Gary Smith wrote:
I wanted to send a personal thanks in addition to the public thanks on the Lone Star Randonneurs mailing list for TTTT.
TTTT was a quality event. The course was excellent and challenging, the support, unbelievable, the entry goodies, outstanding, the food, plentiful, the volunteers, wonderful. I don't know how you can make it any better.
I am looking forward to next year's TTTT and I am planning on the 24-hour event already.
Thanks again for staging a wonderful event.
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Regards,------- __o
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Yuri Cook Wrote:
For anyone who didn't hear about this, the event included 6-, 12-, 24-, and 48- hour road riding endurance The 2004 Texas Time Trials
For anyone who didn't hear about this, the event included 6-, 12-, 24-, and 48- hour road riding endurance races (the 48-hour, 500-mile race was the RAAM qualifier). The course was a 20-mile loop that included some sections of the Goatneck Rally route. It had some challenging windy climbs on the first leg, a short flat fast middle section, and nice long rolling run on the back side. The weather was mostly dry but a bit windy, with some rain near the end of the last day. Road conditions were decent, and the occasional dog gave you a chance to work on your sprints. The event was well organized and support seemed pretty consistent. Saturday included breakfast and dinner thanks to the New Hope Baptist Church, which hosted the event. I'd like to extend a big thanks to organizer Dan Driscoll, the volunteers, and the New Hope Baptist Church for putting this together.
There were really some amazing endurance riders there. I mean amazing, "We're not worthy!" type riders. Four guys completed the Tejas 500-mile RAAM qualifier. The guy next to us, already RAAM qualified, completed 400+ miles in 24 hours. An unbelievable mixed tandem couple burned out an incredible 440+ miles in 24 hours. Nancy Guth, the women's 24-hour winner and the current female John Merino points competition leader, rode an awesome 300+ miles. It was really a privilege to be on the road with these guys.
Then, on the other hand, there was me on the road. Yes, mere mortal, unskilled amateur, and pathetic wannabe. Suffering terribly from a lack of talent, poor conditioning, and just too much damn body fat, I fell well short of my mileage goal of 300 miles. I survived only 18 of the 24 hours I intended to ride and finished with just 240 miles after my knee crapped out on me. Still, it was a good learning experience. There's a lot of organizational skill that has to accompany the pure endurance needed to survive a 24-hour solo event. Lorinda and I were stationed next to the 1st place Men's overall winner, and we were able to glimpse some of his techniques. My knee should be recovered by this weekend. Hopefully I'll take some of the stuff I learned and do a bit better at an upcoming MTB endurance ride in November. I doubt anyone will be asking for my autograph afterwards, however.
Steve Gray Wrote:
You and your team did a GREAT job! Thank you very much! The event was amazingly smooth, and I would plan to do it gain next year. I felt great at the end, and got to see how small rest and riding techniques make a significant overall difference at the end.
Bob O'Connor Wrote:
The TTTT was the biking highlight of the year for me. Wonderfully organized, great volunteers, superb local church folks...it couldn't be better. I will be back next year.
Nancy and John Guth Wrote:
Thanks so much for all your hard work and dedication to details. You and your volunteers made the Texas time trials a class event! It was worth the 1400 miles we drove so we could ride 24 hours and then drive back east for another 1400 miles! And we made it to work on Monday! Thanks again for a great event. Yes, John and I would ride the Texas Time trails again-and this time, try to stay around a day to enjoy all the great Texas hospitality!
Bill Nolan Wrote:
Pat and I loved the ride. For my part, I just wish I didn't have 3 flats. Great course etc. - Thanks
John Ostrander Wrote:
The race was a very well organized event. I have found only recently that I ride better without a "pack" of other riders, and even though I'm new to long distance racing, I greatly enjoyed it. Some complaints which I would make note, from other riders and myself, is the local residents, dogs were a big problem for some people, and there were also mailboxes that could not be seen in the darkness. Perhaps a flyer or mailing to the area residents might reduce this a little bit, it doesn't' seem like something that can be easily fixed.
The "goodie bag" exceeded my expectations, the jersey was completely unexpected, and very nice quality at that! By far I've not received so many items for a single event, it was a very generous package for the riders. If it is within my means, and I'm still in the area (I may not be) I should be there next year to do BETTER, in preparation for the furnace creek 508. Having succumbed to dehydration from a recent illness, I missed my personal goals by a long way this year. Congrats on the success of the event, it seems to be taking off for you. I noticed this is only the second year, and already it is attracting very competitive athletes (Chris Hopkinson, 12 hour time trial national champ in UK) and larger numbers of riders.
