This past weekend I completed my first-ever century cycling ride by participating in the Tour De Nez. Steve James convinced me to do the ride and I’m glad I stuck with it. We were a little disappointed in the turn out, less than 30 riders showed up combined for the full 100-mile century and the metric century rides. I love to support local events like this but I’ve competed in other athletic events with much lower registration fees that seemed much more put together. I wasn’t bothered by the lack of traffic control as it was a course that covered a lot of ground and obviously ~$30,000 to take care of traffic for 20 riders would have been a huge waste of money. After talking with some other riders who had ridden in years past, the century has always been a little shaky. I had a blast though and thank you to all the volunteers that were setup throughout the valley with aide stations, you were lifesavers!
The route took us out from downtown Reno, out through Washoe Valley and into Carson City. After crossing the city, we took Highway 50 up to Spooner Summit where we were greeted with a quick lunch stop. From Spooner Lake Park, we made our way up 28 to Incline Village in Tahoe, up and over Mt. Rose Highway to return to Reno.
What’s next? Well, I want to keep up with the distance riding and start working on climbing techniques so I can start climbing longer hills smarter, rather than stronger. And of course, Steve is trying to get me to do the Death Ride…15,000 feet of climbing, anyone?
