Welp. Clay Wilson invited me out to do the Do.  Paul ended up not being able to make it.  Surprise of surprises, Shellene Foster also showed up for the ride though.  The three of us started out for what looked like it was going to be a great ride.
 
1.5 miles in, on a budy shoulder, on a fast downhill, I hit some glass and flatted.  Never found the glass.  Had the tire almost back on when the gang realized I was missing and turned around and showed up.  And my spare tube leake air out of the stem - sound familiar, Steve?    25 minutes or so and we were back on the road, with Shellebe rarely dipping under 20mph to try and make the control before the cutoff.
 
this route is pretty much 100% chipseal, a lot of it being Collin County boulder seal.  At the first control, my toes were swollen, hot, and numb, but that must have been largely due to the cold because it went away as soon as I got back on the bike and was fine up until about mile 100.  So a great test for the carbent chipseal wise, and it passed with flying colors.
 
At the second control, Clay's comments went from "where's the tv on that thing?" to "You've mad me a believer in recumbents."  Apparently he'd never ridden with us before.    
 
I didn't really feel like I was exactly putting on my best performance for him though - that chipseal really slows ya down, though I was able to keep pace with them easily thanks in part to the 700c wheels and the rest to the slight tailwind.  We had almost a 19mph average at that point.
 
The wind picked up in our faces as we got closer to the turnaround, and quickly ramped up when it was suposed to die down.  I can't get a break with this wind it seems.  We were all miserable the last ten miles into the last control.  Beaten to death by wind and chipseal.  I was feeling pukey and sore but Shellene and Clay were al "chop-chop" to make it back before dark, so back on the bike.
 
It seems like it's climbing cllimbing climbing all the way back home, but made a lot worse when the wind keeps you from getting any speed whatsoever on the downhills.  I was cooked.  Shellene and Clay slowly pulled away until they were lost in the distance.   I just wanted to lay down and nap and seriously considered it, but instead I decided to suffer faster and caught them about 8 miles from the end.  I don't think any of us said a word the whole way - we all felt it.  
 
I am miserable and my butt hurts, but I finished.  Not my most shining moment.  Somehow I feel like I'm going backwards in performance.  finished in 9h40 minutes with a 16.6 average.

Greg, congratulations on completing the route. That's not a speed route(due to the chip seal & throw in the wind today). When we rode the route in early December ,there was ZERO wind.  
 
Typical E.Texas chip seal. That 13 mile stretch from Celeste to Wolfe City is the WORST(what a beat down). Yes ,the tube scenario sounds all to familiar(that was a Ray Torrey tube-Vredestein brand). The entire valve stem came off when Bud removed the CO2 cartridge. Flats SUCK!
 
So are you ready to tackle the 200K on Jan 1?