My 2nd Century Ride

 I did my second Century Ride last Saturday. 100 miles on my gravel bike.

Yep, 100 miles.

That's right ... On my bicycle.
Yep, in one day.
No, my butt is fine.
Nope, I'm not crazy.
Yes, I know you don't like to drive that far.

If you've been following me, on this blog, you know I'm "training" for September. 

In September, I'm riding 1,000 miles to help raise awareness and money for the Children's Cancer Research Fund with the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you can afford it and are against childhood cancer, you should donate some money to help with the cause. If you want to help my fundraising effort ... you can donate at

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

If you don't want to donate your money on my Rider Page, you can find plenty of other riders or team to donate to. Or you can donate straight to the GCC.

Or better yet ... join the cause yourself. Ride and get your donations for the kids.

Any way, for this particular century ride, I got started a little before sunrise here in Denver. 

I didn't have a sag wagon ... no one I know wants to get up that early just to carry around support gear for me.

So, I brought my 3 liter camel back along with one water bottle filled with electrolyte-filled H2O.

And .. I planned a route that was a loop that brought me back to my house around the 56 mile mark.

Well ... I didn't really plan actual miles, but 56 miles is exactly when I pulled back into my house.

I checked in with my wife (aka The SheppyBrew Beer Model) and we made plans for her to join me for lunch.

9:20 AM. 56 miles. 3:20:03 riding time. 16.8 average MPH. 2169 feet elevation climbed. 

It wasn't time for lunch (or to leave or lunch) ... so after a bit of a rest ... I headed out again. 

I did a quick loop close to my home. I returned to pick up the Beer Model.

10:33 AM. 70.1 miles. 4:11:47 riding time. 16.7 average MPH. 2675 feet elevation climbed. 

My wife (aka The SheppyBrew Beer Model) jumped on her e-Bike and we headed to downtown Littleton to a local brewery for lunch.

Don't worry about which brewery it was. You don't want a spoiler on the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts.

So ... we had lunch and headed back home.

I had to ride a little farther around my neighborhood to get over 100 miles, but it was pretty much perfectly "planned" for a Century Ride.

100.12 miles. 6:14:33 riding time. 16.0 MPH average MPH. 3301 feet elevation climbed. 

My distance, average MPH, and elevation gained are less than my first century ride, but if I am remembering right ... my legs and general well-being felt better after this one than the last one.

I'm certainly ready for the 1000 miles I have to ride in September.

Feel free to follow my September progress on https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard even if you don't donate.

I'm sure I'll post more on this blog between now and the end of September.

By the way ... I've climbed my 7th Everest for the year. I wont be posting a 7th Everest of 2021 on this blog. But, with 1000 miles, chances are I'll pass 8 Everests before the end of the month.