About a month ago, Ali asked us if we wanted to ride the Marin Century. I had not done it since they last offered the Mt. Tam Double and they have a new course now starting from Stafford Lake instead of the Marin Civic Center so I thought, why not? It was a rocky start with poor cell reception and large venue. I didn’t realize Ali had already arrived and was parked not too far from me. Somehow her contact lens had popped out when she was going to get out of the car. So while she was frantically trying to find her lens, I was enjoying my McGriddle and hash browns. It wasn’t until I went to throw out my garbage and hit the porta potty that I saw her messages. I still didn’t know where she was and I somehow managed to find her at the start line eating some breakfast. I also saw Natalie fly in with her friends she was going to ride with. I would only see her once more the rest of the day as I had to go back to the car because I forgot my phone. Ali had to get setup after picking up her registration packet. Ali never found her contacts and had to ride with her glasses which she wasn’t too happy about. We ended up rolling about 15 minutes later than we intended. Not too bad. This was Ali’s longest ride to date so she was in unknown territory. We just took it easy, trying to find a group to draft behind but never really found one that was the right pace. The first rest stop was weirdly the best one, although we didn’t know that at the time. I actually thought they’d all be as good but they mostly fell short. They had a guy on a grill making waffles and bacon. There was a pretty impressive spread of other stuff too - a much larger selection than any other organized ride I’ve done. Sadly no fig and brie sandwiches to be found - definitely a downgrade in the fanciness of the food from previous times. I still don’t know why they made the first stop so good as most people skipped it since it was early in the ride. That was another thing that would fool us because when we got to the 2nd rest stop, it was really busy and crowded. That also had the worst selection of food of all the stops. We ran into Ali’s friend Kenny who was there with his friend Kevin. They were on their way out but we later caught them after and rode with them for a bit after the 3rd stop in Tomales. At that stop they had a long line for food which I didn’t understand. Normally people just go up to the table and grab what they want. We later realized, after standing in the line, that it was for hot dogs. While in line, I ran into Jeremiah who was volunteering and riding as Support and a pacer. We got to ride together for a while after the rest stop as well. The wind heading north wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. By far the most scenic part of the route was the stretch up Tomales Bay. My favorite roads were probably the ones right after the 3rd rest stop. They felt like Peninsula roads - quiet and pretty. On our way up to do the last lollypop loop and the last rest stop, I saw Natalie’s two friends heading the other way towards the end of the ride but no Natalie. I was a little worried about where she might be if she got dropped by them. It was a pretty bad headwind going back and it’s where you want to be drafting the most if you can. About 30 seconds later we saw her, head down fighting the wind. I yelled to get her attention and say hi. We didn’t know it at the time but she was about 20 miles ahead of us having stopped at fewer rest stops than us. The 4th and last stop and a better selection of food and someone making delicious smoothies. It was just what I needed for the final push to the end. Laying between us and the finish was the toughest climb of the day, which I don’t believe I’ve ever done before, Wilson Hill Rd. Ali had been doing really well up until that point but leading up to the last climb I could tell she was getting tired. At the base, I went to pass a slower rider and Ali didn’t get back on my wheel so I realized I’d be climbing this one on my own. I was generating some pretty good power numbers considering it was mile 92. The views at the top were nice. All the other climbs today were pretty mild and easy compared to Wilson Hill. After that it was an easy tailwind spin to the end! At mile 93, I was saying how it didn’t feel like we were 93 miles into a ride. Earlier, I commented on how it didn’t really feel like we’d been riding that long. The food options at the finish were again, the best of any organized ride I’ve done. They had Pizza Hacker, a burrito place, a BBQ place and gelato, along with the normal chips and fruits and drinks you’d find at the rest stops. You were able to go back for more as long as you kept your plate. Pizza Hacker had better pizza options than they offer at the restaurant. Although the slices had been sitting around so were a bit soggy and lacking that crispness, Ali and I both thought the crust tasted better than what they have at the restaurant too. The line at the BBQ place was so long that we ended up going to Pizza Hacker twice before getting BBQ. The BBQ chicken and coleslaw was really good. I like the new route and overall I thought it was great!