2008 Burleson Honey Tour

This morning I did the Burleson Honey Tour bike ride. Last May, it got rained out, but ended up being rescheduled for Labor Day weekend. Because it was one of the later rides that I did last year, much of the route was familiar (except for a small portion that was changed) which was very nice especially towards the end when I was looking for the finish line!

I did the 60-mile route (60.5 miles per GPS). Don T and I rode the first 23 miles together before he split off to complete the 54-mile route. I finished my ride in 3 hours and 56 minutes (including 3 rest stops) for an overall pace of 15.4 MPH. Not extremely fast, but this was the first time I was on my bike in three weeks (since the MS-150, during which I didn't ride especially quickly either ;-). The temperatures were not too bad (although they hit the upper 80s by 11:00-noon when I finished up) but there was a decent amount of humidity (70+%) which made hydration important.

The route had good roads (see review below) and was slightly hilly - especially the second half which was generally uphill. See elevation profile below.


My heart rate averaged 155 BPM (but this includes the rest stops). Overall, I was working fairly hard and hit 180 BPM on the hills. I'm definitely not in as good cycling shape as I was at the end of last summer. Hopefully with more rides I'll get back to that level over the next few months.


The ride had good attendance. The parking lot of Kerr Middle School was completely filled as well all spaces in the surrounding side streets. Unlike last year, the 60/54/33/9-mile rider starts were staggered so that made it a little less chaotic, but there were still a good number of bikes on the ride for the first 15+ miles. The traffic didn't really thin out until after the second rest stop ... and after the 54-mile and 60-mile split, the roads really opened up.

Ride Route: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://pages.andrien.com/2008-05-24BurlesonHoneyTour.kml

Ride Review:

• Course: 4/5 - basically the same as last year: fast concrete roads in Burleson, decent conditions on country roads - some chip seal; rolling hills in the second half; course markings were improved (repainted - yay!); volunteers directing traffic and riders at many/most of the key intersections so a thumbs-up for that; however, at least two major intersections had no traffic control and riders (still a problem crossing back over Route 67) had to wait for a traffic light cycle with cars and trucks; there was a nasty left curve/turn at the bottom of a hill (around mile 56?) that should have been marked; nice to see that the 25 mile route had been increased to 33 miles to give a good option for intermediate riders.
• Rest Stops: 3.5/5 - I hit the rest stops at Miles 8.5 (just to use the porta potty) , 33.25 (in Grandview), and Mile 52.5 (in Egan). The latter two stops had decent refreshments and drinks - a little less selection than last year (cookies, crackers, fruit). The energy/recovery drink at the Egan rest stop was very welcome.
• Logistics: 4/5 - reasonable entry fee; decent parking around Kerr Middle School; decent post-race refreshments (hot dogs & BBQ brisket sandwiches, crackers, fruit, drinks); like last year the starting line was not marked - I guess since this is the 10th one, riders are supposed to know where to go; very "weak" rider send-off - no national anthem or words from race director - just a "okay, 60-milers, you can go"; staggered starts made the "launch" safer than last year.
• OVERALL: 4/5 - pretty good ride with several improvements from last year; this one is growing on me.