Steve, Ray, Greg, and I set out at 7:30 am this morning to do this 100k permanent. The temperature was in the 40’s, and the wind was already howling out of the northwest, and would get harder as the day went. This ride starts near I-20 and Green Oaks in Arlington, and heads out south of town on roads used by many club rides, making a control stop in Venus, then heading northwest to I-35W and Garden Acres for the second control. I know most of these roads, but there were a few new wrinkles thrown in, a few roads I hadn’t ridden before.

The question of whether we would end up with bonus miles was answered quickly when we made a wrong turn less than 5 miles into the ride, and picked up 6 extra miles. The familiar roads headed out to Venus are small, rough in places, and have lots of turns. We almost missed a couple of other turns, but caught ourselves fairly quickly. Most of this route is low traffic roads, and I was ready for that, since the last couple of randonneuring rides I have done have been in more traffic than I want to contend with.

After leaving the Venus control at mile 32, we made the north and west trek to the next control, 25 miles away. This stretch was brutal, with almost all of it being against the wind. I could not hold the group’s pace on this stretch, and blew myself up, trying to. When we left the next control for the final 17 miles, I only had two speeds left: slow and slower. Some of this stretch had us riding north, against the wind, but thankfully, more of it was east, with a quartering tail wind.

We finished the ride at 1:10 pm, for a 5:40 total. My total miles were 74.3. I wore tights, jacket, heavy gloves, and balaclava on this ride, and never had the urge to shed any clothes. By the time the sun got up high, and the temperature climbed a bit, we turned to face the wind. As always, I enjoyed the good company on this ride. Thanks, Steve, Ray, and Greg!