Rose and I headed out to Benbrook for a short ride this morning. Greg joined us on the VK2. It was a beautiful, cool morning, but the northwest wind was howling. Other than a few blocks around the neighborhood, this was Rose’s first ride in a long time, so it was good to see her back on the bike.

I ended up with 26 miles. That, combined with my three commute rides gave me 101 miles for the week. I’m thinking that’s not bad, considering it was my first week with shingles.

It was 50 degrees as I rode to work this morning, and 75 degrees as I headed home this afternoon. Today was my first ride since I was diagnosed with shingles on Sunday. A recumbent bicycle seat is usually the most comfortable bicycle seat of all, but with the worst of my shingles rash on the middle of my back, that seat back was no fun today. I’m thinking I’ll try to ride to work anytime I feel up to it, though, since I’ll likely not try any long distance rides until I’m well.

I rode the bike to work today. It was 59 degrees this morning, then 78 degrees as I headed home. I ran into a shower just as I left work, but it didn’t last long, and the roads were dry before I made it halfway home.

I took a detour at Risinger Road, turning right and checking out where it dead ends. I really don’t like riding on Sycamore School Road coming home, and I have found an alternate route that will keep me off of it. Tomorrow, I’ll try it out. Risinger Road and Carolina Drive dead end, less than a city block apart. It turns out you can navigate the barricades with a bike, with just a bit of walking. That will let me ride neighborhood streets rather than Sycamore School Road. Thank you, google maps.

Special thanks to Peggy and Mark M for organizing this ride. I had a blast. Some hardcore randonneurs might argue that the weather was too great or the route too easy, but it was still a grand adventure for this old f*rt.

We rode 7.5 miles from Lynn Creek Marina to the start of the ride in Duncanville, then at 8:00 am, Saturday, we were off. The route went out to Italy for the second control, then on to Dawson for the next. Winds stayed as light as I think I’ve ever seen on a long ride, so the southbound part of our ride never turned into the beating that a big headwind can cause.

After another control at Wortham, we arrived at Teague at mile 106, and stopped at a Dairy Queen to eat. Very hungry by that time, I had an extra long chili cheese dog and a blizzard. While I have been known to eat this very unhealthy meal on rare occasions, this was the first time I had ever downed anything this obscene on a randonneuring ride, and it wasn’t long before I was reminded why.

I felt like I had a concrete block on my stomach, and was just hanging on for the next 35 miles, through the Donie Post Office control, and on to Mexia. We made a longer stop at Mexia, rigging for darkness before pedaling on, and by the time we left, my stomach had settled. The easier pace because of darkness also helped, I think, and I felt good the rest of the ride.

There are serious time constraints for a fleche. You can’t finish too early, nor spend too long at one control. We were somewhat ahead of schedule by the time we arrived at the Hubbard Post Office at mile 164, so it was nap time there, before we moved on.

At Milford at mile 188, Linda M met us with hot food and coffee. I think you have to be a randonneur to really appreciate how great that was at 2:00 am. Thanks, Linda! It was a quicker stop at Maypearl at mile 204, but we spent a good while at the next to last control in Venus, at mile 215.

After a couple of stops for light battery replacements, we arrived at Lynn Creek Marina well within the proper time, and I had completed my first fleche. I had a great time, spending 24 hours riding and cutting up with this group. Mark did a great job with the route. His experience and expertise were obvious, having us on the best roads at the best time to be on them, and telling us what to expect and watch for on the entire route.

With the ride to the start, I ended up with just short of 243 miles, and another great rando adventure was in the books. Thanks for having me along, everyone!

360K Fleche route

Steve, Peggy, Nelson, and I left Prosper at 8:00 am this morning to ride Nelson’s Live Long and Prosper 200k permanent. This route is an out and back that goes from Prosper to Sanger, then on west to Forestburg, then back. Like many of these long rides do, this one turned into another epic adventure.

The 20+ mph SSW winds at the beginning were already tough. And the further west we got, the more the wind swung to the west, and the harder it blew. By the time we got to I-35, the wind was almost from straight west, and before we reached Forestburg, we were hitting gusts that I think had to be near 50 mph. It was the toughest winds I’ve ever ridden in.

It’s steady elevation gain from Sanger to Forestburg. When the road headed straight west, climbing against the wind was very tough. But the stretches where the road turned more north were even tougher. The big gusting crosswinds made it tough just staying on the road in many places. Besides being the toughest wind I think I’ve ever faced, a couple of other factors made it even tougher. Once you get very far west of Sanger, it’s rolling hills and grasslands, without many trees to stop the wind. My HED wheels didn’t help, either. Don’t get me wrong. I love my HED’s. But aero wheels are probably not the best choice on days where you run into 50 mph wind gusts.

We made a stop at the Valero in Bolivar, then rode on toward Forestburg. I fell back on this stretch. I knew I still had a long ways to get back, so was trying not to blow myself up too much. I was trying to ride my own pace, keep my heart rate below 150 on the flats and lesser hills, and keep it under 160 on any of the hills. But spinning slowly up the hills made the crosswinds even tougher. It’s hard to keep from getting blown over by these kinds of winds when you’re climbing at 5 mph. Topping one hill, I hit such a wind gust that I had to stop and put a foot down to keep from being blown over. Six miles before Forestburg, my average speed for the entire ride up to that point fell to under 12 mph, and I knew things were getting tough.