See you next time.
Jack Richards Wrote:
Great event and thank you very much for all of your hard work and also for the phone call to come out and participate. - Thanks
Jim Moseley Wrote:
Great job, that was one tuff course on a tuff day.
Mike and Nancy Myers Wrote:
Leave cheering support people and volunteers. Start climbing. "Finding Nemo" turn off. Keep climbing. Gag on white bellowing smoke. Pass snow dust factory. Continue up hill and against the wind to Cleburne Park entrance, short rock fence. Next, long brown building on left with lots of windows. continue climbing. A steep road on the left with lots of mailboxes and a "vote for McFall sign". More climbing. An empty rock house on the left. A steeper hill which curved to the left making you think it was the top but it wasn't. Silver barn on the left. White house on the right, Yellow house on the right. Right turn (Hallelujah! Let Praises Ring). A few ups and downs. Who cares. The wind is in our favor. Police at the corner at the only stop sign. Right turn. The wind is our friend as we climb "puppy hill" (Gary Smith explained in detail). Next is iron art work driveway hill on left. Nice down hill and curve. Up to "castle house" hill on left. Down and up to "Retreat" golf club house on left. More ups and downs farm roads turning off: 1108 and 1117 among them. Nice down hill, curve cross bridge greeted by dogs of all ages, shapes and sizes on the shoulder and in the road. Yell out number. Back to the wonderful cheers of all the energized supporters. Repeat 9 more times.
Gary Smith Wrote:
When Cathy and I were driving to the race course on Friday to check it out, I was thinking that we seemed to be going down, down, down a lot to get to the start/finish line. I knew that we would have to go up, up, up to get to the first turn. That meant about half the course was climbing. That was going to put a lot of hurt on people especially with the wind being out of the North.
It was cold out there on the first few laps from our 6AM start. It never really got warm throughout the day. I got little smattering of drizzle on a few of the transits of the loop, never enough to amount to more than a nuisance on the glasses. Towards the end of the day, I saw that it had rained enough on the back side of the course to actually make the road wet. I would say something encouraging to every rider as I passed by them. The people out there with the red streamers, 24 hour folk, really looked bad. I was not surprised what with the wind and 10 miles of hills on every lap. I tried to rest as much a possible on the back side of the course since it was mostly downhill and I'd need all the rest and refreshment I could get to attack the front side of course with the wind and the hills. I did notice an odd thing happening after going by the cement plant: a layer of white dust was building up on the front of my fork. Hmmm. If this much is building up on my fork, I wonder how much is building up in the lungs of the workers?
I caught up to Mike and Nancy Meyers on one of the laps. We played "tag" on the lap. I would pull ahead of them on the hill and they would pull ahead of me on the down hill. I really like watching them get out of the saddles and climb. It reminded my of synchronized swimming, a beauty to behold. As they passed me on a downhill, Mike said, "You're a hard guy to catch." As they went by, I said, "I can say the same thing about you two." Eventually, their ability to shoot downhill overmatched my ability to go uphill and they disappeared into the descent.
On the back side of the course, there was one hill in particular that was more difficult than the rest. On the right hand side of the hill there was a house with a sign out front with green letters on a white background proclaiming "Free Puppies Very Cute". By the time I had seen that sign for the eighth time, I was getting pretty sick of seeing that sign go by slowly on the uphill. By the ninth time, I was ready to take the puppies just so I wouldn't have to look at the sign anymore.
I finished my tenth lap at about 6:30 PM. I figured my mileage was somewhere around 193 miles for 12 hours. Not bad. I wanted to do at least as many miles as I had done at Tin Butt (176). I was really pleased to do more miles and come in first in my age group. All in all, a very good day. It would not have been possible without the support of my wife Cathy or the staff, volunteers and sponsors of TTTT.
No kitty rescue this time, however.
Greg Dean Wrote:
Outstanding goody bag-especially the jersey-my favorite 'souvenir' for a ride/race. You really out did yourself. There was also great support/volunteers (I think most were fellow cyclists) and the church members are all helpful. If I could ever figure out how to not bog down that first 10-mile stretch till the turn at the house then I would have a good race. Thanks again for putting it on.
