Seven of us rode my Peachy Keene 200k permanent this morning, leaving out of southwest Arlington at 7:30 am. Besides me, there was Steve, Peggy, Ray, Greg, and Mark and Linda M. This route goes southwest through Kennedale, then Keene, before stopping at Cleburne. Then it heads pretty much straight south, turning east a few miles west of Covington, going through Covington and on to Itasca. Then it goes over Orphan Hill, and down the other side to the next stop at Maypearl. Then it turns back north to Alvarado, then back to Arlington.

After all the dire forecasts from yesterday, it turned out to be a beautiful day. The front had already arrived at the start, and we had a north breeze, but we soon seemed to move ahead of the front as we headed south. It was mostly cloudy, and did get a bit warm with all the humidity, until we turned to head back north. By then the wind was from the north, and starting to pick up, and it was much cooler the rest of the way.

It was not a hammering pace among the group today, and I was able to stay with everyone for most of the ride. A couple of the bigger hills found me off the back for a while, but that’s the norm. The roads were in good shape for the most part, and with everything so green, some of these Johnson county roads with their canopy of trees overhead, were really beautiful.

I ended up with 124.2 miles, and finished in 9:59. Thanks, everyone. I really enjoyed the ride and especially the company.

Peachy Keene route