Cowtown Classic

Don and I completed the Cowtown Classic bike ride in south Fort Worth today. Don rode the "42 mile" route (which would have been 47 miles) and I did an extra out-and-back loop in Godley for the "56-mile route" (which would have been 54 miles). However, due to inadequate course markings, a large (really large - 100+ riders) group of us missed a turn and went about three miles off course. So Don did about 53 miles and I did a little over 60. This was Don's first ride after recovering from his broken clavicle and it ended up being more than half a century. Amazing!

According to the Garmin Forerunner 305, I traveled 60.33 miles in 3 hours and 55 minutes - for an average speed of 15.4 miles per hour. The ride time was 3:34 - for an average ride speed of 16.9 mph. I was able to ride with Don for most of the ride, I sped up after the 19.5-mile rest stop (which I left quickly) and then did the extra 6 mile out-and-back and met back up with Don at the shared 26.5/33.5-mile rest stop right at that intersection. During the second half of the ride, I tried to add some hillwork by "redoing" three of the big hills of the ride - which probably added less than a mile of distance, but definitely injected some increased heart rates and additional leg work.

MotionBased link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=3906322

Ride Review:

• Course: 2.5/5 - fast concrete roads near the start/finish but all country roads after that; some of the roads were narrow, rough, and with lots of tight/blind turns; course markings need improvement as noted above - there should always be signs/volunteers whenever the course turns from a major road onto a smaller one; very bad/rude traffic at Highway 171 -the speed limit on that road is 65 mph - an alternate route should be sought; lack of traffic control (or the police officers themselves) caused big packs of riders to have to stop at several intersections.
• Rest Stops: 3/5 - very limited selection - some fruit, cookies, and water/Gatorade - nothing to write home about. One stops not easy to see and not well marked - I completely missed Rest Stop #4 - I didn't need it, but others may have.
• Logistics: 3.5/5 - online registration available; no issues with race day packet pick-up; lots of porta-potties and indoor bathrooms in the high school were available; good parking at North Crowley High School; not much post-race refreshment variety (same fruit/drinks/cookies as rest stops and free Pickle Juice samples); post-race showers available - NICE!; staggered start with marching band playing; finish line passed by packet pickup tent so high-school volunteers cheered on the finishers
• Overall: 3/5 - pretty good ride but the course needs to be improved and have better traffic control/buy-in