The Rat Pack

OWWWWW – MY HEAD HURTS!!! I woke up with the worst headache that I have had in quite a long time. I took some acetaminophen and drank some water in hopes of it going away during the first leg of the ride. Nope. At rest stop three (I think it was three, it was the one in the state park) I called for a SAG. Laura, Kristin and Dave all decided to SAG with me (I think they felt sorry for me) and hopped in the back of the pickup truck. Little did they know we were going to get on the highway and they were going to freeze their nether-regions off. I felt soooo bad for them but they were troopers and sucked it up anyway.

We got to the next rest stop and saw Amber from the MS Challenge Walk there volunteering. It’s always so much fun to see people you meet through events like this. Back on the bike we got with my headache still there, but not pounding as much as it was.

All in all Sunday was uneventful except for Kristin’s flat tire. Oops. Glad we were at a rest stop that had bike support onsite!!! Once the flat was changed, we hopped on the bike and started singing. I can’t remember what bits and pieces of songs, but I do know that Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was a favorite both days.

Finally we got to LEMON ICE rest stop (which is also the last one before the finish line) and the volunteers were MS Challenge walkers. What a great group of people. We stayed and chatted for some time then decided perhaps we should actually finish the ride. Back on the bikes we go and pedal, pedal, pedal…

The finish line is soooo close you can feel it. Mom of course wants me to call her while I’m riding to let her know we’re at the top of the hill. I do, much to the chagrin of Kristin who doesn’t think I should ride and text or call. Weird huh? Well, we cross the finish line to our waving mom’s, Cami and House hidden behind their cameras and of course we can’t forget Bryan Busby. We got our medals and Brian was gracious enough to take a picture with the three riders. He was a very cool guy.

The Finish Line

Off the bikes (FINALLY) to go get changed and celebrate Mikey’s birthday.

I always ask myself why I ride every year but to be honest, I don’t think I’d go a year without riding simply because of the satisfaction of finishing something as huge as this. The most important thing about the ride, to me, is that I know the money our team raises goes to help every single one of the volunteers (that I know personally) who suffer with MS. That is the most important thing to me – helping them.

Holy moly was this morning an early one.  Things seemed to go much smoother from a being organized perspective.  I wasn’t nearly as stressed-out crazy as I was last year.  I must be mellowing in my old age (ROFLOL).  J

We arrived and parked in the VIP lot – is there really any question that we AREN’T VIP…seriously.  We unpacked our bike gear, got our tires aired up and went in to get our pictures taken.  It was pretty chilly that morning and thanks to Cami, our upper halves were warm.  My concern was our legs…but thanks to Cami or House or even Laura, I don’t remember who, we snagged some Lockton knee sleeves.  THANK GOODNESS!!!  We had them on all weekend long.

We finally got on the road about 8:30 I think, I don’t really know.  Did I mention it was chilly?  We actually rode and survived the nasty hill stretch and we didn’t even know we rode it until we made it to LEMON ICE rest stop.  YAY!!!  This rest stop was by far my favorite, not because of the lemon ice, but because many of the volunteers were from the MS Challenge Walkthat I volunteered in over the summer.  It was so much fun to talk to them and catch up.  As we neared rest stop number 7 (great job Girl Scouts!!!) we were trying to decide if we were going to ride the Century Loop or not.  The three of us are so stubborn that as we neared the split, the silent consensus was that we were riding the century even if we didn’t really want to.  Thankfully the ride was pretty uneventful all the way to Sedalia . 

Saturday nighton the campgrounds was rainy and cold.  Thankfully our shower, or should I say our power washer was really warm.  The shower was heaven, all the hairs on the floor was h*ll.  BLECH!!!  Our massages we got through a group Lockton booked from Sedalia were heavenly.  I don’t remember who he was but his massage was outstanding!!  I didn’t want it to end.  Sadly, I had to get up from the table and head to bed.  Bedtime was horrible.  Never, ever plan to get sleep if you choose to sleep in the Convention Center!  First of all, they never turn off the lights.  Secondly, those setting up and tearing things down never seem to go to bed.  And finally, the flies were annoying!!!  Needless to say Sunday morning is going to be rough!

2008 Rat Pack

This years Rat Pack included Kim, Kristin, Laura and myself. Our day started at 4:30AM, when we got up to get ready for the ride. By 5:30AM we had eaten breakfast and were parking at the school. A very chilly morning, about 58 degrees! By 6:00AM we took the Team Lockton group photo and picked up some Team Lockton arm warmers, knee warmers and hats. Kim was talked in to being an Ambassador, and got a cool stuffed tiger to wear on the ride so people knew she was there to help. Around 6:45AM we headed over to the starting line and joined Team Lockton at the front. For some reason the ride started late, but by 7:30AM we were on our way! Laura’s bike chain broke shortly before we arrived at the first rest stop. My friends Andy and Janice stopped to see if they could help with the chain, but with no lucky we had to leave Laura waiting for a SAG vehicle =(  After a bathroom break at rest stop 1, we jumped back on the bikes, waving to Cami at the bottom of the hill as we went by. Sadly this was where I parted from Kim and Kristin.  Since I was doing the 33 mile ride due to work, I took a right while they went forward toward Sedalia. The 33 mile ride was very lonely, I missed my friends and there was no one else around. I caught up to some people at the second rest stop, but was on my own again after passing a few of them. I could see a few people way up ahead, so my new goal became trying to catch up to them and then pass them =)  It took me a while, but eventually I did it. I’d like to mention that some genus thought it would be a good idea to try and fix the pot hole roads by throwing down a rocky tar mixture, making the roads VERY textured. My hands and arms were not very happy absorbing the shock. I managed to catch up to three more guys before passing them and making my way across the finish line a few minutes after 10AM. I heard there were about 12 people who finished before me, so I did pretty good.

