At 7:00 pm yesterday evening, somewhere around 40 riders left out of Italy to ride the LSR night brevets. There were ride lengths of 216k and 300k. I rode the 216k length, as did Steve, Peggy, and Nelson. This route is an out and back that goes from Italy, southwest to Abbot, with the second control at mile 32, then on to Valley Mills, with the next control and turnaround at mile 68. The humidity was a bit high, and it was pretty warm before dark, but it turned into a beautiful night, dropping quickly into the 70’s.

With an easterly tailwind, Steve, Peggy, and Nelson set a pretty brisk pace. I was with them at times on this first leg, but spent more time off the back. Some elevation gain the last few miles before Abbot slowed me down some, but I still arrived at Abbot with an 18.7 mph average.

It was dark by the time we left Abbot, so after turning lights on, we rode on toward Valley Mills. The stretch from Abbot to the Brazos River crossing at mile 46 is rollers with a lot of elevation loss, so we were flying again. After crossing the Brazos, though, it’s a long uphill stretch until mile 64 where the highest elevation of the ride is reached. I fell well back on that stretch. After a couple of big downhills, the route crosses the Bosque River just past mile 66, and then it’s on into Valley Mills, where Sharon had the festive turnaround control set up at a baseball park.

We left Valley Mills to start the ride back, but just before I had ridden a half mile, I realized I had left my bottle of mix at the control, and turned around to retrieve it. So I rode this 36 mile stretch alone. It was a dark night, with just a sliver of moon showing up later, and I was surprised at how little wildlife I saw. The dogs, though, were definitely out. The climbs out of the Bosque River valley, then the Brazos river valley, are steeper on the return leg, and my legs were feeling the fatigue after making these climbs. The wind had swung to the south a little, but was still from the south south east, so much of the return ride was against a quartering headwind.

At mile 97, I hit an armadillo. I was climbing slowly (which is pretty much the only way I climb), probably a bit too close to the shoulder, when I saw with my peripheral vision, something coming onto the shoulder from the right just in front of me. There was no time to react. The armadillo ambled onto the road straight into my bike. My front wheel missed, but the rear wheel struck a glancing blow, instantly knocking the wheel a couple of inches to the left. I did not go down, and heard sounds of frantic paws on pavement after I hit it, so the armadillo may have survived his encounter with a Corsa.

The Abbot control is a truck stop on I-35W, at mile 103. You can see the I-35 traffic miles before you get to the control, and even see the truck stop lights from a long ways away, but it’s miles of an uphill false flat before you get there, and I just kept pedaling and wondering if I would ever get to that control. Steve, Peggy, Nelson, and Pat, an upright rider with them, were almost ready to leave when I got there. Peggy, Nelson, and Pat went ahead and left as I was finishing up my stop; Steve stayed back and rode the rest of the way in with me.

I like this route. The boulder seal on SH 34 and US 77 at the beginning and end is a beating (literally), and FM 56 north of Valley Mills has more high speed traffic than I would like, and little or no shoulders, but all the other roads are great. I was thankful that I turned off of FM 56 well before bar closing time.

I ended up with 137.1 miles, and finished at 4:30 am with a total time of 9:30. Steve, Peggy, and I grabbed a fast food breakfast before heading home. It was a fun ride, and as usual, the company was great. Thanks, Steve, Peggy, and Nelson.

Italy Night brevet route

Yesterday morning at 6:30 am, Steve, Peggy, Nelson, Ray, and I rode out of McKinney to do the Boomer 200k permanent. This route is an out and back that goes north to Tom Bean, then west to Collinsville, then back. Like these long rides have a way of doing, this one turned into an adventure.

We had a tailwind as we rode the rolling hills north to Tom Bean at mile 33. We rode a fairly easy pace, and it was a pretty much uneventful leg of the ride until a scary moment coming into Tom Bean when I had a close call with an old man in a Dodge pickup. He probably should have given up driving years ago, and on this morning, he passed me just before a stop sign, then cut in front and slammed on his brakes.

On we rode, turning west toward Collinsville. Just after we crossed US 75 in Howe at mile 42, we hit a 5 mile stretch of gravel. Worse, they had just poured water on it, so it was gravel over slick mud. By the time we got past this stretch, my bike was the dirtiest it’s ever been, with dried mud everywhere. It took serious cleaning on my bottle and Camelbak bite valve just to be able to drink from them again.

