2008 MS 150 Poster

For the last two years, I have provided a poster to people who help me raise funds for the MS 150. This year's poster is shown on the right with a link to my MS 150 web page for donations. If you donate $25.00-49.99, I will send you the poster printed on 8.5" by 11" paper (80 lb.). If you donate $50.00 or more I will send you the poster printed on 11" by 17" paper (also 80 lb.). If you prefer to send a check made out to the MS Society, send me an e-mail for my address. Let me know if you need a receipt for your tax records.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, progressive, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, MS can impair mobility, sight, speech, balance, and most frequently strikes between ages 20 and 50. Approximately 200 new cases of MS are diagnosed each week in the United States. At this time there is no known cause, cure or effective treatment for multiple sclerosis. The programs provided by the Mid American Chapter include support groups, counseling, an information and research center, medical equipment loans, and funding for national research into the cause and cure for MS.

My daughter produces the posters based on classic cycling posters. This year's poster is a knock off of a Brillant Cycles poster. Posters from prior years are shown on the right at the end of the page.

Boating in the Ozarks

Yesterday morning, Doug, Tom, Rae, Neil, Charlie, Tony and I rode out to Ash Grove to have breakfast at Willy B's. In a couple of places we could have used a boat. There were nice ponds over FR 104, between FR 103 and FR 115, and over FR 94, between FR 53 and FR 61. It looks like the ponds may be there for some time, particularly if it continues to rain every other day. We had to back track a few miles to get around the ponds, but no one really cared because it was a lovely day to ride. The sun was out and the wind was minimal, which was refreshing considering the constant headwinds we seem to have had this spring.

FR 94















Posts to the blog have been sparse lately, but we have been riding. I rode the Ride of Silence on May 21. The ride started from downtown Springfield and looped through the center part of the city. There were about 15 riders.

Ride of Silence















Tom and I rode the 50-mile route of the Breast Cancer ride on June 14. I rode down from the house and crossed bridge over the Lake Springfield dam. The water on the downstream side of the dam was close to the same level as the upstream side. I rode back on the greenway trail through the nature center. There was some minor flooding on the trail, but I was able to ride through because it was shallow, standing water.

I also rode with The Pedal Group a couple times. They ride from Praise Assembly Church, on North Glenstone, at 1:30 PM on Sundays. They generally ride east to Strafford (about 21 miles round trip), but some times go on longer rides. Buck Van Hooser is the organizer. Riding from the house, it is about 32 miles.

Sheila's Place in Fair Grove

The Red Ribbon Ride was this past Saturday, but it did not start until 8:30AM and some of us needed to be back by noon. So, Rae, Doug, Tom and I rode to Fair Grove and had a late breakfast at Sheila's Place. Sheila's is on the west side of US65. just north of CC Hwy. We left Doug and Rae's at 7:00AM, and I was back home by 11:40, even though service was a little slow at Sheila's. It was about 46 miles round trip.

Downtown Fair Grove
Sign on the door says "Keep Out"















Minor adjustments after breakfast















Fellows Lake

Kansas City 400K

Eight riders left Grandview shortly after 5:00AM into a wind that was blowing out of the ESE at about five mph. The temperature was about 52 degrees. The 400K generally runs east through Lees Summit Greenwood, Lone Jack, south to Strasburg, east to Holden, Warrensburg, Sedalia, and finally southwest to Windsor, which is the turnaround.

Two riders pulled ahead and were at the Holden control (49 miles) at 8:15AM when I arrived with three other riders. Five of us left about 15 minutes later into a ESE wind that was blowing about 10 mph. I was able to hang with them for a few miles, but the last I saw of them until Windsor was when they were climbing the hill about a mile ahead of me just before the turn to the northeast on BB Hwy. I stopped at the turn to take off my jacket because the temperature had climbed a few degrees and I was working hard riding on my own.

I rolled into the Casey's in Sedalia (99 miles) at about 12:40PM for a brief stop before heading on to Windsor. The clerk told me the lead riders were about 20-30 minutes ahead. I ran into a cold hard rain storm on B Hwy about three miles north of Hwy 52. The road was pockmarked with small potholes that were almost impossible to see in the rain making for a rough ride. The rain only lasted about ten minutes. I kept expecting the lead riders to come charging towards me on their return, but they were still in Windsor (125 miles) when I arrived about 2:00PM. I had planned to eat something substantial in Windsor, but they said we could eat in Sedalia if I wanted to ride with them. I bought bottles of chocolate milk and water at the Casey's, and we headed out again. After about six miles I fell behind and that was the last I saw of them. I probably should have eaten in Windsor like I had planned because I was losing energy fast. Just north of Green Ridge, I passed the last rider heading out to Windsor. She was at least an hour behind me.

