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The 3rd Annual MLK Ride
If you missed the 3rd annual Martin Luther King ride back on January 18th, I really feel sorry for you. You missed out on a great day. Below you will find a brief write up of what went down, but trust me when I tell you that it was 412% more awesome than this will show.
Above is the group that stuck around for a photo at the start of the ride. There were a few people who rolled out earlier for TWO laps at Berryman and one guy who even ended up doing THREE laps! There were a few people who showed up later and did a lap as well. We probably had 20 – 25 people all together.
Since I’ve put on a serious “winter coat,” I only planned on doing 5 – 10 miles before heading back to the trail-head to fire up the grill. My friend Rhonda had only ridden single track once or twice before, so she wasn’t planning on doing a full lap either. So we decided to stick together at the back of the pack.
Rhonda on one of the climbs.
The trail was in great shape, and although it was chilly to start, the weather was pretty damn nice considering it was mid-January.
The riding was fun, but my lungs and legs hated my fat ass. So I talked Rhonda into bailing around the 5 or 6 mile mark. We cut out on a jeep road that would lead us to a gravel road leading back to the trail-head. There was one frozen puddle across the jeep road that was a bit tricky.
This photo may or may not have been staged. It may or may not have actually been me who crashed.
We hopped out on the gravel road and made it back to the trailhead with no more issues. We changed into dry clothes, and I fired the grill up.
But first I tapped the keg (courtesy of Dave Baettie via Team TOG – HUGE thanks to him/them). I only tapped the keg so early to make sure it would be ready for the rest of the riders when they rolled in – of course I might have had a sample or two. Besides, the keg had my name written all over it.
It’s mine. All mine!
After the grill was good and hot I kicked off what has become an MLK tradition: Grilled Chocolate Chip Cookies! Kate brought a bunch of cookies, and when grilled over charcoal, they taste just like they’re fresh out of the oven with just a hint of smokiness.
So.
Damn.
Good.
If you’ve never done this, do it the next time you grill and thank me later.
There was a plethora of tubed meat, beef patties, cheeses, side dishes, desserts, and ice-cold Blue Moon. Everyone brought a little something to share, and for that, I thank you all.
Food always tastes better after a good ride.
As the riders started to roll in, everyone gathered around the grill, eating, drinking, and making merry while trying to stay warm. Here are a few photos of the festivities:
L to R: Becca, Steve, Dave (or Jim) Chuck, Josh, and Rhonda.
Blue Moon Dave rockin’ some serious helmet hair.
L to R: Kate, Me, Becca, Phil, Chuck, Caleb, Rhonda, Dave, and Dave (Jim).
Mo and some of the other Team Red Wheel guys were there, but this is the only photo I got of any of them. I think the rest were always at the keg.
Mickey Mouth was there too! This ride was good training for the Super Century… Oh wait… Mickey never did the Super Century.
Everyone was having a grand time after the ride, but then I turned around to see a truly horrific sight. As my eyes fell upon the ghastly scene, it felt like someone kicked me in the nards and punched me in the face simultaneously.
How could anyone, especially someone I considered a close friend, do something so terrible?
Please be warned that the photo below is difficult to look at. If you are sensitive, you may want to scroll right past it. You’ve been warned.
This poor, poor Virtus Jersey was abandoned by Kate. She left it to die alone on the cold concrete. This is blasphemous!
Kate tried to hide the fact that she had disgraced our team, but I’m a photo-ninja. I was too quick for her, and I got the above photo. Then I snapped one of her trying to hide the evidence:
What’s that behind your back, Kate?
Many miles of single track were shredded, lots of stories were told, much bread (and wind) was broken, gallons of beer were consumed. It was another fantastic ride and barbeque.
Our brethren from the Hoosier Daddies were dearly missed. They were the ones who truly made the 1st MLK and 2nd MLK rides/parties a smashing success. Hopefully, they’ll once again join us at MLK 4 next year, and hopefully so will you. And maybe someday, our very own Bob Jenkins will make it to the MLK ride… maybe.
Let’s Suffer Alone Together Again – Super Century 3
My taint already hurts as I type these words, and you know what that means. That’s right, boys and girls. The Super Century is here, so it’s once again time for us to put on our Bad Idea Jeans and destroy our taints in the name of stupid challenges.
You can find out how the Super Century all started right here, but if you’re too lazy to click that link, I’ll give you the general idea of what the Super Century is:
- What: a trainer ride of at least a metric century – 100 km (or 62 miles if you don’t want to do any mathematicizing)
- When: Super Bowl Sunday – February 2nd at 8:00 AM Central (a later start this year!)
- Why: Because we’re idiots and doing dumb stuff is fun… Sort of. And after the ride, we can eat whatever we want during the big game and not feel guilty.
- Who: Anyone who is dumb enough to do this, and if you’re reading this, then that means YOU!
- Where: Anywhere you want. You can do it alone or get together with a group.
- Other Options: Ride a metric century outside (although that’s not nearly as stupid); Do 100 or more pull ups; Ride the trainer for 100 minutes; Do 1000 bodyweight squats; Run 100 minutes; Some other stupid idea.
