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https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl General Category >> Ride Reports >> 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1224377006 Message started by Bud_Bent on Oct 18th, 2008, 7:43pm |
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Title: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Bud_Bent on Oct 18th, 2008, 7:43pm Steve, Ray, and I rode Shellene Foster's 153k Quinlan Loop permanent today. I was ready for an easy weekend ride. It seems funny to consider a 100 mile ride an easy ride, but I hadn't had a weekend go by without at least 120 miles of riding since mid-September. So, when Steve invited me to join him on this ride, it seemed like a good idea. This ride starts in Wylie, heads east through Lavon and Caddo Mills, then near the north end of Lake Tawakoni, loops south to Quinlan, then back through Caddo Mills and Lavon. I can say with some certainty that it will never be one of my favorite routes. It has too much really rough chipseal, too much traffic, and too many high speed roads with no shoulders. I haven't been passed close by vehicles this many times on one ride in quite a while. In spite of that, today was a really fun day. It was cool enough this morning that Steve, Ray, and I all started out wearing arm warmers. I really felt like I had lead in my legs the first few miles. I didn't know why at the time, but looking at my Garmin graph, I can see that the first 20 miles were very uphill. It's a really flat route overall, but you wouldn't know it by that first 20 miles. And we were going against the wind most of that stretch, too. After we stopped at the first control in Caddo Mills, I started to feel like I had my legs working again. That's not to say I could keep up with Ray and Steve when they decided to pick up the pace. We kind of alternated between an easy pace and brisk pace. During the stretches where the traffic was less and we could actually have a conversation while we rode, we tended to slow down. We had no particular finishing time in mind, and we took our time at the controls. The roads near the north end of Lake Tawakoni were quiet and very scenic, but too much of the rest of the ride, I was watching traffic too much to enjoy the scenery. When we weren't going against the north wind, this was truly a beautiful day to be riding. We handled the busy parts of the route with no problems, and finished up in 8 hours even. With some turns we missed early in the ride, we ended up with 100 miles even (after circling the block a couple of times at the end to make it an even century), rather than the advertised 95 miles. My on the bike average was 16.5 mph, which figures to 6 hours of actual riding time, so we definitely spent a generous amount of time in the controls. Total climbing for the route was just 1833 feet. I haven't ridden a 100 mile route that flat since......... you guessed it, HHH, which only had 1600 feet of climbing. After the ride, we had some excellent Mexican food at the Dos Charros restaurant in Wylie, and called it a day. Thanks, Steve and Ray, I had a great time today! |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by bikerteam on Oct 19th, 2008, 7:37am Great summation Bud. I too wouldn't recommend this route, and doubt I will ride it again. We must confess one of most comical parts of the day.... As Bud said we made 3 wrong turns within the first 10 miles. George Evans and Jeff Elmer starts 30 minutes after us on a 300k route. Remember this... they started 30 minutes after us.... At about mile 10, Bud and I stopped to water the bushes. Steve is watching for cars, and all of a sudden notices that George and Jeff pass us!!!! Yes you get it... they leave 30 minutes after us, and pass us within the first 10 mies... We each laughed out loud for quite a while.... Thankfully, no wrong turns after that. From Quinlan back to Wylie we hammered pretty hard. I bet we averaged 20mph the last 30 miles, and at times were averaging close to 25mph, even though most of it was into a head wind or cross wind. Bud had his "A" legs spinning, and it was great flying, as it seemed to make that the chip easier to ride. Thanks guys, it was a great day to ride with great friends, and a really good mexican food feast afterwards. |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Strada177 on Oct 19th, 2008, 8:53am As Bud said ,he will be scratching this route off his "favorites list". The chip seal is brutal & the traffic is almost non-stop(on busy roads). In spite of those hurdles ,I enjoyed the day. The weather was perfect. I had originally planned to ride the route by myself. I'm thankful that Bud & Ray accepted my invitation to ride with me. The chip seal was to bad ,I felt it hard to get into a rhythm speed wise. A few wrong turns(bonus miles) in the beginning ,then the navigation was spot-on. I always enjoy riding with Ray & Bud. Yesterday was no exception. Thanks Ray for the meal. We made good time during the last 38+ plus miles. |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Oct 19th, 2008, 9:33am Yah, most of the roads east of Rowlett/Rockwall (66, etc.) are chipseal and busy, with no shoulder... Didn't used to be that way, apparently, but sure are now. I dno't like riding on 66 out there at ALL... Conversely, 380 east-west to Greenville isn't bad, with decent shoulders. |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by aikigreg on Oct 21st, 2008, 8:45am Well, I'm glad you guys usually find these chipseal-laden routes before me, so I never have to put them on my must-ride list ;) |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Kwijybow on Oct 22nd, 2008, 3:27pm There's some pretty good chipseal on our Dart course unfortunately. Almost unavoidable in this part of North Texas. :( |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Strada177 on Oct 22nd, 2008, 4:14pm North Denton & Collin counties can/do have some nasty chip seal. Most of the roads on the Dart will be worn chip seal. Like Nelson said ,it's unavoidable. |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Bud_Bent on Oct 22nd, 2008, 5:18pm But at least a fair amount of it will be worn chipseal. There was so much new really rough chipseal on the Wylie route. I notice Sunday's permanent makes a long ride down SH377; that shoulder is some pretty nasty chipseal, too. |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Don on Oct 22nd, 2008, 5:33pm Hi Guys, This was a great read, I dont even know what chipseal is can you explain it to me. I was looking at bike racks at walmart and they have a 2 bike rack for around 40 dollars, i know i am going to need to get one soon, i want to get the 2 bike carrier so if i can ever talk the wife into riding with me we will not need to get another...plus i know i will need it so that one day i can try to make one of these runs with yawl. On the blacktop roads i ride I just have to pull off the road if a car is coming to fast and i think they might not be paying attention. but i am thinking that the hills on these roads will be a good thing for me later when i go on my first outing with yawl. You guys rock! thanks for sharing, Don |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Bud_Bent on Oct 22nd, 2008, 6:16pm Don wrote:
If you live in east Texas, chipseal is what you probably ride on most of the time. It's just a combination of tar and rocks. The bigger the rocks they use, the rougher it is. It's pretty much all very rough when it's new, but tends to wear smooth over time, especially in the tracks where vehicle tires have worn it the most. If it's paved, but it's not concrete or asphalt, it's probably chipseal. |
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Title: Re: 153k Quinlan Loop Permanent Post by Don on Oct 22nd, 2008, 6:39pm Thanks, Yeah, i guess most all of the roads i have around me are chipseal then a few of the areas have the rocks still sticking out but not to bad. Thanks for explaining it to me. Don |
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