The Pie is the Prize

On Saturday, John Dilsaver and I were back out on the Mother Road (Route 66) riding west to Golden City for pie at Cooky's. Actually, only about 11 miles of the Route 66 & Cooky's Pie 206K permanent are on old Route 66. We headed out about 5AM with a slight south wind. Since I set up the route in 2007, Springfield built a new airport terminal and the route goes right by the entrance at a new roundabout. I was concerned about the amount of airport traffic we might encounter, but there was no problem that early in the morning, and the afternoon traffic was not bad either.

We were not really pushing the pace, and we made it to the first control in Miller (37.5 miles, 1,910 feet of total climb) just before 8AM. With the wind at our back most of the way, we reached Golden City (64.4 miles, 2,820 feet of total climb) just before 10AM, and Cooky's was still serving breakfast. Cooky's is a popular stop for riders on the Trans-American bike route, but the 10 or so riders eating breakfast this time were all from Mt. Vernon, about 35 miles southeast of Golden City.

We left Cooky's about 11AM. The south wind had picked up (23 mph with gusts to 28 mph), and it seemed a lot warmer. The wind hammered us on the south legs back to Miller (5,520 feet of total climb). The same clerk who had validated our permanent cards was still there. She told John that the Mt. Vernon group had come through earlier, but they did not have cards. We wondered if she had asked for their cards, and we invented stories we should have told her like: only card-carrying cyclists are real cyclists; or that we were on release for good behavior from the Green County jail, but the ankle bracelets did not transmit that far, so we needed to document where we had been.

The route is pretty much east-west after Miller, but we were both pretty tired from fighting the headwinds. Fortunately, we had good cloud cover from M Highway (98 miles) on into Springfield, so the temperature did not continue to climb. At about M Highway, I also began to get extremely sleepy. I finally stopped to take a caffeine pill, which began to kick in about the time we stopped at a church in Elwood (9 miles from the finish) to fill our water bottles. We made it back into Springfield shortly after 5PM (5,250 feet of total climb). John and I were both surprised there is that much climbing in comparison to the Munger Moss Route 66 200K we rode July 31, but there are some good hills on the east half of this route.

Golden City














John's half-eaten blueberry pie














My Dutch apple pie














New Roundabout at the Springfield Regional Airport entrance

Riding the Mother Road

I took off from work on Friday so I could ride the Munger Moss Route 66 200K permanent with John Dilsaver. This was the first time the permanent had been ridden. The route follows old Route 66 from Strafford, MO, east to the Oasis Truck Stop near Richland, MO. It was a great day to ride. The skies were clear, there was little wind and the maximum temperature was only 79 degrees. We took our time along the route and stopped often to take pictures. There are still a number of landmarks from the halcyon days of Route 66. The Munger Moss Motel, in Lebanon, is still in operation. I had hoped to have lunch at Wrink's Market on the return, but it is closed "until further notice". Wrink's was a fixture on the Road since June 10, 1950, when it opened. It closed March 16, 2005, when longtime operator, Glenn Wrinkle, died. Terry Wrinkle, Glenn's son, re-opened the store in July 2007, but apparently was not able to make a go of it.

For the most part, there was not much traffic along the route except on the return in Lebanon and on CC highway between Conway and Marshfield. I was concerned about the route through Lebanon because the road is being expanded to 4 lanes. There was no construction on Friday, but there are still a couple of 2-lane sections were we backed up traffic. There were quite a few trucks westbound on CC, which may have been an indication of traffic problems on I-44. As expected in the Ozarks, we were also chased by a couple of dogs.

On the ride out, we talked to a couple of old timers at Hannah's General Store, which is the control in Conway. They were back there for lunch when we stopped again, and they would not believe we had ridden to Richland and back so quickly until I showed them the receipt from the Oasis Truck Stop.

Tom Barnett loaned me his altimeter for the ride, and the total amount of climbing was 6,920 feet. The climb was about 3,190 feet outbound and 3,730 feet inbound. Most of the route is rolling hills, but there a few good hills westbound into Lebanon, Marshfield and Northview. I really enjoyed the route because of the scenery and the variation of small town and rural riding.

