Steve, Peggy, Nelson, Mark M, and I headed out of Lynn Creek Marina at Joe Pool Lake shortly after 7:00 am this morning to ride the Rio Vista Rumble 200k permanent. This route goes southwest out through Venus, Alvarado, and Rio Vista on its way to a control stop near Blum. Then it turns east to Covington, then south and east to Itasca, before a stop in Maypearl. Then it’s on to Midlothian and down Lake Ridge Parkway to the finish.
I decided to ride the Roadster today. I had never done a 200k on it and figured this route would be a good test for it. There are rough roads in places, and stretches of chipseal. It ended up being more of a test than I bargained for. Two miles of CR 401 on the other side of Alvarado is gravel right now, and thick gravel in places. A big dog on my arse while I fishtailed in the thick gravel isn’t the most pleasant of my memories from the ride today.
Come to think of it, there are plenty of memories from the ride that aren’t that pleasant. If you do enough of these long rides, you are bound to have days when you struggle just to finish, and this turned into one of those days for me.
The heat was brutal. Not only was it near 100 degrees, but with so much water on the ground from the rain this week, the humidity was also high. I usually do well in the heat, but on this, the first of the truly hot rides this year, I was plainly not well enough conditioned to the heat yet, for the effort I was putting out.
I felt fine early. We made a quick stop in Alvarado, then at the second control near Blum at 57 miles. The heat was definitely making an appearance by then, but I felt fine until the short, steep hill coming into Covington at mile 68. I had to go to my lowest gear for this hill, just to climb it. I’ve ridden the hill many times, and don’t usually struggle like that on it. I thought to myself that that probably didn’t bode well for the climbs later in the ride.
When we turned onto the chipseal on SH 171 shortly after that, I started falling further and further back, in spite of the fact that my heart rate kept going over 160. I felt like I was pedaling in mud, and not getting anywhere. Finally, just before the turn east at mile 73, I realized that I was riding on an almost flat rear tire. I stopped under a shade tree to fix the flat, and immediately realized that I was wiped out from the heat.
Nelson had turned around and helped me with the flat, and we then pedaled on. I quickly realized that I was still putting out a lot of effort and getting not very much speed from it. I would be just turning the pedals the rest of the ride. I’ve been in this situation many times before, no strength left to do anything but turn the pedals, but not this early in a long ride, and not in this kind of heat.
We made a quick stop in the shade in Itasca and had some water. I had my doubts about getting up Orpan Hill, just past Itasca, as well as the other remaining climbs. I was once again in my lowest gear on Orphan Hill, something I’ve never had to do on it before, but I did manage to climb it without stopping. When I pulled into the next control at Maypearl, Steve quickly handed me an RC (thanks, Steve), and I poured cold water on my head to cool off, then sat down to have a Nutty Buddy ice cream, the only thing that sounded good at the time. It occurred to me at that point that this was the most wiped out I had felt on a bike ride, ever. That distinction would not last long.
I was reasonably sure that I would not be able to make the next climb, up Old Buena Vista Road, without stopping to rest. This hill is tough for me, even on my best days. As I made the climb, I kept checking out shade trees ahead, for a possible stop. But I never did stop, slowly making my way to the top of the hill. The next big hill, on Singleton Road, was also a serious struggle, but I once again made the climb without stopping. This hill really seemed to take it all out of me though, and I started to wonder how much further I could ride after it.
Nelson fell back to ride with me shortly afterward, and stayed with me the rest of the way (thanks, Nelson). We had decided to stop at a Whataburger in Midlothian for a cool-off break, but about a mile before we got there, I decided that I could no longer turn the pedals, and turned into a circle driveway, and layed down in the shade. Thankfully, the homeowner did not come out with a shotgun to greet me.
If I were a gambling man, I would have bet on a DNF at that point. But, after laying down for a few minutes, then sitting in the shade and drinking some mix and water, I felt able to ride, and Nelson and I rode on to the Whataburger.
After a nice cool down, and cold caffeinated and sugary drink, I felt like I could finish the ride. There are no serious uphills going through Midlothian, and shortly after that, you hit the big downhill on Lake Ridge Parkway to finish the ride. I was feeble, but pedaled without a problem for the rest of the ride.
We finished in 11 hours even. Not one of my finer days on a bicycle, but now and then you’re going to have one of those days when you’re definitely the bug, and not the windshield, and that was the case for me, today.
With the shape I was in, it wasn’t a good day for a randonneuring comparison between the Roadster and Corsa, but I did get a few impressions from the ride. The ride of the Roadster on rough roads and chipseal is surprisingly good. My feet did bother me some later in the ride, but no more than usual on a hot day on these kinds of roads. The Roadster, with its 451 front wheel, does seem to be slowed slightly more than the Corsa on chipseal. And the carbon CCK seat is not as comfortable for me on a long ride as the wider Euromesh seat. Another thing that I noticed was that the Cool Wings I had on my arms, which usually evaporate sweat so well that they stay dry to the touch, don’t work nearly as well with this kind of humidity.
Ah, the pleasures of riding…
Rio Vista Rumble route
