Here we are at the start of the Cairo Wildcat Century:
Fourteen people showed, including four from St. Louis (Dessa, Bob, and friends Carrie and Brian).
We also had two support vehicles, driven by Mary Harriet Talbut and Robin.
I still can’t believe the weather. It was sunny with just a few fleecy clouds, close to 60 degrees when we started, and maybe 72 when we finished. A light breeze from the SE most of the day.
The ride started out well in the gently rolling hills west of Cape, and some lovely spring scenery.
We had enough time to get warmed up before hitting the big hills between Chaffee and Benton.
Aftersome PB&J (and for some, a tall one), we crossed the Mississippi at Cairo — the high point of the trip for me.
Really observant readers will notice that Andy, pictured above, wasn’t there at the start. He flew in from Montana the night before and was too much of a wimp to make it at 9 AM, so he drove down and met us just before the bridge.
We had an impromptu regrouping at Horseshoe Lake,
and then Barney managed to a) take a wrong turn and b) break his cleat in such a way that he couldn’t get his foot out of the pedal the rest of the trip. We did eventually find him, and everyone made it back. Most of us then headed for El Torero to celebrate.
All in all, a great day, and worth doing again next year.
