Event Search

Type:

Sport:

State*

Keyword:

BikeMO Fall Foliage Extravaganza Century Ride

Very interesting ride - definitely one to do again. Air temperature was in the low 50's when we started at 9:00 am, about 80 when we finished. Bright and sunny the entire day.

I got caught up in the traffic at the very beginning, so the Oz Cycle Boys dropped me very quickly. No problem, I was planning to make this a 'fun' ride and had no interest in trying to 'race' the course. I did a 22 mile run on Friday, so, legs were somewhat tired. Did this for primarily for fun and base building.

I messed up with my Garmin and did not get accurate data for the first 38 miles. For the final 62 miles, I showed 4,762 feet of climbing.....

At about mile 32, stopped to assist another cyclist who was doing the Century Route on a MTB and had dropped her chain and got it caught between the sprocket and bottom bracket. There were about five of us working the bike when we decided she had better call for a SAG wagon.

Stopped at mile 38 to have lunch - a little early, 11:30, but the place was so cute, and we had been warned that it would be another 22 miles before the next real stop.

Tagged up with a young couple from Columbia wearing CMC jerseys thinking they would be good to ride with. Turns out, they were very much in the novice category and their pace was a little too slow. So, struck out on my own again.

Beautiful day, great scenery, but strong winds from the southwest. The final 35 miles were all riding west and south - so, combined with the hills, it was slower travel.

Overall, very glad I did the ride, although a much longer day than I expected. The reality is, I've not ridden much in the past 2-3 weeks, so to go out and ride 100 was pretty encouraging. It was a great ride and gave me an opportunity to learn my new Trek Madone. I bought this bike a touch on the small size, 52cm, and my first reaction has been that it may too small. However, after riding it 100 miles straight, and being able to come out of the saddle easily to climb hills, etc., I'm pretty happy with the bike. Plan to get a good Retul bike fitting on this bike next February, no particular reason to spend the money this late in the season.

It is a good ride, generally with little vehicular traffic. SAG stops with water, gatorade, fruit and snacks about every 10 miles or so. The route could be better marked, but, I'll have it in my GPS for next year so there won't be a problem. It is also a good fund raiser for the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Foundation, which I think we can all agree has been doing a fantastic job with their state wide efforts to improve biking. Oh, and did I mention the free piece of Pumpkin pie when you finish?

Map of the ride

Thanks to Denny Gillen for this fabulous recap!

Race, ride, run reviews are always welcome for this site. E-mail sally@sbrstl.com.