Going the distance

By the numbers
Distance: 104.23 miles (odometer reset at my car; course was 102 miles)
Time: 6 hours, 50 minutes (purely ride time to the finish; I was out there 8.5 hours)
Average speed: 14.9 mph
Maximum speed: 37 mph (not really sure how, there were few hills)

The Highs
• A beautiful ride through country that actually looks like "Texas" is supposed to look like. Rolling hills, old forgotten towns, Dairy Queens, farm kings and friendly people. Nary a strip mall or McMansion-filled subdivision in sight.

• Friendly people lined parts of the 100-mile route. Most waved, some cheered, some offered to spray riders with water hoses. I waved back and thanked as many as I had the energy for.

• A nice motel in a quiet, somewhat forgotten little town, $139 a night. A 1-year-old Best Western with indoor pool: priceless! So what if I was 20 miles from Wichita Falls. It was awesome.

• The rest stops were amazing. All organized rides like this offer rest stops, but I've never seen quite the enthusiasm the volunteers exhibited during this ride. Why don't all rides offer ice-cold paper towels? I stopped at 7 out of 10 stops and was blessed by awesome people and their offerings.

• It was hot, as billed, but not nearly as hot as it can be in north central Texas in August. With part sun and a nice breeze, it never felt like it was much over 93 degrees. It has been well over 100 during some years, and has seen everything from driving rain to 500-pound tumbleweeds that can mow over bicyclists.

• The sense of accomplishment. A "century" ride - 100 miles - is typically the pinnacle of an amateur cyclist's achievements. I've done it, so now I can move on to running a marathon or crossing the Atlantic on a surfboard.

The Lows
• I should have carried more of my own "popular sports drink" to avoid problems I've had on rides before: a mismash of flavors and strengths of bulk-mixed power drinks. It's not that I'm ungrateful for chilly goodness refilled in my bottle; it's that you never know what it's going to taste like or how effective it will be. After all, some was mixed in big trash cans.

• On a similar note, I should have thrown caution to the wind and imbibed pickle juice. There is even something called Pickle Juice Sport (which promises more palatable flavor). Why PJ? It is supposed to help the body absorb fluids more readily to help prevent cramping that can result from dehydration. That way, the trash-can Gatorade will do its magic more effectively.

• Cramps! At about mile 80, my left leg was feeling the pain. I pedaled through it (because I'm stubborn that way), drank a ton of liquid and they mostly went away. Some cramping returned to both legs with three or so miles left to go, but by then the adrenaline and cheers and promise of stopping soon kept me going.

• Two-wheeled litterbugs! I can understand dropping things by accident. I spotted someone's bicycle computer, a nice-looking pair of sunglasses and about 300 water bottles that jumped from their cages. But food wrappers and related flotsam should be shoved back into one's pockets to throw in a proper trash receptacle.

• The Smell of Death. It didn't invade my nostrils on the actual ride, but something outside the motel reeked of well-established rigor mortis. Considering the terrain, it was either a poor dead cow, or a pile of expired bicyclists from last year's ride.

Conclusion
Would I do it again? Yes I would. Just not right away.

What would I do differently? More of my own drink and (shudder) pickle juice, maybe even a shorter route, and bringing the whole family along to share in the fun (and maybe a shorter ride). I would also enjoy some more of the periphery activities, such as the consumer trade show (which I visited briefly), the spaghetti dinner Friday night, breakfast on Saturday morning and music/free food afterward. Would also have been more fun to ride along with a buddy or willing spouse (preferably my own spouse).

Photos were taken and might be ready in a week or so. Not sure I will share them here, however, as a blog post called "Captain Fatty Rides Again" isn't high on my list of priorities.

Anybody want to by a well-used bike? Just kidding.