My first century...how I got there
I actually did it. I completed a century, a 100-mile bike ride. I feel a little bit like the guy in the commercial..."I can't believe I [rode] the whole thing!"
It all started in April 2008, when my mom and brothers gave me a new bike. The first time I took it out on the bike trails, I got lost and ended up riding almost 20 miles. I decided that, if I could accidentally ride 20 miles, I could do it on purpose, too. That summer, I just rode locally on our wonderful bike trail system.
This year, I was excited to get out on my bike as soon as possible. I think my first ride was in February. I have an aunt who's an avid cyclist and runner, and we started talking (emailing) about bikes and riding. She suggested I come and ride a leg of the Katy Trail bike ride sponsored by Missouri State Parks, one of the shorter days, you know, "only" 50 miles. I thought she was delusional, but the more I looked at the website, the more I thought about doing the whole ride. So, eventually, I did.
The exciting thing about the Katy ride was that I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. Then I started wondering what the next big thing would be. Around that time, I got a flyer from Team in Training, and one of the events was a century ride in Arizona. I started thinking about that, and while I never got around to going to the Team in Training meeting, the century idea stuck. After coming back from the Katy Trail, I started looking on the internet for bike rides and found the Ride the Rivers Century...right in my area!
It all started in April 2008, when my mom and brothers gave me a new bike. The first time I took it out on the bike trails, I got lost and ended up riding almost 20 miles. I decided that, if I could accidentally ride 20 miles, I could do it on purpose, too. That summer, I just rode locally on our wonderful bike trail system.
This year, I was excited to get out on my bike as soon as possible. I think my first ride was in February. I have an aunt who's an avid cyclist and runner, and we started talking (emailing) about bikes and riding. She suggested I come and ride a leg of the Katy Trail bike ride sponsored by Missouri State Parks, one of the shorter days, you know, "only" 50 miles. I thought she was delusional, but the more I looked at the website, the more I thought about doing the whole ride. So, eventually, I did.
The exciting thing about the Katy ride was that I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. Then I started wondering what the next big thing would be. Around that time, I got a flyer from Team in Training, and one of the events was a century ride in Arizona. I started thinking about that, and while I never got around to going to the Team in Training meeting, the century idea stuck. After coming back from the Katy Trail, I started looking on the internet for bike rides and found the Ride the Rivers Century...right in my area!
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