A Centruy Plus 11 - and I Did It!!!!

Sing with me...."There ain't no mountain high enough, there ain't no valley low enough, there ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you" (St. Augustine!!)





Here is the sweep team after riding from Sanderson to Del Rio, Texas - 111 miles. It's a big thumbs up! I've never ridden a century before - and then plus 11 - can you tell I'm proud??

Do I look happy to get in or what? It took me just under 8 hours of pedal time, and 10 hours of clock time. I consumed 20 oz. of water every 10 miles (that's a lot of potty breaks), seven Goo Chomps (pure performance energy), 4 electrolyte chomps, 1 high performance protein bar, and a lunch of ham slices, cheese, veggies, and some type of grain salad. Passed up the cookies for dessert - I was on a mission!

Okay, not such a good picture, but vanity was thrown out the window a couple of weeks ago! We joke that we are publishing pictures on our blog that if we were home we would throw out!

I'm getting used to the no-star hotels....it's a good thing that I don't have a hair dryer and don't want to use my hair straightener because there are no outlets in or near bathroom! The sign hanging by the two towels which they allow for two people says "Towels are for personal hygiene use only". Not sure what that means. (maybe they have had people try to hang themselves due to the condition of the room!)

A little view of the room - lest you think I'm a bit harsh in my description. God isn't finished with me yet....I still notice the shortcomings of the hotels....but I am no longer afraid to shower or sleep in these cozy little rooms! What a blessing the small bike quilt that I made has been....I wrap up in it every night.

Can you believe the thought/inspiration of the day from the Miss Kitty group was "If you can perceive it and if you believe it, you can achieve it!" After reading that I immediately took a small piece of paper and drew a picture of the 100 mile line and drew the three bikes of the sweep team going over the line....and we did it! Thanks, Miss Kitty.

A few stats (more for my fellow bikers:)

• At 40 mile mark I was averaging 15 mph, by 60 mile mark, I was down to averaging 14.5, I finished the 111 with an average of 13.7. For me, that is excellent!


• temps were perfect - 75ish. sometimes a slight tail wind.


• 75% of the 111 miles was "rollers"...often with more ups than downs!


• Decent shoulder - although 99% of the roads were chip seal. After the 90 miles mark, they teased us a little with nice smooth payment for a mile or two....but all good things must come to an end and chip seal returned!


• Traffic was moderate in morning - heavy in afternoon. State highway speed limit is 75 mph - which means 80-85 in Texas talk.
• We climbed a bit over 3,000 feet today.

A few notes:

• I purposely left my camera in my luggage so I wouldn't be tempted to stop and take pictures along the way. Some days I have taken 150 pictures - if each picture takes me 1 minute to take....you add it up - couldn't spare the time today.


• The scenery continues to be dessert and mountains. More and more cacti are blooming.

The best part of the day was coming in...."The Big Girls" had been in for 3 plus hours...but they were all so excited as we each came in - their was cheering and clapping and hugs for everyone. The sweep team didn't come in last as we took the day a bit more serious than we sometimes do. Heck, we were thrilled we were just coming in. For many bikers, this was their first Century Ride - for others, it was one of many. Our tour guides stated that this was the FIRST group where everyone made the century ride.....I attribute that to the great team work and comraderie of all 22 bikers! (that might be mispelled - but you get it don't ya?)

Praising God for another day of safe riding, for my health, and for all of you.

Good news: tomorrow's hotel is supposed to be nice!