Killer Bee
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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.
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