In Sedalia, I looked for the lead riders at the fast food restaurants along US 65 and finally stopped to eat at the last one at Y Hwy where I needed to turn west again. I rode into the control at Casey's about 5:45PM. The clerk told me the lead riders were about 15 minutes ahead of me and he did not think the would make Warrensburg before the cold front hit. The wind was now out of the south at about 10 mph. The temperature was about 62 degrees. I took off for Warrensburg hoping the clerk was wrong about the cold front.

I slammed into the front coming down the hill at Knob Noster at about 7:30PM. Fortunately the lightning was to the north of me. I continued to ride for about 10 minutes until I found a building with a covered porch to duck under. A couple of drivers slowed as they passed me on the road in the rain and asked if I needed a ride. Since I had not given up yet, I said no. After the rain subsided, I rode to the Casey's on Hwy 13, and the clerk told me the lead riders were about 30 minutes ahead of me. Since I was soaking wet from the storm, the west wind was picking up (20 mph with gusts up to 50 mph) and the temperature was dropping, I decided to check into a motel with the idea of getting up at 2:00AM and trying to ride in before 8:00AM. My gore-tex socks each had about a cup of water in them when I dumped them at the motel. I don't know how that much water got in them, but it wasn't leaking out.

At 2:00AM, my clothes were still damp, it was still cold (45 degrees) and the wind was still blowing out of the west (25 mph with gusts to 40 mph), so I went back to bed. I called Bob Burns, the RBA, just before 8:00AM to tell him where I was. He said he could not pick me up then, but could later in the morning. I told him I would call him about 11:00AM and let him know my status. We also laid out a shorter route that basically had me ride most of the way back to Grandview on MO 58.

I left the motel at 9:00AM. The sun was out, but the wind was out of the WNW at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. I headed west out of Warrensburg on Division Rd. It shorten the ride by several miles, but there was about a 3-mile climb up a hill to MO 58. The 4-mile ride south on MO 58 with the wind somewhat at my back made up for it. I made it to Holden a little before 11:00AM and had a pizza at the Subway before calling Bob. Bob picked me up a little after noon and drove me back. I am glad he did because there seemed to be a lot of traffic of MO58 in Raymore and Belton. Thanks Bob!

Three riders completed the brevet. Two abandoned in Lone Jack, and the rider behind me abandoned in Holden.

As I noted above, I probably should not have tried to ride back to Sedalia with the lead riders because I was pretty low on energy after riding through the storm heading into Windsor. I also should have ridden into Knob Noster and found shelter before the front hit. If I had been dry, I might have been able to continue on. I thought about waiting for the woman rider behind me when I was in Warrensburg, but I had no idea if she was still riding. Also, I could miss her in the dark if she rode by quickly and I was not paying attention. Each ride teaches me something to use the next time similar situations occur.

Riding east at dawn towards Holden















Casey's in Holden, MO















Antique car on road to Sedalia















Windsor, MO















Division Road looking east to Warrensburg

Dogwood Metric Century

This annual Springbike Bicycle Club ride is always held on the first weekend in May. This year and last, the ride has been on a new route starting in Republic on Saturday. The old route started in Sparta on Sunday and was much more challenging. The route was changed because of the increased traffic on the roads.

This year saw a good turn out even though the day started cold, cloudy and windy. Although there was some sprinkles on the drive to Republic, it never rained on the ride. The wind was another issue. It blew out of the west to northwest at 12 to 18 mph the entire ride. The route generally goes southwest to Billings, west to Aurora, northwest to Mt. Vernon, east to Billings and then back to Republic. So the wind gave us a great push on the return. There were rest stops in each of the communities.

I met Doug and Tom at the sign-in at 7:00AM, and we started a little early because we were cold. I rode my new commuter/shopping bike since the ride is short and relatively flat. The bike worked great considering it is set up for short commutes and shopping. I had a little problem with the shifting, but that was fixed after I adjusted the cable, which had stretched, at the rest stop in Mt. Vernon. I also tightened up the chain. I rode with MKS sneaker pedals and Keen-type sandals, rather than my normal crank pedals and Shimano-cleated sandals. The MKS pedals and the sandals have plenty of grip, and I had no problems with slipping. The lack of different positions on the albatross handle bar was uncomfortable after about 30 miles. I would not want to ride more than 100K with this handle bar setup.

