I took off this morning just before 8:00 and headed north, then east to Van Zandt County and Martins Mill. It was 65 degrees with a stiff north wind, and with the first part of the ride directly against the wind, it was the coolest morning I’ve seen in quite a while. But this is still August, and it was 90 degrees before I finished the ride.

I rode on past Martins Mill, then made a loop to return to it for my only lengthy stop of the ride. The countryside really gets pretty past Martins Mill, starting to look like piney woods, but with some rolling hills and really beautiful ponds.

I had my usual hotdog at the Martins Mill store, then headed for home. I turned off. At mile 87, I turned west on FM 1391, intending on riding to Kemp, making a store stop there, and ending up with 100 miles. But, I had already been on the bike six hours and was hurting in enough places that I turned around after just over a mile on FM 1391, and rode on home. I ended up with 92.6 miles.

Today’s Martins Mill route.

I took off on the Corsa just after 7:00 this morning to try another version of the Martins Mill route. I had really planned on riding close to 100 miles, but it was already hot enough when I made my stop at Martins Mill at mile 38, that I decided to turn around there, so I’d have a bailout for a shorter distance if the heat was getting to me too much when I got closer to home.

That ended up being a good choice as I decided not to break off for more miles at the end. These sunny 100 degree afternoons can be a bit much, sometimes. I decided that with all these new (to me) scenic roads, I needed to start taking at least a few photos on these rides. I ended up with 75.3 miles today.

There are lots of beautiful farm ponds in Van Zandt County.

Redneck modern art.

Today’s route.

I took off this morning to explore some new Kaufman and Van Zandt County roads. The convenience store at Martins Mill is the only one I’ve found on the rural roads in this area, so even though I was trying out a lot of new roads, I kept that stop on my route.

I got up early enough to get a good early start again this week, but there was a fairly heavy drizzle and everything was wet, so I went back to bed. When I got up later things had dried out quite a bit and there was nothing showing up on the weather radar, so I settled for a late start, and took off.

I didn’t push things, and stopped often to double check where I was on Google maps on my phone. That sure is nice, at times. There was a stiff northeast wind all day, and it was cloudy until the last three hours or so, so the heat wasn’t bad until late. Van Zandt County does have some smoother county roads than the Kaufman County roads near me, and some of them are really scenic.

A few random thoughts from today’s ride: (1) There sure are a lot of beautiful country homes in Van Zandt County. There must have been a bunch of people who made better career choices than me. (2) In Van Zandt County, there is no such thing as a county road too small to have a Baptist church on it. (3) The favorite Saturday activity of people in that area seems to be burning trash, and (4) There must not be a lot of bicycle riders around here; I still haven’t seen a single rider on any of my rides since I moved here.

I ended up with 90.5 miles.

The Martins Mill Revisited route.

Wow, over two months since I have posted to this blog! And a week longer than that since I’ve ridden 100 miles or more. Today was only my second ride in July. This has to be my lowest level of fitness in quite a few years. Between moving, out of town work, and the every afternoon thunderstorms we’ve been getting, I just haven’t gotten in any rides at all.

I took off on the Corsa just before 7:00 this morning, early enough that I thought I could get a good ride in before the afternoon storms showed up. I had ridden just 4 miles when I went to take my first drink from my Camelbak, and realized I’d left it at home. Convenience stores on the country roads I ride here are few and far between, so I decided that was a deal breaker, and rode back to get it.

I rode north on FM 90, then back south on FM 47, took some smaller county roads to FM 1256, then rode east on FM 1256 all the way to SH 19. Things are pretty flat near Cedar Creek Lake, but there are some rolling hills once you ride east into Van Zandt County. Still, the overall elevation gain for the route wasn’t much, perfect for the slacker condition I’m in these days.

SH 19 is a fairly busy highway, but it has wide shoulders. Once on it, I did a 15 mile loop twice, riding north on SH 19 to FM 858, then east to Martins Mill, when south and back west on FM 1861, then back down SH 90. On my second trip through Martins Mill, I noticed what I had completely missed the first time through, a nice convenience store at the intersection of FM 858 and FM 1861. It was just after 11:00, and I had already ridden 56 miles, so I decided to stop, cool off, and eat something. The store had tables inside, and the very thick hot dog franks they offered caught my eye, so I had a hot dog. It was either an extremely good hot dog (possible), or I was extremely hungry after my miles ridden (more likely).

I had hoped that clouds would show up this afternoon to keep things from getting too hot, and they did, although there were still periods of sun. It was pretty nice when I had clouds, but pretty hot and steamy when the sun made an appearance. I hoped I would finish the ride before the storms showed up, and I did manage that, only getting sprinkled on a couple of times. The ride was a good reminder of just how out of shape I am. I was pretty wiped out at the end, even though I didn’t attempt that fast a pace. I ended up with 100.7 miles.

