I headed out to Aledo this morning and did the 73 mile route of the Ride for Heroes ride. I hadn't done this ride before, but Aledo is fairly close to home and I figured I could use some hill climbing work on Parker County roads right about now.
 
It was the chilliest morning we've had in a while, 44 degrees as I arrived in Aledo. I was already wearing arm coolers under my jersey, so I just added leg warmers and full fingered gloves, knowing it would warm up quickly. Sure enough, the hills kept me from getting too cold before it warmed up outside.
 
This is one of those routes that really doesn't have any flat stretches. It's up one hill and down another for most of the 73 miles. That makes it impossible for me to do much drafting. I was pretty much on my own, watching all the uprights pass me on the uphills, then blasting past everyone on the downhills. I noticed though, that the further I got into the ride, the more people I was passing on uphills. All the miles I ride does serve to give me good stamina in these rides.
 
Recumbents were hard to come by today. I saw rbenters Vicky and Bob before the ride (great seeing y'all!), passed a woman on a low racer early in the ride (was that Shelley?), and saw a man on a faired LWB briefly at the start, but that was it. I saw Bob again just after the ride. He had done the 62 mile route and had already eaten and was just about ready to leave as I finished the ride and got ready to go eat. They give you a meal voucher at registration, and serve burgers after the ride. It was either a very good cheeseburger (possible) or I was just very starved after the ride (more likely), but I did enjoy that burger.
 
I wasn't exactly a speed demon on the bike today, making two stops (and having to wait in line too long for a porta-potty each time), and finishing the 73.3 miles in 5:03. That was to be expected, since I'm still at my winter weight and haven't been riding a lot of hills lately. Some of the roads were rougher than I would like, but I have to say that I enjoyed the ride and will probably do it again. I'm never in great shape in April, and this may be a good first pay ride for each year, to remind me how far I have to go by HHH time.
 
Ride for Heroes 73 mile route.

Yep, I was there.  Shellbear and I leapfrogged eachother most of the ride.  I spent most of the first 10 miles with two fingers on the rear brake lever, to keep from running over people on the downhills.  One stretch of Airport Rd. was flat enough for me to start passing people, especially with a slight headwind.  Still, one hill early on was too steep for me, so I just got off and walked the bike up ("walking is just another gear," Pansy Palmetto).  At the top I was ready to go and not breathing hard, unlike some of the people who had passed me on it!  Still, I don't think I've ever done another route with so much time over 20 mph for a mere 15 mph average.  The guy on the LWB may have been Gary, with a Ti Rush.  I chatted with him a couple of minutes after the ride and told him to get on RBENT.

Great job, everyone involved.  
Gee, really no level parts for 73 miles?!  Gulp!

Bud I went up a couple of those hills yesterday at 3.4mph!    
 
I think if I had anything lower than the 30x34 on the Giro, I'd fall over from lack of fwd momentum!

That was definitely the hilliest ride I've ever done on a recumbent!!  I started questioning my own sanity around mil 61 out of 73.  Ha ha.  I saw Bob (of the Bob and Joanne duo) on his Catrike just before the start and, as Musashi Bob mentioned we saw each other at the start and along the route.  I made it back to the finish just in time to see Bob and Joanne leaving (they'd done the 44 mile and hung around for the festivities.  I was so glad that they had food left: I've done many pay rides where no food is saved for the late finishers/long distance riders, including the Lancaster ride last weekend.    The Ride for Heroes folks always put on a good event!  It was definitely a good training ride for the MS150 in two weeks!
 
Bud, that is an impressive time!  I stopped twice before mile 50 and twice between mile 50 and 73 (those hills were KILLING ME) and finished in 5:32:25.  Good job, all!
 
Oh, also, I was cursing all the way up that hill series at mile 50.  It felt like it was 10 miles long, glad to see it was only about 3.  LOL

Bud, that graph just looks gross to me...

Quote from Monkeywrangler22 on Apr 23^rd, 2012, 3:08pm:

You might be a good candidate for shorter crank arms. Some people think that helps them maintain a higher cadence.
 
Quote from Monkeywrangler22 on Apr 23^rd, 2012, 3:08pm:

 
Ah yes, at about mile 13, as I recall. That was the first time in the ride that I used my granny chainring. That photographer must have captured some grimaced faces.