Tri-States Century

Dothan, AL. I just completed my first century of the season. I rode 102 miles through southeastern Alabama, northern Florida, and southwestern Georgia. Thus, I'm now able to color in the entire southeastern corner of the map.

The local bike club has put on this ride for ten years, now. Proceeds go to the Pediatric Cancer Unit at Birmingham's Children's Hospital. Our ride included 17 wounded warriors, who were so fast that I did not see them all day.

Now, the truth has to be told: I was the last rider to finish. The way I see it, a bicycle ride is a journey, not a race. I feel like I got the most out of the ride: I spent the most time in the sunshine of a beautiful day. Lots of great volunteers staffed lots of rest stops, and really expected the last rider to finish later. So, when I got in, everybody got to go home early!

Dothan has a number of cycling events in conjunction with its CityFest. In fact, the Mayor wished us a good ride at the start, standing with a bullhorn and fully decked out to ride (helmet and all!) Thus, motorists are used to seeing bicycles on the roads. I found the good people of this rural region to be among the more congenial drivers I've encountered.

And, I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the volunteers. At every rest stop they would cheer or wish me well. The would not hear of my apologizing for being slow. We laughed about all the hills left to go (most of the hills were in the last 20 miles). But the course was spectacularly well-marked. In fact, they had spray-painted words of encouragement on many of these last few hills. "You LAUGH at hills!" was one of my favorite. And, I did.

You know, I finish a lot of centuries on my own. By the time I get back, almost everybody has packed up and gone. I've gotten used to it, so it's not a big deal really. But, when you arrive at the finish line to a small crowd of cheering people, high-fiving you, shaking your hand and asking, "How many states is that?", it is one of life's delicious moments.

So, for all that amazing southern hospitality, I've put the Tri-States century on my list of "go backs". When I finish this project, over the coming years, I'll keep an eye out for the early April running of future "TS-100"s.