The Martins Mill Century route.

I took off from a private picnic area east of Burleson at 7:30 this morning to ride the Fort Worth Bicycling Association Picnic ride. I arrived just a few minutes before the ride start, and forgot to get a cue sheet when I hurredly signed in. I figured this could be a problem if I ended up by myself as I so often do.

And I did end up by myself quite a bit on this ride (chasing faster riders that I couldn’t catch, like I always seem to do), but it wasn’t a problem at all. I had downloaded the route into my Garmin 305, plus the club did a great job of marking every turn, so staying on the route wasn’t a problem at all.

The route starts east of Burleson and heads mostly south to Grandview, then back, on mostly different roads. I really liked this route. It looked a whole lot like the route of the upcoming Burleson Honey Tour ride. The fierce south wind made the first half of the ride pretty tough, but it was a great tailwind on the return. I haven’t done many FWBA rides lately, and it was great chatting with members during the ride and afterward at the picnic. This is a great club, and I always enjoy riding with this bunch.

After the ride, there was lots of food to be devoured. I had chicken fajitas, and they were great. Good food is especially appreciated after a hard ride. Everyone was supposed to bring a side dish. Don’t tell anyone, but I forgot about that and showed up empty handed.

I was slow today, just like I have been on all of my rides lately, but at least I had gotten in 75 miles on the bike during the week this week, so maybe I had a better excuse than usual. I ended up with 67.6 miles for the day.

FWBA Picnic ride route.

I joined 9 other LSR members and took off from Venus, Tx at 7:30 this morning to ride the Elm Mott Trot 200k route. This route goes south to Malone at mile 42 for its second control, then on to Elm Mott for the next control. It’s an out and back, so it returns to Malone for the next control, and then back to Venus.

The usual south wind wasn’t there this morning, A front came through last night, and we had a north wind, instead. We rode a very easy pace for the first 42 miles, and still made good time with the nice tailwind. Then the group picked up the pace considerably for the remaining 22 miles to Elm Mott. I stayed with the group, but probably shouldn’t have. My knees were really starting to hurt by the time we reached Elm Mott.

I fell off the back of the group fairly quickly when we turned back against the wind. Even pedaling an easier pace, my knee pain just kept getting worse. I really haven’t experienced that kind of knee pain before, during my years of riding. It may just be that I overdid it, trying to stay with the group too long. I’ve experienced a long list of maladies from doing that, over the years, but that list had never included knee pain before.

We regrouped just before the Malone control at mile 86, and made a long enough stop to eat a sandwich. The hole-in-the-wall store there has very good barbeque. Most riders had a chopped beef sandwich, but I had a hot link sandwich, which was very good. Beef tends to lay like a brick on my stomach if I eat it during a ride, so I usually opt for a sausage or hot link, if I’m having a sandwich.

When we left Malone, my knees were quickly shouting at me again. I eased up my pace a lot, and by just soft pedaling, I was able to get the pain down to a tolerable level. But soft pedaling against that strong of a north wind for that many miles makes for a long day on the bike. I finally finished the ride, 10 hours and 37 minutes after I started. I ended up with 128 miles even. I kept thinking I would recover and my knees would feel better, but that never happened. If it’s true that some days you’re the windshield and some days you’re the bug, I was definitely the bug today.

Elm Mott Trot 200k route.

I took off from Midlothian at 7:30 this morning and rode my Itasca Disasta 207k permanent route. It ended up being a solo ride. Most of the randonneurs around here are getting ready for the Texas Stampede 1200k, and didn’t ride anything as long as a 200k today. I don’t usually ride that long solo, but I’m going to be in DC next weekend and won’t get to ride at all, so I wanted my 200k this weekend.

This route goes from Midlothian out to Itasca, climbing Orpan Hill from the opposite direction as all other rides I do which go over it. With a front coming, that leg was pretty much against a southwest, then west wind. By the time I got to Itasca, it was already a northwest wind.

The next control is a long ways, over 55 miles, as the route next goes to Rice. It was pretty much a crosswind for this stretch today. The last stretch goes through Ennis and Waxahachie on the way back to Midlothian. It’s steady elevation gain on that stretch, and today, a lot of it was also against the wind. I was definitely a tired camper when I finished, 9:51 after I started. I ended up with 129.1 miles.

I haven’t crossed Lake Bardwell on a bike in quite a while, so couldn’t resist taking this photo on the bridge.

Itasca Disasta route.

I took off from Arlington at 7:30 this morning and rode my Peachy Keene 200k permanent route. It was a small crew on the ride, with just John and Susan on their tandem, Mark M, and me. This route goes south out to Cleburne, then on south to just west of Covington, turns east and goes through Covington, then on to Itasca before finally turning back north and going through Maypearl and Alvarado on the way back.