John in front of the route's namesake



















Me coming off the Gasconade River bridge
(a triple truss)














Home-made pie and fried chicken are long gone














Wrink's is closed again














Upper reaches of the Niangua River














John climbing the Northview hill on OO Highway,
the last climb of the day

June & July Ride Roundup

Rode a lot of miles in June and went on vacation for 2 weeks in July, so I had little time to work on the Blog.

Nixa St. John's Clinic Ride on June 6

Tom and I rode the 70-mile route out to Aurora and back. It was a pretty challenging ride. Fortunately, we had a tailwind for the big hills on the way back. The ride was free and the support was great!

Tom Leaving a Rest Stop














Edwardsville, IL, 600K on June 13
I went up to Edwardsville with Judy, and we stayed at a motel close enough to the start so I could ride over while she slept in. The ride went pretty well until after we left Belle Rive. I became extremely sleepy and began taking some caffeine pills to stay awake. I was riding with John Jost, Dennis Smith and Scott Thompson, but I could not keep up with them as we left Thompsonville. I caught up with them just as they were about to leave Creal Springs. They waited while I bought a bottle of chocolate milk. We rode six miles of big hills to the bike path that would take us to Vienna. It was almost dark as we started down the bike path, and it seemed like it took forever to ride the 15 miles of gravel trail sprinkled with twigs. I stopped a couple of times to get a drink because it was too difficult to try to drink while riding. I was exhausted when I pulled into the motel about 10:00PM, and went to bed after a shower and part of a salad from MacDonald's. Unfortunately, I had stopped taking electrolyte tablets on the trail, and I woke up with severe cramps. I took a couple tablets and went back to sleep. When the alarm went off at 2:00AM, I turned it off and laid there with the intent of getting up, but I went back to sleep. Judy woke me up again at 2:30AM, and I went down to the motel lobby, where John, Dennis and Scott were ready to go. I told them, I just didn't have it in me to go on, and I went back to bed. I think the problem was that I had not gotten enough sleep going into the ride. For a variety of reasons, I only got about 5-6 hours of sleep the three nights before the ride.

John Jost giving instructions at the 4:00AM start














Dennis Smith and John outside Breese














Dennis and me on the Loafers Bench near Bluford














Scott Thompson, Dennis and John at Wilkey's Cafe in Belle Rive














Edwardsville, IL, 600K on June 27
I went back up to Edwardsville to try the 600K again. I made sure I had plenty of rest, but no other riders showed up because of the predicted high temperatures, so I just rode a 106 miles with John Jost, the RBA, and headed home. I tried using Sustained Energy to keep me going and it was working pretty well until about the last 30 miles when I began to feel bloated. I ate a sandwich when we stopped in New Baden, so that may have contributed. I have tried Spiz and Perpetuem in the past, and I always became sick to my stomach after a few bottles. I am going to try a lower concentration of Sustained Energy, and if that does not work, go back to solid food and chocolate milk, which worked well for the 210 miles of the earlier 600K I rode.

I spent Friday night at The Innkeeper Motel in
Hamlin, IL, and even the motel had a garden.














MS Pancake Ride on July 25
Tom and I rode the 52-mile route. I rode 12 miles to the start in Battlefield. It looked like a rain cell was moving in, so Tom and I left about 15 minutes before the ride was suppose to start. It started raining, with some lightning, shortly after we left, and we were some of the first riders to arrive at the pancake breakfast in Republic (10 miles). One of the staff told us that they had held up the riders at the start because of the weather and told the riders they could drive to the breakfast if they preferred. We continued on as more people started showing up in cars and on bikes. It pretty much stopped raining after the third rest stop, and we saw very few riders along the route. It appears most riders either did not ride or they rode the 30-mile route. We made it back to Battlefield about 10:30AM. I got a free massage and chiropractic adjustment, before riding the 12 miles home. Unfortunately, it started raining again couple miles from the house.

Tokyo's Robotic Bike Parking

Not something we will see in Springfield anytime soon, but it is a cool idea. To deal with overflowing bike garages, the Tokyo subway system has spent $67 million on an underground bike garage managed and operated by a robot. With the swipe of a card, robotic arms grab bikes and place them in a spot underground. At the end of the day, the robot retrieves bikes in a matter of seconds.

The high-tech service is $18 a month for any of the 700,000 or so Japanese transit riders who bike to train stations daily. No need for locks or worries.

The robot garages are nearly full every day and neighborhood biking has spiked 20 percent since they were installed.

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.