Century in my new backyard, the Grizzly Peak Century

I'm lucky enough to live within a mile of Tilden park in the Berkeley Hills. It turns out that the road that goes along the ridge is called Grizzly Peak Boulevard, and it's within a mile of my house.

I had the goal of doing the 100 mile, but it was really tough.  Instead, I cut off 25 miles (I'm not the fastest) and did 75 miles and 7500 vertical feet.  

I'm still very happy with how I did.  Rather than doing a lot of words, I am just going to explain the pictures and let them tell the story.  The picture below was the first rest stop.  They had lots of yummy treats for breakfast as well as water.

The view from there was terrific.  Much better views of Oakland and the docks than I get in Berkeley.

Here are some other scenic pictures of the wildflowers, lupines and poppies. They were better than the flowers on the Chico Wildflower ride.

The GPC is known for great food and they lived up to it.  The last rest stop had all varieties of sliced fruit, strawberries, nut butters and potatoes.  And then a table next to it had hard-boiled eggs, pickles and pickle juice and olives.  People were just relaxing in the shade before taking on the last hills.

I made it to the end, as you can see from the selfie below.  

Here's an idea of the end-ride seating, entertainment and food.  I was impressed that the fare was much healthier than normal rides. Yes, they had rice salads if you wanted, but also grilled vegetables, lentil salad and the like.  The volunteers who prepare the food take over a large kitchen at Contra Costa College, so it is all fresh and wonderful.

The bottom line is that I will do this ride another year.  And I'll be sure to be at the start at the earliest possible time.