Who put my bike in the ladies rest room?

Waiting for the all clear signal

The parking lot

Catching a few zzz’s pre ride

is tuckered

Help everyone,

Hope that everyone had a great weekend and is off to a productive new week. Monday was always my favorite day of the week. I think that I picked it partially because no one else did. Now that I am partially retired, I understand that many retired folks like Monday since they get to use a lot of things (like parks – without too   much crowding).

We woke up to thunderstorms and showers this morning. Our start was delayed by over 3 hours (depending on which group you were in). I have quite  few photos of folks lounging in the hotel and even a few catching a few zzz’s and i will try to post them. When you have to ride over a century and you get a late start, it makes for a long day.

I started and stayed for a long time with some of the riders who like to take their time. A couple of them can really hammer when the spirit moves them but they prefer the camaraderie of the group and like to smell the flowers along the way. We started out in full rain gear but start dot peel that off quickly because of the muggy rather and lack of rain at that point. In fact we didn’t see rain all day but it was overcast the whole time. At one point when I was riding with Cindi and Julie, a large dog (looked like a full-sized schnauzer) drew a bed on the ladies and came out charging from nowhere. I was a little behind them and shouted “NO – BAD DOG” and angled my bike directly in his path. Between me and a car driver (who ran off the road to avoid terminating the pooch), the doggie was persuaded to go back to his yard. I am sure he was humbled but waiting to test his grit on the next cyclist to come along.

There was quite a bit of climbing and descents in the first 2/3 of the ride today and the saddle sores kept flaring up on me. I felt like getting a ride on multiple occasions but persisted. At times it was really tough to keep up with the “smell the flowers” group and I wasn’t smelling any flowers but there were several fragrant pig farms. As usual Carol and Robin outdid themselves at the SAGs with new mouthwatering concoctions and snacks. On the really bad days, they make a huge difference with their friendly smiles and kind words. THANK YOU LADIES.

I should also mention that the cookies that Lisa brought up were a big hit with the group.  gave them to Carol to give out at the SAGs and they were all gone before we left the hotel this am. Lisa did you or Ally bake those? Many, many thanks from the group and myself. Yummy!!!

The second and last SAG was at DQ and for some odd reason, I started to feel better. I ate some snacks and the roads flattened and we had no wind in the face (can’t use the “T” word) and left the second SAG by myself. Most of the group went into DQ, but I just wanted to get it over and went on alone. Without a need to move around in the saddle, the sores didn’t bother me as much and I was able to hammer the last 40 miles at a pretty good clip. The ride in was uneventful but it was enjoyable seeing all the farms and fields with various crops such as corn and beans. No more dogs but a lot of horses and cattle along the route.

I hit quite a few stoplights coming into Springfield but our well laid out route tales us through the lesser traveled areas. Sometimes Tom or Tracey point out that we should look for mansions or various buildings along the ride but non today. There were a lot of cool mansions on our ride through Quincy yesterday that I neglected to mention.

With the late start, I got into the hotel around  and that is the latest so far. Most of the riders had not checked in yet but a few came in a little earlier. Was able to do some laundry and went to pick up some food from Panera. Most of the group went to Red Lobster but I wanted to take a nap and soak in the tub – ahhhh.

Tomorrow si something over 80 miles and then we get a day of rest.

Tailwinds

Chuck