Springfield, MO, Ride of Silence

Twelve cyclists rode the 13-mile route through central Springfield. Dave Christiano, the ride leader, read the Ride of Silence... poem prior to the ride. Coy Hart provided SAG, which fortunately was not needed.

The Ride of Silence...

Tonight we number many but ride as one
In honor of those not with us, friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, sons
With helmets on tight and heads down low,
We ride in silence, cautious and slow
The wheels start spinning in the lead pack
But tonight we ride and no one attacks
The dark sunglasses cover our tears
Remembering those we held so dear
Tonight's ride is to make others aware
The road is there for all to share
To those not with us or by our side,
May God be your partner on your final ride

- Mike Murgas

Edwardsville, IL, 400K Brevet

The 400K was this past weekend. I almost had as much trouble getting to the ride as I had completing it. I was set to head out of Springfield about noon when I stopped to fill the tank of my truck. I pulled up to the pump, put my foot on the brake and turned off the key. The brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I started the motor and pumped the pedal a couple times, but it would not come back up. I got out of the truck, and there was brake fluid splattered on the front left tire. Fortunately, the gas station is also where I get my truck serviced. It turned out that the front brake line had rusted through. They put a mechanic to work on it right after he returned from lunch, and I was able to get on the road a little after 4:00 PM. The drive was uneventful until I slammed into the back of a storm front just after I crossed the Mississippi River east of downtown St. Louis. It was a deluge, and I got in a line of cars in the right lane of the interstate that was doing about 40 mph. I could see pretty well at that speed except when a truck would roar by in the right lane at 65 mph. I finally got to Hamel, IL, a little after 8:00 PM, and checked into The Innkeeper Motel.

I asked for a 3:30 AM wake-up call, which never came, but I also had my alarm set, which did go off. I got to the ride start in Edwardsville about 4:30 AM for the 5:00 AM start. There were about a dozen riders with about 10 riding the 400K. There were also 200K and 300K events starting at the same time. The 400K route is basically a figure eight (Map).

The weather was great at the start: about 67 degrees and a west wind at about 5 miles an hour. The favorable wind helped us get to the first control in Breese (51 miles, marker 21) about 8:20 AM. By that time, the wind had shifted to the WNW and picked up to about 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph. We had to ride through some water in a low area just southwest of Breese. I was riding with John Jost, the RBA, and his tire began to get a little soft about halfway to the next control in Okawville. We stopped a few times to pump it up, and he changed the tube in Okawville (78 miles, marker 33).

We next took a short break at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cemetery where we viewed the cyclist's grave stone. We stopped in Pinckneyville (marker 52) for lunch at Subway. Two other riders stopped and told us that they had been chased by a dog that was unfortunately hit by a car and killed.

We enjoyed the tailwind until a few miles east of the control in Ava (150 miles, marker 58) when we began heading west again. This part of the ride also had the steepest hills. We reached Sparta (177 miles, marker 63) around 7:30 PM. I forget the exact time, but we turned on our lights less than an hour later.

At sunset, the north wind dropped off to about 5 mph, and the temperature also began to fall. We passed a bank sign that displayed 45 degrees. We made one last stop in New Baden (216 miles) to get some hot chocolate and warm up a bit. We ended up staying about an hour. I was cold as soon as we started riding again. The temperature was about 49 degrees, but the dew point was about 39 degrees, so it seemed colder. Part of the problem was that I forgot my cycling cap, so the cold wind was blowing through the vents of my helmet. Fortunately, I did have a wool sweat band to cover my ears. If I had been thinking more clearly, I would have put a couple of paper towels in my helmet before we left the c-store.

We pulled into the final control in Edwardsville at 3:01 AM. After checking in, I loaded the bike in the back of the truck, climbed in the cab with a blanket and slept about four hours before driving home.

At the start














Breese control














That was not here last weekend














The RBA always goes first














RBAs get flats too














Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cemetery














The cyclist's grave stone

Stand By Me

No bike content, but a cool video.

300K Brevet Postscript

The two riders, Jason Feltrope and Dan Pfaff, abandoned the brevet after they ran into a major storm with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. They were just past the bridge replacement project, about 110 miles into the ride. They took shelter at the home of a couple who provided an MS150 rest stop a few years ago. When it became apparent the storm was not going to letup any time soon, they got a ride home. When I was riding into Pierce City, I saw the storm move in behind me. I was hoping at the time that they were further along.

Doug Nickell provided the following pictures of the finishers. Thanks again to Doug, Rae and Tom for helping out at the finish.

Nancy Myers














Tom Barnett & Mike Myers














Rae Nickell keeping me dry

Springfield, MO, 300K Brevet

The 2009 Springfield brevets successfully concluded this Saturday. I would not have been surprised if no one showed to ride the 300K because the forecast was for an 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms, but we had 5 riders. One rider was there when I pulled into the parking lot of York Elementary School at 5:00. We left at 6:00 with a few sprinkles and a favoring southeast wind. While the forecast was accurate as the day progressed, fortunately it did not rain everywhere at the same time. I rode off and on with Nancy and Mike Myers for the first 100 miles, and we did not hit our first good rain until we were about 10 miles outside of Jasper, MO, the second control. At the Jasper control, Nancy left half a sandwich on the seat of their tandem, and a dog took off with it.

