Saturday, April 19, was consumed with an all day bike ride in and around Gilroy, CA. Three of us senior citizens, high school buddies who have known each other for over 50 years, rode in the 31th annual Tierra Bella Century event. We spent 5 hours and 15 minutes in the saddle to cover 64.5 miles, averaging just under 12.5 miles per hour. The weather was agreeable, temperature-wise, but we experienced significant head winds on two legs of the figure 8 route.
Starting at Gavilan Community College, we crossed Hiway 101 and rode up to the CDF Firehouse on Gilroy Hot Springs Road. That little 16.5 mile jaunt took almost 2 hours because of the climbing. After a snack and potty break, we looped around Canada road, went back across Hiway 101, then looped around Uvas Reservoir. There were two more food, drink and comfort breaks on the way. On the final leg, a long, level, straight ride down Santa Teresa Blvd. back to Gavilan, we had a head wind all the way.
As I dismounted from my bike in the parking lot, I considered that I could not have turned that crank one more turn! Arriving home, and after a long hot shower, Mary-Ann (spouse/friend/partner/lover) and I enjoyed a pizza, which, considering the calories burned, I enjoyed without any guilt!
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