Well, another challenging Lilac Century in the books! This one was probably one of the more difficult as the weather was very rainy on top of a very stout SW wind. There were numerous rider "no shows" due to the weather but four of us, (Bob F, Warren W, Nelio and Brent), from Baddlands braved the elements as did many riders from both the local area and afar. Bob F and I started a little after 07:00 hrs with quite a number of other riders starting prior to us. We, as always, decided to push as hard as we could. Bob's an incredible rider and it was he & I alone throughout the ride fighting the elements. On many occasion we had other riders join us however, none were willing to help up front. Just prior to Reardan we passed the lead group in the 100 mile route and really never saw any other riders thereafter. Warren and Nelio both completed the course and did very well also. Bob and I only stopped once in Reardan for approximately 7 minutes for bathroom, nutrition and more water. It was a great workout and as they say, "what doesn't kill you builds character"! We had quite a bit of character building today. Approximately two-thirds through the ride I noticed my bike was not shifting very well but we pushed on anyway. While cleaning my bike after the event I noticed that the idler pulley on the rear derailer was only half there, hence the shifting problem.
The ride was well supported as always and a special thanks to all the volunteers and, as far as I know, all riders came in safe!
We'll do it again next year.