Leaving Forestburg for the return trip, it was a lot different ride. The big tail wind and mostly downhill riding made for a much faster return. But there are stretches where you are riding more south than east, and the crosswinds were truly tough on those stretches. I felt bad for Peggy. We were all getting blown around, but she was really getting the worst of it. She’s light enough that she has trouble getting blown around by the wind anyway, and she was running aero wheels today also, and when I would get blown near the center of the road, she’d be blown all the way into the oncoming lane.

We were all glad to make the final turn east at around mile 120, knowing it would mostly be just a tailwind for the remaining miles. I ended up with 126.1 miles. We finished in 10:27, not exactly a blistering time, but it was all I had on this day under these conditions. Thanks for having me along, y’all! It was another adventure we’re unlikely to soon forget.

Live Long and Prosper 200K route

7 riders left out of southwest Arlington at 7:00 am to ride the Peachy Keene 200k permanent. The three recumbent riders were Nelson, Greg, and me. Considering my present state of riding fitness, I expected this ride to be a struggle, and it was.

This route’s 4,500 feet of climbing doesn’t compare to the truly hilly 200k permanents, but it’s enough to let you know you’ve been climbing, and felt a lot hillier to me today.

Winds were light as we headed south to start the route, but before we reached the end of the southbound part of the route at mile 66, the south winds were howling, making the ride very tough for the last 20 miles or so of that southbound leg.

After fighting all that wind, we were treated to a climb up Orphan Hill, then the route gets considerably easier the rest of the way. Of course, I was pretty much toast by the time I crested Orphan Hill. I really had no issues other than fatigue, and that was to be expected, considering I rode 225 miles this week, after riding less than that the rest of February.

The lead riders dropped me quickly, but Greg and Nelson hung back with me the entire ride, and I really enjoyed myself, even while I was suffering. Greg had done a hillier 200k on Saturday and Nelson claimed to need an easy pace from being a bit out of shape like me, but whatever reason they rode my pace, I appreciate it and really enjoyed their company.

Like usual, traffic was very light on this route, but there seemed to be a disproportionate number of crazy drivers about, I’m guessing because of today’s full moon.

It was my first 200k on the 559 HED wheels I rebuilt. I was really pleased with how they performed, and they still run true after the ride. Running 559×25 Conti Grand Prix tires, they handled rough road well and were plenty fast on the downhills so, with 25mm wide tires at least, the aerodynamics is very good. I do feel a strong crosswind a bit more with these wheels, but they handle pretty well, even with the wind. I need to find some 28mm wide tires that I like, to try on them, as well.

Thanks for riding with me, Nelson and Greg! I had a great time.

Peachy Keene route

Riding to work always seems to be interesting. I’ve only missed riding to work once this week, and I should have ridden then. It didn’t end up snowing much Tuesday, but with all the dire forecasts, I decided to drive.

Today was a nice ride to work, but I was fighting 30 mph wind gusts coming home. Then a train stopped in front of me and I ended up turning around and taking another route.

In the dark, riding against the strong north wind yesterday morning, as I turned onto Oak Street in Crowley, all the street lights went out. Down the block at the corner of Pecan Street, where I turn, I could see power lines arcing. As I got closer, some large sparks fell all the way to the ground in a yard. I stopped for a moment to make sure they weren’t going to start a fire. There was no further arcing, it was dark and cold, so I pedaled on.

Riding home in the afternoon, I noticed those power lines were redirected a bit by several limbs of a pine tree. I called TXU after I got home, and reported the arcing. This morning, I noticed the street lights were still out, and this afternoon, it looked like the limbs hadn’t been trimmed yet.

If it isn’t raining in the morning, I think I’ll ride to work tomorrow, too. The Pogues are riding my Peachy Keene permanent again Sunday. I’m thinking maybe I should join them. My mileage has been awful lately and I haven’t ridden a 200k in a couple of months. It might take me 12 hours to ride it.

Between the rain and the cold, I hadn’t ridden since last Wednesday, so 27 degrees and freezing fog didn’t stop me from riding to work this morning. It had warmed to the low 40’s by the time I headed home.

It’s February already. A quick look at my journal reminds me of how cold January was, and that I don’t like riding in the cold. I rode just 322 miles in January. That’s my lowest total for a calendar month since April, 2008. I had a better excuse then; I was finishing up three rounds of chemo.

Did I mention that I don’t like riding in the cold?

It was 32 degrees here this morning, with light south winds and would get up to 49 degrees this afternoon. That’s not exactly balmy, but it’s the warmest day we’ll get this week, so I rode my bike to work.

When I arrived at work, there was unseen ice on the ramp leading up to the shop door near my office. I think I invented a new olympic sport: ice skating backwards while walking a bike. I didn’t fall, so I think I did well in the event. I gave myself a 9.0. I think my form was perfect, but I took off 1 point for the grimace on my face.

The south wind was really blowing this afternoon, and made the trip back home a lot slower. Today’s ride gave me a whopping 50.2 miles for the year, which vaulted me all the way up to 781st place on bikejournal.com.

Commute route