KATY TRAIL

"Perfect - Prettiest - Easiest
100 to date"

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Would you believe we had the EXACT same stats as 2025. Same avg - same ride time. It must be our jam. Yes I am up at the same as last year - 4am recapping this ride. Every ride brings stories and even with the perfection of this ride it does not come without it's share of accidents, pivoting and squirreling. I'm actually getting pretty go it at - it happens a lot. Shall we say too much experience.

 

MCT why so AWESOME? This was the 1st time to ride a 100 in Edwardville with the added bonus of experiencing Fall foliage. We were in the perfect place for it.  The MCT trails are like riding on the Katy but paved - making it pure pleasure. It's like taking a hike in the woods on a bike is the best way to describe it. I kept trying to remind myself not to wish the miles away and absorb every minute. What do advid biker enjoy more than anything - riding comfortable, it being easy and being in nature with friends. This checked all the boxes and we got to do it for 10 hours. Even the 12mph gust later in the day were dulled by all the tree protection. Could not have been better. 

 

SO IT BEGINS: We are started our drive in the dark and arrived that way too. This was our latest 100 in the season to date had it dark until 7:15am. After tugging at Mark twice to stop for a potty break on our hour journey to Illinois I still needed to pea behind a bush at the trailhead and was not the only one. The surprise was having this ride sagged by Mark and Ted. Last minute they decided having support nearby might be a good idea since we were a state away. Which was true as you will find out. 

 

THE 1ST FALL
Mark Volkman does not get 100: We had 10 to start with only Joanne meeting for the final 40. Although Tami was not riding Mark Volkman decided to try for 3 - 40's. Heck what's another 20. He decided a 24-pack was attainable. But this meant starting earlier than all of us. So we met him at 7:20 with 13 under his belt. This would be the only time we see him all day. He was not able to roll out with us as he lost his car key few miles away but it was on a chip and he could locate them. So he went that way we went our way with plans to connect. That never happened as the MCT trails got him lost as it does to me EVERYTIME I ride out there. (hoping this would not happen today) He would meet us at our strip-down when all the warm cloths are shed and shorts and t-shirts are the new apparrel for the warm day ahead. We were 30min ahead of schedule rockin this ride and when I called him he tells me he had a "bad crash" describes what happens. It was so unbelievable I was sure he was pulling my leg and waiting for the "I'm kidding." No I didn't get that - it happened. 

THE CRASH RECAP BY MARK: I was riding east on the MCT Schoolhouse Trail, probably going around 16 MPH. There are several road crossings on that stretch, most of which aren’t busy roads. I was approaching one and checked for cars. Somehow I didn’t see a large, white mail truck until I started crossing the road. Maybe I didn’t see it because it somewhat blended in with the sky behind it. There wasn’t enough time to stop. My front tire hit the rear panel of the truck behind its rear wheel. That immediately jerked the tire to the left and I was thrown to the right, landing on the pavement on my back behind the truck. The driver stopped immediately and ran back to check on me. She was in a panic and said nothing like that had ever happened to her. About a minute later an off-duty police officer who just happened to be traveling on that road stopped to check on me. I was able to stand up, but was quite wobbly. I hugged the mail truck driver, both to steady myself and make her feel better. The officer asked me to wait for an on-duty officer to arrive so they could get a report. That took about 15 minutes. Once that was over, I wanted to ride again to see if my bike was okay and whether there was any chance of finishing the ride with the group. I had to ride seven miles to get back to the meeting place. By the time I got close, it was clear that I was too banged up to continue, so I chatted with Mark Gross and Ted Rynder, packed up my bike, and drove home. I still have a fair amount of pain. I may get an x-ray today to determine if I fractured my tailbone."

 

He got 43, so yeah at least a 40, but at a high price to pay. When I checked on him later he texted, "he felt like someone hit him with a battering ram just above his right butt check and decided outdoor biking is pretty dangerous. So back to the basement for him." I hope next time he will listen Tami when she says," Mark, this is NOT a good idea - please don't do it." Just glad he will recover fully. 

 

LEG 1: Our kick-off lunch/dinner meeting location could not have worked out better. It came to be called "The Chicken" because Chicken Salad Chick was a mouth full. It could not have been more perfect. It was so central to the legs of riding we were able to swing in often. Our first leg went seamlessly. Out to Marine lake and back. We did this first while before the winds increased as it was more open then the rest of the days riding. I was so happy after the first 24 to not have gotten lost. Then the strip down at the cars before the next 10 out the Nickleplate. This was a beautiful trail we decided to stop on the way back and grab a group picture with this amazing flame red maple in the background right above a tunnel. I flung my sunglasses in the grass to take the selfie and discovered later I was missing eye protection. Yeah I left them there. Now that would be a mission later to ride back and get those prescription shades as I have lost them enough. We stop yet again at THE CHICKEN for any needs, check in with our sag guys and it was off to the last 25 mile loop before lunch. 

