It came at me from three sides. Not all at once, but piece by piece. A small paragraph in our local Wheelman newsletter with a funny sounding descriptor and an intimidating website caught my eye. It was the Year Rounder by the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association. Ride a century a month and get a medal at the end of the year. Cool! I'd like a medal. No, wait, who really cares about the medal? Imagine ... the bragging rights, the pride swollen head, and the looks of admiration. Did I mention bragging?

Still, the Year Rounder was only an idea. My upcoming birthday took that idea one step closer to action. It was the year I turned 50 and I was looking for a goal. In my youth, I thought that 50-year-old men and women were...well...old. Even now I know many who are physically old, sedentary, and out of shape. But I am strong and fit and still looking for new challenges.

The third piece to this progression, from idea to action, was the weather. We in the Northwest had an amazingly sunny, dry winter. The skiers weren't too happy with the lack of snow, but the bicycle riders were on the roads in unusual numbers for January. I'd never been in such good cycling shape at the start of the year.

Did I want to do this? Although I was getting in the saddle enough to ride 100 miles a week, could I do 100 miles in a day? January kept sliding by and I stayed uncommitted, but finally I went out in the car to map out a route and calculate mileage. I hit the road at the end of January. I rode a 55 mile circle that brought me back to the house which was followed by the well traveled 20-mile loop we do on the local club's evening rides. This route kept me close to home in case I couldn't finish. After I did the 55 miles, I came home to eat, rest, and warm up. I was tired and tired of riding alone. The first time around the 20-mile loop went well, but gosh darn I had been riding a long, long time! I made a call to my husband at work, begging him to come home and pull me around the last loop. It truly was a blessing to have company for that last lap. Time went so much faster and I triumphantly finished in twilight. The next day I sent in my ride submission form and signed up for the long haul.

The weather didn't stay good and the spring rains made it harder to find a good day to ride. On the dry days I worked and it rained on my days off. Factor in the occasional cold and the one-time big spring sick and it was hard to find a whole day to dedicate to riding.

I enjoyed the arrival of organized, supported rides. I drove two hours to do the Daffodil Festival outside of Tacoma, WA. What joy to have folks to share the ride with. What fun it was to meet up with another Year Rounder pursuer. We signed each other's forms as witnesses. I met up with another woman rider around mile 70. At the end of the century, my legs were fine; it was my throat that hurt. We talked, talked, talked for 30 miles!

The Portland, Oregon Wheelman's Spring Century; Lance Armstrong's (Nike) LiveStrong; Salem, Oregon's Peach of Century; and a long day in the middle of the weeklong Bike Idaho were interspersed with personal long rides. I have been sunburned; I have been frozen. I have been soaked with sweat; I have been soaked with rain. I got pretty good at changing tires and adjusting brakes. I have all the gear I need and have figured out what and when to eat. I have discovered that I really, really like spending time riding; the physical effort, the feeling of going somewhere, the time to reflect on the stresses in my life, and time to plan the future.

One day soon, the medal will come in the mail. Let the bragging begin!

UMCA Year-Rounder Challenge

Preparing for and riding centuries