This Lone Star Randonneurs’ ride started at the corner of Danieldale and Clark Road in Duncanville, went south through Cedar Hill and Midlothian, then west to its first control stop at Maypearl, then on to Covington for the second stop. Then, it reversed the route for another stop at Maypearl, then back to Duncanville. The roads were low traffic, with only a few rough spots. I thought it was a very good route. This was my first century ride.

Since I had never done a 100 mile ride, I decided I’d better pace myself for the first three legs of this ride, then see if I had enough left to speed up a bit for the last leg. I used my heart rate monitor to pace myself, trying keep my heart rate under 160 on climbs, and under 150 the rest of the time. That worked out well. I still managed to stay in the front half of the riders, and though I kept a little faster pace than I intended on much of the third leg, just to keep riders in front of me in sight, I still felt good enough after three legs that I sped up and rode with the lead group for the last leg. Jorge pulled into the finish first, and I was right on his wheel.

This group takes time to regroup and chat at all the control stops, and as always, was one of the friendliest group of riders I’ve seen. I also met Kwijybow, and rode with him quite a bit. Nice to finally meet you, Nelson!

I ended up with 101.3 miles, at a 16.7 mph average, and an average heart rate of 141. My gps recorded 3618 feet of climbing. It didn’t really seem like that much. I guess that’s because there are no really brutal hills on this route, and lots of flats. My max heart rate for the ride was 173. I can’t remember the last club ride I did without a higher heart rate than that. I guess that’s why I had energy at the end. There is probably something to be said for pacing yourself well.

I enjoy riding with this group enough, I guess I should join and tackle a 200k brevet. If I can ride 100 miles, I can ride 128 miles, right?