Century 11 Learning the darkness.

Yesterday I set out around noon for a gravel century. I'm not calling it a gravel century though because half of it was on paved highways. I rode through Grimes, Granger, Woodward on my way to seven oaks (near Boone) It was 51 miles to the trail at seven oaks I had come to watch a couple hours of the 24 hour mountain bike race. I arrived around 4pm with a dozen beers in my trunk pack so I was set for good race watch'n. I found a good spot to watch on the top side of the camp grounds (my single speed barely made it up the long gravel climb to the camp grounds) I got to talk to several people from Iowa city that had people in the race. I still think 24 hour mountain bike race = Insaine, but that's just me so next year if I'm entering anything like this please throw beer cans at me (make sure there cold) or something. Around 8:15 I decided it was a good time to head home. I wanted to be home before midnight. I have rode in the dark alot but never 50 miles and never on gravel. The paved 10 miles from seven oaks to R ave went by fast and I hit the gravel at 18mph or so (18 is the fastest comfortable speed on my single speed cross bike) Normally I slow down and dodge rock piles and other stuff on the gravel, but since I couldn't see any of them I held this pace for a while. At Granger (half way) I turned off the gravel and took R30 (Alice's Road) me and the bike are covered in white dust. In Walkee I noticed Wendys and that look good enough. I have to say after 90 miles and nothing to eat but trail mix and nuts that was the best burger I've had in a long time. Had my last 2 beers under the overpass entering clive greenbelt trail around midnight then took 60th/EP true home for some sleep. My 3 hr night rider light ran for 4 hours on the way home and was still running when I got home.