Fulfillment

The plan I set in motion in spring when I decided to commit to a lofty goal has reached its conclusion. I finished with extra distance the Missouri MS 150, meanwhile raising more than the average $500 in sponsorships. Thanks to good weather (sunny but highs below 85 F), but no thanks to wind, I’m less spent than after the Tour de Cure, despite two days in a row.

I don’t mean to imply that I’m not worn out. Last night, my everything hurt. This morning, my moving parts and those exposed to sunshine were still sore, and I joined most of my teammates in declaring that one century was enough for a weekend. Hubris, though, had the best of me, and I had all those sponsors to impress, so off to the second century loop it was. Not very many riders attempted the longer path today, so there were no riders fast enough to draft when the headwinds became vicious, nor around to hear me cursing the winds aloud.

One teammate had to SAG back today, but by riding the century yesterday got his 150 miles in first. Another ended up on the disabled list before we even began. Yet another had to SAG yesterday (he was getting dehydration cramps) but was fine today. No one suffered any serious injuries or equipment failures.

Notes:

Although not the worse I’ve encountered, pavement conditions were pretty bad, particularly on the century routes (which were the only overlap between the two days). I think I need a bike with caterpillar tread.

Team Renaissance (now Team Sirius) had the best pace lines. I swear half the fast riders at the event had that green jersey.

The volunteers were inspiring in their dedication (and number: 400 of them), as was the rider who had “thank you! I have MS” written on her number bib.

day 1 metrics: distance: 105 mi average: 17.3 mph max: 39.4 mph

day 2 metrics: distance: 95 mi average: 17.1 mph max: 35.0 mph