100 miles - done and done

hooray! i reached my goal of riding a full century ride in 2007. i am proud of myself. i rarely feel pride in myself without reservations or caveats of some sort, but this time it's pure and true.

the course was actually 102 miles, and yes, i was counting. very closely. the ride started and finished at hampton beach, and went south to dip into massachusetts before circling back round north along the new hampshire coast and peeking into maine before heading back. there were a few hills towards maine which winded me, but the most difficult part, as i imagined, was the headwind coming back south. almost the entire route was right along the coast. gorgeous vistas and glimpses at some pretty spectacular beachside properties.

nate was a fantastic support system to me: coach, pack mule, and cheering squad all rolled into one. he also was documentarian, and has put pictures up here. i couldn't have done it without him. i may have never even set this as a goal for myself if it weren't for him. he's had my thanks a few times, and i plan to thank him a few more before the day is through.

before leaving the area we treated ourselves to pizza from a beachside vendor. we leaned against his parked car in the fading light, munching slices and watching the crashing waves, the kids pedaling past rocking back and forth on training wheels, and the die-hard sunbathers still camped out. it was a lovely, exhausting, satisfying day. a beautiful way to cap the summer and begin our vacation.

tommorow is all about packing our most quick-drying belongings and then being off to turkey!