Peggy & I along with several out randonnuering cyclists spent the weekend in Mineral Wells (and surrounding areas). There were the normal "cult" crew in attenadance , with the states of AZ, CA, WA,IA, CO, & of course TX represented.The total mileage for this ride(600k) was 373 miles, with my Garmin showing just over 12,000+ of climbing. Saturday was a perfect day for cycling, cool start, but quickly warmed up, sunny & little if any wind. Mineral Wells in located west of Ft. Worth & part of the route rides through the northern part of the Texas Hill country.
 
There were mulitple distances offered , 200,300, 400, & 600k. There were over 30 people signed up for the 600k route alone. We started at 7:00am sharp on Saturday morning. I was pleasantly surprised to see Bryan & Shellene (on bike no less), at the start. We rode with Daniel Schaaf , with Sharon Stevens joining us a little later. All riders start together. Both are great people & a blast to ride with (Daniel knows what I mean).
 
We headed out the Execuative Inn in Mineral Wells west to Palo Pinto where we descended Cherry Pie hill (a very controlled descent as this is a twisty,fast descent on rough roads) through Lone Wood , Santo, & to out first stop in Lipan. A quick stop (where we briefly Bryan & he was off the front), & we were off to Glen Rose ( I can't seem to get away from this town),we saw the 200k riders heading back to to Mineral wells, a quick wave to Mark Metcalfe as he was flying as usual, we continue on to Meridian, Granfills Gap, Hico (where we had a longer stop-45 min & a burger), Dublin(dairy farm country, good think we came through at dusk-a little on the smelly side) Gordon (as it's dark now), & back to Mineral Wells(and we got to climb Apple pie hill, which I managed to sprint up & catch, then pass the Cult leader-Oh,bad karma. Peggy & Daniel also pass him). I see a theme here-up & down & hills named after fruit). Day #1 was 225.1 miles, we got back to our hotel at 11:30pm. I had a 16.25 mph (not bad considering the rollers & we were pacing ourselves).
 
 
Sunday -Day 2, A cool 6:00am start after a few hours sleep. Same drill, head west but keep going on 180 to Strawn. I stopped shortly after the start & took off my vest, it was getting warm already & the wind was really starting to howl out of the South. We get to the control in Strawn & 2 Cat 1 racers riding the 600k route come in. The rode the same 350k route the night before in 13 hours. They had a quick brekfast & they were off. We headed out shortly & turned into the south wind & roller after roller FOREVER.  We were headed toward Gorman. It took forever. We didn't want to blow ourselves up & just kept a steady albeit slow pace at 12-13 mph into that strong headwind.  
 
As we arrived in Gorman, Daniel & I passed the Cat 1 riders, so even they must have have struggled a bit with the headwinds & rollers. After Gorman, we headed north to Ranger, with a brisk tailwind. I had a 18.8 mph avg. for this 35 mile trip between Controls(depsite some climbs & stops at lights, etc...). We grab a bite at a subway & we're off to the morst scenic portion of the route, North of Ranger in Stevens county, great rolling hills, Cedar line roads. Little if any traffic, some chip seal, but nothing horrible.
Riding past lake Palo Pinto was one the most scenic rando rides I've been on.
 
By this time, it was getting really hot & the wind was in full force now. Back to Gordon & finally Mineral Wells(but not before climbing up Cherry pie hill), it's steeper at the bottom & get's a lot easier about 1/2 way up. I would guess Cherry Pie hill to be about a mile in length, several switchbacks. I just looked at my cadence & spun up the sucker,at 5.8-6.00 mph. Peggy & make the right turn on 180 & head east back to Mineral Wells.16 miles to go. Into a very stout crosswind & more rollers. We finished at 6:30pm. Total ride time was 35 hrs;30 mins. 15.7 mph avg.  
 
The night before the brevet ,the group met at an adjacent restaurant & the out of state riders were commenting about how intimitated they were with the the course, their point was they are used to either constant climbing, or flats, the constant rollers were something they had not expereienced. I wonder what they thought of the howling wind & Texas chipseal?
 