We were at the Joplin control, just short of 100 miles, at 11:15, but then we turned into the wind for the 90 miles back to Springfield. I was able to stay with the Myers for a few miles out of town because there were some hills. We ran into an unexpected obstacle: a small bridge replacement project. We walked around it, and then the Myers were off across the flat lands. The last time I saw them was when I rode into Pierce City, about 16:30, as they were riding away. It started to rain again while I was at the control, but it was short lived. I made it to the Casey's in Aurora well before dark, which had been my main goal because I know the farm roads east of there.

I was about 13 miles out when a cold rain started to fall. I only had a cotton jacket and fingerless gloves, but I was also wearing a short-sleeve wool jersey. While my arms and hands were cold, my core stayed warm. I pulled into the final control at 22:20 where I was greeted by my friends and fellow cyclists Rae and Doug Nickell and Tom Barnett. They were also there to greet the Myers who arrived at 21:10. The other two riders did not finish.

Again, thanks to John Jost, the St. Louis RBA, for letting me to hold the 200K and 300K brevets in Springfield this year.

Nancy & Mike Myers on Historic Route 66














Alba, MO, at 85 miles out














This will stop cars, but














Not randonneurs!

Ozark Greenways Fundraiser

The OGI fundraiser was held Thursday evening at Lindberg's on Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri. Blue Plate Special and Revolver provided the music. The music was great, and the crowd was big with a number of cyclists and local celebrities.

Blue Plate Special played the first set, including their signature song: Dead Armadillo.














Terry Whaley, OGI Executive Director, and Tim Conklin, Ozarks Transportation Organization Executive Director.














Bruce Adib-Yazdi , local architect and Springbike Advocacy Committee Chair, with Susie Farbin and Diana Hicks, owners of Mama Jean's Natural Food Market.














Terry Whaley with Springfield Councilwoman and Commercial Street resident Mary Collette.














Loring Bullard, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks Executive Director, and Paul Parker, Commercial Street resident.














Valerie Griffin, St. John's Cycling Team Captain, and Coy Hart, cyclist extraordinaire and LAB instructor.














Revolver finished the evening playing the second set.

Springfield, MO, 200K Brevet

The Springfield 200K brevet was held Sunday, March 29, through the St. Louis region. Saturday was a real nail biter as a major storm pushed through dropping over an inch of rain. It began to taper off in the afternoon as predicted, but the Weather Service was still calling for snow ending around 1:00AM. I drove part of the route during the early afternoon to check for flooding. All of the streams were well within their banks, so I decided we would ride. John Jost, the St. Louis RBA, had decided Friday that he was not going to come down because of the weather, but he called Saturday afternoon and decided to risk it after we discussed the forecast. As the night progressed, the storm began to swirl back to the east, but fortunately, the whole system also moved to the northeast, and we only got a sprinkling of snow.

Seven other local riders showed up to start the brevet at a cold 32 degrees with a 12mph wind out of the WNW. The brave souls were: Bill Burton, Roy Chapman, Bill Hill, Dave Julian, Dan Pfaff, Dave Ritchey and Dave Schlink. This was the first brevet for all of them except Bill Hill.

There was some frost on the roads as we started out, which made for some exciting down hills, but nobody crashed. As the day started perfectly clear, the ice soon burned off. It was a little slow going because of the headwind, and we all made it to the first control in Miller a little slower than we usually ride the permanent that generally follows the same route. The route flattens out quite a bit after Miller, so we were able to pick up the pace. We all arrived in Golden City within about a 15-minute span and met at Cooky's for lunch. Cooky's is a favorite stop on the TransAmerica Trail. They have good home cooking and about 30 varieties of homemade pie.

John and I did not have a full lunch and took off first. About 10 miles out of Golden City, we passed a fully-load cyclist heading west. I was surprised to see someone touring this early in the year, and wondered why he was not on the TransAmerica Trail, which comes into Golden City further north. As he passed, he yelled that he was from St. Louis. He was also in short sleeves, while we still had our jackets on. He must build up a lot more heat pushing those full panniers. The temperature did get up to 54 degrees in the late afternoon.

John and I were not much faster on the ride back even with the tailwind, but we also made an extra stop at Hood's Truck Stop on I-44. We were expecting some of the other faster riders to catch us. They started coming in about five minutes after we arrived at the finish.

All nine riders completed the brevet in just over 11.5 hours. Dave Ritchey came in last because he had a flat about 1/2 mile from the end and decided to walk in. I believe he had the only flat. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the brevet, and several began to make plans for the 300K on April 18 (details here), asking about lighting and reflective gear. The only downside of the ride was the number of dogs that chased us. Fortunately, a really vicious-looking pit bull was well chained in his yard, but that didn't stop him, or her, from trying to make a run at us.

Special thanks to John Jost for allowing us to setup the brevets here in Springfield. Hopefully, we have been able to introduce some new riders to the sport of Randonneuring.

Riding out through the snow














Stretching at the Miller Control














Lunch stop at Cooky's in Golden City