Hurrah for the Horrible Hundred!

On Sunday morning, my Dad and I were up and in the truck by 6:30. We were on our way to Clermont, Florida for the 26th annual Florida Freewheeler's Horrible Hundred bike ride. This was my first time participating (I had escaped this unusual form of torture by being on the UF swim team for the past 5 years...). At 8:30am, over 1000 people on bikes rolled out of the Lake Mineolla Water Front Park and we were only 102 miles from rolling back in.
Our plan was to hang with the ORC (Orlando Road Club) group...but at the first SAG stop (rest stops with food and Gatorade) they spent too much time resting and I wanted to get the ride over with. So Dad and I went at our own pace for most of the ride (him going really fast and me drafting really close behind).
The weather was very nice for a November day in Central Florida...it was overcast and always looked like there was a rain storm heading our way. The cloud cover kept the sun off us and only dumped a bit of water on us around mile 85. It was a nice little shower before the last couple of big climbs.
Speaking of climbs, we did them all: Citrus Tower, Sugarloaf, Buck Hills, The Wall, Hospital Hill, etc. I knew that once I've lived in Colorado Springs, there would not be 'hills' in Florida anymore...well, they were hills, but I wasn't dying like I use to. Climbing for 2 minutes while standing is a bit different than climbing for 35 minutes (needing to stand the whole way but having to sit for most of it)!
We stopped at all the rest stops, mostly to keep our water bottles filled...munched on a cookie or a PB&J...and then headed back out on the road. I met a lot of nice people on the ride...people from all over the USA.
Dad and I made it home safely...ate some Subway on the drive home...and then slept really good that night! I headed over to swim practice on Monday afternoon to loosen up (my arms and back were even more sore than my legs!).
Now it's Tuesday morning...a cold front came through last night and the air is a bit chilly...I'm attempting to muster up courage to go for a jog. Later in the day we are driving up to UF to watch the swim meet against FSU...go Gators and go Dustin!!