# August 26th 2023 This was my second time riding the Dairy Creek 100k. The first time was in January, it was wet, cool, and windy, and I was able to complete it in 4:26. Today's experience couldn't be further from the January ride, perfect weather, no wind, and plenty of new pavement, it was gonna be a fun and fast ride! Starting from the Insomnia Coffee Shop parking lot at 06:44 I headed towards North Plains. Winding through the neighborhoods and bike lanes eventually put me on West Union. West Union is often a pleasant ride, today was even better with new(ish) pavement from Helvetia Road to Jackson School Road. After winding through North Plains the road returns to the typical Washington County rural low-traffic two-laners. The turn onto Dairy Creek Road is the only out-and-back on this route, it's also where all the climbing is. About 4 miles along Dairy Creek Road there are several sections of brand-new pavement, making the climbing even more enjoyable. Turning around at the gravel section near Fern Flat and Greener Roads it's a fast return. The new pavement makes for a fun descent, it's just fun to blast downhill on smooth tarmac. Joining back with Mountiandale Road it's a pretty quick jaunt to the outskirts of Banks. A short pause crossing Highway 26, then onto Roy Road. From Roy Road, it's a nice wander through rural Washington County, passing through exciting hamlets like Roy, Greenville, and Kansas City. After completing the circuit of Washington County, it was time to navigate back to civilization. It has been a goal of mine to complete a 100k at or above 18 MPH, and at this point, I was well on my way to unlocking this achievement. My nutrition, hydration, and fitness were all doing well, I was a little tired but was on target. Getting to Evergreen Parkway, I knew I could push the last twelve miles. Evergreen Parkway is a road that can, at times, try your patience. Today would be no exception, stoplight timing, road scales, and construction traffic made the last twelve miles a test. Today wasn't the worst, it was annoying to have to pull up at almost all the stoplights and wait for cars to trigger the lights. Rolling back to the start was a relief, from a fatigue and timing perspective. I rolled in with a 3:37 total time, and a 3:26 moving time, hitting my moving average speed goal of 18.3 MPH. The Dairy Creek 100k is a fast, fun, and well-thought-out route. I look forward to riding it again, knowing that the weather can play a significant role in how fast or slow I'll complete it. Ride Metrics RWGPS Link: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/132582138 - Total time: 3:37 - Moving time: 3:26 - Average speed: 18.3 MPH - Normalized watts: 206w - Total work: 2398kJ