Peggy & I rode 101.5 miles in Celina(northern Collin/Grayson county area). For those of you that rode with us last July on our rbent ride in Celina ,I don't need to remind you how NASTY the chip seal is heading north on Preston road & return to Celina. It has been awhile since Peggy & I have ridden this route(the 100 mile route consists of 2 loops a 55 mile loop ,then a 46 mile loop). We got a refresher real quick about the cheap seal!
 
Typical for Peggy & I ,we hammered way to hard the 1st leg(35 miles-we had a 19.3 mph avg. as we pulled into the 1st convenience store for a brief rest).  We headed south on 377 into the teeth of the howling wind. For whatever reason(maybe it's because there are very little wind breaks in this rural area) ,but the wind is 10x's worse here than our home in Frisco. We fought the wind for 13 miles then headed east to Celina. There are a series of nasty hills(short ,steep ,with that chip seal & heading into the wind...AGAIN). WE pulled into Old Town Celina Park with at mile 55 with a 17.2 avg. Time for a quick rest stop(bathroom break & food).  
 
Time for the 2nd smaller loop(46 mile route)-AGAIN on the chip seal on Preston-UGH! West to Tioga(birthplace of Gene Autry-the sining Cowboy) . Now the fun starts. At mile 72 ,the temperature starts to get "toasty". Peggy(who many of you know ,doesn't do well in the heat), says "she feels like she's riding in quick sand"-code for I'm in trouble with the heat. We pull into our rest stop in Tioga. 10-15 minute stop in a Citigo convenience store. Peggy pukes in the bathroom(which she didn't tell me until later). South on 377 -into the wind AGAIN! There seems to a theme here-wind ,chip seal.  
 
We head toward Celina gain(form 377) ,taking a different route(directly into the wind this time-GREAT...whose idea was this anyway?) Half way down FM 1385 Peggy pulls over & says she is seeing "spots". This is just perfect ,we're 11 mile from Celina ,10 miles from Pilot Point in the middle of no-where & she's going into heat stoke on me! HELP!  
 
 
Off the bike because she's seeing "spots" & has the "shakes". After a few minutes ,she pours herself back onto the bike ,we head back to Celina. At mile 92 ,I gulp my last sip of fluid from my camelbak. No problem ,I have 2-24 oz water bottles. Not much good when they're EMPTY! I had asked Peggy at our last stop(mile 78) if she thought we needed more Gatorade & she says "no". Lesson learned ,don't ask a person suffering from heat stroke about possible life/death decisions.  
 
Now the sun is really cooking us. I have nothing to drink. Suck it up ,there's only 9 miles to go...more nasty chip seal & hills. So what do we do ,we sprint-22-23 mph about 2 miles from the finish & then the final 1/2 mile.  
 
The finish-101.56 miles-avg speed-16.5 mph.I burned 4,392 calories. Bike time 5hrs-51 minutes.We both slither off the 'bents & seek shade & water. Sore & beaten down...we finished. I'm not a whiner about road conditions ,this ride kicked our butts. I'm a little sore today & I've ridden 200K brevets with more climbing ,longer distances ,& not been as beaten down as I was yesterday.
 
This a great ride for scenery & riding through little towns ,on mostly rural roads with little vehicle traffic(Preston rd north of Celina has little traffic with a nice wide shoulder. The part of the ride I'm not crazy about is 377-but even it has a nice wide shoulder to ride on).  
 
There is some climbing(heading north on Preston ,south on 377 ,& sets of nasty hills coming into Celina on FM 455). I would guess about 3,000+ feet of climbing for the 100+ miles.
 
Regardless of all the mistakes ,we finished(survived may be a better word). What some of us do for fun?!

Thanks Mikey, We too are glad that we didn't kill ourselves. Bud calls these "accomplishment rides". Sometimes it's about pushing yourself.  This ride along with the brevets pushes the boundaries for endurance ,makes us mentally tougher(we're glutten for punishment). I read somewhere that cycling is 70% mental & 30% physical. I firmly believe that .This was a training ride ,& Peggy & I will learn from the mistakes made(I forgot to mention we also ate next to nothing during the ride a payday 1/2 a P&J).  
 
It's not that we need others to keep an eye on us ,I figure if I'm going to get punished on chip seal ,I would spread the "love". Nice ,huh?! Come join us in Celina!
 
Peggy & I just got back from a 10+ mile recovery ride(just what the doctor ordered). We feel great ,ready to tackle the world.

Glad y'all survived it ok. One thing that's easy for us to forget in May and early June is that our bodies are not used to the heat yet. Plus, it takes more fluids than we're used to having to down the last few months.  
 
That wind was pretty tough yesterday. I started off yesterday's ride with the hills east of Venus on FM875, then turned south against the wind to ride to Maypearl, then Italy. By the time I was getting close to Italy, I had a 13.8 mph average. I was thinking, "I'm going be be out here for days to complete 100 miles!"

Quote from Strada177 on Jun 1^st, 2008, 6:06pm:

 
Yes, it's amazing how much some areas seem to catch the wind. A small part of my neighborhood evening route is that way.

My  report makes Peggy & I  sound like  a real treat ,huh?!  Generally ,we're pretty low maintenance to ride with. The route is great....low vehicle traffic ,no dogs ,just one draw back...chip seal(oh ,& wind).
 
Maybe it's no coincidence there a wind generating plant we past on the ride. Very appropriate.  
 

Seve, tell Peggy to cary a freezer zip-lock bag with her ( qt size).  If she starts getting hot ( throwing-up), put ice in the bag and put it in her sports bra.  It lowers the core temp really fast and can get you through the heat.  It's worked several time for me, especially in August.  Some of the RAAM riders carry the frozen little blue things for coolers around there necks to get through the desert.  Whatever works.

Quote from diannalightning on Jun 2^nd, 2008, 12:46pm:

 
 
You obviously don't know Peggy.  I'm envisioning the next incident of bra explosion sending ice missles hurtling through windshields all across 377.  I can see the headlines now:
 
"Mysterious phenomenon kills 20 on HWY 377.  Holes found in bodies with no evidence of any weapon known to man involved.  Alien invasion?"
 

Quote from aikigreg on Jun 2^nd, 2008, 1:21pm:

 
SWEEEEEEEEEEET! We're riding the route again just to see if  Peggy can make it happen!!! It's DONE!