KATY TRAIL

"Wettest-Chilliest 100 so far"

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It's 4am the morning after our 6th Century and I'm bright-eyed and can't wait to recap all the nitty- gritty details of the 11 hour day accomplishing this goal while it's still fresh in my mind. Every year brings its own unique stories. That's what's so cool about this monumental event.

 

PICKING THE DAY: I really pulled a squirrel on the girls this year. The plan have been for weeks to ride the following week. When I saw the weather change to 20mph gust and hotter day, I did a 180 and threw out the 100 for 3 days later on a Friday. Which is never an option because of crowds at restaurants. But my hand was forced with a pending vacation and options closing in.  Believe it or not, everyone was able to make this last minute date change except one.

 

SO IT BEGINS: 14 "coffeed up" in their neon jackets with temps under 50 ready to roll and do this thing.  It's dark when we meet but by the time we roll out the sun is just rising. My husband surprised me showing up to see us off. He would come back later with Ted and the two of them rode the last 17 with us. Giving Mark his first official ride with the Chicks kicking off retirement around the corner. The first leg to the Bridgeton Levee was so refreshingly easy after the hot 30 mile boot camp and Pitman climb we stupidly did only 2 day before. Which actually it just made this feel so easy. From here, we headed up the Katy to visit Mary at Portage De Souix for our first break at 25 miles. Everyone dressed for 70 degrees, figuring we could suck it up the first hour until it warmed up.

Guess what? It never warmed up. In fact it got cloudier, colder and windier. What was happening? Why did it look like the skies were going to open any minute. My radar at 5:30am showed nothing in sight. In fear I pulled up my radar only to see this wall of rain right in our path. The girls insisted on staying the course. We get - what we get at this point. It wasn't too bad we got drizzled on for over an hour. But seriously. When was it going to warm up? Everyone had numb toes,  numb fingers, no neck muffler or ear muffs. I felt like such a rookie. I've done this 6 times and yet I still don't know what to wear.

 

THE FALL:  Unfortunately this too was a first on our Century.  You know what happens when light rain mixes with pavement oil. Something similar to black ice. Poor Cindy was the sacrificial lamb on a turn where road bike wheels met a hidden oil slick. I can honestly say if it hadn't been her it would have been one of us. The result "chick down"...and I mean really down. Of course, she popped right up and so did the mother of all 'goose eggs' on her forehead. Although in a helmet this accident had it's own plan. Christy jumped into nurse mode whipping out an ice pack. What now? We were worried about her and she was worried our schedule. She called her hubby to the rescue but it would be 30+ minutes.  No way are we leaving a chick  roadside alone with a certain concussion. Diane, her dear friend,  jumped in and insisted she would be the one to stay back. She had completed the 100 last year and wasn't passionate about finishing this year. Thank you Diane for your chivalry. We all need a knight in shining armor. The rest of the day we were all extra cautious on turns - even me. It was a wake up call for us all.

 

THE RIDE MUST GO ON: More farm fields, more wind, more drizzle. I recall in my opening speech , telling the girls this day is My Christmas. Now I'm thinking,  This doesn't feel like Christmas. You know it's bad when 2 utility trucks in our lane was exciting to ride around. Get me off these roads. Luckily, I planned in a little detour through Riverside Landing park, a refreshing change.  Followed by a nice break on the banks of the Golden Eagle Ferry. By then we were way ahead of schedule and  the girls earned a break to snack and drink as long as they wanted. Time to head back to lunch and a well deserved break. In St Louis fashion, the clouds parted the sun shined, it was a whole new day. Thank you Lord!!!  Time for the great peeling of all outer wear. We made it to the bike stop 10 minutes  ahead a schedule.  Which now makes sense because I was two miles short due to route alterations. Now I need Creve Coeur to be 24 not 22. So fun scrambling in the moment. Kind of use to it by now. Every 100 brings it's in the moment challenges.

 

BIKE STOP LUNCH: Our group downsized from 14 to 12 after the accident. But we were joined by 5 new fresh riders to help finish the final 40. After fueling our bellies and taking our celebration pictures , it was time to roll.

