Great Day...Long Ride

Today was an awesome day from start to finish. The ride felt very smooth even though it was really long. But there were a few interesting points today still. Dad got a flat tire before we even left town this morning which put him and Stuart a ways behind everyone else right off the bat. Then they managed to get lost a couple of times throughout the day so the 95 mile day turned into 107 or so for them. I was under the impression we were going to eat in Ione which was a mile off our route and since I was in front i went on ahead to find the park in town. I waited about 25 mins and no one showed up so i went back and rode around a while but didn't find anyone. I met up with the group eventually got lunch and then a small group of us hammered ou the rest of they day. When I pulled into town and checked my odometer i realized i was less than a mile from hitting 100 so i rode around a couple blocks of the church, and now I can say I have ridden my first century. The welcoming in Newport was amazing. We actually had a sign 45 miles back welcoming us into the county. Then there were people waiting at the entrance to the town outside their cars, and many people were already gathered at the church. The meal was awesome, especially the stew that had bear meat in it.

Zack