Sept. 9th and 10th, 2000 --- 92ºF roughly, High-humidity, SE wind 15 MPH and gusty
The 2000 MS-150 Tour
Well, here it is! And with it comes the culmination of 4 months and almost 1000 miles of training ~ and the realization of a dream and a goal that began in the back of my mind the first time I climbed onto a bicycle. I have been saying “I want to do the MS150” for years, and I am finally here!
Richards-Gebaur Airport, 7:00am, my anticipation grew as I clipped into the pedals, and made my way out, thru the pack ~ and my face spread into a big smile, a smile that didn’t fade until lunch time…this would be my first century, and what a day it would be! Out onto Mo-58 Highway east, into the wind; that was the only kicker: the head-wind. The relentless wind blew right into our faces all day long, and made things really interesting. The majority of the ride was played out in my head, rest stop to rest stop, miles upon miles, passing who I could, and getting passed by only the fastest and finest of pacelines and ‘pros’. The KCBC race team was there, and the DST systems team, and a lot of fast individual riders – veterans of the century. It was all kinds: all the good drool material was out of the garage for this one: I saw Serotta, Colnago, Giant, Specialized, Cannondale, Torelli; big names bikes under fast, slim riders. Hard to tell if they were doing the full century or the shorter metric route, but it didn’t matter. I did my best, averaging 16.8 MPH at the 62 mile mark in Leeton, MO. ~ then after hospitality was served in the form of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from a local lady, (after I discovered that the lunch offerings all contained ham) I was off again. Some decent hills and lack of water consumption gave me some leg cramps at about the 80 mile marker ~ worked ‘em out, then got a break from wind going north into Sedalia, before the final rest stop and followed a FAST pace set by ‘Dave’, a DST rider (and Dale’s neighbor, as luck would have it) ~ held with him for about 8 miles at 27 MPH or more, then my legs gave out again. Took lots of water to get fresh again, but once set up, the rest of the ride was fantastic – finished around 2:40pm and within the top 100 riders – VERY HAPPY! Approx 6 hrs., 7 minutes rolling time on the bike J Day Two: we leave Sedalia and take a looping course to Windsor – windier than day one, and HOT. Did fairly well on this day, but didn’t do anything epic ~ was tired, sunburned, and lack of lotion for the second day’s prep left me with some nice saddle sores – definitely some things to note before next year! Sunscreen! Lotion!! Razor!!! Bring them! Still, high points: BOTH days, I finished within 10 yards of Compadres! Remember him? That was cool, especially since I was the one catching up to him both times…next year!!! Can’t wait! Yeah! Goal? Faster next year!
4 solid months, 1000 miles of training, one lifetime goal achieved!!!
YEAH!!!!!!! I DID IT!!!
The Tally: sunburn, concrete floor, Group showers, jacked front derailleur, Free Beer, Leg Cramps, pancakes, bus ride, and Arms raised in a ‘vee’, bike shoots to the right! Whoops!
1032.78 miles this season since May 13th (2000)!
149.51 miles; 9:14:32 total ET; 16.2 overall avg.; 37.0 max MPH
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