Texas - Wounded Warrior/ Soldier Ride - DFW to San Antonio to Corpus - March 2008

I camped last weekend, how about Sat, the 23rd to Sun 24th? Tentative, I'll have to hook up someone to watch the kid on Saturday.

dang, double post.

Gotta check with the boss on the 23-24th. Will be at Bar-H the next weekend then we leave so she has most of my weekends tied up.

c_m_shooter, can you suggest a place?

Everything I can think of around Grapevine packs up like the Tokyo subway at lunchtime.

Are we meeting tomorrow?

I'm still good with any place and time.

Fellas, I just got home from work and am going to get a quick nap. I'm still looking forward to lunch, so if we're getting together just name a time and place and I'll be there.

Oh, and I'm also in for a 23rd-24th camping trip.

Steve

I know c_m_shooter wants to be at the meeting and it's really 11th-hour, right now, so I 'm gonna propose this:

Let's plan a real official lunchtime meeting for NEXT Friday, 22 February, with the location somewhere in the Grapevine area to be posted no later than Wednesday the 22nd. There's a Mexican restaurant right by Mad Duck that might work for us. I'll dig up the name.

That said, if any of you guys want to grab a bite today, just for socializing purposes, I'm free.

I could do a later lunch today around 1pm?

Sorry, I have a 1:30 meeting

Oh well......hey what time you off? I might head to NAS FW this afternoon.


Also anyone planning on bringing their laptop on the ride?

Out for NAS, plans with the the Redhead.

Screw a buncha laptop, I need to get lighter, not heavier.

I'm hoping that someone *koff*koff*Crdean1*koff*koff* will agree to accept calls and phone pics and update the blog for us while we're away.

That's why I asked if anyone ELSE was....

I got to do a little shake down run with my loaded rig today. The rear pannier that I made are as heavy as they look, so I gladly through those in the SAG wagon if there's room. It is good to know I can carry everything I need (plus a little more if need be).:rolleyes: Today I covered 50 miles in 3.5 hours; I was going 10mph uphill and into the wind, and 20mph downhill. The speed limit on my rig is 29mph, it starts to weave a little bit with those panniers mounted so far back.:eek: What kind of pace are we planning to ride? I hope I can keep up.

Looks like you've got plenty of room. I can't speak for the rest of the team, but I don't plan on averaging 29 mph, if that's what you're worried about. ;)

Your pace works out to just over 14 mph, that sounds like a good touring pace to me. It wouldn't surprise me if we averaged a little closer to 12-13 on long days and in the hills.

Anyone still up for a quick camp trip on the 23rd-24th?

Steve

It wouldn't surprise me if we averaged a little closer to 12-13 on long days and in the hills.



I think that number is optimistic. Maybe for 1-2 80-mile days, but not 6-7.

I'm a 'maybe' for camping this weekend.

Out for NAS, plans with the the Redhead.

Screw a buncha laptop, I need to get lighter, not heavier.

I'm hoping that someone *koff*koff*Crdean1*koff*koff* will agree to accept calls and phone pics and update the blog for us while we're away.

Awesome, that would be a perfect job for me. I'd love to post pics, etc. We need to discuss this, and depending on how many pics and updates I can potentially get, I can build a small website on my Mac for this ride.

Maybe I can make that next meeting and discuss.

I'm still a maybe this weekend for the trip...would have to be Sat. night. I have to be home Sun by noon for sure.

As for the meeting Friday... noon? Where? North Irving or grapevine is ok with me. I guess the main thing we need to nail is the itinerary right? At least the leave time and place, and what time and where we have to be in SA. I hope we can keep a schedule but we need to look at alternatives in case of weather etc.

BTW I might be getting a mini laptop or handheld for my b-day???

Well its official I just got back from the ortho and I am going to be off the bike for a whole lot longer then we thought. It looks like unless a miracle happens I am heading under the knife on my right knee. MCL is torn and a partial tear of my ACL which seems to be tearing further.

If anyone needs some panniers or camping gear please let me know.

That blows, Luke. When's the surgery? Do they expect a full recovery?

What kind of stuff do you have to sell? I know a few guys who'd be interested.

They have not deiced yet. I have one more MRI set for the 10th of March. I want to see if the ACL is going to tear anymore if I behave myself. No horse back riding no attempting to run and I behave myself around the house. I am fighting the surgery but I know ultimately that is what needs to be done. If all goes well and I don’t need surgery I am hoping to back on the bike by May and commuting by June. I do not have anything I want to sell but if some needs something to use for the solider ride I have a couple of performance bike rear and front panniers a couple of small LED lanterns a small 1 person tent.

That sucks,,,,,so how many we have now?

