed.

Mile 62, Chipotle in Escondido!  Enough said.  Give me my food!!!!

So now a stretch from Escondido, through Rancho Santa Fe (good lord, smelled so fragrant and beautiful) and back to the ocean.  There were quite a few bikers on this stretch, including a jerk of a biker who was a newbie. Yes, I was just there in October, but I would realize I was slow, nervous and not experienced so I tried to be out of the way of the experienced riders (by no means am I pro right now). But some dude was just taking up all of the narrow roads of RSF.  He was bothering the car drivers, other bikers and me.  I only throw this in here to remind me that I cant ever get cocky of riding and to know that others are behind me and to be considerate of those better than me and also those less experienced causing a hazard to themselves and others.

Also, I waited for Romi.  I was about three or so minutes ahead of her, but I was also solo as I was in the back of my little pack.  I realized then how glad I was to have David and Logan with me on my first century and what it meant to have them push me and cross the finish line with me.  So Romi, I will wait, check Facebook :) and lets peddle together.  No one should ride solo, especially on a century!  Quick pit stop at mile 80 and off for the home stretch!

Lets tackle Torrey hill at mile 80 then smooth sailing to Mission Bay.  Well, we got to Mission Bay at mile 96, but we did not want to do Fiesta so we rode to SeaWorld and back to tag on the extra 4 miles.  Then BAM! 100 miles!  Where is the fanfare........  Well it wasn't like my first century, where there were cheering strangers and a balloon finish line, but Romi and I did it together, with our ALC family and that was just as well.

Blanch, thanks again for another 100 miles.  You are the best!  Thanks Romi for being great ride company, and also life sorter outer. Thanks Torrey for making me realize that even at mile 80, I don't need my granny gear for you :)

Followers, I must sleep. Early day tomorrow.  This weekend is not over.  I have my noodle ride to tell you about and my melt down moment :(

Keep peddling!