On Sunday afternoon, I finished the final piece of the MS150. My total mileage was around 110.
(Here are several members of BITEMS at the very end of the ride on Sunday:)
I did the 75 mile route on Saturday from Wabonsee to NIU. The first 40 miles were pretty easy, and the rest stops were a great way to pace myself.
The first challenge came in around 35 miles when we stopped for lunch in (appropriately enough) Sandwich, Illinois. Glenn mentioned that my rear wheel looked funny and it turned out my tire was about to blow. There were mechanics at each stop, so I bought a new tire and continued on my way.
Somewhere on the stretch where I crossed the 40 mile mark, my legs and butt started to complain. The rest stop at the 50 mile mark was more than welcome. The rest of Saturday’s ride was a bit more challenging, but we made it to NIU sometime in mid-to-late afternoon.
Irshad and I set up the tent and we all went for showers in the dorms, followed by dinner and then a couple beers (okay, one Rolling Rock and two sips of a Bud Light for me). We crashed by 9:30.
The next morning we got up around 5:30, got dressed, had breakfast, and started on our way back. I’d already decided (well, certain parts of my body decided) that I was going to do the 35 mile route back. By 1:00 in the afternoon, the whole thing was complete.
One of the coolest things about the end of the ride was the fact that there were massage therapists there to work the knots out of the riders’ aching muscles. I probably would have been a lot stiffer had I not done the massage.
Thanks again to everyone who sponsored me. I haven’t quite decided if this will be an annual thing yet. 🙂
More photos, including our official team photos, will be up at www.bitems.org as soon as we get them.