For a long time, I’ve wanted to cycle 100mi in a single ride, and this past weekend, I finally did. Here’s a small write-up on my experience.

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This past weekend I achieved a long-held goal - I rode my first century (100mi). I’d always felt like this was a challenge I wasn’t ready for, but early this year I decided to just sign up for the livestrong challenge’s 100mi route and face my fears. Here’s how it went:

Miles 0-30

The first 10 miles were very chill. The cyclists were densely packed, and apart from a few small hills it was also mostly flat or downhill. With our group still intact, we rode past the first stop. As everyone settled into a comfortable pace and we started to hit some of the initial elevation, the group began to separate. Towards the end of the first 30 miles, It was me, a friend, and a stranger who’d joined our little group. At the stop, we rested and joined a few more friends before setting off again.

Miles 30-50

My spirits were high - the weather was perfect and the rolling hills of the sparsely populated Texan landscape provided beautiful views. I learned so much about teamwork in these miles. We kept up a good system of rotation to swap out who was pulling in the front, and the sense of camaraderie was powerful. We were going fast too. At the end of 50 miles, I had an average speed of 16.4mph - a new personal record.

The final challenge of this stretch was the infamous manmaker - a hill with over 250ft of elevation in just half a mile, with gradients exceeding 15%. This was a difficult challenge, and at the base of the climb I had my doubts if I could stay on the bike the whole way up. Thankfully, my recent hill training paid off and although I’m not going to be taking the KOM anytime soon, I did make it up without getting off the pedals. Setting little mini-goals along the way helped me stay motivated. While the climb as a whole seemed insurmountable, doing just the first half and then doing the second half tricked me into making it feel possible, and giving me a better sense of progress.

Miles 50-60

After manmaker, I could no longer keep up with the pace of our little group. Acknowledging that I’d burned some matches, I realized that I needed to ride my own ride - to slow down and find a more sustainable pace. I dropped back and tried to establish my own rhythm. This is definitely where the mental games began. I started to feel daunted by the fact that there was still half the ride left. I started to be more aware of the pain my body was in, and the growing sense of exhaustion. Worse, I started to feel my knees begin to cramp. I was determined not to let negativity get the best of me, and tried to focus on the scenery and to be grateful that I have the luxury of being able to spend a whole day out on my bike - this definitely helped me keep going. Although I’d hoped to not stop till mile 70, I decided to stop at mile 60 to refuel and hopefully give my knees a chance to recover. At the 60 mile stop, I sat down for a while, and commiserated with other event participants until I felt slightly more ready for what was ahead.

Miles 60-70

Shortly after I departed the rest stop, I caught up with one of my friends from the original group. The relief of seeing a familiar face again was immense. Around mile 65 was the final big climb of the ride. While it was far more gentle than manmaker, it still sported an average 7% gradient and over 100ft of elevation gain. On the climb, I experienced some of the worst cramps I’d ever faced. I hopped off the bike, but once I did, my legs completed locked up, and I couldn’t move at all - not even to get off of the road. At this point, some cyclists behind me saw me struggling and helped me get over onto the side walk. As I sat there, chugging electrolytes and hoping to recover, a cyclist passing by shouted out “failure is not an option!”. A bit of cliched phrase, but it’s what I needed to hear in the moment. I waited a few more minutes and got back up and onto the bike. As we rode on, we eventually caught up to another friend and the three of us headed towards the mile 70 stop. During this time, I felt my mindset begin to shift - I was in a lot of pain and we still had some serious distance to go, but instead of feeling hopeless, I felt amused. Facing my limits and overcoming them was an integral part of why I wanted to do a century in the first place - this was literally what I signed up for. And even though everything hurt, I was still moving. Not only that, I was still moving with a decent pace too - despite the cramps, I was still averaging a strong pace. I felt truly convinced that I was going to finish the event, and that I had more more capability than I give myself credit for.

Miles 70-100

The last 30 miles were a blur. It was by no means an easy 30 miles, but with restored spirits and surrounded by friends, it was a fun 30 miles. I knew that the hardest parts of the event were squarely behind me. Seeing the Austin skyline grow closer ahead of me was an encouraging sight - it felt like my hero’s journey was over. Crossing the finish line, I had only ridden 98 miles, so I added a little extra distance on the lake Austin trail just to hit a nice round 100. The dragon had been slain. Total moving time was around six and a half hours, with just under eight hours total. My average speed was somewhere around 15mph.

Conclusion

I learned a lot about myself out there. I definitely took some risks with pacing, but I learned to listen to my body and change my strategy when I needed to. I learned a lot about team work. I learned that I can push the limits of what I think I’m capable of, and find that there’s still more I can do. I also learned that I can do hard things and that doing them with others makes it so much more fun. A century is a personal goal I’ve had for a long time, and I’m very proud of finishing. But far more than pride, the overwhelming emotion I felt at the end was gratitude. I’m so grateful to be apart of such an amazing community around me. I feel continually inspired and encouraged to surpass my limits. I’m so thankful to have built these relationships since I moved to Austin. To me, this is a far greater achievement than any medal or any amount of strava clout. Here’s to many more rides together!