2009 Flying Wheels Century

Yesterday I rode the 2009 Flying Wheels Century, basically my first organized ride and it was definitely eventful. I learned first hand to "expect the unexpected". I rode with The Guth, Spiz, and Guth's friend Olson AKA "Olly".

We set out from Marymoore at exactly 08:00, I packed only a couple of gels since I heard that the pit stops have tons of food and water. The first hour had a pretty steep hill that left everyone out of breath, but everything seemed pretty normal.

Mile 35 - I pull a muscle in my left calf. Great, I now have 65 more miles gritting my teeth in pain. I decide to just not bend my left ankle for the rest of the ride which semi-works. I thought of Tyler Hamilton at the Tour de France years ago and sucked it up.

Mile 38 - Olly pukes on the side of the road.

Mile 40 - I get a front flat for no apparent reason. Russian guy stops to help me pump - I owe him a beer but don't see him again.

Mile 80 - Everyone is pretty tired and guess what's in store...a 3 mile hill! The folks at Cascade have a sense of humour. :)

Mile 85 - The Guth and I unexpectedly create our killer drink mix. The Guth aptly describes it as "A lemon-lime roundhouse" that nearly knocked us off of our bikes.

Mile 99.5 - Blow my rear tire out. Yes, that number is correct, literally 1/2 mile from the finish I hear a loud gunshot blast and jump off my bike. The photographer 100 yards away yelled "Whoa dude, was that your tire?". I completely blow my rear tire out and have to walk across the finish line.

All in all a great day, very hot conditions but I think we fared pretty well. The pit stops were incredible, I ate delicious food and snacks throughout the day. Spiz had his GPS running so here are the details of the ride. Next stop, STP in a day!