Definitely a tough ride, and you start climbing inside the first two miles, before you even leave town! This ride doesn't NEED an 80-mile version -- 60 is plenty of exercise.
Dave and I rolled out at 5AM to drive down there, arriving about 7:15. We planned to not hit the ride too hard, and hopefully ride with other friends, which we did, meeting up with three other GDBers, and meeting others we know, including Dan.
Good road surfaces for the most part, but with lots of ups and downs, and very few "rollers" that you can carry speed up and over. By Mile 20, the wind was already significant, and we had already decided to cut the planned 80-miler back to the 60-mile route, instead, as there would be a LOT of climbing directly into the wind on the 80.
I felt strong pretty much the whole ride, and could have hit it faster, but Dave and the tandem couple weren't climbing the hills too fast -- so be it, we would crank it up on the downhills and slow pedal as needed to regroup. We also rode a ways with an amputee from Waco with an artificial leg (on a DF), whose buddy's bike broke down earlier in the ride. We had a good conversation about recumbents, and he sat on the Xstream at Mile 50, saying, "Oh, WOW, this is comfortable..."
There is a 5% or so long, sweeping downhill into Meridian at Mile 33, which I had anticipated coasting down to see if I could hit 50mph, similar to Muenster -- but the wind was blowing so hard from the front and right that I topped out at 42mph... dangit... Dave had his Spinergy wheels on, and that crosswind really blew him around, so he kept it under 30.
At Mile 53, we encountered a convenience/liquor/beer store by the side of the road -- OUTLAW BEER STOP!!! There was a bench outside, and we asked the proprietor if we could sit out there and imbibe... she said, "Sure, everybody does!"
A nice downhill into town finished this one off -- 57 miles, and plenty of exercise, on a hot, windy day.
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Bosque Tour de Norway - Clifton Tx - Ride Report - (Read 1459 times)