- Hashtags to Use: #SuperCentury; #BadIdeas; #MyTaintHurts
Be sure to hit us up on our facebook page and/or Tweet at us with the above hashtags so we can all “enjoy” everyone else’s suffering while we are deep inside our own pain caves. Post up photos, jokes, rants, videos or whatever else will entertain us and distract us from our own misery.
Also, I’d love to hear some recommendations on what movies or shows to watch during the Super Century. Winning choices from the previous two years are Step Brothers, Race Across the Sky, Ride the Divide, and The Big Lebowski. So please give us some ideas for what we should watch.
This may be a terrible idea, but it’s also great mental training for Cedar Cross, The Ogre, and of course Dirty Kanza. C’mon… You know you want to do it. So, who’s joining us?
MLK 3 is This Weekend- Oh Yeah!
You know you don’t want to be one of those people that misses out on this, so don’t do it! The third annual MLK ride is happening this Saturday, and the forecast so far looks great. We had a blast at the inaugural MLK ride, and we had a great encore last year.
We’ll be meeting at the Berryman Campground Trailhead around 8:00 AM, and we’ll plan on rolling out around 8:30. Ride a little or ride a lot. Ride fast or ride slow. I plan on riding a little and doing so slowly. Then I’m heading back to the campground to fire up the grill. I’m not sure if the Hoosier Daddies are returning with their smorgasbord of food and beer or not, but I’ll make sure there is a grill there. We’d love it if you’d bring some meat to throw on the grill and/or a dish to share along with your own frosty beverages.
Mid-ride whiskey break at the first MLK Ride.
Some people may camp the night before and/or the night after the ride. Plan accordingly if that’s you. More info can be found on the facebook event page, and if you need one, here is a good map of the Berryman Trail that shows many options to cut the ride short – courtesy of GORC.
This is a low-key, unsopported group ride. No pressure to do anything other than have a great time. Bring what you need, and we hope to see you there.
The Dirty Jenkins Training Ride
As some of you may know, Casey is in town from New York. Since the weather has been great for this time of year, we rode 14 miles of single track down at the Lake of the Ozarks, and then on Tuesday we decided to do the Dirty Jenkins Ride with the creator of the ride himself: One Mister Robert L. Jenkins III (or Bob to you and me). Casey, Austin (my nephew), and I all met up with Bob and had an absolute blast on this ride. Here’s a little video from the gravel ride for your viewing pleasure. It’s at least worth watching from 1:40 – 2:50 and then again from 5:19 – 6:10.
Since Wednesday is supposed to be even better weather, we’re riding again to prepare for Dirty Kanza and Cedar Cross. Adam and Robby actually took a day off, and Casey and I are meeting them for a 50+ mile ride with some decent climbs. Here is the route we’re planning on doing if all goes well. Bob couldn’t fake being sick get someone to cover his shift for him, so he’ll miss out on the most bad-ass ride ever. It’s not like a 50 mile ride would help him avoid eating dog food, right?
The Super Century!
About a week ago, Casey called me up with a “great idea.” Now usually, Casey’s ideas are mediocre at best. Just have him tell you about his ideas for Saturday Night Live sketches if you have an extra 5 or 6 hours. This time, however, I think he had a pretty good idea. Here’s how it went down…
Casey: “Hey, man. Why don’t we all do a Metric Century (100 km = 62 miles) on our trainers on Super Bowl Sunday so we can eat whatever we want during the game?”
Me: “Uh… Because that sounds terrible.”
Casey: “I know.”
Me: “Uh… Sure. That sounds cool.”
And that was the end of it. I thought… But then the idea started to grow on me. Yes, riding outside is more fun. Yes, the trainer can be boring and painful. Yes, it will completely suck. Yes, our taints will be destroyed, and our minds will turn into a steaming pile of dog poo. But that can only help our minds and bodies prepare for the Dirty Kanza 200 and Cedar Cross, right? So… I’m in!
That's not my bike, but I have the same awesome trainer. Thanks again, Dad!
So on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5th, I’ll be getting up early to get a metric century in on my trainer. Casey will do the same thing in NY, so we’ll be suffering together, thousands of miles apart.
I’d love it if some others would join me. Maybe we can get together in someone’s basement, rent all of the Twilight Die Hard movies, and suffer together for a few hours. I have to be at work at 11:30, so I’d like to get an early start. Maybe 6:00 AM? Is that too early for you? Well, too bad. It’s not like there’s ever a good time to start such a long trainer ride, is there?
I see this thing really taking off. I bet with the power of Team Virtus and our vast fan base, we’ll have people from all over the country joining us. And by “all over the country,” I mean at least MO and NY.
We’ll be doing live updates on Twitter and facebook, so be sure to check that out. And please tweet back at us or hit us up with a comment on facebook to give us encouragement or to heckle us. We’ll need it.
Don’t have a trainer? Beg, borrow, or buy one. Or you could do it the easy way and do a metric century outside. We’ll still count it. So, who wants to join me? Are you brave (crazy and stupid) enough?
Team Virtus 