2007 MS - Tour de Farms, Maple Park, IL

I have never done an MS ride, and this year I had the time, so I rode with Team Encompass. Below is my ride report of the two day ride, 185 mile journey.

Saturday:
I arrived at the start - Kaneland Middle School, in Maple Park, IL around 6am. The parking lot was pretty full when I arrived, and people were getting ready in the rain. I didn’t see John’s car, so I gave him a call. He was about ten minutes out, and Bill was with him. John does the MS ride every year, for a friend of his, who has MS. And every year, he puts together a team of riders, all with different riding abilities.

Once I knew they were close to the school, I got ready. Before I left in the morning, it felt pretty cold out, so I decided to bring a t-shirt base layer, my arm warmers, my rain jacket, and my rain booties (BTW, don’t bother to invest in rain booties, they don’t work.) - and I’m glad I had all that gear, not the Assos rain booties that don't work.

I found John’s car, and due to the party the night before, we didn’t make the 7:30am start. It was more like 8am. After our team photo, we all pushed off. John did not ride initially, he’s going for his MBA, and had to leave. He did ride the reverse route when he got back, but we never saw him. People kept telling him, "dude you’re going the wrong way."

After pushing off, I soon realized not everyone had the same riding abilities. So, I just took off, and rode at my own pace. I should make an important point here about the MS ride. This ride attracts all kinds of riders (and folks are riding MTBs, hybrids, and everything under the sun), but most of the 2,100 riders were not hardcore riders. They’re just people who like to ride, but not very often. More to the point, they’re there to ride and to push themselves, in order to support the cause. And for some, 35 miles is a big deal – and that’s fine! - at least they’re out there.

Anyway, I left the team, and I thought Bill would follow me, but he didn’t. Bill is a member of my bike club. At the first turn/intersection, I stopped, because the person directing traffic told me to. 90% of the turns, had motorcycle people directing traffic – pretty cool. While I was waiting, I said "hey dude, I know you." The guy directing traffic is my brother-in- law’s - brother-in-law – so I talked to him a bit, in the rain.

About 15 miles out, I stopped at the first rest stop. One thing about the MS ride is that there are a lot of rest stops, with tons of good food, music, SAG, medics, mechanics, etc. and people cheering you on as you pull in. I didn’t really need to stop, but I guess I thought if I did, the others would catch up. They didn’t so I took off.

So, it’s still raining and it’s mile 20+, and I look ahead, and I see Bill. It was great to hook up with him, and we stayed together for the whole 104 miles. We stopped at the halfway rest stop, which is the best stop. Tons of food, including burgers, hot dogs, etc. I had two burgers, Bill had one. And it’s still raining and cold. At this point everything was wet, and you might as well do the 100, plus we came to ride it period. About mile 60, on the 100 mile option Bill and I didn’t see anyone out there, though soon we saw a SAG person asking us to get off our bikes and walk over the RR tracks. I said "why." He said "these folks just crashed, because the tracks were slippery." I didn’t walk, just unclipped one foot. Apparently, 4 people crashed on those tracks, so soon after Bill and I crossed them, they shut down the 100 option. Personally, it was no big deal. Hell two riding friends on mine Kevin G. and Rich would have bunny hopped the tracks – I’ve seen them get big air - I'm talking three feet off the ground.

Bill and I were only passed a couple of times, otherwise we passed everyone out there. When we got back into the 75 mile route, and on the way back, we saw Rip, another Encompass team member, doing the 75 mile route. Talked with him for a bit, and continued on. At this point it’s still raining, and we passed the 85 mile rest stop. And the people at the stop, were calling us in for the food, not because it was still raining, and Bill said to me – why would I want to stop with 15 to go, when there’s a keg of Fat Tire waiting for me, vs drinking some Gatoraid. I totally agreed.

By now the rain had stopped, and the roads were starting to dry out. But, it was still pretty cold. Cold for June in IL. When Bill and I got back, the party was well under way, because some only did the 35 – Bill and I were the only ones from the team to do the 100.

Saturday Stats:
Mileage: 104
Time: 5:53 (in the rain)
Average Speed: 17.70
No mechanicals or flats.
Soaked to the bone.

Saturday day (after the ride) and night
Team Encompass had food on the grill for the riders, beer, and the tent was near the band. After having some food, John and I went back to the hotel to shower. That felt great. I tried to dry out my shoes and clothes for Sunday’s ride. They weren't too bad next morning.

Highlights (after returning from the hotel – back at the tent)

John gives everyone a ticket to get a massage. There was this tent nearby, with these really cool massage chairs. It did your back, neck and calves. The ticket was a also a raffle ticket, and the winner would get one of those chairs. So, the next time you’re at John’s house, try it out – yes, Brandi won a chair.

Cindy came out to see Bill (Bill's better half). She stayed awhile.

There was some fire by our team tent, which was put out quickly. Not sure what happened, apparently something caught on fire. :)

Someone tried to push over a porta-john, with someone inside.

We watched the jersey judging contest – ours didn’t win.

We also watched the movie Breaking Away.

Erik and Jace ended up with 5 cases of Coors beer, since the Coors tent was giving it away after closing for the night.

Sharing a room with Jace and Erik. The room had three beds. Jace and I were sleeping and Erik comes in with hamburgers. I didn’t want one, Erik just flung the burger into Jace’s bed. He didn’t want it either. Not sure what happened to that burger.

Jace thought the keg was a mistake. :)

Sunday
The plan for Sunday was to hit the course by 7:30am. I got up around 6am, with a hang-over, not a bad one. Got ready, brought my gear and bike down to the lobby, and got some food. My roommates also managed to get their asses out of bed.

Around 7am John was out by his car, and Erik and I rode over to the start, about a 3 mile ride.

We didn’t see Bill at the start. Not all of the Encompass Team was riding on Sunday, and Jace and Brandi did not ride, due to the night before.

So, John, Erik, Alan and Moo (that's me) took off. We had to stop at the first rest stop, since Erik wasn’t feeling well, too much beer. Once back on the road (dry roads, and warmer) we saw Rip, and John fell back to ride with Rip. At the about the 30 mile rest stop, we found Bill. Bill rode with us for most of the way, but paced it down a little due to the night before. Erik and Alan race and the pace picked up at times. We also got others to join us, and one time we had 10 people pace lining behind us. We also found others to pace line with.

Some guy asked my on the course, do you ride with NBC - Naperville Bike Club? His name was Chris, not our Chris. I also saw Roger at the finish. He did the 35 on Sat., drove home, and came back out on Sun. for 75, I hope it wasn't for the 35 option – not sure I would have done that.

We ended up with 78 miles, the stats were good for Sunday, but it was just a fun day, with hang overs. At the finish, they had a band, food, etc. We all waited for John, (Brandi and Jace to arrive by car), since my bag was in Erik’s car back at the hotel and Bill needed a ride back to his car in DeKalb.

It was a fun weekend, I’ll do it again, if I’m in town, and if the weather is good. Plus, I need my own room. Jace and Erik are great guys, but I like my own space. :)

PS - the MS ride, at least this one, and there are lots of them around the country, are very good rides. Meaning, no matter what your skill level is, you'll be well taken care of. It's not a cheap day or weekend, but it's for a good cause, and it provides hope to all. So I highly recommend doing it, or at least writing a check to someone who is.

Learn more about the MS rides in IL, at: http://www.msillinois.org