cpblue

It's a good route, but it's going to be HOT! Anyone else planning on riding it?

aggie_grad

Weather turned out to be great and apparently 2500 others felt the same. It was a great ride and my son and I had a blast.

txags92

Weather was a little hot, but pretty much normal for this time of year. The wind stayed down most of the morning and was only a very minor factor. The ride was setup and supported fairly well. They could have used a few extra portajohns at the first rest break where all the routes were still together and I was surprised that they wouldn't give out ice to put in water bottles or camelbaks (just offered "ice cold" water from their coolers, which was fresh from a garden hose into a cooler with a little bit of ice in it at at least one break point). Apparently they don't realize how fast their "ice cold water" warms up inside a bottle in 95F sun. The snowcones at the end were good, but I would have rather had the extra ice available at the break points.

One other thing that just shocked me was the riders riding down the middle of the road down FM 529 when the road hadn't been closed for the ride. I even saw two riders riding side by side right in the middle of the traffic lane that refused to move over or even go single file for a motorcycle that was waiting behind them to pass. It was like they were totally oblivious to the hazard they were causing traffic trying to pass them when there was plenty of room on the shoulder and no other riders around them getting in the way. Even my suggesting to them that they "share the road" as I passed them on the shoulder to their right didn't get through to them and I left them in my rear view mirror still riding side by side down the middle of a 65mph traffic lane at about 14mph...

tandemania2

There were long lines for the porta-potties and even longer lines for water and Gatorade. I can understand the logistical problems of positioning porta-potties, but it would seem an easy matter to have more than 3-4 coolers available at the rest stops.

All of the riders we met were courteous and fun to talk to. I too was surprised to see several people on the road who simply refused to move over for cars. I just don't understand that kind of behavior. It reminded me of something my Dad, who was a pilot, used to tell me about flying: "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots."

On the whole, though, we had a blast!

StephenH

"One other thing that just shocked me was the riders riding down the middle of the road down FM 529 when the road hadn't been closed for the ride. I even saw two riders riding side by side right in the middle of the traffic lane that refused to move over or even go single file for a motorcycle that was waiting behind them to pass. It was like they were totally oblivious to the hazard they were causing traffic trying to pass them when there was plenty of room on the shoulder and no other riders around them getting in the way. "

I've noticed this on other rides, it's not just that one. I think it's a combination of factors. One is that you start off with so many riders that you do block a lane, and people get used to just riding willy-nilly down the road assuming no car traffic. As the bikes get thinned out, that changes, and you get to the point where you're endangering yourself to go riding down the middle of the road like that. I suppose some of these people just don't get out and ride much, too.

George

I know I'm missing a lot of fun not going on these rides and I've made a few, but jerks like that ruin it for me. I stopped going, although I did sign up for one in Fort Davis for next month. I really hope I don't see that out there.

StephenH

Well, they don't ruin the ride for me, just have the potential of ruining it for themselves. Come to think of it, on the last ride, I wound up riding by myself for long stretches- I could see folks several hundred yards in front of me was all.

I was on the ride at Sulphur Springs, and it was kind of a gloomy overcast day. I had my rear blinky on, and was riding at the far right. One guy asked me, "Have any problem with motorists?" Well, no, I hadn't. In fact, they all went out of their way to give me lots of room. But I have a pretty good idea why he would ask that question- probably got buzzed when he was riding down the middle of the lane by himself.

George

If they would just think for a minute, in what they are doing. It gives us all a black eye. I'm glad you had a good time. I'm hoping I will to, at the Fort Davis meet.

txags92

Thats what gets me...the drivers who run across riders like that wind up ticked off at ALL cyclists and probably won't give the next rider they run across as much room as payback for it.

I was driving down old hwy 90 on the east side of Houston (two lane road, not much shoulder, fairly heavily traveled) about 2 months ago, and saw two riders riding down the road two abreast with a line of about 15 cars lined up behind them wanting to get by them. The riders appeared to be completely oblivious to the havoc they were causing as they cruised down the road. Either that or they were staging a 2 person critical mass ride...

dr. nate

There is always a surge of increased riding after the MS150 and during/after the Tour de France. The Katy Flat Lands was once my first charity ride (and for many others as well throughout the years). I'm sure that many of them have no clue how to ride on the roads (like what was stated above). I tend to use the first couple of miles to get a head of the massive group and skip the first rest stop. I've never had to really wait at any of the others.

I do kind of wish they would remove FM 529 from their route, the section between FM 362 and Fry Road is all two lanes and very heavy traffic.

-Nate