Yay! I finished the Reston Century today - all 106 miles (170 kilometers ), let me rephrase - all 106 hot, humid, very hilly miles. But it was FANTASTIC. It was almost 90 degrees F (32 degrees celcius), and heavy humidity. I met up with my training partner at 7:40am and we went to get our gear ready, sign in, et al - we didn't get on the road until about 8:30am. TO paint the picture - there were about a 300-500 bikers when I got there - we all left in stages - about 40 or so at a time to create pacelines so to avoid traffic. All in all, there were probably over 1500-1800 bikers biking today - on various trip lengths, some 30 miles, some the Metric Centry (63 miles) and some for the Full Century (100+ miles). The 30 miler people biked out 15 miles and returned - the 63 milers biked out with us Centrury riders - then at the 2nd rest stop (32 miles) they turned around and headed back. This is where the separation of men from boys happened. The herds thinned. This is were I sad farewell to my training partner - she only planned to do the Metric Century.

To explain a little bit about biking in groups - you need to form a paceline, meaning you form a quick fast herd of bikers biking as close as possible. Less than a bike tire length betweeen you and the person in front of you - this cuts down on the wind resistance. The leader of the pack shouts warnings ahead (turn, car on, gravel, dog, et al and uses hand signals for stops or turns). The person in the rear warns the people ahead as to a car about to pass. The group alternates round-robin - the leader swings out and goes to the rear of the paceline, the 2nd in line advances. It's quite fast , thrilling and impressive to see thois poetry in motion. And safety in numbers - when you make a massive turn - it makes traffic stop. SO we were "drafing" in our pacelines for almost 3-4 hours and up into the mountains - then the herd spreads out. For miles I did not see anyone..then a few miles later - i'd join in on another group. Those hills were killers - There was this one dude who was "drafting" me from behind - he kept saying "humpty dump, humpty dump, humpty dump..." as we humped it up the hill.

One of the funny highlights was when I got to about the 60 mile mark and we had just stopped at this country general store - 3 of the 10 guys I was pacing with decided to chip in together on this huge bag of ice. They took turns rubbing themselves (almost sexually) with this bag-o-ice. I was laffing so hard. One of the guys looks up and says "what happens on the Reston Century, stays on the Reston Century". Too funny. Another time, I was drafting up Bald Mountain it was steep as all get out - I say to the dude behind me "yo, I'll race you up to the top!" He simply says "Bullshit!" The whole ride was like this - lot of humor.

I have never drank so much gatorade and water in my life - probably 4-5 gallons. And sweated that much too (I know - because I had very little to urinate at the rest stops). There were many people who suffered heat stroke and dehydration. The principle is that you just keep drinking as much as you can - and you are constantly thirsty. The towns i biked through were really pretty, quaint - very rural. At one point up in the mountains, I got the song "The hills are alive...with the sound of music..." grrr. But it was very picturesque - I could imagine Julie Roberts swinging in circles in that setting - hence the song.

the last 20 miles on the way back were still hilly - and I was getting worn out, more for the heat than anything. I was at that point just totally cruising - very fast clip, especially on the downhills ranging from 32-44 mph (50-70 kph). I eventually rolled into the Reston Town Center where I started - there were tons of people there, people giving masages, bikers relaxing, there was pizza, subway subs, sodays, juices, cookies. I got off my bike - sweaty as a pig. I felt totally alive - and thankful that I finished - and in good time (106 miles in almost exactly 6 hours ride time). The best part, was while i was getting some water I felt this hand on my shoulder - I turned around to look - It was my Dad! He and my Mom came out to greet me at the finish - I was totally suprized. I was very touched. I jokingly said, "Mom, c'mere...lemme give you a big (sweaty) hug" They laffed. They knew I was proud of what I was able to do - as were they. We chatted for a while while I continued to rehydrate, I was sweating even more profusely after I stopped - the body cooling down, the they left. I was soo tickled to see them come. I got my t-shirt, talked to a few of the other bikers - then packed up my car, drove home, unpacked and took one of the most satisfying showers I've ever had. Got into some clean clothes in Air Conditioning - cracked open a beer, ate some left over chicken. Life is GREAT.

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