We were back in Republic at 12:30PM for the cookout. Thanks to Bill Hill and everyone else involved in organizing and supporting the ride!

New Commuter/Shopping Bike

Last night, I finished building up a new commuter/shopping bike on a steel Fuji Sagres frame that I used for my first randonneuring bike when I bought the frame about four years ago from Queen City Cycles. I replaced the Fuji with a new Rivendell Canti-Rom three years ago. I don't know the age of the Fuji frame.

I stripped the paint from the frame and had it powdercoated clear. Rather than a crystal-clear coat, it came out a soft steel gray with tan highlights where solder is exposed. The highlights are visible on the fork in the image of the head tube. I had put Boeshield in the frame when I first built it up for randonneuring, and the Boeshield may have had an effect on the powdercoat when it was heated.

The drive train is a Shimano 105 crank driving a Shimano Nexus 8-speed red band hub. The shifting on the hub is quite smooth, although the jump between the gears seems greater than my normal 7-speed freewheel.

The Nitto Abatross bar has shellacked cork grips. I put a Pletscher rack and a large Wald basket on the rear for shopping trips. The headlight is a Cateye EL-300 for those winter-evening commutes. I live less than a mile from work, so my commute is pretty quick and I can wear my work clothes. With the more upright riding position than my former commuter bike with drop bars, I will really be styling in my sports coat and tie.

300K in Edwardsville, IL (St. Louis)

I drove up to Edwardsville on Friday evening. Actually, I stopped at Granite City, IL, where I camped at the KOA. The radio said a front would be moving through soon, so I located a tent site and went to dinner at Ravanelli's. The front had still not come through when I finished dinner, but it looked like it would start pouring any minute and there was some lightning. I stopped at K-Mart for a gallon of water and sat inside the store for about 15 minutes until the front finally passed. By the time I got back to the KOA, the rain had stopped and I set up my tent. It rained some more during the night, but when the alarm went off at 5:00AM the sky was clear, the tent was dry and it was definitely cooler.

I was at the start in Edwardsville about 6:05AM. John Jost, the RBA, and one other rider were there. There were about 14 riders at the 7:00AM start. Five or six were riding a 200K. I left with the first riders that were all riding the 300k. I hung with them as we headed east through town and along the Quercus Grove Bicycle Trail, but as soon as we hit the first farm road (Fruit Road), they stepped it up and pulled away. With a 10 mph wind out of the west and the flat terrain, I was able to speed along at 20+ mph, but the lead group kept increasing the gap.

I stopped in Pocahontas (16 miles) for a bottle of water to mix more chocolate Spiz and to remove some clothing. On this ride, I rotated through bottles of Spiz, HEED and Perpetuem. On future rides, I am going to drop the Perpetuem. I have a hard time getting it down late in the ride. When I made the turn south at 8:43AM in Stubblefield (30 miles), I was averaging 19.3 mph! Too bad I could not maintain it. At the first control in Breese (51 miles) after riding generally south, my average was down to 18 mph.

There are not many picture opportunities because most of the route passes through farm fields. There has been a lot of rain in the area, and the route had to be revised because one of the roads had been under water for several weeks. At Queen's Lake, there were a number of houses on stilts that were surrounded by water. The last two years I rode that segment, the houses were high and dry. I am not sure how the septic systems work in the wet conditions. I hit one of the expansion joints on a bridge at about 15 mph and my camera popped out of the Bento Box. It hit the deck and a car almost ran over it, but the camera continued to worked.

At the 3rd control in Okawville, after riding mostly west and south, my average was down to 17 mph. The next 15 miles out of Okawville were due east, so I had a good push from the wind that was up to 13-15 mph. That was the last segment to the east, but about the time I turned south, the west wind slowly began to decrease.

The 4th control was in Oakdale (121 miles), home of the Easter Eggstravaganza. As I was heading into town, one of the other riders was coming back towards me. I was passing a small c-store and I stopped in the parking lot.The rider told me it was the control. I used the restroom and bought some water and a V-8. When I asked the clerk to sign my card, she said we had the wrong place. So we rode up the road to the actual control.

The other rider pulled away a few miles outside of Oakdale. He was in a hurry to get back because he did not have any reflective gear. I stopped again in New Baden (151 miles) for water and V-8. I finished off a bag of potato chips I bought in Okawville. I was feeling sleepy, so I also popped a caffeine pill. My final stop was in St. Jacob (166 miles) for water and to put on reflective gear. I pulled into the final control at 9:22PM. The fast group was back 2.5 hours earlier. I spent the night again in Granite City; this time in a motel.