Century #4, Marcola Century

This was an MVBC club ride -- I think I was the only one to ride it this time around. ( I came across a few riders from Eugene on the stretch between Coburg and Marcola.) I brought along an extra bottle of Sustained Energy and a few Tiger Milk bars (these always go down easy and taste good).

I stopped once on the ride, at the grocery store in Marcola. Had a bottle of Gatorade and filled my water bottles. Great day to be riding!

See Marcola, Route: http://www.mvbc.com/mvbc/RouteSheets/B690.html (104 miles)

Century #3, Watermelon Rides

The Watermelon rides, hosted by the Salem Bike Club, started in Monmouth this year. The ride featured some great scenery with rolling hills out in Kings Valley.

See http://www.salembicycleclub.org.

Century #2, Strawberry Century

Strawberry Century, Lebanon, OR

I volunteered and rode this event. Got up at 5am, a time when I'm usually in the middle of my "beauty" sleep which apparently isn't working.

Around 9am I took off and hammered out a century. The food at the Brownsville stop hit the spot -- pasta salad.

At the finish line, we were served Strawberry shortcake! (Lebanon, OR is strawberry country; they grow some really sweet berries here.)

As usual, the Santiam Spokes club put on a first class event! See http://www.santiamspokes.org

Why ride centuries?

My goal this year is to ride 3000+ miles and earn a "10-dollar medal" in the UMCA's "Year-Rounder" century challenge. See http://www.ultracycling.com/standings/year-rounder.html

It's easy to ride a century-a-weekend once it becomes a habit. Just do it!

While it's nice to earn a medal -- the real goal is the journey of losing weight, fitness, riding with friends, and enjoying the scenery. (Because I like to ride hard, some people think all I see is the white line, but I *do* look up once in a while.)