The last time I cycled over 100 miles in a day occurred long ago: April 8, 1987 in Scotland.

Here's my scintillating paper journal entry from that day long ago:

Note that that ride came in the midst of a ten-day trip that averaged 80 miles per day. We carried gear and we had weather to deal with.

Not so today: rest stops lined our route and the organizers pampered us with many different kinds of snacks and drinks and we had pleasantly moderate temperatures along the coast between Santa Barbara and Ventura.

Lots of sun, too -- in fact a little too much, for my arms and legs look pretty red in the mirror, although not enough to do more than add to the tan from earlier trips.

Shelley rode a metric century (60 miles) on her new bike. We had hoped that I'd be able to ride fast enough that she would not have to wait too long for me at a rest stop, but that didn't work out. My trip took six hours, and averaged 16.7 mph, whereas I stove for 20 mph. Ah well, maybe next time -- gotta learn how to go faster for longer.

At one point early on I rode in a group of other people who formed two files of riders. The front two took the brunt of the wind, leaving the rest of us to draft behind them. After a little while, the front two peeled off to drift back and a new pair rode in front.

Drafting in the back makes a HUGE difference in the amount of work needed to keep up a good pace (we rode at 22+ mph for about ten miles). Yes, I took a turn at the front too, but the whole group lost me on the first significant hill. But it was fun while it lasted.