Ralph's Ozark Bike Blog

Headlines From Ralph's Ozark Bike Blog

Tour of Northeastern Kansas 600K Brevet 05-16-2012

The Kansas City Region 600K was held this past weekend in Kansas City, KS, and Dan Pfaff and I drove up Friday evening to ride it. We had attempted to ride it two years ago and were wiped out by a fierce headwind.  600K RouteThe ride started at 06:00 from the American […]

200, 300, 400Km 05-06-2012

Been riding and have not had much time to keep the blog updated. Dan Pfaff and I pre-rode the Southwest Missouri 200Km on March 18, my birthday. It was a nice day to ride, except that we had a south head wind on the return that slowed us up. We finished in just under 11 […]

555 Km 01-29-2012

Dan Pfaff, Joe Kratovil and I rode the Marshfield Mash 112K today. Joe is from New Jersey and is visiting his mom in Mountain Home, AR. It was a clear day with a 10-15 mph wind out of the southwest to west, so we had a little push on the way out. The temperature was about […]

Another Windy Day in Southwest Missouri 01-22-2012

Dan and I hit the road at 8:00 this morning to ride the Hound Dog 123K to Aurora and back. It was chilly (34 degrees) with a strong SSE wind (25+ mph). It was a little slow going out, particularly since we stopped in Billings to use the restroom. The sun came out while we […]

Wind Blown to Golden City 01-16-2012

On Sunday, Dan and I rode the Route 66 & Cooky's Pie 205K permanent to Golden City. We left at 6:30, hoping to get back before dark. It was a nice, but cool, ride out with clear skies and a strong south southeast wind (20+ mph, gusting to 30+). The most excitement […]

Mt. Mitchell Short Changed Permanent #1379 01-11-2012

RUSA has approved a new permanent I submitted. It is on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina where we have family and spend a lot of time. There is 11,000 feet of climbing over 98 miles (157 Km). It can be ridden from April to October when the Parkway is open. Hope […]

Riding the North County 01-08-2012

Starting at 8:30 on Saturday, Dan Pfaff and I rode the Bolton's 115K Permanent. The route is Central Springfield to Fair Grove to Bolton's General Store (north of Willard and east of Walnut Grove on Hwy BB) and back. The segment between Fair Grove and Bolton's […]

RUSA 5000Km Award 01-02-2012

My goal for 2011 was to ride at least 5,000Km of RUSA-sanctioned rides. I completed 5,162Km. The 5000Km award (below) is the greatest annual cumulative distance award RUSA has established. There are lifetime distance awards: Mondial (40,000Km) and Galaxy (100,000Km). Mondial […]

Ash Grove 12-31-2011

I rode to Ash Grove today with Rae, Doug and Tom for the final ride of the year. It was a little chilly when we started, but the sun was out. We planned to stop at Willy B's in Ash Grove for pancakes. Unfortunately, Willy B's has closed down. We went to Mama Loca's […]

PARIS BREST PARIS The long ride toward a distant dawn 12-24-2011

This is a French documentary with subtitles. It is about 46 minutes. It has some historical footage, but focuses on the 2011 event. They talk about PBP being a race, which is how it started. I think the rider with the best time is still recognized, but most are just trying […]