What an awesome day for this event! It was sunny but not too hot. I had checked the YVR aviation forecast the day before, which predicted winds from 320° at 6 kt (NW at 12 km/h), so I was expecting a slight headwind. It turns out that that means stiff headwinds and crosswinds when all that air gets funneled through the mountain valleys. Descents ended up feeling like flats, and I had to put extra effort into staying low and tucking in behind other riders. Thanks to Oanh, Louann, and Lisa, who rode with me at various points along the way. I'd also like to thank Freyja, a new acquaintance who offered me a draft — we ended up doing much of the final quarter of the route together, just when I needed the encouragement and assistance the most. (I'm amazed at her strength after having climbed Cypress!) This is a good time for a retrospective look at my progress this year. When I signed up for this event in January, I was doing occasional 80 km rides for fun on weekends. Doing a 122 km ride with some climbs seemed like a bit of a stretch, but attainable. The sign-up form asked me to estimate my finishing time. I dunno, I'd be happy to finish at all, maybe in 7 hours? So, I started working my way up to what I assumed would be my big achievement of the year. In April, I did the Pacific Populaire 100 km (https://ridewithgps.com/trips/86324173), making a lot of noob mistakes — and I became aware of the benefits of riding in a group. I joined WoWride, and gained some skills and experience. In July, I finished the Canada Day Populaire 155 km (https://ridewithgps.com/trips/95174987), slower than the median but no longer finishing as a straggler. The following week, I did a camping trip, including a 200 km ride in a single day (https://ridewithgps.com/trips/95997361), over two mountain passes with a heavily loaded bike. A few weeks later, I tricked myself into completing a Triple Crown (https://strava.app.link/RPzZWa3Mftb), tackling one mountain at a time. Realizing that those last two experiences were each more challenging than the 122 km to Whistler gave me a huge boost in confidence. So, a funny thing happened in my mind: the goalposts shifted from just hoping to finish to wanting to attain a respectable finishing time. I was aiming to do it in under 5h30m today, and ended up achieving 5h31m44s. Close enough, especially given the headwinds!