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.

I decided to build a new set of wheels for the Xstream. The only wheels I have for it are a set of heavy, bombproof commuting wheels and a set of HED aero wheels. Since I’m no longer commuting, I’ve been wanting something nicer and lighter than the commuting wheels. And the HED aero wheels are a bit too much in crosswinds for every day riding. Both those sets of wheels are 559 wheels. The Xstream can use either 650C (571) or 559 wheels, but I want to stay with 559 wheels on it so I can run a wider tire on the rear wheel.

I always scratch my head as I read Randy Schlitter’s writings about how bone jarring the ride of a high racer is, compared to that of a long wheelbase bike. I’ve always found exactly the opposite to be true. A high racer has a better balance of weight ratio between the front and rear tires, and with a very reclined euro style seat like that on my Corsa, my own weight is spread out all along my back. A 650c x 23 tire gives a passable ride on the Corsa.

On the other hand, with my Xstream, Stratus XP, Nimbus, and every other long wheelbase bike I’ve ridden, almost all of my weight is on the rear tire, and with a more upright seat, almost all of my own weight is on my behind. A 23mm wide tire just gives an unacceptable ride. Even a 25mm tire rides too harsh to suit me. On my Xstream, I want at least a 28 mm wide tire on the rear wheel. I have two sets of Conti Grand Prix tires that still have some miles left on them. One set is 28mm wide and the other is 25mm. I’m designating them as two sets of tires for the Xstream, but with the 28’s as rear tires and the 25’s as front tires.

I decided on Velocity A23 rims for the wheelset. These are performance road rims, but they’re one of the new generation of slightly wider road rims, so I figured they’d be perfect for 25mm and 28mm tires. They’re also one of the few performance road rims made in the 559 size. I bought a 28 spoke rim for the rear and a 24 spoke rim for the front. This is a combination that’s worked well for me for years on the Corsa. I bought Sapim CX Ray spokes and Rotaz road hubs for the wheelset.

I went with the standard 3 cross lacing for the spokes on the rear wheel. I have over 13,000 miles on a wheel with this same spoke count and lacing on the Corsa. The Xstream is more heavily loaded on the rear wheel, but running a wider tire, I’m hoping the same setup will hold up well on it, too. I considered radial spoke lacing on the front wheel. The 13,000 mile wheel on the front of the Corsa has this lacing, and it’s a more heavily loaded wheel than the front wheel on the Xstream. I’m not sure the Rotaz hubs are as strong as the Velocity hubs on the Corsa, though, so I decided to just go with a 2 cross lacing on the front wheel. With 3 cross on the rear and 2 cross on the front, all of the spokes ended up being the same length, 264mm.

I finished building the wheels Monday evening. I loved everything about the wheels right up until the minute I started mounting tires on them. I’d never owned a Velocity rim that was hard to mount a tire on before. That statement is no longer true. Even with Velo Plugs in the rims rather than rim tape, there’s no way I could have mounted either tire on these rims without my VAR tire lever. I’ll be carrying that bead jack on the Xstream as long as I run these wheels. I was thinking I’d eventually run Conti Gatorskins on these wheels, but there may be no way to mount them. I have a used one I’ll try mounting just as a test before I consider buying new ones for the Xstream.

I’ve done two rides on the new wheels, 25 miles yesterday afternoon and 25 miles this afternoon. They do ride nicer than the commuting wheels. I think I’m going to love them, except for flat changing time.

All the parts (except for the Velo Plugs – I robbed them from an old wheelset later).

Just built.

Front wheel with 25mm Conti Grand Prix tire.

Rear wheel with 28mm Conti Grand Prix tire.

Ready to go.