St. Cloud, FL – JHOP Century: Diana’s Story

The JHOP Century Ride date arrived! My goal – complete 100 miles of cycling. This would be my first century. A flat century, no hills, with wind – perfect target.

Arriving in St. Cloud at the ride location with plenty of time to spare, my teammate and I geared up our bikes. Announcements soon let everyone know we were delayed by fog. This was no surprise – heavy fog made the landscape look eerie in the early morning light.

I didn’t think too much about my goal. The huge number of cyclists and racers there distracted me from most of my thoughts about the impending ride. Excitement filled the air! Finally, we heard the announcement that we’d be starting soon, so we lined up. Smoothly everyone rolled out. The pace started off slowly but soon we were up to speeds of over 18 mph. And I thought it was going to be a slow start. I guess “slow start” depends on your perspective. The advanced cyclists and racers were out at the front, leading the pack. I found myself somewhere in the middle. My teammate and I settled in with a group of riders so the quick pace seemed like nothing, at least for now.

The overcast skies and fog kept the temperature cool for the first 20 miles. Perfect riding weather! As the group got its rhythm, we flowed so nicely, rotating lead seamlessly. It is not too often you can just gel as a group without having ridden together before, but we did. Here I was, rolling along at what I considered a pretty fast pace of 18-20 mph without even feeling it. It was windy of course. That fact didn’t slow us down.

I enjoyed the gorgeous green landscape. This setting lent itself to nothing but fun. Before I knew it, we were at the 20-mile mark. The volunteers greeted us with smiles. I headed straight for PB& J. 100 miles is a long way. Fueling up now was the smart thing to do, I knew that much. Not knowing what miles 70-100 had in store for me, the one thing I did know: this PB& J would help me later.

Our group finished up at the SAG stop and headed out for the next 20 miles. This was the easiest stretch of the entire route for me. I felt good, my pace was good, and my comfort level with the other riders was high. Traffic consisted of a few cars from time to time.

Mile 40 SAG stop – more food, water, and Gatorade. At this point, the sun shone down and fog disappeared. I refilled my water bottle and had another PB& J along with a banana and pickles. I barely had time to finish before the group mounted up. Quickly we faced the wind. Now it was really picking up. In Florida we joke about how we head straight into the wind and think we might get a break on the way back, only to be faced with a headwind on the way back too. Today, that headwind hit us no matter what direction we went in. Miles 41-60 were hard. The wind hammered us. The group was strong, though. Marisa, Cedric, Mr 7, LaTarsha, Z, Mr. Freedom, and I kept rotating and pushing forward. I thought this leg would never end. When I saw the sign for the SAG stop, happiness filled me. Only 40 miles left – a piece of cake! or so I thought.

We fueled up quickly and hit the road right away. My teammate was starting to feel the effects of the ride. At mile 68, those effects hit hard – and so he reached the wall. I had already made it over the bridge and looked back. Nothing. In the distance, I could see him. One thing about TeamOne – we don’t leave anyone behind. I called out to the riders ahead that we had a gap. I slowed down, so did they. He caught up. The climb had hit him hard. Not to be one to give in, he kept pushing forward. We slowed a bit, but it was evident by mile 70 that we needed to slow down a lot. (So far my average was 18.7 – not too shabby!) The two of us separated from the group. I loved riding with them. They were awesome and hesitant to pull away. We reassured them that we wanted them to ride hard and fast — and save us some food.

I pulled to the next SAG stop at mile 80. The wind lived up to its reputation. Mile 80 JHOP volunteers were great! They made sure we were taken care of. My teammate not only hit a wall, but he had also caught a cramp. We took a little extra time to this stop. Another rider that we had seen earlier, Lou, stopped a few minutes later. We chatted a while. Since we would be going soon, Lou joined us. He helped me pull along the last 20 miles. We switched off. That was a welcome relief from the wind. It was hard to keep from yo-yo-ing with the gusts of wind. Another skill to keep working on.

I had been in the seat for a while now. I checked my Garmin. 97 miles. 98 miles. Soon. We’d be at the finish line soon! I knew that if I crossed that finish line, and my Garmin didn’t have the “100” on it, I was going to make a lap. No way was I going to get shorted today. at 99.82 I turned the corner with my little group of 3. There was the finish line. JHOP volunteers clapped as we padded by. 99.95. I kept pedaling. At 100.1 miles, I was done. I reached my goal of 100 miles. My ending pace was 16.8 mph. What a nice surprise! With the last 30 miles at a much slower pace, I still managed a good average over that 100 miles! #WinningAtMyCenturyRide!