The south wind wasn’t that bad early, but was really blowing by late morning. Those last few miles to Itasca were really tough. But we kept a fairly easy pace much of the ride, and I finished still feeling pretty good. I always have trouble keeping up on the stretch from Maypearl to Alvarado, and today was no exception, but John, Susan, and Mark slowed down before Alvarado, and I rejoined them for the rest of the ride.

Though a bit windy, it was a beautiful day, with all the spring blooming wildflower fragrances to take in along the way. Add good company to that, and it reminds why I like these rides so much. I ended up with 125 miles and finished the ride in 9:38.

The Peachy Keene route.

I headed out to Venus, Tx this morning to join Stephen, Mark M, Debbie, Richard, and Daniel on the Elm Mott Trot 200k. We rolled out of Venus at 7:30 am against a stiff south wind. This route is an out and back, with the first half pretty much all southbound, so you get a tailwind on the return leg.

Mark did most of the pulling against the wind, with Stephen also taking some turns. I was trying hard to stay with the group on the outbound leg, rather than have to ride alone against the wind. The pace was just about too much for me though, and I finally fell off the group a couple of miles before we reached Elm Mott.

I was feeling pretty wiped out at the Elm Mott control, with another 64 miles to go, much sooner than you want to hit the wall, but I have a history of being able to finish these rides by just easing up and riding an easier pace for a few hours after I get into trouble, so I was still optimistic about being able to finish.

I plainly wasn’t the only one blown up by the pace, as Richard fell off the back even before I did as we rode north back to Venus. I was by myself soon enough, as well, long before we reached the next control at Malone at mile 85. I had intentions of just falling back and riding with Richard, but when I talked to him at the Malone control, he said he was just going to take his time all the way back, so I left the Malone control just behind the group.

I was soon all alone again, and rode that way until around mile 104, when Daniel came riding up from behind. He had stopped for a nature break, it turned out, and I had passed him without even knowing it. When we arrived at Maypearl at mile 117, Mark, Stephen, and Debbie were waiting, so we stopped for just a moment and rejoined them.

I finished the ride in 9:11, with 128 miles, and a 15.7 mph on the bike average, and was as wiped out as I ever have been after a ride. I hate slowing down faster riders, and with Daniel, then Mark, Stephen, and Debbie waiting for me, I felt compelled to do my best not to slow them down any more than I absolutely had to, so I really gave it all I had for those last miles.

I’m feeling pretty cratered this evening, but I know this is the kind of ride that will help me get stronger again on these long rides, so I’m pretty pleased with the effort, if not the results. Thanks for hosting the ride, Stephen! Great ride, everyone!

Elm Mott Trot route.

I drove to Italy, Texas this morning and joined the Lone Star Randonneurs’ 200k brevet which rolled out at 7:15 am. This is the LaBella Rani Duecento route which is actually well over 200k. It goes from Italy south out to Dawson, then on to Groesbeck, then makes a more westerly loop back through Mount Calm. I never heard a rider count, but there looked to be around 30 something in attendance.

The winds were fierce right from the beginning. It was 57 degrees at start time, but the howling wind made it feel so much cooler that I started out wearing a jacket. The lead group quickly disappeared in the distance, but I found a group riding a speed I could hang with, and stayed with them most of the ride south. That helped a lot. Without them, I might still be pedaling somewhere on that route.

There were also 300k, 400k, and 600k riders, and at Mexia, all of the longer riders turned off, leaving only David, Debbie, and me to continue on to Goesbeck. It’s 11 miles straight south from there to Groesbeck. It’s always tough against a south wind, and with todays gales, it was a brutal slog. David is a very strong rider, and Debbie and I fell in behind him.

From Groesbeck, the ride got a lot easier, although there were still several stretches where the crosswinds were so bad, I couldn’t ride much faster than if I’d been going directly against the wind. It wasn’t long after we left Groesbeck before it became obvious that I had burned a few too many matches on the trek against the wind, and I had to ease up on my effort, knowing I would be in trouble later if I didn’t.

I stayed in contact with Debbie and David for a little while, and left the next control at Mount Calm at mile 93 with them after Debbie had slowed and waited for me at one point, but it wasn’t long after that Mount Calm stop before they pulled away from me. Even though they were obviously keeping what was for them a fairly easy pace, I couldn’t hang with it.

I finished stronger than I thought I might, though. I had the usual issues with my aching toes later in the ride, which has lots of boulder seal pavement, and my left shoulder did hurt some, but it did a lot better on this ride, and I finished with 131.6 miles in 9:48 with a 15.1 mph on the bike average, which isn’t bad for me in my present condition (or lack of it), for a ride this long and under these conditions. I need to do more long rides this year than I did last year. And it looks like my shoulder is no longer an excuse for not doing it.

The Labella Rani Duecento 200k route.