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General Category >> Ride Reports >> Mineral Wells Brevets
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Message started by aikigreg on May 3^rd, 2010, 10:00am

Title: Mineral Wells Brevets
Post by aikigreg on May 3^rd, 2010, 10:00am

For the first time in any brevet that I have done afaik, I was the only bent in the brevet this weekend. I did the 400k (255.5 miles). I almost didn't go. When I woke up it was raining and fairly windy and twice I walked back from the garage to my house, but didn't go inside. I decided I'd go to the start and decide. It didn't help that I was more than a little scared about doing a 400k solo - there was no one else doing the ride. Plus, I had a pretty hard time staying awake towards the end of the fleche, and that was fairly flat and not a full 400k and I was with friends.

It stopped raining as soon as I got the bike loaded and I never had one drop of rain the entire ride. It also turned out that the 400k route spends most of it's time on the 600k route, but I chose to ride my own ride and was alone most of the time.

1st 100k - MW to Tolar - fairly easy section. Up some hills in the beginning but then you go DOWN Cherry Pie Hill and the elevation profile is generally downwards. There was some wind but a fairly easy ride and I rode conservatively and alone, with about an 18mph average. Vickie's mom Dottie was providing SAG and the tables were filled with hard boiled eggs, pb&j, pimento chees, ham, fruit, nuts, fig newtons, water, and wine to toast a recently passed fellow randonneur who many knew. Vickie, Sharon, Pam, and others were leaving and urged me to join them, so I grabbed a pb&j, stuffed it into my jersey, and took off with them.

Title: Re: Mineral Wells Brevets
Post by aikigreg on May 3^rd, 2010, 10:11am

2nd 100k - Tolar to Glen Rose. As you might suspect, there are some hills and wind here, but I had lots of energy left. Verry pretty with fields of indian paintbrush, bluebonnets, and posies. Out of GR though you take 144 to Meridian. I hate this road. All boulderseal and traffic and climb, climb, climb. Just when you think the climbing is done, you climb some more. I started to lag behind the bunch - catch up down the downhills and get passed uphill again. the 300k group split off and it was me, Vickie, and Sharon until Meridian. The girls wanted me to stay with them so we had a fast stop and then we were off. The sign to Meridian said "Gateway to the Hill Country." It was a pretty town. I didn't expect the mountains between Meridian and the next stop - Cranfill's Gap. With a name like that, I should have known. BIG BIG climbs like I had at the Hill Country 600k, all straight into the wind. Very pretty stretch though. The section between Meridian and Hico looked very much like my hometown in Kentucky.

At Cranfill's Gap we ran into some of the other riders for the 600 and I told VIckie and Sharon to go on. I needed a bigger break and to reapply sunscreen and all the stuff they weren't doing. Plus, I wanted to ride my own ride so I that I would finish, and I was running out of juice.

Oh yeah, and I rode through a town called Fairy. I've now been to the Fairy graveyard. 8-)

Title: Re: Mineral Wells Brevets
Post by aikigreg on May 3^rd, 2010, 10:29am

3rd 100k - Hico to Gordon. Hico to Dublin was a hot sweaty ride, and fairly tough. Caught up with the 600k'ers at the control but stayed for a dinner break and had my first Monster. I needed it to open up my lungs - the allergens in the air were starting to close off my breathing, and I'd forgotten my inhaler at the house. The sun was starting to get low in the sky. Between that and the Goody's power I felt pretty good on the run to Gordon. Plus the sun going down and getting cooler helped perk me up. I crushed this half of the run. Not very scenic though - nothing but feed lots - ugh. [smiley=puking.gif] At least the traffic was low. I doubt I saw 20 cars from here until the finish. At Gordon I bought some supplies and gave to Vickie's mom, who would leave them at the closed control at some unnamed town with a whataburger.

4th 100k - And Gordon was where the wheels came off. As soon as you leave Gordon you hit the worst pavement every created by Man. It's only 15 miles back to US 180 and 30 miles to the next control, but it took me almost 3 hours. I had to walk up Apple Pie Hill because my feet were hurting too bad to turn the pedals up this road. 180 was smooth and a welcome foot relief but I was cooked and sleepy and freezing. Turned off and back on the cruddy pavement. At mile 223 I ate what I could get my stomach to hold and drank another monster. Went down the longest hill I'd ever been down in Texas. Unfortunately the pavement forced me to brake constantly lest I lose traction and go down. Descended from a hill with a radio tower all the way to the Brazos. And then the climbing began. Up down and Up down the last 30 miles back to the hotel. The hills were like Shark's teeth but thankfully the last 10 miles were extremely smooth pavement.

Title: Re: Mineral Wells Brevets
Post by aikigreg on May 3^rd, 2010, 10:33am

Tale of the Tape:

21 hours exactly. Not bad considering my first 300k was 20. the garmin said 11000 feet of climbing and that has to be reading low - my garmin always does. The Xstream was flawless - the engine not so much. I couldn't see doing a 600k out there. Just too tough. My average overall was 15.0 exactly. The last 100k was a whopping 12mph average.

Matter of fact, I dunno how I would be able to ever do a 600k. Even when I loaded up and drove home, and had been awake for 25 hours, exhausted out of my mind, I couldn't go to sleep. Muscles firing, wheezing, and everything. How am I going to be able to sleep for 3 hours, get up and do another 200k?

Title: Re: Mineral Wells Brevets
Post by Kwijybow on May 3^rd, 2010, 2:01pm

Greg don't rule out the 600K, I'm not alone in feeling 600K's with a 4-6 hr sleep break are easier than non stop 400K's.

Glad you knocked this one out. This route was my first 400K back in 2007, and I too hate that climb out of Glen Rose!
And after making it to the Truck Stop on I-20 @midnight I had a big ol Omelet and the rest was gravy!

Well Done! Very hard to do solo!

Title: Re: Mineral Wells Brevets
Post by aikigreg on May 3^rd, 2010, 3:57pm

I think overall it was probably better than I was solo. That way I could ride my ride and not have to slow down or speed up to match anyone. The only hard part was when I got tired. On the fleche I had Peggy talking me through it. I just had my own internal monologue this time, and believe me, no one wants to listen to THAT,

Title: Re: Mineral Wells Brevets
Post by Pedalin` Peggy on May 4^th, 2010, 9:14pm

Congratulations Greg [smiley=cheers.gif], I'm with Nelson 600ks are much easier than a 400k. You should do the 600k out of Denison May 29th We are going to try a 1000k that weekend. I know you can do it!!!!!
Pedalin Peggy