OK is OK 300K Brevet

I drove down to San Antonio and Round Rock to visit family last week and stopped on the way back in Greenville, TX, to ride with the Lone Star Randonneurs on Saturday. There were about 30 riders for the 200K and 300K ACP brevets. I rode out of Greenville at 7:00 with a fairly fast group. There was a group ahead of us and at least one group behind soon after we left town. The routes for both brevets were the same until Control #3 in Achille, OK (67 miles), where the 200K riders began the trip back south. The route to Achille crossed the Red River on an old railroad bridge that had been converted to a single-lane motor vehicle roadway. At some point in the past, a motor vehicle roadway had been cantilevered from the side of the railroad bridge but it was no longer in use. The cantilevered bridge did not look like it could support much more than a Model T even when it was first built.

We were in Caddo, OK (Control #4, 91.5 miles) at about 13:30. I had visions of getting back to Greenville by 21:00, but it wasn't going to happen. We picked up a head wind as we headed south, and our speed dropped several mph. I also began to run out of steam after we left Control #5 in Bennington, OK (112 miles). The group I was riding with pulled ahead of me, but I passed them a few miles later when one of the riders had a flat. They passed me again about eight miles further down the road, and I did not expect to see them again. I was also passed by some guys in a pickup truck, pulling a horse trailer, who offered me a beer as they passed. I said it looked good, but maybe later. I caught up with the group again at Control #6 in Bonham, TX (151 miles), just after sunset. One of the riders was sick and had decided to abandon.

We left the control at Bonham with the intent of riding the rest of the way together. About a mile down the road, another rider had a flat that required replacing the tire. The first tube would not inflate and had to be replaced. Two of the riders decided to head on because it was taking too much time to make the repair. After we got going again, three riders pulled away and we (me and two other riders) never saw them again. We stopped at a convenience store in Wolfe Creek (172 miles) for coffee, and I ate a pizza. It was the first store where we stopped that had pizza, which is a regular staple for me on brevets. I was getting tired of subsisting just on energy bars and chocolate milk.

After dark, the head wind died down and we made pretty good time on the predominately flat section. It was a chore to climb the few hills we encountered. We also slowed for the final four miles through Greenville because we did not want to miss our turns. We got into Control #7 (192 miles) just after 23:00. I appreciated that Charlie Fenske from Arlington, TX, and the other rider, who's name I have forgotten, finished the ride with me. In retrospect, even though I finished, I should have ridden the 200K because a stomach ailment I had on Monday and Tuesday and the 1,100 miles of driving the following three days probably contributed to my running out of steam after the first 100 miles.

North from Greenville, TX














Freshly tilled fields














Entering Ector, TX














Waiting for traffic on the Red River bridge














Crossing the Red River into Oklahoma














Durant, TX














Control in Caddo, TX














Crossing the Red River at sunset














Welcome to Texas














Texas antique truck

Twice Riding the Hound Dog

The Hound Dog 124K to Aurora has quickly become one of our most popular routes. I rode it last Sunday, Jan. 2, with Dan Pfaff and yesterday with Tamara Mitchell. The Sunday ride was chilly, but nothing like yesterday, it was 22 degrees at the 7:30 start and 25 degrees when I got home a little after 14:00. Fortunately, the sun was out the entire time. There is not intermediate control between Springfield and Aurora, but we stopped at the Casey's in Billings for hot chocolate and to warm up. In Aurora, a local church group was at the Casey's filling gas tanks and buying coffee and hot chocolate. So we got free hot chocolate. Unfortunately, it looks like there may be a lot of cold rides this winter.

Dan in Aurora














Dan heading back

Probably the Last Ride of the Year

Tuesday looked to be the last great day (partly cloudy, no rain) of the year, so James Doggett and I rode the Hound Dog 124K to Aurora. It was a little chilly, and we had to bundle up. James rode his new Lynskey bicycle. It is a beautiful green color. We had a light headwind outbound which unfortunately faded shortly after we turned around. James just joined RUSA this year, and this ride was his first randonneuring event. This sub-200K ride makes 3 months in a row for me in pursuit of the new RUSA P-12 award.

James outbound














James' Lynskey














Lynskey detail



















Train in Marionville

2011 Southwest Missouri Brevets

The Southwest Missouri brevets will again be run through the St. Louis region for 2011. The 200K brevet is on Sunday, March 20, 2011, and the 300K on Saturday, April 16, 2011. Both brevets will start in Springfield and follow the same routes as 2010 with a small modification to the 300K that makes it shorter by 0.7 mile. Both events are sanctioned by Audax Club Parisien (ACP). More info on the web page.

Hound Dog 124K & Cooky's

I have been a little slack blogging. Tamara Mitchell, David Nelson and I rode the Hound Dog 124K permanent on November 27. This was the inaugural ride for this permanent populaire. It was a little chilly at the start, but sunny and little wind.

Good thing it was too cold for bugs to be out














Ozark riding lawn mower in Marionville (Photo by David Nelson)














Former service station in Billings














Everyone enjoying a ride














Back in Springfield (Photo by David Nelson's camera)














Dan Pfaff and I played hooky from work on Friday, December 10, to get in our 200K for the month. We were concerned about the cold weather moving in and when it would warm up again. On Saturday, winds were up to 29 mph with gusts to 44 mph. It snowed over night. Current temperature on Sunday morning is 16.9 degrees.

Tamara rode her 200K on Thursday. R-12 tally:
Tamara-10 months
Dan-6 months
Ralph-6 months

'Tis the season



















Sunset outside Springfield














First snow Saturday night

Another New Permanent Populaire

A new Permanent Populaire has been approved by RUSA. The Bolton's 115K starts and ends in Springfield with the turnaround at Bolton's General Store, north of Willard. There is an intermediate control in Fair Grove. The section between Fair Grove and Bolton's is on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. More details on my web site.

Two New Permanent Populaires

Two new Permanent Populaires have been approved for Southwest Missouri by RUSA. The Taillight 134K starts in Mt. Vernon with the turnaround in Joplin. There is an intermediate control in Sarcoxie. The Hound Dog 124K starts in Springfield with the turnaround in Aurora. There is no intermediate control. There is more information on the Southwest Missouri Randonneuring web site.