Jeri Baughn became the first person wanting to ride the new Peachy Keene 200k permanent owned by yours truly, so I joined her for the ride this morning. Mark Metcalfe also came to ride with us. It was 56 degrees at 8:00 am, ride start time, with high humidity, dark clouds, and an already howling wind. The wind and humidity made it seem much cooler, and I put on my leg warmers before the ride started. It ended up sunny and in the low 80’s in the afternoon, a big change from morning, like some of these spring days can be.

Jeri said before the ride that she would likely struggle with the time limit, especially with the wind, so Mark and I didn’t try to stay back with her, and rode ahead almost from the beginning. But we also rode an easy pace. Mark was nursing a gimpy knee (and no matter what Mark tells you, it was NOT me that let 20 pounds of air out of his rear tire), and the morning coolness and dampness had my asthma flaring up pretty quickly, so we were both content to ride an easy pace.

This route starts in southwest Arlington, and heads southwest through Kennedale and on to Keene, then to Cleburne for the first control. Then it heads pretty much straight south to an information control west of Covington, then on to Itasca, then Maypearl, and Alvarado, before returning to Arlington. It’s rolling hills much of the way to Cleburne, but the trees surrounding the narrow roads helped to keep the wind off of us. South of Cleburne, there are fewer trees, and the wind was pretty tough. Just past Itasca at mile 65 is the trip up Orphan hill, then it’s all easier riding down to the valley where Maypearl is, and with a tailwind the rest of the way.

On the few days he rides slower and I can keep up with him, it’s always a blast to ride with Mark. His knee held up ok, so hopefully, he’s well on the road to recovery with it. Today’s ride was a reminder that there’s nothing wrong with riding an easy pace on one of these long rides, and it can be a lot of fun. I’m usually trying to keep up with riders that are faster than me, and tend to be wiped out after the ride. Tonight is the least tired I’ve ever felt after a 200k.

Thanks for a great ride, Mark. Unfortunately, Jeri missed a turn, got in time trouble, and DNF’d. I hope she is able to finish it next time. I ended up with 124.6 miles, and finished the ride in 10:35. My gps showed 4,200 feet of climbing, which is a LOT more than the 2,400 feet that bikely showed, but still one of the easier 200k permanents.

Peachy Keene route