Scary moment number two came just a few miles before Collinsville. I was on Peggy’s wheel, when she looked over at horses on the right and made a comment about them. I turned my head to the right and looked at them. What I didn’t realize was that Peggy had stopped pedaling while I kept pedaling. By the time I turned my head back, I had pulled up halfway alongside Peggy, just a couple of inches to her left. When I saw how close we were, I was so startled that I jumped, wobbled the bike, and hit Peggy’s left arm with my big chainring (sorry, Peggy!).

Thankfully, neither of us went down, but when I looked at her arm, I saw a chainring tatoo, and a trickle of blood running down her arm. Once we got to Collinsville at mile 62, and she got her arm cleaned up, I could see that it was a scratch that wasn’t very deep. I was glad of that, but still felt bad. I’ve never hit anyone with a chainring before. It’s a reminder of how careful we need to be when we’re riding close together.

We headed back east toward Tom Bean. Steve and Peggy went off the front for a few miles, and we regrouped in Dorchester. Scary moment number three came just a couple of miles before Howe when, riding beside Steve, he did a big wobble as he was fighting off a bug of some kind. It was really getting hot by now, and we made a quick unscheduled stop in Howe. Ray was having trouble with his knee, and I stayed back near him most of this stretch. I didn’t mind the easy pace on this hot day. It appears that if I want to survive these really hot days without cratering myself, this is the kind of pace I need. I did kick up the pace for the last mile or so to Tom Bean, at mile 93.

The remaining 33 miles back to McKinney were brutal. It was against the wind, and another over 100 degree day where you could really feel the heat radiating off the pavement. And there are no stores on this stretch for an unscheduled cool-off stop. Steve and I rode off the front, and at mile 115 got a call telling us that Ray was at a Mexican restaurant at Westminster and mile 103, and was going to DNF. Steve and I rode on, and my energy level was fading fast as we neared the end of the ride, but we reached the last control in McKinney at 4:30 pm.

We debated the easiest way to get Ray and his bicycle back to the start. An Xstream won’t fit just anywhere. But Ray had given Nelson his keys, so we ended up just waiting on Nelson and Peggy, driving all the vehicles back to Westminster, and Ray treated us to dinner at the Mexican restaurant (thanks, Ray). I ended up with 126.3 miles, and finished in 10:00. Thanks for the great adventure, everyone, and I promise to try hard not to tatoo anyone else with my chainring in the future.

12 LSR riders left southwest Arlington at 6:30 am this morning to ride my Peachy Keene 200k permanent. Paul and I were the only two recumbents. The weather radar looked very threatening before the ride, with rain all over the place to the west, moving this direction. I usually skip rides when there is this much rain around, but considering the heat we’ve been having, I decided to take a chance today. I thought that if we could get far enough south soon enough, we could miss most of the rain, and that maybe it would be gone by the time we traveled back north.

It was sprinkling rain as we left the first control, and continued much of the first 25 miles. At one point, the pavement was starting to look wet enough to get slick, but we never got a hard rain, and the roads remained in good shape. After we left the second control at Cleburne, the wind, which had been pretty light to that point, started blowing from the southwest, and slowly picked up, as it kept changing more to the west.

Mark M rode off the front of the group quite a bit, but the rest of us pretty much stayed together until after the Itasca control at mile 65. As usual, I was off the back on a number of hills, but caught back up pretty quickly. The route heads up Orphan Hill right after Itasca, though, and as usual, I fell back quite a ways on that hill. I caught up with most of the group a mile or so later, but noticed that Paul and Gary G were missing from the group, so I knew they were off the front. So, just like I had good sense, I took off around the group and hammered the rest of the way on the mostly downhill roads to the next control at Maypearl at mile 81. I ended up catching Gary just before the control, but didn’t quite catch Paul.

The next stretch, from Maypearl to Alvarado, is always tough for me, if I’m trying to keep up with a group of uprights. It’s not big hills, but it’s quite a bit of elevation gain on mostly false flats. And by this time, the wind had switched to the north, and picked up quite a bit, and this is where the ride turns back north. It was quickly obvious that Paul, who hadn’t done a 200k yet this year, was hitting the wall. That fast stretch to Maypearl had finished him off. So, we let the group go, and settled in on an easier pace. We made a quick unscheduled stop before the next control at Alvarado, and another one before the finish.

The humidity was high, and the north wind slowed us quite a bit on this last stretch, but with lots of clouds around, it was a cooler breeze than I’ve felt lately, so we didn’t complain much about the wind. I ended up with 124.4 miles, and we finished in just over 9:30, and joined the rest of the group for dinner at the Sweet Tomato restaurant. Like many of these summer rides, it got tough at the end, but was a fun day.

