31 riders turned out for this 200k brevet. We left out of Lynn Creek Marina at Joe Pool Lake at 6:30 am. The first 51 miles of this ride is mostly elevation gain to Rio Vista, and against the kind of south wind we had today, is really tough. I rode out with the intention of trying to stay with a group of riders for a little help in the wind as much as I could, but was dropped pretty quickly by every group, so was on my own for most of this stretch. You have to be able to hang onto a group on the hills, and I have a tough time doing that. Once I was out in the wind, there’s no way I was going to catch anyone.

I did manage to ride some with Steve, Peggy, Mark M, and a few others from before Venus to most of the way to Alvarado, but on the first hills of CR 401 after Alvarado, I was dropped and riding straight into the wind.

I was even more discouraged when I turned onto FM 916 at mile 37, and found it was new boulderseal all the way to Rio Vista. I slowed down on this stretch. Between fighting the wind and boulderseal, and thinking I had probably put out too much effort early in the ride trying to stay with other riders, easing up seemed like a good idea on this stretch. It’s really hard to ride an easy pace against the wind on boulderseal, though. You seem to be getting nowhere. I really felt slow, like I had no strength at all, and couldn’t keep up with anyone. Looking back, I think it was just the wind, and the fact that there were a bunch of strong riders on this brevet.

I didn’t make a stop until the first control at Blum, at mile 57. I left this control with a group again, but again was soon off the back. At Covington, mile 69, the route turns south on SH 171, and it’s a tough 4 miles to Osceola straight against the wind. It was on this stretch that I had started to crater the last time I rode this route, from too much effort with a low tire against the wind. Today, I paced myself on this stretch.

At mile 73, as I got ready to turn east on FM 934, I saw Steve, Peggy, and Greg coming from the opposite direction and also turning onto FM 934. I pulled up along side Steve and told him that if he would just miss enough turns, I thought I might could keep up with him. After Itasca at mile 78, it’s on to Orphan Hill. I took my time spinning up this hill. Rio Vista Rumble isn’t a route with a brutal amount of climbing, but the toughest hills are all after mile 80, and it was starting to get very hot. Managing my effort seemed like a good idea for these hills.

I pulled into the Maypearl control at mile 93 at 12:47 pm. In spite of my inability to keep up with anyone, and not feeling very strong, 93 miles in 6:17 isn’t all that bad, and the idea that I might be able to complete this 200k in less than 9 hours started to creep into my head. I had not managed a 200k in less than 9 hours since having my lung sliced and diced on, and this seemed like a worthy goal and accomplishment for the day if I could do it. But, there were tough climbs up Old Buena Vista Road and Singleton Road waiting, and I knew I’d need to not blow up on these hills to have a chance.

I needed a good cool off break at Maypearl, and some time with my shoes off, and it was 1:08 pm when I left the control. Still, if I didn’t completely crater on the last part of the ride, under 9 looked possible. Old Buena Vista Road is always tough for me, and when I got a hint of a leg cramp on the hill, in spite of how slowly I was climbing, I started to have my doubts about how much I had left. But after an also slow trip up the Singleton Road hill, I felt good, and I started making calculations about how much time it would take me to finish as I rode toward Midlothian.

On the downhill stretch toward Midlothian (I made it past that circle driveway without stopping this time, Nelson), I felt great, so I started to push a little more as I rode through Midlothian, still trying to ride within myself well enough to finish strong. As I approached the turnaround at Mt Lebanon Road, under SH 67 at mile 114, with only a short stretch against the wind remaining before an easy downhill then flat finish, I was thinking that I was going to get this done. As I rode under the underpass on the turnaround, I was surprised to find Steve, Peggy, Greg, and Mark stopped here.

I stopped for just a few seconds, then continued on to try and complete my quest. The rest of the group started up again just after I did. I really pushed hard against the wind on the short stretch before the turn onto Lake Ridge Parkway (Steve easily caught me, anyway), knowing that it was all big downhills and flats after that.

But if I thought this was going to be an easy finish, I was seriously mistaken. At 30 mph going downhill on Lake Ridge at about mile 116, when I hit a bump, my seat reclined more. When I hit another bump, it reclined even more. I could hardly reach either the pedals or the handlebar. Steve and I stopped at the bottom of the hill, and I saw that my seat clamp had moved, but didn’t really find the problem until a stop a half mile further along.