Luke, the ACL's not gonna un-tear, so you might as well get it done. In my experience the best results for repairs like that come when the damage is relatively fresh.

Aside from that, what kind of front rack do you have? if it has a platform, I'd like to borrow it, maybe.


Tate: You, Senior, Barlows, C_M_Shooter, Jack, Charlie, Nieves and me. Lari Aycock is hooking up with us in Aaaaaaa-Haaaaww, San Antone - to ride along to Creepus Crappus.

Pulled to bob about 50% loaded to work today, I also plan a side trip to the Duck tonight so should get ~ 70 miles in today. Plan to keep loading it every day for the next 2 weeks.

I'm riding with a load, too - probably 60-75% of my total weight. I'm waiting on a 24 tooth granny to show up before I go climbing around with everything on. Got a 12-34 cassette ordered, too. I ought to be able to ride up trees, by the time I'm done.

Never thought about checking granny....never get out of the big ring on the commute.....should have today it hurt on the big hill on Northgate.

My Cannondale came with a Ritchey Logic 175mm crankset with 54/48/28. At the swap meet, I found big rings for a dollar each, so I bought a 44t and a 36t and replaced those already. Granny's the holdout - I bought one, but I guessed at its BCD and got it wrong, so I gotta pay.

Lord Leftknee has decreed that all climbing be done seated while spinning as quickly as possible - who am I to argue? He's been fairly happy since I acquiesced to his demands.

My buddy Ray is still in as of a couple days ago as well.

Man, you guys ought to be able to tow the rest of us up any steep hills. Those are some awesome ratios you're talking. I'll be the masher of the bunch with a stock 39 little ring and 25 tooth cog for climbing. Oh well, good incentive to pack lightly!!

I'm battling a little knee issue of my own lately, but I plan on being well by the ride. It might mean I spend more pool time than bike time for a couple weeks, but them are the breaks.

Tate/Tru (and whoever is in for a quick camp trip), if it needs to be a Saturday / early Sunday trip this weekend, I'm cool with that. I don't really have any specific requirements, so feel free to pick the place that's more convenient for you guys and we can go with that.

CM_shooter, how about throwing out a lunch spot for Friday so we can all discuss last minute details. Grapevine works for me if there aren't any objections.

CM pick the spot any time noon or after.

Wow, thanks for putting me on the spot. How about Los Amigo's. I think that Truman had mentioned it. Looks like it's about 3 blocks west of Mad Duck. Noon would be the earliest I could make it.

I was thinking of another place, it's in teh strip center behind the Whataburger on NW Hwy, but I can't scrape up the name to save my salsa.

Los Amigos has wonderful food, but we couldn't hear ourselves think in there at lunchtime. Noon is a fine time, though.

How about Weinberg's deli? It's on Main St, on the corner across from the old white horse-drawn Hearse.

Weinberger's sounds good. I haven't had a Chicago style hot dog in years.

Ok see ya Friday aat noon Weinbergers, I'll find it or call ya Turman.

Sweet, I'm all about the Italian Beef and Sausage sammich, wet, with jardiniere.


Address is 601 S. Main St., Grapevine Get there early if you can and help me hold down the table(s).

Anyone want to join Steve and I, possible picking up Truman, for a short shakedown ride and camping trip Sat the 23rd? We are leaving my casa in Irving ~3:30 for a ride to Mad Duck then to the vineyards Campground just down the road. About 12 miles one way. We will stay there Sat Night and ride back to Irving Early Sat morning (before noon when my Kitchen pass runs out)

If you guys don't have lights yet, I finally got to try out the Bell LED headlight that I got from Walmart. The light output is much better (probably 3x) than the halogen that I had been using. It probably isn't weatherproof, but if you just need a cheap one it seems good. North shore trail is a lot of fun at night, this was the first time I had been out there that late.

Steve and I had a good shake down ride and camp. Learned a few things.

1st remember it’s a bike ride not a camping trip. Carry only what you NEED to camp minimally. Remember our 4th night will be in town and even before that washing machines will not be too far away. And your evening/night cloths will be used only a few hours.

2nd Organization of your bags is important. Think about what you need and when you will need it. i.e. flashlight, jacket, gloves, hat etc. I carried my foot print and tent outside so if it’s wet I can set it up without exposing my gear more than necessary, but buried my sleeping bag and warm camp cloths. Having some warm cloths handy is nice after getting off the bike all sweaty and warm to then going to a open windy campsite where is god cool fast. Have a few quick layers and a watch cap would be nice. Also we needed lights pretty quickly and having the flashlight handy was nice. In the morning I had a pair of over gloves(knit work gloves) handy which was nice when cooking in the 30 something cool wind. I think I can loose 8-10 lbs easily on my load and can make it much easier to get the stuff I need.

