At 7:00 pm yesterday evening, somewhere around 40 riders left out of Italy to ride the LSR night brevets. There were ride lengths of 216k and 300k. I rode the 216k length, as did Steve, Peggy, and Nelson. This route is an out and back that goes from Italy, southwest to Abbot, with the second control at mile 32, then on to Valley Mills, with the next control and turnaround at mile 68. The humidity was a bit high, and it was pretty warm before dark, but it turned into a beautiful night, dropping quickly into the 70's.
 
With an easterly tailwind, Steve, Peggy, and Nelson set a pretty brisk pace. I was with them at times on this first leg, but spent more time off the back. Some elevation gain the last few miles before Abbot slowed me down some, but I still arrived at Abbot with an 18.7 mph average.
 
It was dark by the time we left Abbot, so after turning lights on, we rode on toward Valley Mills. The stretch from Abbot to the Brazos River crossing at mile 46 is rollers with a lot of elevation loss, so we were flying again. After crossing the Brazos, though, it's a long uphill stretch until mile 64 where the highest elevation of the ride is reached. I fell well back on that stretch. After a couple of big downhills, the route crosses the Bosque River just past mile 66, and then it's on into Valley Mills, where Sharon had the festive turnaround control set up at a baseball park.  
 
We left Valley Mills to start the ride back, but just before I had ridden a half mile, I realized I had left my bottle of mix at the control, and turned around to retrieve it. So I rode this 36 mile stretch alone. It was a dark night, with just a sliver of moon showing up later, and I was surprised at how little wildlife I saw. The dogs, though, were definitely out. The climbs out of the Bosque River valley, then the Brazos river valley, are steeper on the return leg, and my legs were feeling the fatigue after making these climbs. The wind had swung to the south a little, but was still from the south south east, so much of the return ride was against a quartering headwind.
 
At mile 97, I hit an armadillo. I was climbing slowly (which is pretty much the only way I climb), probably a bit too close to the shoulder, when I saw with my peripheral vision, something coming onto the shoulder from the right just in front of me. There was no time to react. The armadillo ambled onto the road straight into my bike. My front wheel missed, but the rear wheel struck a glancing blow, instantly knocking the wheel a couple of inches to the left. I did not go down, and heard sounds of frantic paws on pavement after I hit it, so the armadillo may have survived his encounter with a Corsa.
 
The Abbot control is a truck stop on I-35W, at mile 103. You can see the I-35 traffic miles before you get to the control, and even see the truck stop lights from a long ways away, but it's miles of an uphill false flat before you get there, and I just kept pedaling and wondering if I would ever get to that control. Steve, Peggy, Nelson, and Pat, an upright rider with them, were almost ready to leave when I got there. Peggy, Nelson, and Pat went ahead and left as I was finishing up my stop; Steve stayed back and rode the rest of the way in with me.
 
I like this route. The boulder seal on SH 34 and US 77 at the beginning and end is a beating (literally), and FM 56 north of Valley Mills has more high speed traffic than I would like, and little or no shoulders, but all the other roads are great. I was thankful that I turned off of FM 56 well before bar closing time.
 
I ended up with 137.1 miles, and finished at 4:30 am with a total time of 9:30. Steve, Peggy, and I grabbed a fast food breakfast before heading home. It was a fun ride, and as usual, the company was great. Thanks, Steve, Peggy, and Nelson.

Bud ,great write up.  Let me say ,I think I dispelled any rumors that I don't eat. The post ride feast at McDonald's was a glutton fest for me. I think I could have eaten 2 Deluxe breakfast entrees.  
 
What a great event! The night rides are always my favorite, AND the 2009 version was no different. I really,really like the route(despite a little confusion on my part navigating at around mile 84ish), I was on course, but I didn't think I was , so I made a couple of unnecessary loops  before catching Peggy & a DF friend down the road a bit.  As Bud said, this was an out & back route, but for a short section, we came back a different way. No big deal. I still loved the ride/route.
 
I really thought all of the us rode extremely well last night/this morning. My Garmin showed approx, 3,980' of climbing. This was a very 'bent friendly 216K route. I ended up with 138.47 miles.  
 
It was a little warm at the start(7:00pm),but quickly gave way to beautiful sunset & cooler night time temperatures.  
 
There was very little vehicle traffic & the ride organizer(Sharon Stevens)  had a very nice control for us at a Park in Valley Mills(turnaround for the 216kers).  Nelson left a few minutes before in Valley Mills, & I rode quickly to catch him. I could see his flashing "blinky" in the distance(maybe half mile away at one point) ,but due to the terrain ,lost his light, then was briefly lost(or so I thought).  
 
We all meet up at the control in Abbot, only to find Nelson had forgotten his water bottles at Valley Mills.
Sorry Nelson, had we known, the Three of us would have picked our pace & shared our extra water with you. We were leisurely enjoying the morning & bright stars.
 
As usual ,I thoroughly enjoyed riding with Bud, Nelson, Peggy & Pat Nolan(for a while). I wish I could have seen Bud's encounter with that Armadillo. Too funny. Good job that neither the rider, bike or animal were hurt.  
 
Yeah ,the chip seal on Hwy 34 & 77 was a bit disappointing, but as you both mentioned, this is current state of affairs that we find ourselves as cyclists.  
 
It just want to convey that the rides are really fun. I think sometimes we may give the perception that these LSR rides are just an excuse for some form of self-abuse/torture. As in life, some rides are less painful than others.  
 
In the end ,it's all about comradeship/friendship. Last night/this morning was no different. Thanks everyone for making the ride fun & memorable.

I didnt get in until 4:30am this morning.  I was even trring ot get stuff ready on the drive back, in case I could make it to the start, but we had a tire blowout and also my RAO tiredness seemed to finally catch up and I had to have extra sleep.  I *really* wanted to be there for this one.  I've really missed you guys and Bud, I'm glad you hit that 'dillo on he up and not the down!