Another good Peach Pedal Bike Rally in Weatherford, TX after skipping it last year. Seriously overestimated how long it would take to drive to Weatherford and complete on-site registration - ended up waiting about an hour before the start. New starting area (much improved - good parking at Weatherford High School) and course (no longer goes through downtown Weatherford) from 2007. Executive Summary: 3,065 ft of elevation change; one major wrong turn; 95+ degrees at the end - one tough ride.
With the "extra credit mileage", the 100K became 64.68 miles. I crossed the finish line in 3:33:07 for a 18.2 mph average speed. Up until the Mile 35 rest stop, I was averaging 20 mph (35.2 miles in 1:43); however, this is a little inflated since the course was downhill overall to this point. After 8 minutes at that rest stop to refill my water bottles, I headed back out and was still close to a 19 mph average speed by the time I reached the Mile 53 rest stop.
Still feeling good, I decided to forego that rest stop and just finish up the ride. That was not wise as the hills started almost immediately afterward. The last 10 miles were quite painful and the rising temperatures didn't help. Many riders resting at the side of the road under shade between hills.
With a few miles to go, Lee (who had a flat tire and fallen back - I totally didn't see him) caught up to and passed me as I plodded along at around 15 mph (or below). Seeing him gave me a little burst of energy and I finished up the ride.
MotionBased stats: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8608951
Ride Review:
- Course: 3.5/5 - good hilly course (different from 2007), but quite a bit of chip seal on the roads; needed better markings (the signage was pretty good - except for the one that our lead group missed - but the painted arrows on the road were too light and hard to see)
- Rest Stops: 2/5 - I only stopped at one stop and it just had water (from a hose), gatorade, and some bananas. Maybe the other ones were better ...
- Logistics: 3/5 - easy online registration, reasonable entry fee, nice T-shirt, free pass to the Parker County Peach Festival (although I did not use), post-race showers available, supposedly there were going to be post-ride tacos from Rosa's Tortilla Factory, but they had already run out when Lee and I finished and 30-minutes later, there was still no additional batches. And aside from the tacos, no other post-ride refreshments other than warm water, bananas and some disappointingly bad (not ripe) peaches
- Overall: 3/5 - a popular ride for the course, I'll do it again and hope that the post-ride food materializes
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