The Ft. Worth brevets started in February, the Austin series in March.
I rode the Ft. Worth 200k brevet on 2/23/02. The number of riders has continued to go up, with around 30 showing up for the 200k and 300k (about 10 on the 200, guessing). The organizer, Dan Driscoll, was running both a 200k and 300k ride Saturday. The group was very friendly, and support was excellent. Two sag vehicles provided snacks, water, and sign-in support at the control points. Biscuits with eggs and hash browns at the first stop, hot from McDonald's! Maybe not the best thing in the world nutrition-wise, but it really hit the spot on this cold morning (start temp was in the mid-30's F).
I rode pretty well through the first 75 or 80 miles, but slacked off on eating and went through a downtime for about 15 miles; unfortunately, this was in the 40 mile headwind section! I dropped off the group I was riding with when we went up a long, steep hill and eventually joined a couple of other riders (Rany and Don) who were riding behind the main group. Don was having some problems keeping a good pace like I was, although Rany was riding as strong as ever. We rode together to the Caddo control point, where we took about 30 minutes to eat and recover. The temperature had warmed up considerably, eventually hitting the upper 70's F.
In the last 35 mile stretch down highway 380 I gradually recovered and eventually finished feeling OK. Debbie Briaud and I swapped PBP stories and debated support/no-support on that ride, ending somewhat on the no-support side of things. She rode PBP in '99 with a support vehicle, while I rode it without one. I think that unless you're racing it doesn't help that much, and it's a tough job for one person (much driving, odd hours, and not much sleep); 2 people could handle it much easier, but I'm still not sure how much quicker it enables you to finish.
A number of comments about my trunk (SQR Tour bag), with most of the opinion that it was certainly large and probably heavy! With one other exception the riders had only small seat bags and at most a backpack-type hydration setup. I could have avoided carrying as much stuff due to the excellent support, but was stubborn and kept the trunk. Maybe I'm focused too much on the "self-supporting" aspect of PBP; I wanted to ride this ride in the same style using the same type of equipment. Probably overkill, especially since PBP is still 1.5 years away.
Anyway, I finished at 3:10 pm, after 8 hrs 40 minutes of total time. Fastest time for me to date on a 200k!
Fort Worth brevet series, starting at Mineral Wells, Tx. The morning started out well, with a slight tailwind that strengthened as the day went on. Of course, after a couple of hours we turned back around and it became a headwind. It peaked at 30-35 mph; we rode between 8 and 11 mph into it, making for a long day.
Coordinating with the sag vehicles proved to be challenging. Four of us were riding together in the late afternoon, when we suddenly realized that the PT cruiser that had the other three riders' lights and food was not on our course any more. Instead, the driver had gone back to the hotel where the 200k riders were finishing. We tried to make Lipan before dark so they could scrounge for something at the convenience store, but didn't make it until about an hour after dark. I use Cateye Microhalogen lights, though, and was carrying 3 of them (intending to switch between 2 of them every 15 or 20 minutes to help battery life and 1 as a spare). We rigged two riders with the 2 extras I had, then I gave 1 rider my 2nd taillight and we were all pretty visible. Gary just had a clip-on map light so he didn't have a beam to ride by but was visible to cars. He was later able to get a flashlight from another sag vehicle we flagged down and tape it onto his handlebars to make it into Lipan.
I put lithium batteries into one of my microhalogen lights, and it was vastly superior to the other two lights. $10 per set of batteries (4 AAs) but well worth it for brevets on dark nights!
I finally DNF'd at 162 miles, feeling sick and with extremely dead legs. Ironically, the wind would have been behind me on the next section! Of course, the worst hills of the day are in that section, too (climaxing with Cherry Pie Hill just 5 miles before the end) and with an upset stomach and exhaustion I bailed. Another day.
Mark
copyright December 2001