[doctor j]

Rode the century on the Maple Leaf ride at Carthage, MO. The ride was well organized with plenty of rest stops, SAG, friendly & helpful volunteers, map + info sheet, and good markings on the roads. There were people there from as far away as St. Louis and Kansas City. I drafted the KC people for the last 6 miles in the significant headwind. They were better cyclists than yours truly but didn't mind me tagging along. Thanks Rob, Petra, and Deb! The route was fairly flat and ran mostly through farm land, really small towns, and back roads. Traffic was negligible. New records for me and Ol' Fuj. 103 miles with an average of 15.2 mph. No pix on this run as I was carrying too much other junk, as usual. If you're within driving distance of Carthage, MO, just northeast of Joplin, you might want to consider riding this one in '08. The ride was sponsored by the Joplin Trails Coalition. They did a fine job.

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[Terrierman]

I figured you went for it. Glad it was a good day. Congratulations on a fine pace. That area really is pretty flat isn't it and very nice farm land with decent back roads. Did the wind change around on you today too? Here early it was pretty stiff from the east, then switched to south east or maybe south south east, then laid for a bit and finally picked up again out of the straight north. Go figure.

As for me, I did house husband duties in the early AM, rode up to Nixa and had lunch with Lovey then rode back home and went back to work on dog club stuff. Got in a very nice 40 miles between actually doing stuff that I passed on the Maple Leaf to take care of. It was a productive day, wish I could have gone too, but duty called, and this time I answered. Sorry I missed it, maybe next year.

[doctor j]

Yes, the wind shifted around in the Carthage area about as it did in your area. We had significant head winds for the last 30 miles or so, and I paid the price for tail winds early on. The route was flatter than my normal runs, so it was a welcome break. There was great looking farmland all along the route. I hope to do this ride again next year.