Congratulations to Daniel for completing his longest ride on the CA2.0 to date. Peggy rode strong as well(and great companion). We used this as a training ride for the upcoming Texas Time Trials. The goal was not to hammer the course, but just get cose to race pace. We could have ridden a little harder, but I think we have a good iddea where we stand fot the Tejas 500. This was perfect training for the TT's, warm days, cool nights, rollers, & wind.
 
A great weekend,beuatiful scenery in Palo Pinto county. As Bud would say, another epic ride.

Quote from aikigreg on Sep 6^th, 2010, 12:18pm:

 
Crewing? No you should ride. Go for 6 or 12 hour course records.

Quote from aikigreg on Sep 6^th, 2010, 10:31pm:

 
What does your coach say about this? If you're night feeling well, the 500 solo is the last thing that i would want to tackle if I'm not right physically/mentally. Just my 2 cents. Do what you feel you need to do.

As Steve says about the 600k, there was some of everything going on there this weekend, weather and scenery wise. I had a mostly good ride, though a little fading on the hills toward the end of each day. My speed and combined average was similar to what Steve reported for both days. My Garmin reported climbing of just under 13000 ft - 8300 ft the first day and 4500 the second day. Biggest problem I had was severe hot foot issues. The second day piggy backed on the first, meaning my hot foot issues kicked in after only 7 miles. Toward the end of the second day, I was putting water on my shoes to soak in to my feet - this helped alleviate the hot foot issues and required a reapplication about every 8 to 10 miles. I did this twice between Palo Pinto and the Executive Inn. In spite of these issues, I am very pleased with my first "bent" 600 - i did much better than I expected to do.  
 
Today I did 72 miles, riding up with my friend Paul to the PBA Labor Day ride. I rode a relatively easy paced choice among the several choices I had, partook of the fixins at the PBA picnic and visited. Then Paul and I headed back to his place for a couple beers to top the day off. The only fly in the ointment was the strong south wind which we had to fight for several miles to get back to Garland. I took the lead and Paul drafted. We managed to slice through the wind at 17 to 19 mph so the partnering arrangement worked out well. Paul gets a pretty good draft off of me as long as I don't go too fast. I kept it in the middle ring to make sure that didn't happen.
 
While at the picnic, I met Action-Lad. He posts here and rides a cat-trike with a little customization for visibility. Paul and I enjoyed talking to him about it.
 
So with 447 miles over the 3 days, I think I'm pretty much ready for Pac Tour!

Quote from aikigreg on Sep 6^th, 2010, 11:08pm:

 
Greg, you made the right choice, if we had known you were getting off the bike in Dublin we could have given you a ride back to MW.  I got off the bike in Meridian.  You actually rode past me, I was sitting at the Pharmacy trying to stay awake.
 
I was having a good ride, no knee pain and the legs felt good, when I got stung by a bee leaving Glen Rose.  I suffered a mild allergic reaction to it, and took two Benedryl in Meridian.  Since my body is trained to go to sleep after taking a single Benedryl I knew that I was done.  
 
BTW, from Wikipedia on Antibiotics:
 
"Adverse effects can range from fever and nausea to major allergic reactions including photodermatitis and anaphylaxis. One of the more common side-effects is diarrhea, sometimes caused by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium difficile, which results from the antibiotic's disrupting the normal balance of the intestinal flora"
 
Rest, recover, get better and plan for a smoking 2011.
 
Bryan

Greg, thanks for the suggestion on cleat placement. I actually have ridden for years with the cleats all the way to the rear. I had hot foot issues on the DF for years even with the cleat placement all the way back. When I bought cycling shoes with carbon soles, the problem was solved. That was about 3 years ago. But, on the recumbent, the problem has returned. It's exacerbated by the heat but even this past winter I knew it would be a problem on the bent, as I felt it somewhat, even on cold days. I recently started to use my new cycling shoes. They also have carbon soles and I've placed the cleats all the way to the rear on those as well, but obviously I still have the problem. But it is mainly a problem on rides longer than 100 miles.

Quote from aikigreg on Sep 7^th, 2010, 6:14pm:

My doctor recommends a round of yogurt therapy: 6-8 oz. of plain yogurt 2-3 times a day until symptoms clear up or 3 days, whichever comes first. If the symptoms don't clear in 3 days then a different therapy is indicated. It used to be buttermilk but now I can't stand the smell of it so next on the list is yogurt.