My seat recline system on the rear seat stays had collapsed, and there was nothing keeping the seat from reclining onto the tire. I had always wondered if the little pneumatic cyclinders I had used for this were strong enough. This wasn’t exactly their intended application. They lasted for thousands of miles, but on this day, they were done. I didn’t see a ready fix, so I got back on the bike to try and finish the ride. The only way I could ride was by pulling myself forward enough with the handlebar to keep my back off the seat. I sat on the very front edge of the seat to help rock the seat forward, and thus take less effort to keep myself pulled forward. This is not an easy way to ride a Corsa.

Another mile or so down the road, Steve pointed out to me that my Fastback bag was rubbing the rear wheel. I instinctively reached down to feel the bag over the wheel. Let me take a moment here to recommend against doing that. I decided that it hadn’t been a good idea right after my left ring finger hit the spokes, which promptly lopped a small chunk off the tip of my finger.

Now, I’m hanging on for all I’m worth, trying to keep my back off the seat, while bleeding all over the handlebar. Yes, just another easy finish to a randonneuring ride. And finish I did. I ended up with 124.8 miles, and finished in 8:44.

One last thing: why is it that the guys using GPS’s to navigate usually seem to get more bonus miles than anyone else on these rides?

This is NOT what you want your seat stays to look like after a ride.

Rio Vista Rumble route

Steve, Peggy, Nelson, upright rider William, and I rode out of Cleburne at 7:00 am this morning to do the Cleburne Goatneck 200k permanent. This route is an out and back from Cleburne to Glen Rose, then from Glen Rose to Bluff Dale, then back. I knew this would be a tough ride. The roads from Glen Rose to Bluff Dale were already pretty rough, and quite a bit of the roads from Cleburne to Glen Rose have just been re-paved with new boulderseal. The route has 7,500 feet of climbing with some pretty tough hills. As the elevation chart below shows, there aren’t many flat stretches. Add all that to a 100 degree afternoon, and you’re sure to have a tough ride.

My plan was to stay with a pace I could sustain, and not worry about trying to keep up with anyone, or even stay close. Steve had said that he and Peggy and Nelson weren’t going to be in a hurry, so I figured they’d probably be waiting for me at most of the controls. We stayed together at the beginning until the hills started to get tougher at around mile 11. By the time I started down Goatneck Hill at mile 17, there was no one in sight in front of me.

The new boulderseal started at mile 9 and went most of the way to Glen Rose. We regrouped at the control in Glen Rose at mile 37, and left together for Bluff Dale. I had everyone in sight in front of me until the tough climb up Dinosaur Hill at mile 43, and I was on my own again after that. As the chart shows, the real climbing begins on the trek from Glen Rose to Bluff Dale. I made a point of spinning up these hills and not getting carried away with my effort, and still felt good after the fast descent into Bluff Dale, the turnaround point at mile 64.

William DNF’d at Bluff Dale. I can’t remember exactly what he said hurt, but he had an event coming up and didn’t want to take a chance on injuring himself before it. Steve, Peggy, Nelson, and I left Bluff Dale together, but with the big climb that starts instantly at that control, and goes on for a couple of miles, I was by myself pretty quickly.

There are some great views on this part of the ride. Tall, rolling hills are everywhere. You could see where a recent fire had charred a lot of trees on Chalk Mountain Hwy. I huffed and puffed mostly at 4 mph up Dinosaur Hill at mile 85. It’s even tougher on the return leg. It was getting pretty hot at this point, and I kept pouring water on my arm coolers. That did seem to help.

I still felt good when I reached Glen Rose again at mile 91, although I did want to sit down long enough inside to get cooled off well. Steve, Peggy, and Nelson were already doing that, and said they didn’t mind staying longer while I cooled off. Everyone had gotten hot enough that when we left Glen Rose, the pace eased, and we rode together all the way to the New Hope Baptist Church, which was the starting point for past TTTT’s, and we stopped there for a break, at mile 110. Peggy was overheated, we were all hot and tired, with aching feet from all the rough roads.

It’s only 18 miles from the church to the finish, but it’s a tough 18 miles, with a climb up Goatneck Hill as soon as you leave the church, and mostly uphill riding to the finish. I still felt good at the stop, but knew my pace on all the climbing that was left would get me dropped, or hold up the group, so I took a shorter break than everyone else, and took off up Goatneck Hill, figuring everyone would catch me somewhere on the climbing.

With 5 miles to go, I was still riding alone. It seemed only fitting to finish together, and I started debating how to wait for everyone else. I was almost out of water, so stopping at a store had more appeal than just stopping in the shade and finishing my last bit of water. But the ride finishes on Nolan River Road, which really doesn’t have any stores before you reach town. I wasn’t sure if there was even a store before the finish. So, I just slowed my pace (pretty easily done, as tired as I was getting), and sure enough, just a couple of miles before the finish, Steve and Nelson caught up with me, and informed me that Peggy had had to give up on trying to finish on this brutal day, and stayed at the church (dangit, so sorry, Peggy!).

