Muddy Waters (picture)

Date: August, 9, 2009.   |   Distance: 77.96.
Cyclists: Mike, Steve and 500 others.

The Muddy Waters 100 has moved to the Forks after more than a decade launching from a small park outside the city. It's also gotten together with Habitat for Humanity and gone fundraiser. It was quite a different crowd at this years ride. Lots of MS, Cancer, U-Name-It fundraiser ladies of a certain age in charity ride jersey's. The chatter where I was lining up was about plans for the MS ride later in August and how the breakfast sucked last year. Hmmmmm. The level of organization was way up over previous rides. We had coloured ribbons to designate the distances were were going. Steve and I had pretty orange ribbons for the 60km ride. We seemed to be in the majority, unlike other years when the 100k and 100mile riders made up 90% of the crowd. We got off right on time to a police escorted, roads closed group of over 500 cyclists. It was pretty neat. Steve and I moved up closer to the front and got in with the 100km riders. When we hit the Perimeter Hwy. the police left us and the speed picked up as we headed out north Main Street. We did a respectable 25 to 28kph until we hit River Road. We briefly had the wind behind us and the spreed went up over 30kph. It stayed that way until Lockport. We rode in a big pack and didn't expend all that much energy. We were amoung the first to arrive at the rest stop, watered up and headed back down Henderson Hwy with the wind mostly behind us. We cruised into the city at about 28kph. Good times. Back to the Forks and the ride was over.