Peggy & I rode with the LSR group this morning. The route is called the Blue Ridge Boogie. The route starts at the 7-11 in Plano(McDermott & Independence). 7:30 am sharp ,we headed out with a total of 10 riders in our group.  
 
I have to say ,this is one of the BEST routes in Collin country. It's an out & back ride-72.74 miles(117k). We headed in Allen on low traffic ,four lane roads ,into Princeton & on to Blue Ridge(for those that rode the Dart with us last Saturday-our turnaround control was the same grocery store with the great deli sandwiches). Great scenery on a beautiful fall day on low traffic country roads(as you leave & prior to entering Allen). There is very minimal chip seal ,and several challenging rolling hills(not a lot of climbing ,but enough to get your attention).AND of course our friend the wind was blowing pretty good on the return trip to Plano(more than when we left earlier in the morning when that wind was a tailwind).
 
Peggy & I really felt strong & were able to lead/hang with the group the entire ride(as we had fresh legs). With that said ,most of the riders had ridden a 250K yesterday. Regardless ,total bike time was 4hrs-3mins-52 secs. There were 3 controls that we stopped at(besides the 7-11 which was the beginning and ending control)& 5-6 stop lights. Total ride time was 4 hours-50 mins. ,avg.speed of 18.3 mph. The entire group stayed together for almost the entire route(with the exception of the last 3-4 miles when some of the riders that rode yesterday fell back. I could empathize with those riders based on last weekends back-to-back century rides)  
 
We used the JS advice at control ,for the most part ,we were in/out in 8 minutes("chop/chop") Very good advice.
 
I would highly recommend this route to anyone. This would be a great training route for anyone. Kudos to Ray & Nelson for putting together a great route. Nelson caught flack for his dart route ,he deserves a "high five" for the Blue Ridge Boogie" route. Nelson & Ray ,was this route similar to the route we rode in January when Nelson had icicles forming on his fleece sweatshirt?  
 
A great day ,with good friends. LSR folks are really super supportive.

Rats, I coulda done this one with you...  

Quote:

 
That's the one,  I'm glad you got to go with them this morning Steve, and that you and Peggy had a good time.  Our February trip in the fog was scouting for this one if you remember so you had a part in its formation.  I have a couple of other short ones about ready to submit and a couple of longer ones as well.  So the roads were all OK still?  
 
Take Care,
Nelson.

Quote from Strada177 on Nov 3^rd, 2008, 12:20am:

 
Now we see the real reason Steve was hammering yesterday ..... LOL.
 
Glad y'all enjoyed the ride. Hopefully, I can join you on the route one day next year. As for yesterday, the crappie were calling my name...

Quote from Strada177 on Nov 3^rd, 2008, 5:45pm:

 
We only ended up with 7 keeping size crappie, and it took Rose and I all day to manage that. Still, it was a beautiful day to be on the water.

Quote from Strada177 on Nov 3^rd, 2008, 8:23pm:

 
It was actually more windy early at Lake Bardwell, and eased up as the morning went. It looked like it picked up considerably right after we left for home at 3:00 pm, though.  
 
As I recall, it was 5 to 2 on the keepers yesterday, with me getting the 5.