Peggy & ventured down to Houston(by way of Austin) to ride with the Houston Randonneurs yesterday. Bob Riggs(regional brevet administrator for H R) was very welcoming to Peggy & I . Of course there were some LSR folks who had made the trip down from Dallas(Mark & Linda Metcalfe, Jeff Elmer to name a few). There were some old friends too(Dennis Cook-from the Texas Time Trials-Team Cole-train that included Nelson Ralls & Ray Torrey).  DO NOT THINK THIS AREA OF TEXAS IS FLAT...IT IS NOT(the area is located between Houston & San Antonio)!
 
Peggy & I rode out exactly at 7:00am(chop-chop) with Jeff Elmer,Dennis Cook(and his group of friends). Jeff,Peggy & I pulled away from Dennis, so it was the three of us the rest of the day & night.
 
This is a great route ,with mostly low traffic roads in good condition(except the last 7 miles back into Bellville).
 
The 300K starts in Bellville & travels north to ,Chappell Hill  with the 2nd control at Washington on the Brazos State Park(36 miles).  
Next control , an information control(closed convenience store in Burton ,Tx).  There was an "unscheduled" control in Independence at a nice little grocery store(mile 50). We rode with Linda Metcalfe  from the Stae park to the information control at Burton(this was her turnaround point as she was riding the 200k). Stock up on food/water,it's was 46+ miles to the next open control.
 
Now onto New Ulm,Tx(25.8 miles to the South west). By now ,the morning clouds had burned off & the sun(& wind,of course) were in full force(so was a nice section of beat down chip seal). For good measure, add some HILLS.  
 
We gathered ourselves in New Ulm, & readied ourselves for the next control in La Grange(Weikel's Bakery),128+ miles down ,approx. 65+ miles to go. With the sun setting ,we took off to our next control in Weimar,Tx. Now a full moon was aiding us as we rode toward Weimar. After riding in sweaty clothes all day ,the three us threw on arm/leg warmers/jackets for the night ride. Good thing we did...the wind was still blowing ,making the night air chilly(I'm sure muscle fatigue didn't help prevent the chills either).
 
As we headed back east to Bellville(just before Columbus) we see two separate herd of deer(at least 10 deer)flying across the road within 50' of us(on his ride,Mark M. said that he actually had to brake on this section to avoid being hit be the deer).
 
At this point ,it's very dark, mental/physical fatigue has settled in nicely ,there are several left/right turns to make. I glanced at my cue sheet...I shout "LEFT TURN". Too late. Pedlain' Peggy blew by Jeff & I(BONUS RANDO miles). She'll see us stopped at some point...maybe?
 
Perfect opportunity for a bathroom break(sorry ,I had to go). She turns around & Jeff & I are ready to go. We headed down a great rural road. I was getting a tired(we stopped & partied with some friends in Austin on Thursday night ,so I was lacking in the sleep department for the few days).  
 
As we're riding at a steady 16+ mph pace,I hear my cell phone ring. It was Mark M. calling to warm us up the "rough road" on Mill Creek Rd(mile 184). As if the wind ,& hills didn't kick our butt, now there was this 4 mile of " rough road" to take it's shot at us. GREAT! Mark suggested that we walk the bikes to prevent someone from either going down OR flatting/damaging a rim. We're about mile 160 when he called.
 
As we approached Bellville(within 11 miles on a nice 2 lane road-FM 949) ,we turn onto Mill Creek Rd(the route now turns into a BMX course). It was every bit as bad as Mark had warned us.  AND as we were dodging potholes the size of VW's, a dog decides to chase Peggy. We walked our bikes for a 1/4 mile or so,then the road became smooth again.  
 
Are we there yet? YES!!! We arrive in Bellville at 11:55pm ,some 16 hours,55 mins after we left. My computer read ,195.34 miles, approx. 1+ bonus rando miles. Peggy & i thought about getting a double century in for the day. Too late ,by the time we would have ridden 4+ miles,it would have been Sunday morning. Besides. I was DONE. I was cold & tired & wanted a hot shower(and food). Besides ,we had a 15-20 minute trip back to our hotel in Sealy ,Tx(and a 1:00am hamburger at Whataburger)!
 
What a weekend! Peggy rode really well all day(I was really proud of her). Thanks to Mark & Linda Metcalfe for the advice & support(on & off the ride). I just lived in the moment & enjoyed the ride. I really didn't care how long it took us to finish. We pushed ourselves mentally & physically on this ride. We survived ,ready for the next epic adventure.
 
P.S. Nelson ,Mark M says that we should have no problem with the 400K in Cleburne because we were able to ride this 300K successfully. Very challenging route on a really windy day.
 
Man ,this 300k ride report was kinda like reading Homer's Odyssey. How long will the 400 or 600K take me to write?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sounds like another epic adventure. Good job, y'all!

Good Job you guys!  I'm proud of you.  You'll absolutely have no trouble on the 400K.  So much of the toughness of these rides is due to the conditions, not the distance.  The hardest one I've ever done was the 200K out of Willow Park in the cold rain.  Hopefully we'll have nice weather for the 400K, and our ride time won't be that much longer than your 300K.  For the 600K I did in 2007 I had to go 70 miles between controls at one point.  That stretched my supplies to the limit for water.  I was thinking about you guys all weekend, with the wind especially.
 
Take Care,
Nelson.

Ray & Nelson(and Bud too), we really missed riding with you guys this weekend. It sounds like you guys had a great time. I would highly recommend riding this route(300k in Bellville) in the future. The scenery is beautiful & the rolling hills are constant to La Grange.  
 
So another Nelson ride close to my home(Prosper), I like that.  Ray ,good job on back-to-back rides. Peggy & I thought about getting out for a short ride yesterday(after returning home from Houston) ,but with the travel/ride ,etc...we were both wiped out.
 
Thanks for the kind words. That means a lot to Peggy & I.  The Houston 300k was good training for Hellweek.
 
Speaking of CLIMBING....I saw an elevation graph of the 600k race(prior to Hellweek in Fredericksburg), the 1st 130 miles is almost all climbing. What a brutal route on BOULDER SEAL no less!  For the really sick & twisted, the Houston Randonneurs are hosting a 1,000k in early Spring. It's supposed to be the toughest 1,000k in the country(it starts in Houston & goes into the Hill country).

Wow - I thought this was flat old Houston we were talking about????
 
I hope the 600k route isn't crossing those same roads!