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General Category >> Ride Reports >> My Weekend
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Message started by square_corners on May 20^th, 2013, 10:12pm

Title: My Weekend
Post by square_corners on May 20^th, 2013, 10:12pm

Saturday:
Halletsville / Flatonia 300k Brevet
The Houston Randonneur rides are generally my favorites - chip seal isn't as bad and the traffic is lighter. This ride heads west from Brookshire, about 35 miles west of Houston on I-10, out to Halletsville, touching San Felipe, Sealy, and Columbus on the way. I doubt many around here have heard of Hallettsville, but it is just east of Shiner and about 40 miles north of Victoria. Anyone who has done the Shiner ride knows where that is. After Hallettsville, we head northwest to Flatonia. However, the name is a misnomer – it isn’t very flat. The ride then heads due east, paralleling the westbound course until we reach Columbus, where the west and east bound routes merge. From there, it's the same course back to the start. Unlike in November, when I last did this ride, there was no rain. But it was the hottest weekend of the year, topping out at 94° in the shade, and over 100° in the sun. There was no shortage of wind, either. The good news is that we reached Halletsville before the heat and wind reached full intensity. From there, we head northwest and that takes full advantage of tailwind in places. Some of it was crosswind, too, and very stout – trying to blow us off the road. The return trip to the east, back toward Columbus and Sealy was quartering tailwind. So, we were lucky for the most part with wind. This was the hottest weekend of the year so far – humidity was intense too, making for serious discomfort. I was really looking forward to nightfall. That would mean cooler temperatures. I was consuming pediolyte and Endurolyte Fizz, mixed. That combination always saves me in serious heat. I’m still very hot on the ride, but I am not getting sick. It doesn’t reduce the misery factor very much, though. That’s why I look forward to nightfall, and I’m counting down the hours until the sun sets. Fortunately, by the time we reached Alleyton, a raft of high clouds moved in, cutting the sunlight and cooling us off about 10 degrees. The sun set shortly after we reached Sealy but we were only about 15 miles from the end, by then. We did have more headwind in the last 15 miles so we were close to the end, but had quite a bit more work to wrap it up. I didn’t eat much on the ride. Rides of this length are mostly done on liquid diet for me. Others don’t do it that way. Everyone has their own way to get through these rides. I heard that drinking white whole milk – a couple pints worth, is a good recovery drink. I have never before drunk white milk on a ride and I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever done that at any time. I gave it a try, anyway, while in Alleyton. Wow – that milk completely hit the spot. It was very refreshing and it did help to get recovery under way. I felt better the last 42 miles and felt great the next day as we started out on the Sunday ride. I was looking forward to more milk – never thought I would ever say that!

So that one was 188 miles / 15.7 avg / 4145 ft of climbing

Sunday:
Tacos & BBQ 137k Permanent (+ 4 extra miles)
Going to be another windy hot day. Started off sunny, clouds moved in, humidity moved in, clouds left, and the remainder was intense sun, intense wind, and intense heat, heightened by humidity. The wind was worse than previous day. This is a really flat route but there are slight gradients, and with headwind like we had, it might as well be the Rockies! I spent more time than I would like to admit at 8 to 10 mph - very depressing. But thought of more milk kept me going. This is an 86 mile ride but I always add 4 so i can claim UMCA credit for a century. Unlike the PBA log, which require at least 100, the UMCA only requires 90. In wind like this, I'm not going to do 1 cm more! In the past, I have added 4 more at the end. Invariably, the wind is killer and straight from the south. At the very end of course, the route goes straight south. Just as I won't do 1 cm more than I have to short of 90, the days of doing my extra miles at the end are over. Today I went west near Alleyton, the turnaround point, and ran out of road. Then I came back and headed east. Got the extra I needed and then headed for the Taco Bell. There was a burrito waiting for me there - and 2 pints of milk. Well, hold on. They were out of pints. Next size up I thought was a quart. I bought the quart and took it back to Taco Bell where I found out I had actually bought half a gallon. the good news is I got Gary and Dana to share it with me right after they got back from their 4 extra miles. By then, I had eaten my burrito, gotten my bottles ready, topped everything off with ice, and drank just a bit more than half the milk. I was ready to go. Of course, on a ride this short, the metabolism is not quite up to the task of putting away that much milk, so I did feel a bit full for awhile. The beating we took on wind was mostly not repeated on the way back. There was a bit more tailwind this direction, so we made it back to the start in time to get into the car and drive almost all the way home in daylight.

This was 91 miles / 15.2 avg / 1513 ft of climbing