Pat Nolan Wrote:
Thanks for all you did to organize the Texas Time Trials. It was the first bike race I have ever been in outside of century rallies. You really made a success of a potential mess of disorganization. Both my brother Bill and I intend to do better next year! - No more starting late, getting lost at the first turn (and hopefully no more flats!)
Greg Blanks Wrote:
Last Saturday I competed in the Texas Time Trials near Cleburne. There was a 500 mile RAAM qualifier, as well as 24 hr, 12 hr and 6 hr. categories. The event was expertly hosted by Dan Driscoll of the Lone Star Randonneurs. If you don't know what a Randonneur is, picture two bike riders sitting side by side eating lunch. The one having the turkey sandwich and riding home is me, the one having the twin chili cheese dogs with an oatmeal chaser and riding home via Waco is the Randonneur. As 6 hours is the extent of my insanity, I entered that race and hoped to do well in the 40-49 age group. The course was a 20 mile loop, half of it uphill and into the wind. The object was to circle the course as many times as possible within 6 hours. If you were still on the course you had to finish that lap and your time crossing the line would be prorated back to determine your total mileage. I didn't feel strong pre-race. Late in the season...hard to get motivated...but you can never tell how you are going to ride by how you feel beforehand. Nine miles into the first lap I realized I was in serious trouble. I was moving backwards. No one picked up the pace, I didn't ease up the effort. My legs just said, "You do what you want. We're going home to watch Barney Miller." So as I dragged these two sandbags up the hill into the wind, I watched everyone in my class ride away. "This sucks! I'm stopping. When I get around to my car, I'm getting in. Save something for next year, " I rationalized. This was not fun. This was brutal, tortuous pain and I was no longer interested. Brenda was crewing for me. If you didn't know, Brenda is quite the organizer. If you aren't careful, she'll organize you. When I came around there was a 5 second bottle exchange, she told me how far up they were and I was off. All the things I'd thought of over the last hour came out as, " This Sucks! ". Hey wait! I was going to stop. OK. Next lap, I'm in. This time the 10 mile climb into the wind is even worse. I drop to 11 mph but top 30 for much of the backside of the course so I keep close to a 20 mph average. Brenda is crewing out of the back of the car 300 yards past the start/finish. She holds out what she thinks I need, but if I yell for something she can grab it quick. "Brenda! Grab my nuts! (dramatic pause) The almonds on the front seat!", I decide to yell on the next lap. I find this beyond funny in my current distressed state and half laugh/half cry through the next lap. I spit and the wind is so fierce it slaps it right back in my face, totally obscuring my right lense. A bee flies in my helmet vent and stings me on the head! I was smite upon as my helmet and glasses went spinning down the road. I angrily smote right back for all to hear. This time at the exchange Brenda tells me there is a guy in my class 3 minutes in front of me, I've got two cold bottles and I passed my freaking car again! I just want to get in, crawl into a ball and rock back and forth. I have no idea why I'm going around again. I try to put a song in my head. Something loud and angry but keep coming up with jingles and ring tones. I hang onto The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again for a few miles. This time I'm getting off for sure, and as I pull in I see three guys with orange tape on their helmets (my race) stopped on the side. I've got to go through now and see if I can put a little time into them. "Scott is still 3 minutes in front of you" Brenda says. "You said that last time" I yelled. I know she's just baiting me. It's a conspiracy, black helicopters, aliens walk among us, I'm not sure of my REAL name and I can't feel my legs. Just pain. My brain must be swelling from the bee sting. I catch the elusive "Scott" (if that's his real name) eight miles into the next lap and pass him. He looked like he was hurting on that climb, but he passes me back immediately. I pass again. He passes. There is no drafting allowed in this race. Cat and mouse continues for the next twelve miles. "Last lap. You're doing great" Brenda tells me. Was that John Berry handing me bottles? How nice of him to come to my funeral. 100 miles down, 95 of it in screaming agony, it's 35 minutes until 6 and I've got to ride another 20 miles to get this over with. AND I've got this alien sitting 30 feet off my back wheel marking me. Little does he know that I'm already mentally shattered and he's not benefiting by sitting back there. I pick it up a little! I know I can't wear him out. I don't have it. I slow to 13 mph. He doesn't come around. Alien Vulture Predator, Begone! He's just waiting to pip me at the line. 120 miles and I've got to sprint this guy? I'm shaking my legs out to keep from cramping...showing my cards, but I don't care. If he gets it, he's not getting it for free. I settle in at about 22 mph and just try to drive it home. 400 yds from the line I ease up, baiting him to go early. If he doesn't go by 200 yds out I'll open it up and hope I can hold him off. I hear his gears drop and he goes by me. I'm able to match him then he fades just a bit and I sling those sandbags around for all its worth. Through my tunnel vision I see the street lined with aliens and cartoon characters. I hit the dirt by my car and am amazed at how fast my heart is beating and how long it takes to get my breath.
