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I've Got Something to Say
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| Ride Stats |
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Time: 05:44:45
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Distance:
93.20 miles
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Max Speed:
31.60 mph
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Avg Speed:
16.20 mph
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Altitude Gain:
0 ft
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Route:
MS Bike 2009 Day 1
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Weight:
0
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Category: training: general -
solo
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Terrain: Road: Rolling
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Bike: Fuji Roubaix RC Road
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Club: None |
| Weather Conditions: upper 60's to low 80's
Wind: slight, out of the NE becoming constant (8-10 mph) out of the E.
Mostly sunny |
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The MS Bike event for 2009 is based back at the Boone County Fairgrounds, just north of Columbia up Hwy 63, after spending the last four years at the Midway Expo center off I-70 just west of Columbia. Some of the complaints the past few years has been how hilly the routes were. Some of the hills were necessary due to where the Midway Expo sits. For whatever reason (I'm not sure exactly why), the MS Bike officials were able to move the ride back to the fairgrounds, and provide participants with much easier routes. How much easier? Well, today's route did not have any real challenging hills. I spent the whole day in my bigger chainring, and only a couple times had to stand on the pedals to get a little more muscle power to the pedals to get over the top of a hill. The flip side of that is there were no huge, fast descents either. My max speed was 31.6, where bigger hills would put me into the upper 30's or low 40's.
The weather today was mostly sunny with temps getting into the low 80's and a slight breeze out of the east.
After getting a late start riding down the road – just after 8:00 AM due to traffic getting into the fairgrounds – I started take pictures to document my day. However, I was disappointed just past the halfway point of my 100 mile ride to discover that while pulling the camera out of the pocket on the back of my jersey I had inadvertently and unknowingly turned the ‘mode’ knob on top of the camera to video. So, I have four 3-second videos – which I’m not able to post on this blog. One of the videos was of the rider wearing bib number 1 – this indicates that he was the number 1 individual fund raiser for last year's MS Bike ride, probably in the 15-$20,000 range. Another video was of a US flag waving in the wind. I had seen a few others before snapping a shot of this one, but this one was unfurled in parallel with the road I was riding – in the direction I was riding – thus indicating a tail wind. One of the favorite signs for a cyclist.
I’m glad I discovered my photography gaff before taking a picture of the sign of a buggy & "Share the road". I even doubled back to go by the sign again in order to get the picture. I hope most motorist recognize the phase that is normally below a sign showing a cyclist (like myself). I saw a few Amish buggies heading up the road in the opposite direction than me, but was not able to get a picture of one. There was also some Amish folks helping at one of the rest stops, but it was a rest stop I passed up feeling my supplies, etc. were sufficient to get me to the next rest stop (10-12 miles down the road).
I was saddened that I had to cut my ride short – not getting the full 100 miles in for the day. I was feeling great rolling up the shoulder of Route B. Then as I turned onto Brown Station Rd, I was noticing a funny sound and feel coming from my bike. I pulled to the side of the road to investigate the cause, and discovered my rear tire was warpped – not the rim from a broken spoke or such, but the rubber tire itself. Apparently a bead inside the tire broke, thus causing what looked like a bubble in the tire. As I pulled to the side of the road, a SAG van pulled up and inquired if I was OK. Upon my discovery of the cause, they offered me a lift back to the fairgrounds – just 7 miles away. I thought it wise, not risking a blowout that could lead to damaging the rim beyond repair. Upon arriving at the fairgrounds, I found one of the tents setup by one of the supporting bike shops and purchased a new tire – they even installed it for me; that was greatly appreciated.
I didn’t notice as many of them last night when I arrived at my hotel, nor this morning when I left, but quite a few of the SAG vehicles for this great event are staying at the same hotel as me!
We’ll have to see how tomorrow measures up to the bar set by today’s ride!
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