The graph below shows the elevation profile for Peachy Keene. The second highest point of the ride is the top of Orphan Hill at mile 70, then the lowest point is the Maypearl control at mile 81. That’s why I was able to come from a half mile behind everyone to pass everyone except Paul and Gary on that stretch.

You can also see that the next 20 miles from Maypearl at mile 81 to Alvarado at mile 101 is a lot of elevation gain, even though there aren’t any big hills. It’s not a fun stretch if you’re going against a wind and just blew yourself up on the last stretch.

Gary was riding a 200k for the third day in a row, and still had the strength to chase Paul downhill all the way from Orphan Hill to Maypearl on an upright. There are some strong riders in LSR.

Peachy Keene route

I didn’t hear a count of how many riders were at the Italy LSR brevets, but it looked like 30 or so. Most seemed to do the 300k, as did rbent members Steve, Peggy, Bryan, Shellene, Mark M, and me.

The 300k route goes from Italy south to Dawson for the second control, then southeast to Mexia, east to Teague, then south to Jewett. It turns around at Jewett, coming back north 5 miles on the same highway, before turning west to Groesbeck. Then 30 miles more to the northwest is the favorite Dixie’s Little Stop in Mount Calm. Another 38 miles north takes you back to Italy.

As much as I struggled with the heat the week before on a 200k ride, I’m not sure what made me think a 300k this week would work better, and I struggled with the heat again. This was more like what usually happens when I crater on a bike ride though. I just got very slow and had no power on the bike. I never felt as bad as I had the week before. I think maybe that was because once I started feeling cratered, I eased my effort level to a tempo pace, and kept it there, in spite of how slow I was going. That was tougher to do on last week’s ride, with the climbs at the end.

We rode out of Italy as 5:00 am, to avoid the Tour de Italia start. Steve, Peggy, and I wanted to ride hard and get as far as we could before it got hot. I knew I wasn’t going to make great time in the wind and heat, but a 15 hour ride would get us back before dark, so that was what I was pretty much aiming for. The south wind was already howling though, and riding against it, even though the hills on most of this route are pretty easy, I was soon off the back of the main group. In spite of my hard effort, my average speed against the wind wasn’t very good.

With this many riders, this was a classic brevet, which scatters riders all along the course, and whenever you pull into a control, there are riders already there, and more riders coming in behind you. The chatter at the controls is part of the charm of these rides. By the time I reached the fourth control at Teague at mile 67, I was feeling the effects of my hard riding. And the mostly uphill and against the wind stretch to the next control at Jewett is the toughest leg of the entire ride, to me. I knew I needed to ease my pace a bit at this point.

I fell in with a sizeable group, leaving out of Teague. I thought that if I could draft some, it would make this leg easier. But the group only stayed together for a couple of miles. Steve and Peggy took off, then a couple of other riders in the group took off, and that shelled the group, scattering riders everywhere, with me off the back. Mark M, tired from time trials on Tuesday and Friday, and riding a slower pace than usual, caught me at this point, and we rode together most of the way to Jewett. On his upright, he would leave me behind on the hills, and I would shoot past him on the downhills, and we rode together and talked on the flatter stretches. The ride turns around at Jewett, and just a few miles before we reached it, we met a faster group on the ride coming back. Bryan and Shellene were in this group.

I arrived at Jewett, at mile 93, shortly before noon, so I figured I was a bit ahead of my 15 hour pace. The ride north out of Jewett was the first good tailwind of the day, and I made great time. After we turned west onto the rolling hills of SH164 though, I started feeling really tired. I turned the intended quick stop at Groesbeck into a longer stop to cool off, and downed some ice cream. Then, off toward Little Dixie’s we headed, Steve, Peggy, Mark M, and me.

Just out of Groesbeck, Mark flatted, and told us to ride on, and he would catch up. Somewhere a few miles later is where I really started slowing down. Somewhere around mile 135, Debbie B and Cheri B passed me, and I knew I was in bad shape. At the last couple of controls, Cheri had looked to be really struggling, and it could not be a good sign that she was passing me. A mile or two later, Cheri had to stop with leg cramps, and Peggy stopped with her. I figured I was going to be doing well to get myself in, and rode on. Steve G, riding with Debbie and Cheri, had already had to stop and cool off.

