I drove up Friday night to stay with my awesome aunt, and we went to check out the pre-race festivities. There was food, music, booths (I bought a sweet cycling headband!), and just an all-around fun atmosphere.
This dude = one of the many awesome (all male) volunteers
Saturday morning, my start time wasn't until 9:35, so I got to sleep in and take my time getting ready, which was SO nice! Everything went super-smoothly with getting there and getting started, which was such a relief. I signed up for this ride with a friend, and when she bailed, I was pretty nervous to do this alone. It ended up being such a great experience though!! I'm so glad things turned out the way they did :)
Everything went so perfectly! The weather was ideal, the scenery was gorgeous, people were so incredibly nice (from the people drumming music on the sides of the roads to the people sitting on their lawns and cheering us on to the amazingly costumed volunteers to all the nice and encouraging ladies, these people were seriously the best), the cold I'd been dealing with all week didn't give me nearly as much trouble as I'd expected, the rest stops were great (ok oreos with peanut butter and banana chunks on top are my new favorite race food), and I felt really good on the bike (especially on the uphill - it's such a cool feeling to dig deep and pass people on those tough parts!)!
lunch stop
Crossing the finish line, I just wanted to bottle up that feeling and keep it forever. I love events like this! I love the preparation, I love the energy, I love the feeling of accomplishment, and I love the people!
finish line sprite and beads
Aaaaand I love the ice cream sundaes they give you
I had the time of my life, I'm excited to sign up for some more rides and races, and I'm thankful to everyone who was so supportive :)
Yeahhhhhhh race stuff :)
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