No Plan B

Well that's how the day started.

Singleminded focus on the objective at hand:  Ride to the Cliff Drive Classic and watch the boys suffer. 

Well, all I can say is that I made it there.  Also the boys did suffer. 

The weather has became very atypical for August,  65 degrees and cloudy was what I woke up to.  The weatherman started the forecast with the warning "Have a Plan B, because today we will get some rain throughout the morning and the afternoon!"  

I already told the fellows that I was going to make it out to watch them and damn it that's what I had planned to do!  As I started getting in My Wife Inc kit it just started to sprinkle.  Great, I love to ride in the rain!  I rolled out the door to be welcomed with a nice COLD breeze coming for the east.  Immediately I turned around to the house to get properly prepared for day in the rain.  Grabbed the arm warmers my wind vest, and rubbed a little of this on the knees.  Who would have thought that I would have to do that in August.

The ride started out great but by the time I reached 85th and Blue Parkway the temp had dropped and the rain was coming down pretty good.  The trees along the parkway make it very chilly in my opinion.  At this point I put the arm warmers on because I already had my wind vest on to keep the core warm.  As I scooted along towards the Zoo it became to stop raining a little.  But the pavement was really wet with lots of large hydroplane puddles on them.  For those who ridden the streets of Kansas City you know what I'm talking about.  Very sketchy in bad weather and very slick.  Euro baby, very Euro!  

I knew I wasn't going to make it time due to the rain slowing my speed (plus lack of fitness) so I took a new route towards Cliff Drive.  Prospect Avenue all the way through.  To say the least that must have been the most Culturally Enhanced Tour I have had.  It all started by Gates BBQ where I a nice lady propositioned me for a ride, and I think she didn't mean on my bike!

To say that the urban core isn't in plight is an understatement.  There are some strides being made but they fall very short of what is possible for this city.  Some new condo's, home's, and business' are trying but they seem to fighting an uphill battle.

As I reached the 18th & Vine corridor I got another shit grin moment, another cracked out lady almost falling off the curb, talking, (well yelling) something completely unrecognizable as English.  At the time of crossing the road the light turned green for us to move forward and she stopped right in the middle of the road to confront the cars honking at her to move.  The only thing I made sense of during her tirade was two middle fingers for the cars.  I wasn't quite done with the Cultural Enhancement just yet.  Oh yea Karls Jr would have loved this ride!!

I'm not really sure what street I was at when this big shit grin moment occurred but it was sure entertaining.  As I approached this apartment complex a older gentlemen comes to the edge of the deck and starts yelling or cheering for me to make it to the top.  I have to put this one delicately, but the gentlemen wasn't playing with a full deck of cards.  As Ben Stellar said in What About Mary " I Love those Tards!"  

After that nothing much occurred, arriving for the Cliff Drive Classic as 5 laps remaining I got to see the boys killing it, in what was one of the toughest editions I think I have seen, the corners where still wet and the construction had left the road rough and muddy.  Everyone in the groups were mud covered and looking totally Euro.  I was very impressed with SheaButter for his 6th place in the race, and Tulip looked good but got caught behind a wreck and couldn't make up the distance from the first group.

My ride back became a race with the clock, I had to get back home to sell one of my rigs, but as the clock ticked my legs decided they didn't want to.  At this time I think the training stimulus had expired.  At the 2hr 45min mark I reached a breaking point, threw down my go-go speed juice with the hopes of it making the system override that I needed. Then about at the 3hr 30 mark something clicked and the body started to fluctuate the heart rate as if I was actually training again.  WOW, I made it home with a little extra in the tank, which absolutely amazed me.  

So 4hrs 23min and 66.12 miles with a total of 2658 ft of climbing I had the best recovery food possible, the boss's enchiladas.  

What more could you ask for from one big shit eating grin ride?

Well I hoping my boy RV got his buckle at this race!