Debbie had gotten far enough ahead of Cheri that she didn’t realize that Cheri had stopped. As she waited at a stop sign, Steve and I told her about Cheri, and suggested we stop at a shady spot somewhere ahead. Steve mentioned a covered church pavillion at Prarie Hill, and it occurred to me that there would probably be a water spigot there, so we agreed to stop and regroup there. I was truly riding in slow motion by the time we reached there, and the water and breeze in the shade helped a lot.

We rode the 10 miles to Little Dixie’s, and took another break there. With evening coming on, Debbie, Cheri, Steve, Peggy, Mark and I left Little Dixie’s together for the last 38 miles of the ride, with Steve G still there as we left. I was soon off the back of the group, with Cheri behind me. Mark fell back to ride with Cheri, and Steve fell back to ride with me. Debbie’s light was not working and she also was leading an FWBA ride the next morning, so she really wanted to make sure she finished before dark and not end up on the course too late. So, she and Peggy hammered on ahead to finish. It says a lot about how strong these two are, that they were able to ride this hard after this kind of mileage on a day so hot.

Steve and I made a 10 minute stop in Mertens for a Coke from a machine beside the road, and finished the ride just before dark. Mark and Cheri were just a few minutes behind us. I ended up with 191.5 miles, and a total time of 15:33. Thanks to everyone for the company and encouragement on this tough ride. After we were done, we enjoyed a good meal at the Subway in Italy, and as I left for home at 9:20 pm, the temperature gage in my truck read 90 degrees. You have to love June in North Texas.

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

I was among a mostly recumbent group that left Celina at 6:30 am this morning to ride the Bobcat Bite 100k permanent populaire. The riders included Steve, Peggy, Brian, Shellene, Nelson along with an upright friend (I’ve forgotten his name), Ken W, Sharon S, JS and Sara Kay. It was a beautiful morning with a light southeast wind as we headed northeast to Howe. I always enjoy the small roads this route takes when it turns off SH289 on this stretch.

There were the usual trips off the front by a few riders, but they would ease off to regroup, and most of us stayed together at a pace that wasn’t as fast as I expected. I was actually able to talk most of the time, except when the roads would turn uphill.

By the time we left Howe, the wind was really starting to blow. I was off the back a couple of times on the southbound stretch down SH289 to Gunter, a preview of what was to be whenever we rode against the wind. But the ride turns west out of Gunter, toward Tioga, and with a quartering tailwind on this stretch, it was fun riding at a faster pace. We made a little longer stop at the control in Tioga, and I downed my usual peanut butter and honey sandwich.

Heading south out of Tioga on SH377 began the tough part of the ride. The rough chipseal and rolling hills begin when you turn east onto FM455, and I fell back pretty quickly on this stretch. We regrouped just before Celina, and rode in together, to finish in 4:50. My gps showed 1,700 feet of climbing on the route.

We stopped for the usual lunch at Lucy’s afterward, and I had a great time visiting with everyone. It was great having JS and Sara Kay down for a Texas visit. Good luck at the Shenandoah 1200k next week, Sharon!

Rose and I took off this morning to test ride my new Mansfield Mambo 128k permanent that I’m working on. We left downtown Mansfield at 7:45 am. The route heads southwest from Mansfield, passing just north of Alvarado and continuing on to Rio Vista. It turns around there, but takes a more southerly route back, passing south of Alvarado, then going through Venus.

I made a lot of stops at turns on the route, making notes and corrections for the cue sheet. The next control after the start of the ride is at Rio Vista, the turnaround, and one of the concerns I had for the route was that there was no store anywhere between the start and the 39.5 miles to that control. But a last minute change I had made put the route crossing SH 67 three miles west of Alvarado, and there is a store at that intersection, at mile 19.5, which works out great for a quick stop half way to the control.

The first 26 miles of the route are rolling hills with quite a bit of elevation gain, and Rose was definitely feeling it at that point. But when you top the hill at mile 26, with its view of miles and miles of rolling hills to the west, the rest of the ride is much more downhill than uphill, and we made a lot better time the rest of the way, in spite of the fact that much of the return trip was against a mostly east wind.

There were lots of storms and showers around, the last half of the ride, but we dodged them all, only getting sprinkled on a few times, in spite of passing fairly close to serious rain several times. We made a stop at mile 68 in Venus, and as the raindrops started there, quickly headed north on FM 157, and were in the clear again. As soon as we got home, the rain poured here.

