Long ride weekend

...or not.

I had a boy's trip scheduled this weekend to meet up in Columbia and ride the Katy Trail all weekend.  We were graciously hosted in Columbia by my buddy Ryan's old professor, Doug.  He was a terrific host even though he was fighting a massive ear infection, and the accommodations were very much appreciated. 

Ryan and I got into town rather late on Friday night, and we called it a night at about 1am.  We didn't hit the trail until about 9:30 on Saturday morning.  The plan was to ride to Jeff City and back, making it about a 65-70 mile ride.  We got to Hartsburg, MO, at about 12:10, and were starving.  Plus they had a BBQ fundraiser going on, and Jeff City was about another hour away.  Needless to say, our stomachs won out there, and we ate some of the best BBQ I've had in awhile.  Pork steak, potato salad, and baked beans for $8.  Can't beat that with a big stick.  They took our picture, so we are somewhere out there on Facebook stuffing our faces.

We decided at that point, to turn around, and go past Columbia and ride to Rocheport.  We made the trek back in what seemed like half the time, but thunderstorms were looming and we were starting to get a bit tired.  My hearts and lungs certainly weren't strained, and neither my legs, but my saddle region was killing me.  I let a good bit of pressure out of my tires to help ease the constant hammering, but the Katy Trail is no place for a race saddle.  I'll be rolling with a nice, cushy couch cushion next time.  I'm still a little sore, but I'll see how sore tonight when I try and get some intervals in before my next race.

October 3rd is my next race, Boss Cross #3, and I'm SO looking forward to it.  I'll even wear sleeves this time!

So anyway, back to the trip.  We ended up going back to Doug's house, getting cleaned up, and had a great dinner at the Flat Branch restaurant in Columbia.  I had a beer and a half on Saturday, figuring I earned it with my calorie exertion.  The food there was terrific, as was the company.  The weather was starting to head downhill, and by the time we got back to Doug's casa, it started raining pretty good, and it didn't let up until the wee hours of the morning (not that I knew, I was out by 9:30). 

By the time we all were roused, we looked outside and saw the damp, cold morning awaiting us and we headed to the movies and saw "The Town".  Not too bad.  We had some great cheap lunch at some place I can't remember the name of then went back to Doug's, packed up, and headed back to Kansas.

Kind of a lame riding weekend, but it was good to see the guys and get out of the house.  Now back to work!