Just got back from a wet trip to Sherman for the Red River Rally... Went up with Rothgeb and a couple other GDBers to do the 65 miler. On the way up 75, it was pouring rain, but stopped around 6AM, but more was coming on the radar... Thus, overall ride attendance might have been ~100 tops. Other RBENTers seen along the way at one point or another included Sadowski, Ken Ward, and Dan Schaaf... but I got no photos, not wanting to take the camera in the rain...
The rain started up again right at the 7AM ride start -- the four of us rolled out with care around 7:10, and proceeded to get rained on for the first ten miles, keeping a roughly 14-16mph rolling pace, intent on staying upright. The rain stopped briefly at the 1st rest stop, but started back up again, continuing to soak us for the next 10+ miles to Tom Bean.
At this point, the 45-mile route split off from the 65 route, and Barb and I decided to bag it and do 45 instead -- and bid the two Daves good luck on the 65.
We continued on in spitting rain, with the roads never drying up... Shoes and clothes soaked, peering through water-droplet-covered glasses. Overall road conditions were fair, with a significant amount of chipseal, and most hazards (bumps, cracks) spray painted with fluorescent orange -- but there were a couple of dangerous spots that could have benefitted from having flaggers and signs, for sure -- a couple nasty bridge transition bumps that weren't well marked, and one downhill ended in a poorly-marked sharp left turn that had gravel in it -- they had painted the gravel and some cracks, but there was no warning until you were right on it -- I saw several tire tracks in the grass straight ahead from people who had gone too fast into the turn, unable to make the adjustment...
Rest stops were OK, with bananas, oranges, pickles, pretzel bites and brownies... but nuthin' special. Although they DID have Domino's pizza at the finish...
Along the route, we had been following Red (65), Yellow(45), and White(22) arrows painted on the road for turn guidance... However, at one point about 35 miles in, we came to a "TEE" in the road, and I saw a GREEN arrow pointing LEFT, and the R/Y/W arrows were pointing RIGHT, but partially obliterated. I didn't know the route, but had never seen anything about a GREEN arrow, so turned right, though others were turning left -- and after a mile or so, stopped to check my map - we seemed to be on the right route, and continued on the last 8 miles into town. The rain let up for these last 10 miles or so.
When we got back, to add injury to insult, the college parking lot driveway has one of those 1" curb lips to it, which caught more than one rider (and almost me) unawares when they got back, spilling them ingloriously in the parking lot due to the wet conditions.
A little bit later, another GDBer got in... and told us that the mysterious GREEN arrow had apparently been some random vandalism prank, sending riders off the route (which was why the R/Y/W arrows were partially gone there)... because he WENT left, getting in some bonus miles, before a SAG truck driver told him he was off the correct route!!!!
I don't think I'll do this rally again - wasn't that impressed with the route, or completeness of hazard markings, and amount of chipseal.