The Trek 100

On Saturday, I participated in my first Trek 100 ride, which supports Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer (the MACC Fund) and research into critical pediatric cancer and related blood disorders. This year's ride, which was their 20th anniversary ride, began at Trek's world headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin. Those electing to ride the 19 or 36 mile routes were asked to assemble at 10 a.m. On an abnormally cool and rain-threatened day, I arrived on-site around 9:45, with light rain falling. There were a large number of people assembled there, so they were started in small groups every few minutes. I started riding around 10:15. Fortunately for the balance of my ride, there were only a few minutes of steady light rain, an additional hour or so of sprinkles, and the remaining two hours were ridden under rain-free cloudiness. Temperatures started around 63 and dropped to 59 by ride's end. The wind was very light at the start, but increased as the ride progressed. Because of the cool temperatures and rain threat, I wore my red nylon cycling jacket for extra warmth, wind protection, and waterproofing.

The route was very rural, with rolling hills typical of southern Wisconsin. I passed farm fields (and cows), lovely Rock Lake (near Lake Mills), and wooded sections with lovely homes on the western edge of that lake. There were three well-stocked rest stops along the route, but I didn't linger very long at any of them. I rode a total of 36.3 miles, bringing my seasonal total to 355.7. At some point during the ride, I reached a speed of 32.2 mph, which is the fastest I've so far ridden on my Trek 7500 bicycle.

Despite the very atypical June weather and the nagging worry of rain, the Trek 100 was an enjoyable ride. If I elect to ride the Trek 100 again, it will hopefully be on a far warmer and sunnier day!