Real Ale Ride
 

Anyone ever do the Real Ale Ride that leaves out of Blanco? I'm doing the ride but trying to decide between the 80 and 65 miles. I'm fairly new to long distance rides but after doing my first 50 mile ride, I am hooked. Was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on the ride itself, especially the hills. I hate hills! :D

I did the Real Ale Ride yesterday, May 21. It was, in a word, brutal. We have 100% humidity and grueling hills every step of the way. There was even a killer hill early on (5.6 miles into the ride) that had about half the riders dismounting to walk up the hill. I joined them. I think the most intense portion of this ride was the 1,000+ elevation climb that had even the best riders powering through at about 10 mph on what seemed like flats but weren't. It is an extremely well supported ride though and this year had people dropping like flies due to dehydration issues. And we ain't just talking about the novice first time riders either. All in all it is a fabulous but extremely challenging ride. I now know how to train for next year.