3rd I don’t think keeping a better then 12 MPH pace will be an issue, but we need to make sure an make stops when we need them, eat, and hydrate is essential to going the long distances the 1st 2 days.

...it’s a bike ride not a camping trip. Carry only what you NEED to camp minimally.


Yep. I'm glad you came to that realization. I think you'll be a lot happier on the road.

I discovered I'd forgotten dinner plans Saturday Night - I found out when I told My Beloved Redhead I wanted to go camp. Ouch.

Anyway, I got 68 miles in yesterday with ~80% load - things worked pretty well.

You guys got any firm feelings on where exactly we start from? We could go from the NAS gate, but if they're not going out of their way to "send us off", I don't see much point is fighting the traffic down 377 to get past the mall and shopping centers, especially since that's gonna be such a long day's ride.

I was scouting alternates on Saturday: If any of you feel strongly that we must start at or close to NASFW, I recommend we leave from the West side of the runways on Spur 341. There are several church parking lots we could assemble at.

If leaving from NASFW is NOT a big issue - and with me, it really isn't - we could start a little farther out 377, and miss a lfew miles of Saturday traffic and lights.

Also I noted yesterday a VFW post located about 4 miles from NAS, by Benbrook Lake. I could ask if they'd let us group there. It's possible even that they'd let C_M Shooter leave his car there for the week.

I worked on the Day One route based on driving out to Glen Rose and scouting roads on with the kid on Saturday. I disguised the reconnaissance as a hiking trip to Dino Valley.

Here's the most direct safe route I can come up with.
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/108537

I chose not to simply route 377 to Granbury and 144 to Glen Rose, and on to Meridian because there are several places on 377 where we'd have a 1 foot shoulder to ride and 75 mph traffic blowing past. Then, once on 144 from Granbury, there's ~4 miles of curbed, no-shoulder road with 40-50 mph traffic till you're over he Brazos. After that, the shoulder is 6 feet wide, but sharply-angled down and fresh, rough chipseal and loose gravel for the next several miles to Glen Rose, except for some construction zones with no shoulder at all.

144 South from Glen Rose toward Meridian looks fine though - wide open and low traffic. If we want more exposure and don't mind some added mileage, we could run down 67 from Bono to Glen Rose and go south from there. It's 25 miles from GR to Meridian.

I like skipping town as much as possible. But that's just me. Have you taken a flyer to the VFW they might really get into it. Never thought about visiting them.

I'm not worked up about leaving from NAS. In fact, I may need to drop my Jeep somewhere as well. If the VFW is open to it, I'm all about it. If not, there's probably plenty of parking garages.

Hey, Barlows, you read this thread? http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=388922

Hehe, you making fun of my puny 700x23s? ;) I'll be fine, I got over 3K miles out of my last set, and these are only 600-ish miles old. No worries.

Here are teh potos I took Sat

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s289/pkhakes/WWP%20Roll%20Aid%2008/

How'd the hammock hold up. Was it cold?

How'd the hammock hold up. Was it cold?

The hammock was good. I added an inflatable pad since the last time out, and that proved to be all the difference. It got down to about 44 degrees according to the weather site, but we also had a North wind coming right off the lake, so I'd guess it closer to high 30s in the morning where we were.

Interestingly enough, there weren't any trees to tie off to on our site, so I ended up using a steel pole for the head end and letting the foot end rest on the ground. It actually worked out fine, and gave me some added confidence that the hammock will be fine even if we're without trees. Check out Tate's pictures if you want to see how I had it set up.

Here are teh potos I took Sat

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s289/pkhakes/WWP%20Roll%20Aid%2008/

That's a lot of stuff on the BoB. Have you updated the gear list since this trip?

Hey guys, for anyone that's been following this thread and isn't sure how to help this group out, there's a new link on the Wounded Warrior page. It 's http://www.warriorjeep.org/, and a $25 tax deductable ticket enters you in a drawing to win a customized 2007 Jeep.

That's a lot of stuff on the BoB. Have you updated the gear list since this trip?
I havn't typed it but hope to get that done this weekend. It's not as much as it looks it's the 2 water bags I will only have one for the trip. It's nice to seperate into 2 bags but not realy necessary.

Only 3 days away, Dad and I got all packed lat night...think I'm ready.
Day 1 to Meridian - 81 mi
Day 2 to Copperas Cove - 74 mi
Day 3 to Marble Falls - 55 mi
Day 4 to Blanco - 44 mi
Day 5 to San Antonio - 48 mi
Day 6 WW ride then to Beeville 100 mi
Day 7 WW ride then to Corpus Christi 70 mi
Day 8 lone star challenge http://www.groton.net/lsc/