At the awards ceremony I got a nice big silver medal that says:
The Texas Time Trials
2004 6-Hour Challenge
2nd Place Male 40-49
If you are thirsty for a tall glass of agony, go see Dan. He serves up a good one. Next time I'll just go hiking alone in a canyon, get pinned and hack my own arm off with a dull Swiss Army knife. It would be much easier.
Ron Clementi from San Jose, California Wrote:
My times and overall mileage are right on. As far as the event, I thought it was a great success. It was very well organized, a really nice course, plenty of sag support (luckily I didn't need any help) and just very smooth overall from start to finish. Awards were top notch compared to other events I have been to. After race/before awards meal was a nice touch also. As far as returning next year, as long as nothing comes up, I will be back. Thanks to you and all your volunteers and sponsors. It was a great event.
Kalleen Whitford Wote:
I had a great time. Your know how to throw a party/ride. I also would like to know how to contact that girl Eileen. She is a nut.
Thanks Again Kalleen
Pete Link Wrote:
What a great event - thank you so much for putting this together, it was a blast.
Gary Smith Wrote:
Greetings all,
I would like to say "Thanks" to the organizers, volunteers, and sponsors of the TTTT. Thanks to your diligence and efforts, all we participants had to do was ride. Take a well-deserved bow for a job well done.
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Regards,------- __o
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Gary Smith
Eileen Steil Wrote:
As I sit here at home trying to recover from the bazillion miles of driving in rain. I am contemplating the weekend. Thank you doesn't begin to cover words of sentiment I feel towards your group. I met other athletes out there this weekend that touched me in such a special way...I am filled with envy over what you guys have in your backyard.
Congratulations to those that raced, those that qualified, those that started, those that went further than they have ever gone before on their bikes and those that finished. Congratulations to you Dan for putting together one incredible event. The scary thing--the event is only going to grow ;-) THANK YOU volunteers for being out there! Especially to whoever it was that helped me with my bike on countless occasions (HC?), and followed behind me that one part of the road in the fog where that evil dog lives. Thanks goes out to the Baptist Church--man you could really feel the spirit there--that was way cool. Thanks to Diane for helping me out--and for letting me sleep when she knew I had decided I wasn't ready to finish.
Although I slept for close to 16 hrs in a tent ;-) --your group helped me as much as you could to get me out there. Your group has really helped me on two separate occasions towards my prep work for the deca (someone had asked me for the website: ww.decahawaii.com) highly doubt they will be posting updates during the event, but you never know. Little snippets of words and remarks that have been said to me are solid in my brain. Trust me, I learn from my mistakes :-)
I am going to make plans to come back to the TTTT next year to finish and earn my award--but I will be coming with a crew and will be coming early so that I can get some sleep BEFORE the event instead of DURING the event.
Thank you for a great weekend!
Phil Henebry Wrote:
Thank YOU for all your hard work. I think the weekend was a great success. You're a class act. Even though I didn't ride well at all, I had a really good time hanging out with the gang, and meeting new crazy people like Chris Tomkinson. The awards dinner was great, and all the church folks and volunteers made us feel very welcome.
Samantha Winstanley Wrote:
It was really nice to meet you too, and everyone else out there. There were a lot of names I didn't have faces and now I do! What a great group of people. It was neat to see how all that works and next year I know I definitely want to be involved and am considering doing the 6 hour ride myself, and volunteering too, maybe the day before or something. So, until next year! Please keep me in on the loop for upcoming events. I (and Madi) would be happy to help out. :)
Jack Wise Wrote:
Thanks, you and all the folks did an excellent job. Had a lot of fun, well organized and I hope you did well enough to continue again next year. Thanks again for a great time. I can do mugs again for you next year if you would like.
