Century | Notion

I moved to San Francisco in late 2020. The first weekend I arrived, I bought a road bike. Having casually cycled before while growing up in Miami, where there was a semblance of cycling culture, I found San Francisco to offer a truly beautiful cycling culture—one of the best environments to get hooked on the sport.

My initial rides were short, ranging from 12 to 15 miles. At that time, I doubted I could ever conquer the SF hills. What captivated me was discovering the city through cycling. You never truly know a city unless you’ve biked in and around it. You see everything: the people, the ocean, the mountains. With each ride, I grew eager to increase my mileage, inching closer to the prospect of my first long-distance ride.

Throughout the pandemic and into the following year, cycling became my escape. Almost every morning, I would bike from my downtown apartment, across the Golden Gate Bridge. Each journey brought its own challenges. I felt myself becoming stronger with every ride. It was therapeutic to hop on my bike and ride into Marin, my introduction to the city and a way of finding my place within it.

2022 and 2023 were the years I began to really push myself with longer rides, eventually planning my first century. Like many cyclists, completing a century would mark my true initiation into the sport. The task—riding 100 miles in a 5-6 hour span—required at least three months of training with endurance speed rides and long-distance rides.

I also challenged myself with uphill climbs. Reflecting on my first attempt at Hawk Hill, a climb known to every SF cyclist, seems almost funny now. I can now handle it multiple times over with no problem. There's no better feeling than conquering such an uphill to then coast downhill, the mountains and ocean as your backdrop.

In the fall of 2023, I began training for my century, signing up for the Sonoma century in May 2024. It wasn’t long before I hit the 50, then 70, then 80-mile marks.

When the century arrived in May, I was well prepared, having complemented my cycling with months of strength training and pilates—some of the best months for my fitness.

Funny enough, my boyfriend and I drove up to Sonoma for the event. The night before, the weather forecast worsened. By 6 AM, an hour before the start, we faced a severe downpour, creating some of the worst conditions imaginable for a 100-mile ride—cold, wet, and windy. Not what you imagined cycling through wine country.

We decided to drive back to San Francisco, where I made my training routes into my own century. My wonderful boyfriend even helped prep rest stops along the way. I doubled loops from Tiburon to Corte Madera, circled Lake Merced twice, sped through Golden Gate Park, and crossed the bridge again for a final victory lap down to Marina Green.

Proud to call myself a true cyclist now. :) to many more centuries around the sun!

Victory finish photo :)