 

NOT A THERESA RIDE WITHOUT "THE OOPS": No matter how meticulously I plan, there’s one thing you can count on: THE INFAMOUS ROAD DETOUR! You know the drill. You’ve planned this ride for months, mapped every turn, calculated every mile, and then suddenly… YOU SHALL NOT PASS! 

Yep, halfway through our loop, the MCT trail simply ceased to exist. The work crew was busy doing whatever work crews do, and there was absolutely no way we were sneaking our little cut-through workaround past them. Busted!  So, what’s a girl to do? Backtrack and add a bunch of miles, or find another way around? Thankfully, I’ve had enough of these little adventures to know that panicking is pointless. Besides, we had our trusty SAG wagon trailing us, so we improvised a reroute that involved a little highway riding. At one point, we crossed a bridge with a sidewalk so overgrown it looked less like a bike route and more like an episode of Survivor. We were practically foraging our way through the jungle! But we made it! Back on the MCT, rerouted and rolling again, with just SIX EXTRA MILES between us and lunch.

Now, here’s where it got really funny. Apparently, everyone’s internal GPS had been programmed for a 1:15 lunch at the 60-mile mark. Their brains had already clocked out, their stomachs were staging a revolt, and their legs were ready to file a formal complaint. Let me tell you, those last six miles were HARD. We finally made it to lunch, and afterward, we had only 34 miles left to finish the century.

THE LUNCH: Again I can't say enough how awesome this meet up stop was. Everyone had their pick of Moe's or Chicken Salad for lunch with table outside on the parking so conveniently in the shade right next to our cars and bikes. We all fueled up while I re-routed our last 34 miles. The plan was to do the loop in reverse, you the one with construction, so new plan. I made sure to include grabbing my sunglasses roadside up the trail a few miles in our new 34. We gobbled down our food and everyone was anxious to finish this thing. Back out on the trail we have been on so many times already that day and would you believe --- yeah wrong turn. I did a little reroute and got us back on track. We looked for the red maple for 5 miles and never passed it. Why? because that was the couple blocks we got off course. We found it on the way back and eagle-eyes Kirk ( AKA Ninja found mu sunglasses)

 

Our new route took us out the Watershed trail. By far the MOST BEAUTIFUL trail of the day and not even part of my original plan. This is why I embrace when bad things happen because God always hands me a gift of a better plan and this was definitely a gem. The video on this page was taken on that trail. Trees arched overhead in a spectacular canopy of full autumn color, and we rode along a path so completely covered in fallen leaves that our road felt like a hidden hiking trail deep in the woods. The dense trees even shielded us from the 12 mph wind gusts, turning the ride into pure joy. Out and back to THE CHICKEN for a quick meet up with the boys before the final 12 down the Goshen Trail until you reached that magical number and headed back with 100 to notch on your bedpost. This is where things go wrong for me.

 

THE 2ND FALL -
I don't get my 100:  People will say it happened so fast and how true. It was the final 12 miles and everyone was migrating out of the parking lot to the trail I was apparently too close to the grass and my back bike tire caught the crack between concrete and grass and dug in. It flipped me down almost in slow motion. Water bottle holder broke, cell went flying as did I, taking the brunt of it on my now bleeding knee. Oh crap! Is all I could think. How will I finish my 5-40's.

 

If you’re going to have a crash, you might as well time it perfectly. I managed to wreck a grand total of 50 feet away from my husband, making it incredibly convenient for him to sprint to my rescue. Honestly, I’m just glad I could make his job as my personal hero so easy.
The initial impact stung, but as I checked the damage, I realized everything still moved correctly—no terrifying crunching sounds when I walked. I was going to be fine. But as I lay there, I officially called it: "I'm done. You girls go finish without me."

At that exact moment, I had zero burning desire to prove anything to anyone. Mark was so worried I'd be heartbroken to miss out on getting that 100. I just looked at him and said, "Honey, I already got my 100 this year—and it was a 120! To be honest, I'm kind of thrilled I don't have to ride these last 12 miles. This just means I get to the beer sooner."
And let me tell you, it was glorious. While the rest of the crew was grinding out those final miles, I was already completely changed, cleaned up, and parked in a lawn chair for the after-party. Watching everyone else roll in thrilled with their finish—while I sat there sipping a cold beer—was a total win. Plus, my projected 6:00pm finish time got bumped up by a full half hour. We wrapped it all up by 5:30, well before dark, with a plenty of great stories to tell!

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THE AFTER PARTY: It was much more chill then our 100 ends in St Charles. Felt more like the end of a typical ride. We had a intamate 12 people there. Great food - big portions and lots of beer to pick from. Even planning this ride did not take everything out of me. Just felt like 2-80's and a snack. I guess 7 times you get into the groove and know what to do by now. Everyone did LOVE-LOVE-LOVE MCT for the 100. It made it easy. We are all getting to the age we just like this hard stuff as easy as possible. Really is there anything wrong with that. We are still getting out there and doing it. No 100 for me but I got my 2-40's so it

s a WIN-WIN and I am not limping today. That makes it a WIN-WIN-WIN!!! ...and I have all of you in my life making it a WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN!  OK no more WINS.
 

Feeling very blessed!