Brenda Barnell Wrote:
I really had a great time this weekend and I was happy to help you out. Hanging out with friends and being around a bunch of bicycles is the best! :-)
Duane Wrote:
TWCC was well represented at the 2004 Texas Time Trials, October 8, 9. I think everyone had a "satisfying" ride, although the 500 mile and 24 Hour riders looked a little dazed. Thanks to Dan Driscoll for a fine job of organizing this event with the help of many, including TWCC members Diane Murray, Bill Fox, Mark Metcalf, and I am sorry if I missed anyone else! This was a GREAT event and I would encourage more members to participate next year!!
TWCC Results:
6 Hour mixed team- 1st Place -De Ann Johnson and Phil Schenk
6 Hour Men's - 3rd Place - Scott Sutton
6 Hour Women's - 1st Place - Jeanie Tinkler
WAY TO GO!!!!
Congratulations to everybody else for participating!!! It was fun!
Kayo Wrote:
I'm so jealous looking at the pics from the ride!
Trent Newgaard Wrote:
I wanted to let you know that my crew and I had an awesome time @ your event and really appreciate all the hospitality! THANKS!!
Jean-luc Friang Wrote:
Hello everyone,
Here is what happened to me at the Time trial from the time I got there till I left town.
First of all, it is still hard to believe I RAAM qualified and finished second overall because of how I went about racing this!!! It is just too good to be true. Anyway, I like the way things unfolded for me from the time I got there till I completed my 25th lap.
As you know, I signed up for a 36 hr start on the Tejas 500 and got to take off with only two other riders, Sam Baugh and John from New Hampshire. Mark Metcalfe was originally supposed to start with us as well but switched to the new 42 hr start time.
First thing first, I drove in from Austin around 7pm on Thursday after a quick food/drink stop at Albertson's in Cleburne in order to have everything ready to go out of my van during the race. Once I got to the start, I easily found a conveniently located spot to support myself near the start/finish in a nice shady spot. Then, I walked around to greet people, signed in, picked up my race packet and also found some time to run sag support with Todd for the 48 hr start people already on the road. After my first sag support loop, Todd-Rick Houle and I went into town to Wendy's for my last real meal before the 6am start the next morning.
By the time everything was said and done for me, it was around midnight. Turned out that I had parked near a few fire-ants mounds. Not very friendly neighbors! I got bit so many times before and during the race. I can still feel the pain as you are reading this. I guess fire ants are better for you than coffee in the morning before a big event like the Tejas 500. Anyway, between my neighbors crewing, chatting and the fire ants always ready to strike, I did not get any good sleep. To make things worse, the air was saturated and a thick fog had formed earlier around midnight I think. Check with Mark Metcalfe about what it was like for him to ride up the 9-mile climb and across the 2 1/2 mile flat between the 2 right-hand turns. The 48 hr and 42 hr riders got the worse of that fog between midnight and 5am. At 6am on Friday when Sam Baugh - John and I took off, it was still very foggy but things were slowly getting better. At the time, the air temp was around 68 D, the roads were soaked and the wind was calm. My plan was to pace myself properly from the start and I must admit the cool and saturated air made it easier for me to complete my first lap in 58 min. I averaged about 16-17MPH on the 9-mile climb and 25 last 11 miles. Not easy to see my way up and down those fast rollers at 25 -30 MPH. I felt very fortunate not to have run over any wild animals in that kind of fog. Many riders reported getting chased by dogs between the 2 right-hand turns but I must admit I did not see or heard a single dog there. Hope nobody got hurt over there. I advised a few riders to pick up the pace after the first turn. I always kept it around 22-23 MPH over there. Most likely too fast for any dogs to chase me!
Second time around, I made it again in 58 min. The fog was still very annoying but I really liked the cool air. Allowed me to ride very fast. During lap 3, I slowed down just a little and came around at 1:01. Then, the next 8 loops, I kept it between 1:10 and 1:20. After lap 3, I stopped for a couple of min to unload my night gear, lights and empty bottles and then hurry back on the road. I believe the fire ants made sure to tease me again, which actually made me leave faster. Shortly after sunrise, the weather conditions really improved rapidly. The fog lifted the fastest down in the valley near the church and dragged around about an extra hour between the 2 turns, which were quite a few hundred feet higher. After completed 9 loops, I felt really bored of riding 20-mile circles. No kidding. That was not funny and a new experience for me. For some reason, I could not get that thought out of my mind so I decided to take a long break at the church. I even considered dropping out because of extreme boredom! Nobody could believe it I remember what you guys told me. I listened to everyone very carefully but for some unknown reason, it was not sinking in.
