Day 1 (Saturday 4/7/12)
Miles = 259.24 / avs = 15.4 / climbing = 6854
 
After a 1.2 mile ride from the hotel, we met up with the rest of the group, ready to start out. Our 600k route was comprised of a 400k (my least favorite distance) and finishing up with a separate 200k route. The route was similar to one I've done before, but that route turned back at Lockhart and then spent miles riding the shoulder of US 90. This route was improved by skipping Lockhart and adding a southern route which went through McMahan and then traversed back to the east, south of but parallel to Hwy 90, until eventually rejoining Hwy 90 just before Columbus. I liked the route much more - riding the shoulder of 90 for those many miles was no fun. Then, we had our familiar but pleasant stop at Alleyton before riding the equally familiar 42 miles back to Brookshire.
 
So our route took us from Brookshire, thru San Felipe, Sealy, Frelsburg, Fayetteville, Rutersville, La Grange, Hostyn, Jeddo, out to our turnaround, which was at a hwy intersection with a gas station and convenience store.  After a short stop at the most westerly point, we headed back to Cistern where we had pre-ordered BBQ sandwiches - they really hit the spot, along with a bottle of root beer. Since the weather was on the very warm side, the hot sandwich and cold beverage was just the ticket, plus I needed the protein boost for the rest of the route. After Cistern, we headed straight south, through Flatonia and Moulton, to our next stop.
 
It was here I realized I had a front flat. I thought I felt something weird, but on a recumbent, having a flat is not quite the decisive feel that it is on a road bike. So I had actually ridden it flat without realizing it, for about a mile before reaching the convenience store. Fortunately, my 650x28 with relatively thick rubber on the contact surface did not get damaged. Unfortunately, the Lysine pump mated with the tubes I had bought from Bikemart, was not a good match with those tubes. The pump valve screws on, but when I would put air in the tube and unscrew it, it would also remove the valve core! This problem is apparently specific to the Bontrager tubes I was using, as this never had happened before. Fortunately, someone else had a different kind of pump, and I was able to use the Bontrager tube after all.
   
From there, we headed east with a jog north, through Oakland, then finally rejoining Hwy 90 at Glidden, and in about 4 miles, downtown Columbus passed by, then over the cantilever bridge spanning the Brazos River, old 90, and then to Alleyton. Houston club member Janet was there, providing a fantastic spread of delicious food choices.
 
Although our 42 miles back to Brookshire is normally uneventful, the group had covered about 10 miles before I realized that Sharon was not with us. She had left Alleyton a minute later than the group, got disoriented and turned the wrong way before quickly realizing her error. Finally, back on track, she couldn't remember the route, plus there was a car apparently following her, which she found suspicious, and deciding to play it safe, went back to Alleyton to ride in with a rider who was struggling with the group pace. She left with him. When I realized she wasn't with us, I let the group know I was turning back and rode back about 3½ miles before coming across the pair.  
 
I completed the day's ride with Sharon and Bill Winderweedle, about 40 minutes after the group finished. It was 1:02 AM. After deciding to meet up for the group start the following morning, we rode back to our hotel, which is where I hit the stop button on my Garmin. We had a short amount of time to shower, eat, get some sleep, and then clear out of the room, depositing our belongings in the van, before heading back to the La Quinta for a 7:15 AM start.
 
Day 2 (Sunday 4/8/12)
Miles = 126 / avg = 14.7 / climbing = 3820
The next day we were doing the Independence 200k, a route that takes us more or less northwest to Independence. The slight chance of rain was now gone from the forecast - that was great news as I had been concerned about the T'storms over the Hill Country and over Corpus Christi, spreading to our area before the end of the day. But, my legs were trashed from the previous day, and it took me quite awhile to get them warmed up and functioning semi-normally. Every stop would require a renewed warm-up period, preceded by loads of pain on the climbs. Fortunately, most everyone else on the ride had this same problem, so I wasn't having that much trouble keeping up, even though my legs were in pain and very tight. Even though neither of the 2 parts of the ride add up to big climbing rides, there are loads of rollers on these routes, and the feet per mile is somewhat greater on the 200k portion, than on the 400k portion. This second day has steeper, longer, rollers for the most part, than the first day did, so the second day was relatively more difficult riding and leg fatigue had a greater role in how I felt (along with major hot foot and sacrum pain).
 
Today's route took us from Brookshire to Bellville, and then to Chappel Hill and Independence. Not a lot of towns, so that made for a very simple route, few turns, and a lovely old country store in Independence, with a big shade tree out front, and some benches to sit on and enjoy the ambiance of the moment. We spent about half an hour enjoying being there, loading up our camelbaks and water bottles with beverage and ice, and then headed back to Brookshire the same way we came. The sky had filled with broken clouds by then, and we had some headwind as well. The breeze was cool and refreshing, though, making the heat of the day tolerable. All in all, considering the distance being covered in a weekend, I felt I did pretty well, and the fatigue, while a bother, was not interfering with doing the ride, and keeping up with others when I needed to. Hopefully, though, the next 600k will be more comfortable, if not less climbing, than this one.