200 km 2/19/00. I rode Dan Driscoll's ride in the Ft. Worth brevet series. It was pretty cold when we started gathering (30 degrees) but the wind was calm and it looked like it might be a nice day. I got there a little early because of my usual paranoia about being on time, but folks were starting to stir as I began assembling my bike and rackpack. After finishing, I went in to fill out the brevet paperwork and see what was going on. As riders started drifting in I met a few new people as well as a few familiar faces from last year.
Finally, it was getting close to the start. More people pulled in, though, and the numbers on the ride jumped to 25, a threefold increase over last year. I'm not sure where all the riders came from, but it was nice to see the increase! We took off and headed toward Graham, the first control point at 35 miles. I rode fairly well to Graham, although the first finishers (Gary Smith, et al) beat me in by about 15 minutes or so. I rode with Julie for a while, talking about tandems and such before I eventually moved on. I quickly moved through the control and headed on. A little before the turn at Eliasville (a virtually deserted town with an abandoned mill, an abandoned business "district" and one trailer/restaurant) I started getting hungry. Of course, I second-guessed myself and rode past the restaurant. I regretted that a little further on when I started to bonk. I ate some of the food I was carrying, but I started going downhill fast (well, slowed on the uphills....you know what I mean).
Finally I straggled into the control at Caddo. I just made it in before they cut off the grill at the convenience store/cafe grill and had them make me their last hamburger. I tried not to be smug when Bill walked in 5 minutes later and had to settle for a microwaved sandwich. It was nice talking to him while we ate. I had too much food but hoped it would settle. I had the burger, a Coke, a can of chocolate Boost (a liquid meal replacement), some chocolate milk, and bought some gatorade for my bottle. I started off pretty slow after the large meal and stayed that way while I talked to Dan Driscoll and Bill. Bill was riding pretty slow because he hadn't been able to do a lot of riding because of a long recovery period after an accident last year. This really meshed well with me, though, because I was feeling pretty loggy.
We finished up as usual by going up Cherry Pie hill. Although I was only an hour faster for the overall ride than last year (when conditions were much much much worse) I was able to make it all the way up without walking!! I also made it in before dark, an important consideration given that I hadn't carried any lights or vest with me on the bike. I got really cold at the end, though, when all of the sweat from that last climb combined with faster speeds and the cooler temperatures on the way into Palo Pinto. I should have stopped and put on my jacket but instead pushed on into town, shivering and starting to wheeze and cough. It sure was nice to finally be able to stop and warm up. I wasn't the first nor the last to finish, although I'd say it was pretty clear that I still need to get in a few more miles for conditioning.
Final score: 200 km, 39 dead skunks, and 4 live armadillos in 10 hours.