Loop 1
 
We had a 40% chance of rain. That had me on edge for certain. Sure didn't like the idea of riding miles in the rain. But there was no threat in the morning. Cloudy skies gave way to sun, and heat, eventually. We left Brookshire, headed north to Bellville, then Chappell Hill, Washington, and Burton. Our route was roughly a half circle - north at first then curving around to the west - the apogee was Burton. Then from Burton the route continues to curve around, heading southwest, and continuing to curve to the south, passing through Industry, and eventually alt the way to Columbus, on I-10. That was our turnaround point. The return trip did not exactly follow the same route back - almost, but not quite. We retraced back through Industry to our dinner stop in Burton. Then we headed straight east through Brenham, and then back to Chappell Hill, where we rejoined our outbound route and followed it back to Brookshire.
 
It's a very nice route, except for the miles of asphalt road that had been ripped out since the last time I'd been there - now a gravelly dirt road, starting just south of Burton and going on about 3 miles with a few more intermittent dirt sections beyond the long part. This wasn't flat, either. There were significantly steep up and down grades and even a plank bridge at one point. This wouldn't have been that much of an ordeal on a road bike. I was on my recumbent, though, with 80% of the weight on the back wheel, making the front end light and prone to washing out, even on the least bits of gravel. So, this was very stressful and we had to go both ways on this stretch - the second time in the dark. All I can say is, I survived it without crashing. But if I had known about this ahead of time, there is no way I would have done this 600k. We were lucky, in a way. We didn't have any rain at this point, in either direction. Rain would have turned it to mud - slicker than snot - impossible to even walk on, let alone ride a bike.
 
Heading south from the dirt section, we had a good view to the south, where we were going, as we were up a little higher than the surrounding countryside. What we saw was disheartening - big storms in what looked like the direction we were going. It would still be a couple hours before we reached Columbus. We were hoping the storms would be gone by that time. Fortunately, as we continued to shift direction on our course, the big storm orientation was more off to our southeast and not directly south. Still, as we neared Columbus, there were ample signs that it had rained there. We were lucky to come in after that. But then of course the worry was that a storm would form over the dirt road and turn it into a quagmire, just in time for our passage in the other direction. Fortunately, that didn't happen.  
 
A check of radar while we were at Alleyton, in Columbus, showed no rain on the radar in our area and the chance of rain had significantly diminished for the rest of the day and night to come. We breathed a sigh of relief. Hours later, after having traversed everything back to Burton, crossed over to Brenham and Chappell Hill, we began the section from Chappell Hill to Bellville. We were picking up drizzle in this stretch. This wouldn't have shown on radar, but it was enough to wet the roads in places. Big problem riding at night on wet roads, is that the lights are not as effective, and the pavement can be slick enough to allow slipping. Then, flats can be a problem as well. But not this time. We reached Bellville, just a little damp. Now, just 26 miles to the end of this first day. Another check of radar showed light rain off to the east, but appeared to be dissipating. We head south out of Bellville, cross the railroad tracks, up the hill, and now it begins with light rain. The light rain never really intensified, but it went on for about 10 miles. The temperature was around 70°, so not cold, but I was still getting cold with wet jersey and the breeze. I stopped to put on a rain jacket and it immediately felt much better. No one else did. That was their choice. A couple miles later, the rain quit, but I still was comfortable in my rain jacket, and just zipped it down when it got warm inside.
 
posted miles includes 2.2 miles round trip from the other hotel.
 
Miles: 252.4      Avg: 14.8            ascending: 8487
garmin map link:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224037021
 
Loop 2
Three hours of sleep, get ready, clean out the room and load up the van, then head over to the start hotel - a lot going on, on very little sleep. Sharon drove the van over; I rode the bike. Today's forecast was 40% morning, 70% late afternoon. I was resigned to getting dumped on but ever hopeful it wouldn't come true. Today's route took us west, roughly paralleling I-10 to Columbus, a distance of about 42 miles. Then, from Columbus, we head northwest to Fayetteville, a distance of around 21 miles. The return trip just reverses course. Simple.  
 
It was a lovely, sunny day, warmed up quickly, and we were dumping ice in our camelbaks and bottles by Columbus. The first 42 miles is pretty flat. Half the climbing is the first 42 miles plus the next 5 miles toward Fayetteville. Then the course gets sharply hilly, and a good bit of climbing along the way. So 1300 ft in 94 miles. Then another 1300 ft, mostly in the last 16 miles to Fayetteville, and the rest in the mostly downhill remainder going away from Fayetteville. As it had grown hot on these long climbs, we were certainly building up a need for more ice and cold drink once we reached Fayetteville. But, as we neared Fayetteville, it was obvious, that just a short distance away, to the west of town, a massive storm was building. The sky was black in that direction. A check of radar revealed that it was indeed just a couple miles to the west, but appeared to be going north, not in our direction. We weren't worried.
 
We had a good time mostly descending back to the flat lands. We arrived back in Columbus with no worries. But, again just to our west, were those black skies - a different storm but just as menacing. Radar still showed everything going north, while we were about to head east, but there was also a slow migration to the east, and more storms forming to our southeast, ready to march northward, right across our route. We were afraid our good luck was about to end. Rather than a liesurely mid-afternoon lunch at Taco Bell, we decided to cut the stop short and make tracks for Brookshire.
 
We pulled out of Alleyton and started out on the remainder of the course. A couple miles and we were getting sprinkles. A bit farther and it had developed into light rain. This went on awhile. I was with the group; Sharon was back a ways, out of sight. I was concerned she could miss a turn. I told the group to go on and I would wait for Sharon. While I waited, I put my rain jacket on. While I waited, the rain intensified. Sharon arrived and put on some of her rain gear. We started out and got as far as a half mile before Bernardo, a tiny community that distance away. Then the skies opened up and lightning was striking nearby. Sharon wanted to put on more stuff; so did I. But I figured we should reach Bernardo and see if we could find a porch to go under while we put on more rain gear. We found a porch and the rain dumped down even more vigorously. I put on my leg warmers and rainlegs while Sharon put her rain pants on. We each took our shower caps and stretched them over our helmets. Then I pulled my hood up over my head and cap, and put the helmet on over it all. That was a very comfortable arrangement and my head stayed warm as well. Again, the temperature was mild, in the upper 60s. But cold rain can still result in hypothermia if one is unprotected too long. There was a strong north wind. Unfortunately, the next few miles contained a northerly component. I could not wear my glasses as they were fogging on the inside and too much rain splatter on the outside. I took them off but the wind driven rain was stinging my eyes and face. I was wishing I had a helmet with a faceshield. Most of the next 35 miles was in a wind-driven rain of varying intensity - sometimes light; mostly heavy. We were comfortable the way we dressed, though - it pays to have good rain gear. I set a pace that would keep Sharon relatively close to me. I didn't want us to become separated. We completed the ride with the rain coming in waves, never completely letting up at any given moment.  
 
As far as I can remember, this is the most rain mileage I've done since 1990, when I rode 100 miles in flooding rain. I do not wish to ever break that record!
 
The posted miles includes 1.1 miles from our hotel to the start hotel.
 
Miles: 129            Avg: 14.5            Ascending: 2622
 
garmin map link:  
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224036977