Tour de Shawnee

The weather felt like Mid-October, but the calendar said that it was the end of August, so that means one thing... The Tour de Shawnee. The TdS is a charity bicycle ride which supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and is now in it's 20th Year. There were around 600 riders this year. There's a 25 mile or an 11.5 mile option. There used to be a 50 mile route, but it's been cut for budgetary reasons. This is the 5th time that I've ridden in the event and for the second year in a row, I've brought Libby along with me. The event is really well organized from beginning to end. Plenty of parking, breakfast (bagels, donuts, fruit, juice, coffee, etc.), rest stops (four total on the 25 mile route, two on the 11.5 mile route) stocked with cookies, fruit, and water, police at every intersection giving the right-of-way to the riders, roving bike repair from the local shops, and a box lunch at the end of the ride. Plus a long sleeve t-shirt. All for $25. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning.

I rode over to the start from our house. Lori and Sara drove Libby and her bike out. Libby forgot her helmet, so Lori drove home and picked it up. But, she made it back in time and Libby and I pedaled away when the air horn went off at 8AM. Here's Libby and I all geared up and ready to go.

And here's Libby just by herself.

I brought one of the cameras along with me and thought I'd attempt my first rolling interview.

Here's Libby "in action" on 55th Street.

I mentioned the rest stops earlier. If they had cookies we had to stop. I think Libby could have continued, but I can't pass up a cookie stop.

Meanwhile, back at the start, Lori and Sara ran a couple of errands, but came back to make sure that they would be there when we finished.

Sara didn't think that Lori was doing a good job of being the Team Photographer, so she took things into her own hands. She likes self-portraits.

After Libby and I had our cookie break, we finished up the last half of the ride, which included an 8 block stretch along Pflumm Road that is pretty much uphill all the way. Libby didn't complain, and she spun her way up the hill without stopping. She was doing better on her mountain bike than a lot of people were doing on their road bikes. I was really proud of her. She commented that these hills would be a lot easier if there was a chocolate stop at the top of each hill. I think she has a valid point.

After a couple more turns and a couple of additional hills, we made it to the finish line. Sara was there to capture the moment.

It took Libby and I about an hour of riding time to cover the whole route. I think that was about 15 minutes quicker than last year. Next year, we'll have to do the 25 mile route!