Bike MS: Is that all you've got, Weather!

When I was peer-pressured into joining the "Other Team Garmin" Bike MS crew, I was not warned of the possibility of encountering hours upon hours of freezing-for-September rain, Kansas wheatfield-quality gale force winds, and copious amounts of mandex creatively stretched to the very last fiber as a result of its task to conceal bodies both unique and not meant for the beach or even that cheapo plastic mini-pool designed for the front yard and later the trash heap. On the other hand, and in my defense, I just didn't know that these were questions to be asked of such an event. 

Sure enough, just a year and a half after hopping on a bike for the first time since college, I was pedaling towards the goal of my first century ride. Plus twelve miles. Followed by 78 the subsequent day. That I dared to put my awesome Fuji Sunfire 3.0 through such a challenge spoke volumes towards the confidence I had in my two-wheeled transport, even if it was, by my unofficial estimation, the only non-road/racing/fancy European brand of bike on the road that day. In all, there were thousands of bikers who suited up for Bike MS, 97% of which passed me at one point - most of them quite effortlessly. And with almost 72 miles and over five hours of watching people pass me, I consider myself quite the expert on bikes. And what people’s backsides look like in mandex. 

But the FS3.0 held strong. Before the first ten mile rest stop, I teamed up with Tommy, a co-worker of mine who previously rode a hybrid bike, like me, but was borrowing a friend's road bike for the event. Clipping in for the first time ever on a new bike for a 112 mile ride when his previous long ride was just 35 miles is the kind of crazy, audaciously bold effort that I had to witness first hand. And, as previously mentioned, everyone else was riding faster than me. I may not have been the slowest rider on the course, but the odds of someone starting the race before me or at the same time and finishing behind me were very, very slim. The odds of someone starting after me and finishing after me were smaller than a sumo wrestler’s vertical leap. But I wasn't racing; I was riding. I kept telling myself…

Tommy and I made a great riding duo. Conversation was never forced – it flowed naturally when weather permitted, and retreated to the dugout – not the locker room – in times of heavy downpour when vision was confined to no greater than six inches beyond the front wheel, and the sound of heavy drops pelting our bike helmets at full speed somehow felt like marbles rolling from side to side in a box inside our heads. Neither of us had any desire to prove our biking prowess to the other, as is so common in biking pairs and groups. If we took turns leading, it was directly related to our inability to maintain consistent speed along a particularly steep ascent or descent. Still, the miles and hours went by faster having someone so entertaining to talk to. And since both of us were rookies to the event – and for the most part, cycling in general – we had a similar perspective and awe of Bike MS and the thousands that participated in it. 

We were saddened to hear that since we didn't reach the half-way point fast enough, that we were ineligible to go the full 112 mile route, which had been closed down to "extreme rain" and the resulting poor road conditions. We were both in for the century, particularly so after we found out about the closing. "They took our century away from us" was a phrase that we uttered within earshot of unknown mandexers. At 50 miles, we both felt good about being able to complete the 112 mile course, even if we were beginning to feel the effects of half a day spent on two wheels. And while there's no doubt that we could have done it, I'll admit that acceptance of the 72 mile route came quickly. So I ate my free boca burger, chips and cookies, filled up my Gatorade and water bottles, peed for the fifth time that morning – one for each rest stop, if you're counting; I have the bladder of a five year old - zipped up my thoroughly soaked-through jacket, strapped on my oddly-clean helmet, re-situated the cool new Oakley's that Melody bought me for the ride, took a few deep breaths, slipped my New Balances into their respective pedal straps and set out for 22 more miles. 

With roughly 40 miles lopped off our final leg, and some non-Clif bar food in my belly, I felt refreshed both physically and mentally. The rain had subsided slightly as we made our way to Lawrence and the party on the lawns of South Park. As we arrived in the heart of the city of my alma mater, I was comforted by the greeting the dueling flags atop Fraser Hall offered me, ironically one of the few buildings I biked to in my former life as a KU student, when I was taking Spanish classes during my freshman year. I think I left that bike chained to a rack outside my dorm, forgetting it when I came home to work at Applebee's for the summer. I would never treat the FS3.0 in such an immature manner. 

Tommy and I finished the 72 mile course in five hours eleven minutes, or roughly the time it took Garmin's VP of Communications – my boss's boss – to traverse the full 112 route. I had heard of his biking prowess, but this was impressive. Even more impressive though, was his foresight to catch a ride back that night – as did Tommy – as opposed to staying and camping out during a torrential downpour so strong it turned South Park into South Pond. I met up with some friends in town who were getting together the night after a wedding – Chad, Amy, Kyle, Hef, Dan and his girlfriend Amy – and drank about five beers too many to be riding 78 the next day. Later Jake, Rebecca and Ryan, fellow marcomm co-workers, met us up as we toured Mass street in the only way recommended: pub crawling one beer per bar. Red Lyon, Replay Lounge, Jazzhaus, etc. I called it quits around midnight, a decision I would have reversed had I known that a night full of rain and predicted thunderstorms the next day would lead to the canceling of the return trip. As it was, I slept comfortably in Melody's sweet orange Marmot tent, which in a rare moment of Einsteiniun genius I had relocated under the giant Garmin canopy, safely away from the pounding rain and river which ran directly through its former location. A wicked, early morning driver barreling into a Bike MS tent woke me in an instant. At five in the morning. It was, quite simply, the loudest sound to penetrate my eardrum in its entire existence. And then I had to pee, which with a flowing muddy river and heavy rain between me and the port-o-john, was not cool. I was up for the day. 

Not wanting to fight the masses or stack the FS3.0 Lincoln Log style into the back of a moving van, I grabbed a coffee and newspaper, then waited for my friends to shake off a presumed morning hangover and haul me back to Garmin HQ, where Bike MS started ceremoniously and quietly ended. Removing a wheel, a tasked so presumably easy, never should have resulted in me holding a break pad and various nuts, yet there I was with parts from both the front and back wheels in my hand, both wheels still firmly placed on the bike. Now I had to go to the bike shop and try to save face…or admit I'm an idiot but give them an autographed Team Garmin poster and hope that's what they remember about me. I chose the latter, but no way they don't think I'm an idiot. Whatever. That's why they're there: to fix my bike. So fix it and don't judge me. I now regret giving them the poster. 

Final thoughts: While I was disappointed to leave over 112 miles on the table – over two days – the ride was still successful. I beat my previous long ride by 22 miles. I rode in rain for the first time. I didn’t lose any digits due to frostbite. And I wore the same pair of mandex for two days straight. So all in all, it was a pretty cool experience. Enough to satisfy me this year, yet keep me hungry and wanting to do it again in about 364 days. Enough time to wash some mandex.   

View my ride here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/115601442

View the entire photo gallery here: https://picasaweb.google.com/115703640602426551600/BikeMS?authkey=Gv1sRgCPiB8rDHr9WapAE

View marcomm's edition of the "Other Team Garmin":