My First Ride

This past weekend I rode my first registered bike ride up in Marin. It was the 2006 Marin Century & Mt. Tam Double Ride. Honestly I was really nervous before the ride since I had never rode more than 10-12 miles on flat roads. I was signed up for the 30 mile ride, which has a hill to climb. Here was the discription:

The Marin Half Metric Century route begins on flat to rolling terrain before you are greeted with your first challenge of the day, a 1.5 mile and 430 foot climb to the Big Rock summit of Lucas Valley. This is followed by a thrilling descent through the redwoods into the ranches and grasslands of West Marin. The route then winds north through relatively flat terrain past the small town of Nicasio. Just past Nicasio Square is the 1^st Rest Stop at the Nicasio School (opposite side of the road) at mile 12.

The route ten continues alongside Nicasio Reservoir to the junction of the Pt. Reyes – Petaluma Rd. at mile 15 where the course turns around and backtracks to the finish. Of course, you are welcome to stop again at the Nicasio School Rest Stop before you begin your climb back up Lucas Valley Rd. to Big Rock.

Needless to say after reading this, I didn't know if I could make it up the 1.5 mile climb. When we finally reached the climb, I had to stop three times to take a breather. Thank goodness my friend Megan was there with me as my motivator. Without her, I think I might have just turned around and went home. During my last stop up the climb, I really thought I was going to hurl. But after resting for about a minute, I was able to continue on.

Overall, it was definitely an interesting experience. There are over 200 riders there, all in very good shape. Kind of inspiring. We were there with 4 friends, some of which who were pretty hard core riders and now my husband is inspired to head out for more riding. I think I'll join him only on the easier rides. :)