Steve, Nelson, and I pulled into the Cleburne control together to finish this epic ride at 6:13 pm, for an 11:13 ride time. Total miles were 128.5. Someone remind me again why it is that we like rides this tough…

From my Garmin:

Goatneck 200K

Greg and I left downtown Mansfield at 7:00 am this morning to ride my Mansfiend Mambo 128k permanent. It was obvious from the beginning that this humidity was going to have me wheezing more than usual, and I was slow right from the beginning. Greg said an easy pace ride was fine with him, so we took our time as we headed southwest toward Rio Vista.

We stopped at a store at mile 19 just west of Alvarado. The weather radar on their tv caught my attention. It showed a line of storms approaching Fort Worth and Denton from the west. It looked like we might be just south of all the rain, so we rode on, hoping to stay dry (at least as dry as a bike rider can stay on a humid day like this).

We turned onto FM 3136 at mile 20, and wouldn’t you know it, the entire 6 mile stretch of this road that the route travels is now fresh boulderseal. The closer we got to Rio Vista, the darker the northern sky got. There was obviously some serious rain north of us. We thought we might be able to dodge all the showers, but just 3 miles short of the Rio Vista control, the downpour started. We took shelter on a porch for a few minutes until the rain let up, then rode on.

When we left Rio Vista to ride 6 miles east on FM 916, we discovered that, you guessed it, that entire stretch is also now fresh boulderseal. If we thought our complaints with the condition of the roads were over, we were mistaken. When we turned left at mile 56 on CR 204, we discovered that it had had fresh gravel spread on it, but the new sealer hadn’t been applied yet. Right where the loose gravel was the worst, I encountered two large dogs who easily caught me, with my slow speed in the gravel, and seemed determined to dine on bike rider. I believe it was the first time I have ever stopped and charged a dog, brandishing my bike as a weapon, and it was an effective tactic.

At the next control in Venus at mile 67, we ran into Jerry Trimble and some FWBA riders having lunch. We chatted for a few minutes, then rode on against the north wind, noting how hot and humid the afternoon had become. We finished at 1:45, for a total of 79.8 miles, and total time of 6:45. After a very unhealthy lunch at a nearby DQ, I headed home. Despite the rain and road challenges of the day, it was a fun ride. Thanks for joining me, Greg!

I headed down to Cleburne this morning, to ride the 69 mile route at Goatneck. Like most rides like this, this one was crowded at the beginning, especially with how far back I started, and so it was a bit slow the first few miles, before things started to thin out enough for me to be comfortable speeding up. It’s a pretty hilly route for a hill slug like myself, but it’s a fun ride with great scenery. I was taken with how low the Paluxy River was; that’s the lowest I’ve ever seen it. But the Brazos was flowing nicely. There was a stretch of new chipseal on the 69 mile route, but most roads were, as Robert said, in great shape. And the traffic control was great.

It was the usual challenges of riding among thousands of uprights on hills. I would pull out and pass everyone on the downhills, then watch most of them pass me on the uphills. I didn’t stop until after Glen Rose, at around mile 40. Greg was at the stop, but I only talked to him for a second before getting in line for the porta potties. After a quick pit stop and downing two bananas, I checked how long the lines were, waiting for water, and decided to ride on. I had planned on making this my only stop, but now would need to stop again for water.

At the mile 50 rest stop, just before the Goatneck Hill climb, I stopped, and found a woman waiting with a pitcher of water, so it was a quick Camelbak fill up, and I was on my way. The south wind was picking up a lot by the time I reached Goatneck Hill, but you never seem to get much wind on the steep part of this hill. It was a bit hot climbing it, along with a couple of the other steeper hills, but I never felt overheated. In fact, I felt good the whole ride, but I did start to fade at the end.

I finished at 11:41, with a total of 69.3 miles, 3:58 on the bike time, and a 17.4 mph average. I put my bike up and headed for the shade to down some fluids and relax. I ran into Mark L and Dan D, but didn’t really see anyone else I knew. Mark and I talked and cooled off in the shade, and as it became obvious that no one else we knew was going to show up any time soon for a lunch trip, the nearby chicken sandwiches got to looking pretty good, Mark bought me one (thanks, Mark), and we sat and had a sandwich.

This is always a fun ride, and like all summer rides around here, there were plenty of people who seemed to be reaching beyond their capabilities mileage-wise, and some were in difficulty beside the road near the finish, even as early as I came in. Goatneck always seems to be well run and attended. I’m going to try and make this ride every year.

Goatneck route

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!