Tierra Bella

Jeff, George, Nigel, my dad and a few other riding friends were all doing the Tierra Bella 100k ride today (last year we did our first 100-miler there), so I thought it would be the perfect venue for my planned ~60-mile ride. 

My only picture from the ride was right before we left!  After that I was too busy hammering away to pull out my camera again.  Here, Chris walked right into one of my dad’s jokes.

Highlights and Lowlights:

• The guys missed some green arrows 3 miles into the ride and led us a couple miles off-course before we backtracked.  Bonus mileage?!
• After that, Chris and I took off on our own.  As it turned out, one of the guys got a flat tire, so we didn’t see them again until the end.
• The Infinit worked out well!  It turned out a concentrated bottle tasted better and I was able to sip a serving every 15 minutes like clockwork.
• My hill climbing is improving!  The climb to Gilroy Hot Springs (the biggest one on the profile map) felt much easier than in the past.
• I got my assigned mileage done in under the time required!
• I still had a gearing problem – one of my middle gears kept skipping and needs to be corrected.
• We have apparently begun a heat wave!  It was 85 by the end of the ride today and I should have taken in more fluids to compensate.
• My brick run was not pretty as a result.

After the ride and run, it was naturally time for recovery: FOOD.  We all went to the nearby El Toro Brewpub in Morgan Hill.  I was mostly still focused on rehydrating and had a lot of water.  I was still nursing the same glass of beer when we left; everyone else had polished off multiple pitchers. 

My dad, who had trained to do the 100-miler and changed events recently, was glad to be done with the ride! [See that nice bike jersey I had made for his birthday with his company logo?]

Andrew and Nigel have a lot of pitchers over there…

Chris, with George, kept me trucking today!

We. Are. TIRED.

Got home, unloaded our gear, walked the dogs, stuffed ourselves with sushi, and spending the rest of the evening in front of the TV doing NOTHING.  I have a feeling I will be asleep by 9pm!