I finished my first metric century ride!  The Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club hosts an annual ride to Casa Grande and this year I finished my first 100k/60 mile ride.  Unfortunately,  it was just short of 62 miles and in the delirium of the finish, I didn’t go the extra bit to make sure that I made the Grand Fondo official distance of 100k.  Oh well.  It was super fun and (unfortunately) eventful!  Thank goodness for Matt(?) at Round Trip Bike Shop from Casa Grande!  He was a life saver on two occasions during this ride!

We had a good turnout of ladies from MRTT and Foundation Athletes (and friends)!  

The course is an out-and-back course, with aid stations at mile 17 and a yummy lunch picnic at mile 30!

 

The first segment was pretty bumpy.  I kept calling them the “badonk-ka-donks.”  Thankfully we had stretches of smooth road along the way.  They had aid stations stocked with chips, fruit, trail mix, M & Ms, water and Gatorade.  And port a potties!!

The second stretch was beautiful and hilly!  There was steady climb and we could feel it.  During this part there was no bike lane, but most drivers kept a safe distance.  Who stops at the top of the hill for a picture?  We do!!

Once we crossed the I-10 and got into Casa Grande, the roads were smooth and the bike lanes were huge!  Lunch was an amazing spread with Schlotzky’s sandwiches!!  The Yachak Yerba Mate Berry Blue tea was pretty tasty.

 

After lunch, I realized my tire was flat.  Thankfully, Round Trip Bike shop was there for the quick change.  I could have changed my tire, but it was so much nicer to have a stand and shade!  Thank you guys!

Ready for the second half! Well, after I had to go back and get my water bottles from the bike tent.  D’oh!

The ride back was the hardest!  The crosswinds were tough and our legs were getting tired.  We stopped for more pictures to catch our breath and pace ourselves accordingly.

 

We hit the aid station one more time to rest and refuel before the last segment!

At about mile 47, our friend Stacey had a flip over accident.  It happened so fast that we’re not sure what happened.  😦  She was able to walk away, but unfortunately her bike wasn’t able to be fixed to finish the ride.   Again, thanks to Round Trip Bike shop for providing SAG for this ride.

 

Stacey had such a good attitude.  Thankfully she’s okay!

We made it back to the starting area, but it wasn’t the same without Stacey.  We made our longest rides ever, but we couldn’t celebrate completely without Stacey!

Thanks PMBC for a fun event!!  We’ll be back!  🙂

 

https://www.strava.com/activities/1357764327/embed/49d4fc677aa9ae2c89280a77760de98a6683dc20

Pictures from the ride were available for purchase via PhotoCrazy