I did not really plan to ride 100km today. But in the end, I did. It wasn't fast, it wasn't glorious, I'm pretty exhausted, but I'm also pretty chuffed after riding my first century, and thought I'd share on here :)

I started out at a quarter to nine from Prospect, aiming to get to Dan's house near the top of Flagstaff Hill for ten. Going along Marion road was pretty flat, and the cool weather only encouraged me to ride faster. From the Start of Anzac Hwy to the start of Flagstaff Hill, I averaged 33-34kph. I pushed up Flagstaff Hill, thinking I was running late, and in the end I got to Dan's about fifteen minutes early, he and Lisa were not ready to go - they were still in pajamas! 

We ended up leaving Dan's at a bit past ten, for a cruise over to Clarendon (the whole point of the day). I discovered Humpty, which is a fantastic little hill, kinda reminds me of Norton Summit, if somewhat shorter. The three of us did the loop to Clarendon and back in about an hour and twenty minutes, without any real hurry. After stopping at Dan's for a quick bite to eat, I decided I'd try riding over to my parent's house in Basket Range to say hi to my Dad before he flies overseas tomorrow. 

Getting from Flagstaff Hill to Blackwood is easy, Coromandle Parade is lovely, and it's nice and flat across the top. Getting from Blackwood to Crafers is a slog. 

There wasn't anything I enjoyed about that irregular, steep then flat, traffic ridden road through Upper Sturt. Maybe if I was fresh, it woulda been better. Maybe not... 

From Crafers to Basket Range, the roads are undulating but relatively flat, and really I should have enjoyed myself, but I was already at the 70-80km mark, about the upper limit of my previous rides, so I was pretty shagged. Fortunately at my parents house, I got to refill on coffee and toasted cheese sandwhiches, and got enough energy to make it the rest of the way back to prospect. 

I headed out, keen to get over ashton hill and finish climbing, and forgot to turn strava back on! the horror! I console myself with the fact that I was awfully slow, and wouldn't have got a new time anyway, but if it had been on, my numbers would have been a little bit rounder. 

I rolled down Norton Summit pretty slowly, and cruised back to home, proud that I'd covered what I was pretty sure was over 100k's. 

Turns out I rode 108km, and climbed 1883m. If I'd had strava on up Ashton, I would have hit 2000. Good preparation for the Dirty Dozen, I reckon! If you want to see my ride, check it out here: http://app.strava.com/rides/10469398#comments

Time for a sleep for me.