Thank you to everyone who donated money on my behalf, I really appreciate it, as do so many others!

I heard that Laura got the chain fixed and caught back up with Kim and Kristin.  And the girls decided to do the century loop, so they rode 100 miles today, I’m so proud of them!! And can’t wait to hear about their adventures tomorrow =)

My Ride Stats:
Total Miles: 33
Total Pedaling Time: 2 Hours, 12 Minutes and 39 Seconds
Average Speed: 15 Miles/Hour
Max Speed: 33 Miles/Hour
Temperature Range: 58 degrees starting to 65 degrees finishing, brrrr

Getting a little nervous about the ride tomorrow. Thank you to all who have donated, I really appreciate it! Still just under $100 to go before meeting my goal of raising $800. Click here to donate. Right now I’m trying to remember all the things I have to pack for the ride since we’re staying at a hotel near the starting line tonight.

Update: I made my goal, thanks again to all those who contributed!!

Looks like the final tallies are in… Team Lockton raised $138,639!  The Rat Pack contributed a grand total of $3499!

Kim & Kristin both made Lockton’s “Big Money Award” list for raising over $700 each.

Roslyn won awards for being the top recruiter of the year – 8 recruits (the 7 Rat Packers and her son Corey); as well as the “That’s What It’s All About” award, for having MS and not letting it stop her from riding in the MS 150 and participating in the MS Challenge Walk!  Congrats Roslyn!

Okay….It’s Sunday evening about 8:30 p.m. and I can’t believe I’m still awake and functioning.  I’ve iced my knees (I haven’t taken any drugs yet though), had a couple of drinks with dinner (steak, potato and a salad). YUM.

So a recap of the weekend…do you ever have the feeling of “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing?” when you eat something HUGE???  Well I can’t believe I rode the whole D@MN thing!!!  There were so many times I was ready to quit.  It was significantly warmer on Sunday than on Saturday.  Sun with a hateful head wind the whole day on Sunday vs overcast  and cool on Saturday.  The first 10 miles were cr@ppy; the last 30 miles seemed impossible.  I truly don’t think I could have made it if Laura wasn’t riding with me keeping me in check.  (Thanks Stealth) )

My original goal was to not SAG (Service And Gear) the entire first day.  SAG’s are the heaven-sent people who drive back and forth along the route to ensure everyone is safe and pick anyone up who needs a ride.  I made it the entire first day and was VERY excited from a personal standpoint. 

As a team…I’m SOOOOOOOOOOOOO proud of Laura, Kristin, Jen, JJB, Cami and Sandee.  We all met and exceeded our personal goals and I can’t even describe with words how proud I am of each of you ladies.  Way to go!!!!!  Next year our ‘rat pack’ will be kicking a$$ and taking names. 

Here’s what I have learned over the weekend:  

• Without the support of my friends and family and all of their generous donations I wouldn’t have been able to participate (and I even won a $500 jersey) 
• Don’t try to sit on a recently ridden Harley Davidson barefoot; you WILL burn the bottom of your toes. 
• Not a great idea when you’re heading into a long bike ride weekend. 
• Even when you take a few extra hours off of work on Friday there still isn’t enough time to get all your different gear together. 
• Sean is an amazing, fantastic, wonerful friend, bike guru, on-call bike maintanance man and all-around great guy. 
• Sean is never, ever going to get his sweet street bikes back. 
• Mornings still s*ck! 
• The hotel in Belton is a fantastic idea and we’re doing it again next year. 
• Sean is never, ever going to get his sweet street bikes back. 
• When a bike rack says it holds 3 bikes, they lie. 
• What else…..oh, Missouri seems as hilly as Kansas. 
• SAG’s still look better than riding. 
• Sandee is an animal!!!!  Riding 65 miles on a Mountain Bike with knobby tires…simply amazing! 
• The volunteer’s who took are of us were angels and there is no way to thank them enough for feeding, watering, caring and simply cheering us on and keeping us motivated. 
• I learned that Team Lockton rules (but Team Rat Pack is just as good or better)  ;o) 
• POAS – none of that for me this weekend and that makes riding a little uncomfortable. 
• Eating pancakes two mornings in a row is truly difficult. 
• There is not enough protein the night after the first leg. 
• Laura is a hill riding woman.  (I created a new nickname for her on the ride today but it’s late, I’m tired and my brain is mush.)
• The most important thing I learned over the weekend is that I could not have made it 1 mile much less 166 miles without the support of my friends.  Thank you all.

Good night and Godspeed – Kimmer