Hi people! Remember me? I haven't blogged in forever! Sorry!
We are currently in Sedalia, MO.. We had a 60 mile day today and it was a great ride on Highway 50! We were supposed to ride the Katy Trail today, but the crushed limestone path added 20 miles to our route. We have our first century ride tomorrow so everyone voted to take highway 50. This morning we were all pretty tired and I tried to ride with the fast group of riders. I fell behind with Suzanne(who was also tired) and we rode a slow pace until lunch. Boss Brian was driving the van today and parked across the street from a Subway so I got good energy through a 5 dollar foot long. After lunch I was going to ride with John and Kate (not plus 8) but my seat bag broke so I told them to go on. I made it my goal to catch them when I took off 10 mins later. I cranked up to my highest chain and maintained a speed of 20 mph all afternoon. It took me 12 miles to catch up to John and Kate and pass them. I got to Sedalia in an hour and a half (a 30 mile ride) and the fastest group went to TB (Taco Bell) so I was the first one to the church. The church fed us a really good meal to set us up for a 100 mile day tomorrow.
Yesterday we rode from Washington, MO to Jefferson City, MO. This was our second day on the Katy Trail and it was a great day of riding. Our ride on the Katy Trail was really nice and the weather was perfect for the first 30 miles. The Katy Trail is an old railroad that they took out to make a cycling/pedestrian path. It was a great change of pace from the highways because we could ride in a big group and talk the whole time. We got to around mile 30 when we saw Boss Brian and Tony (a CUS 08 alumni) getting ready to jump in a creek - Massie Creek. The water looked muddy but I am always up for a swim on the road. We ended up testing the water and jumping from the top of the bridge (around 30 feet) into the creek. It was safe.. the water was deep enough. (No worries mom!). After I had spent 2 hours at the creek bridge jumping with just about every rider on the trip, we rode on to lunch. We had lunch at a family farm that was 2 miles off of the Katy Trail. The family saw the van sitting on the road and invited us out to their home to swim and hang out. They had a really nice lake and we all got to hang out and swim. After lunch I rode with Emily the rest of the day. We talked to some passerbys and heard about some nudist cyclists on the trail and were glad that we didn't run into them. The trail was really long and seemed like it would never end. The trail is made of crushed limestone and our road bike tires were not the best for the terrian. It seemed like we worked extremely hard just to ride 13-15 mph. In the end, we made it to Jeff City at 6:30 and BBQ sandwiches were provided by Steve's family. It was really really good. They also had Head Country BBQ sauce, which made me extremely happy! It was a total 81 mile day. Mark also fell and sprained his wrist today.. so he'll most likely be out for a few days to heal. I hope he can get back in the saddle soon because he's lots of fun to ride with.
I wish I remembered more important events from the last week and a half.. but since the days blend together.. I will give you the important things that happened.
I had my first wreck about a week ago.. I don't remember where we were going when it happened. We were riding in heavy traffic and were pretty close to the host location. I was with Justin and Julie going 20 when I slid off the road into a gravel shoulder. I tried to get back on the road but ended up going head over handlebars and rolling down the road. I remember looking up and hearing Julie yell "B-MONEY!" and her front tire was about 3 feet away from my face. I sat up, she swurved around me and I scooted myself into the shoulder and dragged my bike behind me. As I sat there gaining my composure, Julie ran up to me gave me a big hug and said "B-Money, I almost killed you! You're alive!" Justin and Julie both made sure I was okay and all the cars had stopped to check on me. I waved the cars on, stood up, and barely had a scratch on me. I was lucky, but I'm glad to have my first fall out of the way. My bike took a little damage, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.
Sorry again about the lack of blogging, but I will make a point to blog at least every other day! Thanks for reading!
100 mile ride tomorrow and Kansas City!!!
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Yeah you should definitely blog more since that is the only way I get to hear what you're doing on your trip, sir!
ReplyDeleteWhat does the "century ride" mean? I wish you were able to ride with John and Kate Plus 8 cause that'd be pretty exciting! I saw the pictures of you guys jumping into that creek. That looked like a blast! I know that you were actually part of those nudist cyclists...don't try to deny it! I guess everyone on the trip has a wreck at some point during the trip, huh? I'm glad yours wasn't too bad! I'm sure it was pretty scary as it was happening though. I'm glad you're okay though and your friend, Julie, didn't run over you. I think there would've been more damage to her bike than to you, haha.
Miss ya! See ya in a few days!! : )