I rode 113 miles yesterday, a Lone Star Randonneurs Dart. A Dart is a randonneuring team ride, with 3 to 5 riders. It is a ride of at least 180k in distance, teammates must ride together, and the ride must be completed in exactly 12 hours. At least 3 riders must complete the ride for the riders to receive credit, so it’s a good idea to have at least 4 on a team to start. It was two days after my follow up oncologist appointment following my annual scan, and I was still smiling from the news that I’m still cancer free. It seemed a great day for a long ride.
My teammates were all recumbent riders, and the team was called Dart Vader. Riders were Shellene, Greg, Paul, and I. I had designed the route, a 183k route that starts at Lynn Creek Marina on Joe Pool Lake, goes out to Itasca, then to Italy, then to Midlothian, before making the return to Joe Pool Lake. I named the route Itasca Disasta.
It became a fitting name for Paul, whose ride turned into a disasta pretty quickly. We took off from the start at 6:30 am, and he soon became very sick with what appeared to be food poisoning symptoms, and had to quit the ride at mile 14. He was so sick that we all worried about him getting back safely. He called and left a message to let us know he made it home, and we were happy to hear that.
That left us with the minimum 3 riders, but things went well from there. The route climbs Orphan Hill on the way from Maypearl to Itasca. I had never climbed Orphan Hill from that direction. It’s a longer and taller climb from that direction, but much of it is just a false flat, and even near the top where it becomes steeper, it’s still not a steep grade. I climbed it in my middle chain ring.
The highest point of the ride comes after Itasca, when the ride turns southeast and climbs back up the same ridge that holds Orphan Hill. This climb was also not steep, but the 13 miles from Itasca to the US 77 junction is the roughest chip seal I’ve ever ridden. This stretch also has fewer trees, and really catches a south wind. By the time we rode it yesterday, though, the wind wasn’t blowing nearly as hard as it had earlier in the morning.
Just three miles short of our stop in Italy, Greg had a flat. Everything went smoothly after that. It got pretty hot in the afternoon, but we stopped often. 12 hours is way more than enough time to complete a 183k ride, so there was no reason not to ride an easy pace and stop often.
We were supposed to join the other Dart teams for dinner at the Oasis after the ride, but couldn’t get a table, so we drove over to the Sweet Tomatoes and ate there. It was a great time, and you can’t believe how much food skinny riders can down at a buffet…….LOL. Thanks for joining me, Greg, Shellene, and Paul! I hope you’re feeling better today, Paul.
Itasca Disasta Dart route.