Check my split time after completing lap 11. It reads 6:54. I let you do the math trying to figure out how long of a break I took given that it took me 1:14 to complete lap 11. 5h 40 min off my bike. During that nice break, I visited with friends, ate plenty of pizza, drank plenty of fluids, ran sag support with Todd and went into town for gas - cash and batteries for unlucky riders out there. Thanks Todd, Dan, Diane, and Mark for trying your best to convince me to get back into the race. I really listened to you guys even though I wanted to switch to the 12 hr challenge at 6am on Saturday. I managed to get the cash for it by 11pm Friday night.
Now, I must tell you what really triggered my getting back into the race. It happened to be supporting myself next-door to John and Sam's crews and while I was walking around trying to decide what to do, I happened to walk by John's van first. John happened to be sitting inside his van and resting. I thought I would ask him how things were going for him and he told me that his knees were hurting really bad. He also said that he did not know how long he was going to rest for. I knew that because of my long time off the bike, he had a comfortable lead on me. I then spotted Sam Baugh next to John's van. Sam was sitting down, wrapped up in a warm blanket and shivering. He did not look good. He told me that he was sick to his stomach and could not keep any food down. I even heard from someone else later on that he was also spitting blood. Given the status of my closest competition, I truly felt like it was a great time for me to race again. In a ten min, I was really to go again. Took off around 11pm. Time keepers at the start were stunned but also so happy for me. Dan, it was a good thing you were in bed between 10 and 11pm because I wanted to sign up for the 12 hr challenge then but I gave up and went to check on my competition instead. Things always happen for a good reason don't they? Amazing how it turned out at that time! My next 2 splits (lap12 -13) reflect how serious I was to reduce the lead John had on me. When I took off around 11pm, I took enough fluids to last 5 laps non-stop till around daybreak.
Just remember that I also had problems with my lights on my aerobars. I was concerned around using only one helmet light but it tuned out to be enough for the remainder of the night. I figured Sam was out of the game and that John was going to be resting for a while so I picked up the pace and completed 5 laps non-stop. Gradually into the late hours of darkness, the air temp slowly dropped to 61 D, the humidity was still reading HI but no fog was forming which was a good thing. Around daybreak, I was still wearing a short-sleeved jersey and shorts but because I kept a nice pace, I managed to put up with the coolest air on the course down the last steep downhill just before the bridge near the church. Also during those five laps, I got to meet Chris from England in the orange /white outfit. We had a nice chat near the top of the climb. We managed to chat without breaking any non-drafting rules at all. He told me about his training for Furnace creek the following week and sounded like he was reading for it and deserved to win. I also saw how it was riding downhill on the backside of the course. He has incredible leg power but could not keep up with Mark Patten and Catharina on their bullet tandem.
Those two were my heroes of the night because of their amazing riding abilities. Makes me want to try a tandem some day! Another thing I found interesting and very entertaining during those 5 laps is the cat and mouse game, I was also playing with the guy riding the yellow recumbent from Oklahoma right? I believe that is where he was from. Even though, his recumbent looked wired and bulky, he reached incredible speeds downhill. Like 40-50 MPH especially on the last steep downhill before the bridge! First time I caught up with him around the second right-hand turn, I realized that I was going to be easy to pass him up the hills but did not attempt to drop him then. Just before the top of that last downhill, I was about 1/2 mile ahead of him and I was doing about 30 MPH easy but in no time he flew by me at an easy 50 MPH! I was just stunned! At that time, I went he is easy to drop uphill but impossible downhill! I wish I had a fairing like his then. I was almost freezing my bones to death and he was most likely very comfortable inside his cocoon!
Soon after sunrise, the air temp starting rising again. So did the northerly wind. By mid morning, I could tell that that wind was going to be a nuisance but it at least blew in plenty of drier air. My splits after that suffered because of the wind and also fatigue and lack of sleep. No more boredom to speak of interfering with my state of mind. Even though, I was really feeling the miles, I was a happy camper and knew I could finish strong. By the way, my last split was still very good 1:02. I am so proud of that one. I am also very proud of the fact that the guy who finished third, qualified for RAAM. Good for him that I took a pizza and coffee break around 5pm on Saturday! Thank you guys for not eating all that pizza! I don't know if I could have done the 25th lap in 1:02 without those 3 slices you gave me!