 

....AND WE'RE OFF FOR LEG 2:  We picked up 5 new fresh riders for this leg giving us 17. It's a whole new ride. I was refreshed and finding my groove by mile 69 looping the lake and kicking it hard. Probably pushing it a little too hard. I heard later from the girls riding since 7am. Now the fresh ones had no trouble. I was secretly trying to keep my 13 mile avg which kept dipping back to 12.8. I know I promised not to get caught up in a speed goal. But I also promise it's the last hill and you know how much value that holds. We made it back to Bike Stop to pick up more only 3 minutes behind schedule. Pretty amazing, considering I had 2 extra miles to squeeze in. 24 miles in 2 hours after riding for 6 hours is record breaking. You almost get faster the longer your out there. I think by then your just so numb you speed up and just want to finish. This middle leg was definitely the fastest.

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LETS TALK ABOUT THESE MEN RIDING:

Lets start with Mark ( to be clear this is NOT my Mark, it's Tami's)

Mark: The Human Blur (a.k.a. Tami’s Turbo Tornado)
Clocking in at warp speed, Mark doesn’t ride — he teleports. One minute he’s a neon blur zipping past, the next he’s casually knitting a quilt roadside while waiting for the rest of us to catch up.

Average speed: Ludicrous ( like 28mph - not today)
Estimated miles per year: 5,000+
Activities completed while waiting for us: Quilting, brewing coffee, binge-watching Netflix, possibly filing taxes
Mood: “I’ll just do a quick Ironman while I wait”

Kirk: The Stealth Cyclist (a.k.a. Where’s Kirk-o?)
Kirk is the cycling equivalent of a ninja. He appears beside you mid-sprint, vanishes, then reappears at the back like a ghost in padded shorts.
Sweat level: Undetectable
Position in line: All of them
Superpower: Teleportation via chill
Catchphrase: “Oh hey, didn’t see you there”

Margie: I gotta say something about her poor bum.
It hit its mileage cap at 35. By mile 36, it filed a formal complaint. She bravely stood and pedaled sucking it up for miles until lunch.
Pain scale: “I already endured childbirth.”
Hero of the day: Mary and her magical spare padded shorts she loaned her at the lunch break
Mood: “I’d marry Mary for these shorts”

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LAST LEG: We picked up another 5 fresh riders giving us a whooping 22 pumped up and ready to bring home this Century. The end is near and only 17 left to New Town and back. I spent all summer planning, plotting and trying multiple options for this last leg looking for the perfect finish. I wanted the end to magical and a sweet like the cherry on top of the perfect day. If I could queue the unicorns and rainbows I would. It superceeded my wildest dreams as we cruised in a line of 22 riders all in bright neon colored shirts like Easter eggs on steriods, meandered the darling streets of town drapped in, over the top, Halloween decorations. I thought wow I'm having my white cake with white icing right now. You all know my love for Cosco cake. It was then I knew for certain I can do 120 next year for my 60th. Something I had openly been questioning.

 

THE END: All good things must come to an end is how I always feel at the end of my Christmas day. I know not everyone shares that opinion. In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone was DONE! Put a fork in me DONE. I know Margie's bum was happy. Many of us rode past our cars to see the welcoming gang on Kendrick's deck. The party had started, all kinds of family members were pre-celebrating. Even Eva, who is very new to our group, was trail side with her darling boys to cheer us in.

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WHAT NO PROOF? Yep my Sports Tracker failed me first time ever and for the 100 of all things. I opened my app to see my final stats - did I keep the 13mph or not. I had NOTHING. All stats were back to 00.00. I'll just have to keep it saved as a memory. Or do I have to do it again for proof. Hummm.....a big NO. I'm using one of your screen shots.

 

THE PARTY: I bet we had 40. Families, kids and grandchildren came out to show support. My only regret was not grand-standing to make a congratulations speech. Time just speed by. I got caught up getting crowning pics and handing out rewards and the moment passed by. But you hear enough from me. And if you don't you always get the written word later. Nothing goes unsaid. Funny thing is on these rides of 8 hours in the saddle I's be surprised if I talk 30min of it. So I got a little to say later. Lol

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TO CLOSE: Amazing the 6th time!!!!! Each year brings new and exciting challenges and new riders who experience reaching this lofty goal. Brings a tear to my eye and it's why I do it and love it. Truly a ministry for me. You all enable me to live my passion and full fill God's work for me here. This journey is not over. Now we train for next year's 120 in the Spring. Who's with me????

 

I swear the hardest part was climbing Kindrick's deck steps after 100 miles.