Anticipation

Well, we're closing in on the home stretch. Only a couple more days to the big event, and already I'm getting nervous. I'm feeling better about my knee having given it a few weeks off to heal, but am definitely concerned about the other side of the knee improvement -- what have those few weeks off done to my conditioning?

I was pretty confident after the last metric century, although that was on fairly flat, level ground, done at my own pace, in great weather. For this Sunday's century, we're estimating close to 6000 feet of climbing, by far my longest ride yet, with many other riders, and the weather guesser is predicting temperatures in the low 90s with scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. I'm not worried about completing 100 miles -- if I have to walk a portion I'd do it -- I am concerned, however, about the time limit imposed by the event. Riders start at 7:30 a.m., and must be off the course by 4 p.m., for a total of 8.5 hours. That seems reasonable as long as breaks are kept fairly short, but weather complications could certainly complicate matters.
Here's hoping the weather guesser is a bit off and those scattered thunderstorms are very scattered!