Self Supported Suffering.....

I spent the weekend down in Edwardsville, IL riding with my brother in-law. It is a great little town with an awesome paved trail system. He rides a Giant Hybrid so we slowed the pace just a bit, but he can really move on his Mach 5. We did a 30 some mile loop Saturday and then a 35 mile out and back to Missouri on Sunday. Two really great rides.

I had today off too and decided to hit the road. You think it would be easy to map out 100 miles, but it is not. I tried to plan a nice big loop with a couple stops in various little towns to refuel. I mapped out 85 miles and left the house at 7:35am.

The route took me first to Silver Springs State Park for a potty break and cliff bar. This was at mile 24. Next it was off to Millbrook, to Millington, to Newark, to Lisbon, and to Morris for stop two at 53 miles. I found a gas station, went potty, and picked up some water and an oats bar. I ate up the oats bar and a Hammer Chocolate Chip bar, which was outstanding, and headed out.

Miles 1 to 53 were good for me. The legs felt great. The neck and back felt great and the mind was positive. Miles 53 to 86 were not so great.

As I departed Morris around 11am the sun out in full force. Although, the temp was decent at around 80 degrees. I was headed North to Plattville and the wind was right in my face. Maybe 10 to 15 mph, but it was steady. Heading North was a long, straight, boring route, but it was the only low traffic option out of Morris in my direction. During this run the legs, neck and back started to stiffen up. I really had no choice, but to power through it. I mean this was self supported tough guy solo stuff!!

I rolled into Plattville and stopped at mile 70. At this point I was low on water, but could find no options for a fill up. Note to self, buy more water at the the Morris stop next time. A few quick stretches and I was off, headed for home.

Sweet mile number 86.4 was when I rolled into my driveway. Almost a century on a lovely Tuesday morning. Now, you just can't beat that! Only had two adjust the route once when one of the roads I marked for travel was full on gravel.

My Ride Stats: 86.4 miles, 5:08 ride time with 5:43 total time, 16.8 mph avg with 29.8 max, 95 avg cadence with 133 max, 133 avg heart rate with 161 max, and 3761 cals toasted.

Plainfield to Silver Springs to Millbrook to Millington to Newark to Lisbon to Morris to Plattville to Plainfield.