I am convinced that I could have easily reduced my ride off the bike and come in hours before dinner last Saturday. Will have to give it another try next year.
I want to thank every volunteer, official, friends for making the event such a big success. I owe you all my finisher's trophy, my strong finish and my RAAM-qualified plaque from the UMCA.
Thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart
Jim Trout of Seattle, Washington wrote:
So here are my answers to the questions about Tejas 24hr:
- What did you think of the race overall?
I think the production was excellent, punctuated with outstanding awards (trophies and CASH for top finishers). The atmosphere was light and friendly; the race started with a prayer from the church pastor. The 20mile route was challenging (about 750ft climb/lap), but I actually had FUN on all 19 of the backside portions of the loop! This gave me something to look forward to on the 1st part of the loop, so the 24hr flew by like no other 24hr race I've been in. I liked the small, home-town feel of the event.
- How did it compare to the other 24s you've raced?
I thought about this very question at the end of the race. I'm always attracted to "different," and the Tejas 24hr is certainly different than other 24hr races. I've ridden Iowa, Mich Nat'l, Sebring, Davis, and Wolverine 200 on Belle Isle, Michigan. Davis 24hr has incredible beauty with major climbs (and probably the hardest save the flat but windy night loops), Sebring is most unique with the 3 mile car race track (but similar to Wolverine 200), Michigan is the biggest and the first 60 miles in the pelaton is hard to beat (although riding with white knuckles pound my wrists), Iowa sported a gorgeous sunrise and challenging night loop, and Texas is...hmmm. I liked the variety of the events (500mile, 24hr, 12, 6 hour events), the fact it's in Texas (always a unique world on planet Texas), and the cool awards. Can't say much about the terrain and scenery. The organization was excellent, but so are all the other events. I do like Mich Nat'ls punch card system, for I fear the events where the rider is required to call out their number is subject to missing laps (Tejas did indeed short me 1 lap but found it after I requested they search the books) I was number 116 which could be mistook for "one-fifteen", so after a few laps I started yelling "one-one-six." One unique thing with Texas: the 6pm start. My body LOVED this start time compared to early am. The night riding was superb and I was able to power through my usual night time sleepiness much better at the beginning of the ride compared to the end.
Elevation Gain for 24hr challenges (pro-rated to 400miles):
Tejas=15,000
Iowa=11,000
Davis=10,000 (8,000in first 130miles!)
Michigan=9,000
Sebring=5,000
- What were the conditions like?
Good temps all night and all day, range 58-73F (never had to change clothes---thus only 38min off bike over the 24hrs!), mostly overcast with some sun breaks. Virtually no wind at night, picked up during second 12hrs and peaking at 10-15mph in afternoon towards end of race. However, a kick-ass tailwind on the beloved backside of the loop made it worthwhile! Just a snippet of rain on the last loop around 5pm. 1st half of loop had moderately bumpy road, especially near Limestone quarry, but the backside was especially smooth. Decent shoulders on most of route. Only 1 stop sign (right turn) and 2 right turns total kept the legs going and the brain meditating.
- What was the hardest part for you?
Staying alert around 2am, keeping nausea at bay around lap 6, trying to eat and find energy towards end of race to get in a few more laps
- Did anything particularly interesting or unusual happen?
Saw an old-time horse-drawn carriage with American flag along route. 24hr Limestone mine provided some white powder caking on bike, foggy headlights, and extra boost of speed to get through the truck zone.
All in all, a great 24hr challenge. Lots of great stuff in my pre-race goodie bag (T-shirt, H20 Bottle, Bike jersey, Coffee jug, beer can insulator, E-cap/Hammer Gel stuff, PI headband, more) and some decent raffle
prizes at the end (sunglasses, clothing, bags, etc.) Good southern cooking at awards ceremony as well. Just a down-home kuntry experience!
Don Gentry Wrote:
I got the finishers medal yesterday in the mail and my 5yr old daughter won't take it off. She's proud of her Dad, but little does she know that I merely just showed up to the event and just rode a bit. I'm remorseful about not really putting much effort into the ride because I am capable of so much more, but I can assure you that will be different next year. Your event was great and Mark and Catharina are my hero's.
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