Mesquite Rotary Ride 2012

This is the 4th time I've done this ride, it's fast with decent pavement. Had a 15mph south wind however that really didn't bother me much since the southern route zig-zaged quite a bit and rarely was I ever going directly south. 

Not as fast as previous years, may be due to the wind, humidity or that I'm just not as fast as I was in the past but it was an excellent ride and I felt very strong all the way. Well over 2,000 riders with lots of local RBent recumbent riders. 

No video this time, brought the camera but didn't feel like filming anything, funny thing is halfway through someone I was passing recognized and started filming ME, hopefully I'll find it if he decides to post it.

Weekly Rides

Normally I don't post weekday rides because they are the semi-boring kind which are repetitive and usually consist of 2 basic rides, a 40 to 55 mile hilly ride northwest around the Flower Mound area or a quick 40 around DFW airport (something's wrong when a 40 mile ride is considered quick). For instance this week so far it's been 1 DFW airport ride and 2 Flower Mound rides, Wednesday will likely be 48 fast miles around White Rock Lake and Thursday will be another Flower Mound.

I've got a goal this year to do 1,000+ miles a month, so far I'm ahead with just over 5,000.

A little bit of history, below on the left is me in 2003 when I was 260 pounds and got tired just walking up stairs, the right image is me at 165 and was taken after the Richardson Wildride this past Saturday. This is why I ride like I do. 

(The cow outfit is from SprintDesign in Australia, they make some excellent stuff)

Richardson Wildride 2012

This is the 3rd time riding this event, normally it's a pretty fast ride however this time an unholy 20-25+ south wind reared it's ugly head again as well as some new chipseal around the Nevada/Josephine area. Interesting part was noticing small groups of riders stopped on the way back which I assume was due to the wind. 

A tough ride but like the Muenster Germanfest a couple of weeks ago it's one that tells you where your legs are and so far they've been pretty damn strong. While I'm slightly disappointed I couldn't do a faster ride I felt good at the end.

Irving to White Rock Lake back to Irving

I go to White Rock Lake to ride fast and race people who most of the time aren't really racing, today is the annual Ride of Silence where several hundred riders go around the lake at about 10 miles an hour and are totally silent to remember riders who have died in accidents that year.

I don't do that since to be quite honest it's a silly idea and I like riding fast. Instead I say hi to friends before the ride starts and avoid the massive pack later as it slowly SLOWLY moves around the lake. This time was a little different, the truck is in the shop this week getting the transmission worked on (who would have thought a transmission would go out after only 320,000 miles?) so I rode the 20 miles to the lake, avoided the massive pack then rode back. Felt pretty good at the end but it's always a challenge getting there and back with traffic, construction and a number of semi-shitty roads.

And of course I recorded it...

Altus Arkansas Wine Country Ride

I haven't done an Arkansas ride yet so this Saturday I drove to northwest Arkansas to do this ride. 100+ riders, decent country roads, great scenery with some nasty hills at the end.

End of April Summary

1,144 miles this month, just nipping at a 20 mph average.

Muenster Germanfest 100k

Muenster Texas is about 80 miles northwest of Dallas, this is the 4th time I've done this ride. Rider count: 2000+ Weather: Sunny Temperature: 80 Wind: 20+ from the south Rest Stops: Very good Road Surface: Good to terrible Hills: a BUNCH! Traffic Control: Good Recumbents: A few including an unknown carbon low racer Dogs: 0 This is a very hilly ride but normally not an extremely tough ride, today was hampered by a bitch of a south wind and one area with very rough pavement, while I wasn't as fast as last year I felt pretty strong and finished well. Video coming

Katy Ram Challenge 2012

Event ride west of Houston, maybe 1,000+ riders

Best part was the 15 miles into a 20+ mph headwind, still a good ride and I felt strong all the way.

Tour of Dallas 2012

Slow event ride from downtown Dallas to White Rock Lake and back with 4,000+ riders

Click the title for ride details

End of month summary

March wasn't bad in spite of some days off for rain, year so far is better than average and about where I was in 2007 when I did 17,000 miles. I doubt I'll get anywhere close to that but it's fun trying and I need endurance training.

Did 57 miles Friday night in the hills of Flower Mound and was worn out this morning so I stayed around the airport. Lots of other riders out today.

Waller Texas Bluebonnet Express 2012

And now the 2nd half of my Houston weekend.

Rider count: 800+
Weather: Sunny at the start, fog in the middle, sunny at the finish
Temperature: 70 at the start, 80 at the finish
Wind: 5-6 mph from somewhere, not sure
Rest Stops: Very good
Road Surface: Very good
Hills: A few
Traffic Control: Okay, some intersections had none
Recumbents: 2 Bacchettas
Dogs: 0

This is a very good ride around Waller Texas about 40 miles northwest of Houston, the pavement is not quite as good as yesterday's Missouri City ride and it has a few hills but it's still a reasonably fast ride.

The start was confusing and unorganized, this year apparently you just take off whenever. Last year the middle section between Bellville and Cochran was nothing but nasty chipseal HOWEVER they repaved the entire section and it was smooth as glass.

Not quite as fast as last year's 21.4 but close, I didn't do the 75 mile route but it was a great workout and a great finish to the weekend.

Click the link for ride details

Missouri City Schlumberger Education Expedition 2012

I did this ride last year and finished with a 21.7 average, very flat and fast. Well worth it.

Rider count: 500+
Weather: Foggy
Temperature: 63 at the start, 75 at the finish
Wind: 5-6 mph from the north
Rest Stops: Very good
Road Surface: Very good
Hills: None
Traffic Control: Very Good
Recumbents: 1 LWB and 2 trikes
Dogs: 5

Magnolia Miles 100k

All this winter riding finally panned out, Did this one down in Magnolia Texas about 40 miles northwest of Houston, the roads were generally excellent and even with some hills it was a very fast ride with a lot of good riders. Felt strong all the way and had a lot of fun.

Baytown Gator Ride

The Houston area has a lot of event rides early in the year however I haven't been able to do any of them due to cold and rain in the area. I did this one 2 years ago and it's a pretty good ride although this time it came with a 18-20 mph north wind which made the first half very challenging.

Good thing I did all those long night rides the last 2 months because I needed the endurance. Narrowly avoided a nasty wreck when my front tire went flat coming off the Paul Hartman bridge in the beginning and the repair time cost an early ride on the ferry about 7 miles in which means you wait half an hour for the next one. Nothing is worse than standing around in a cold 20 mph breeze. After that it was one slow slog north for another 25 miles. The south ride back went much faster. I felt strong the entire ride.

Click the title for full ride stats