Greg & Nelson ,thanks so much for riding with us . We had a an absolutely GREAT time. We missed Ray(congratulations on your daughter's marriage) ,Bud ,& Paul. Greg & Nelson are always great company. Last night/today was no different. You guys make it FUN.
Peggy & I hitched a ride with Nelson. As we approached the North side of Ft.Worth last night ,it was very overcast & then we drove through rain. I thought to myself"this going to be a very long & wet 220k.".
The closer we got to Weatherford ,the clearer the skies became. As we unloaded the bikes ,the sun was coming out & a few stray rain drops were around. We said "hello" to the Randonneuring group(about 20 or for the 200k & 300K rides) ,made a natural break at a close by convenience store ,& were ready to ride.
As we took off ,a few rain drops were still around ,but after a few minutes they were gone. My experience of riding at night was limited to 3-20 mile loops at the Texas Time trials last year ,so I'm not a "seasoned" night rider. But the few times I have ridden at night,I really enjoyed myself. Mrs Strada had never ridden at night ,so this was a perfect opportunity to get both of us some need night riding experience.
The first half of the ride flew by,the four of us were talking so much ,the miles just flew by. As Greg said ,we had a Randonneuring "secret" control after the 2nd control in Lipan. I thought that was pretty cool. Nelson ,mentioned that secrets controls are a Randonnuering tradition ,primarily on longer night rides.
The four of us had no mechanicals or crashes ,which is always a good thing. I knew from discussions with Nelson that the infamous "Cherry Pie" hill was waiting for us at mile 81. Let me say the good thing about riding at night ,you can't really see/judge hills that well ,so like Nelson said "you said listen to your body & climb". I had a visor light so I could see my computer & H/R ,but I didn't need it because it was fun just to ride & not worry about H/R data ,speed ,etc...
I found "granny" gear in a hurry as well started to climb 'Cheery Pie". I believe Greg mentioned that his Garmin was reading a 15% grade at the beginning. Nelson estimated the climb to be at least a mile long. To add to the "fun" there were some twists/turns in the climb as well("Oh boy, are we having fun yet"?). ALl fours of climbed "cherry pie" with relative ease.
Then there was a LONG stretch to our next control. I believe it was mile 109(the previous control was mile 61). Another cool aspect of this brevet was that there was actually SAG support & food provided(thanks Sharon Stevens & Shellene Foster), because of the time of day(night) ,there were no controls(convenience stores open). So Sharon & friends were waiting on us at a gas station/convenience store in Peadonville(sp?)that already closed for the evening. Shellene was telling us that as she was setting up the food/drink for us ,a drunk local on a mountain bike(at 3:30am)stopped in & proceeded to drink out of one of the 1 gallon water jugs(I think that water jug was saved for Gary Gotlieb-a 300K rider. Sorry ,inside joke). He mumbled words to the effect that he was going to kick the crap out of some local Hell's Angles bikers. Sheelene said just then a group of local women came & collected the drunk & drove off. And we missed all of the action in Peadonville!
Form this point ,we traveled down some really back roads for the final 27 miles. As we approached Weatherdord , the four of sprinted to the final control. Done! My computer read 136.33 miles ,with a 14.4 mph avg. Not bad considering night riding & the amount of climbing involved('m not sure how much climbing ,the route posted on bikely was approx. 3,500'). Greg's Garmin my provide more accurate data. It was significant. Great route.
Prior to the ride ,Nelson had suggested a light to Peggy & I for this night ride. All we had were Light & Motion H.I.D. lights that are GREAT,but our batteries are only rated for 3-3.5 hour run time. To supplement our H.I.D. lights ,we bought 2 Fenix LED lights(which are a small,BUT very powerful flashlights that can be mounted easily on bike handlebars). Here's the website:
http://www.lighthound.com/Fenix-L2D-CREE-Q5-LED-Smooth-Reflector--2xAA-battery-f
lashlight-6-Levels-HA-III-OD-Finish_p_76-364.html.
I rode with just one Fenix light for 99% of the time on medium setting(for then 11+ hours without any battery issues. (Now ,Mrs Strada HAD to have her light on HIGH & only got about 7 hours before the batteries died. No big deal ,a set of new lithium AA batteries & she was ready to go). I highly recommend this light. I wish I knew about this light last year. PLENTY of light for this little dynamo.
These rando rides always turn into epic journeys ,& this one was no different. Riding at night is so much fun. The various smells are more noticeable,the strange animal sounds ,& then there's the perk of not riding in the heat. This ride was one of the best routes that I've ridden in my short time that I've ridden rando routes. A definite "will do" ride again.
Greg ,I fell asleep in Nelson's van for awhile on the way home ,just enough that I didn't want to sleep when I got home. SO I stayed up for awhile ,then slept for 2-3 hours ,now I'm up until this evening.
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Weatherford night 200k (Read 1089 times)