We missed an unmarked turn before we got to Venus (another note for the cue sheet), and got .4 bonus miles from that, to end up with 80.2 miles. The route has 3,050 feet of climbing. I think the route is going to make a very good permanent. Today was Rose’s new longest ride, and it’s a safe bet that this was also the most climbing she’s done on a ride. Good job, Rose!

Rose and I traveled to Celina this morning to tackle Steve’s Bobcat Bite 100k permanent. We rolled out at 9:00 am, along with seven other riders. I rode my Stratus XP, and Rose and I rode our own pace, watching everyone else soon disappear off in the distance in front of us.

It was Rose’s first 100k, and the first time I’ve ridden that kind of distance on the SXP. Its more upright seat is less comfortable for me for a long ride than the Corsa’s Euromesh seat, but it’s more comfortable for this kind of distance than the Nimbus was (RANS mesh seat vs Sun EZ mesh seat). I have to work to keep up with Rose, when she’s on the Xstream and I’m on the SXP.

This route starts in Celina, heads northeast to the next control in Howe, a bit more north, then west and south to Tioga and Pilot Point, then east back to Celina. The first leg of the route to Howe isn’t very hilly, but it is a pretty steady elevation gain, and it was against a stiff northeast wind this morning, making it pretty tough for Rose and I.

Soon after Howe, though, we turned west and then south, and the tailwind was great. On one southbound uphill north of Gunter, we carried enough speed from the last downhill that we barely dipped below 30 mph before cresting the hill.

It was tailwind fun all the way to Pilot Point, then 12 miles of boulder-seal and rolling hills against the wind to get back to Celina. Rose was starting to fade on this stretch, and struggled with those hills, but then finished her first 100k strong. Big congrats on your first 100k, Dear!

I ended up with 64.2 miles, and we finished the ride in 5:30. Lunch at Lucy’s afterward was great, and we really enjoyed visiting with Steve, Peggy, Mark M, Linda, and Greg after the ride. Who understands the thrill of your first 100k better than other randonneurs?

After the ride.

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

This morning at 7:00 am was the start of the LSR Two Flags Brevets in Denison. There were 200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k routes to choose from. I didn’t hear a count of how many rode, but it looked like a pretty good turnout. I rode the 200k. This route went east from Denison through Telephone and on to Direct, before turning around and following the same roads back for a ways, then dipping into Oklahoma and looping back.

I really liked this route. There are some hills at the beginning, some rolling hills at mile 100, and some tougher hills near the end, but most of the route is fairly flat. There is an abundance of the tall trees that you always see in East Texas, and the majority of the roads were really low traffic roads.

I didn’t get off to a great start, discovering at mile 11 that my Corsa’s cassette nut had unscrewed itself. I knew there would be no cassette tool to be found on the route, and I almost turned around, rode the 11 miles back, and called it a day. But through all the trials and tribulations I’ve had on these long LSR rides, I’ve never DNF’d one. I decided I wanted to finish today’s ride, too.

I tightened the nut the best I could by hand, and rode on, but by the Ivanhoe control at mile 33, it had backed off again. Nelson jammed a multi-tool in the end of the nut while I turned the wheel, and we got it tighter that way, but by the Direct control at mile 60, it had backed off again. I managed to get it tighter at that control. It wasn’t as tight as a cassette nut should be, and the smaller cogs made some noises here and there, but the bike shifted perfectly and the nut never backed off again.

Big surprise, the wind was tough. That seems to be an unchanging theme this spring, and today was no exception. I was very glad to get the tailwind at mile 90 where the route turns north and crosses the Hwy 78 bridge over the Red River into Oklahoma. The road soon turns more west, and starts climbing out of the Red River valley near mile 100. It was on that climb where three big dogs came after me. I remember thinking that a hill at mile 100 on one of these long rides is tough enough without three huge dogs chasing you.

My asthma didn’t seem to like the howling humid wind, with all the spring stuff in the air. At around mile 110, I thought I was hearing coyotes yipping off in the distance, then realized I was hearing my own wheezing (It probably can’t be good when you mistake the sound of your own breathing for coyotes).

At mile 126, the route crosses the Texoma dam back into Texas. This is a great view from a bike, but going south up on that dam against today’s wind was brutal. Then right after that are the toughest hills of the day. I ended up with 133.9 miles and finished in 10:12. I chatted a while after the ride with Mike and Nancy Myers, a couple from Kansas who ride a RANS Seavo, then had dinner with LM. I’m sure we’ll have some great adventure stories from the 600k riders, but 200k definitely reached my quota of riding pleasure for today.