My wife and I had a good ride. We did the metric century and only stopped twice (if you don't count pulling in at the 2nd rest stop and seeing the huge line for water and turning around to head down the road to the next one). We finished a little before noon, so it wasn't too brutally hot when we finished. I did hear somebody flagging down a volunteer at the 2nd to last rest stop in Brookshire and pointing out somebody they thought might need medical attention, but otherwise everybody seemed to be doing well. I do worry about the dude on the trainer in the chicken suit though.

Damn dude. Way to haul ass on that thing.

I did the metric as well - and had a personal best avg speed of around 17.5 for the first 30 miles, but that pretty much wasted me. By the end of the ride I was down to around 15. Just need to convince my wife to let me buy a CF bike....

I stopped at every stop to refill water, and grab some energy. The last 2 I chilled and caught some shade for about 15-20 minutes. I finished around 12:15 I think.
I had fun, but the heat got to me during the last 20 miles - and so did my legs since I hadn't been on the bike in over a month and a half.
Guy in the chicken suit cracked me up.

I had forgotten about the Flatlands Century to early in the month. I had ridden maybe 150 miles in total since the MS150 and have don no real training rides. I had planned on the 65 mile ride with one other person, but the night before, she declared that she wanted to do the full 100 with two other team members. I wasn't about to ride alone, so I went along as well. She ended up with heat exhaustion at the 63 mile rest stop and had to SAG it home.

The other two riders were on their fourth 100 mile ride of the season, so I was a bit outclassed. I kept up at about 16-17 mph for most of the remaining ride, but that dropped to 15 mph for the last 15 miles. I dropped my water bottle and stopped to pick it up, I sprinted to 18 to catch up with my remaining riding partner (the other one kept going at 18 mph and ditched us) and that about killed me. Still, I did finish. I only ate a couple slices of pizza and a salad afterwards.

I felt fine on Monday. Legs were great and energy was fine. I just had a hard time with my right hand for some reason. I had no pinch or grip strength. It's a bit better now, but still not 100%. I blame the rough roads. Still, I somehow managed to successfully complete a full century at 15.7 mph without any actual training. Not exactly a blistering pace, but acceptable given the conditions.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466045

Me at the end...I hope someone told my family I love them.

A friend and I did a 40 mile ride and part of it shared with the KFC. That was really the best part. We had some fun in the pace lines.

At the rest stop with 20 something to go on the full century, one guy was laying on his side throwing up just as I was pulling out. They got a tent over him and called for an ambulance. That heat was just brutal. I hope he turned out well.

All of them, really. Most offer a shorter route from around 20-30 miles. Sometimes less. Anyone can ride any bike on any of the rides. They're open to everyone.

During MS150 time, the recommended rides page is a good source: 2015 BP MS 150: 2015 Recommended Rides - National MS Society
After that, it's harder to find a lot, but check on TexBiker's page here, he has a pretty comprehensive list: Bicycle rides Texas | Bicycling events, Texas | cycling events, Texas

Absolutely brutal day to attempt my first century on.

I got it done. Barely. 6:04 moving time, started at 6:45, finished at 2:15, most of the 90 minutes of break time was in the last 25 miles. Almost sagged, could barely stand at the 87 mile stop. Learned a trick to toss ice down the back of my jersey to sit near the kidneys to bring core temp down efficiently. That tip got me to the finish.

First 74 were fast with my NWCC paceline guys, almost a 19 avg. I cracked at mile 70, and fell apart between 74-80, had to make an unscheduled stop at the little gas station at mile 80 to get out of the sun for a few.

Hard, rewarding ride.

I saw a few folks pulled off the road with cramps on the full century. I finished in just under 6 hours. I survived without any major complaints (aside from the brutal heat).

I was doing fine until later that evening. I was vegging out in front of the TV for a couple hours and shifted position and caught a wicked cramp in my quad. I thought I had had cramps before. Hahaha... No. This was excruciating. I hobbled down the stairs and my wife gave me a banana and the cramp went away almost instantly. Crazy. I drank electrolytes the rest of the evening.

Unflattering selfie I sent my wife from the Brookshire rest stop:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466204

Yikes. Yeah - I saw a lot of people going balls out like usual like it was no big thang that it was so hot, and heck no we don't stop at rest stop we ride 100 miles at break-neck pace because that's what we do because we're all training for all the races and tour de france. I don't get that mentality but whatever. I don't get how there is any enjoyment of the ride itself. I take pleasure in not only the biking, but taking in the countryside and sights to see - and I enjoy seeing more than just the spandex ass 3 feet in front of me in the pace line for 100 miles. But to each their own.

Here's some pics I took Sunday at the Flatland:

Sunrise
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/386/1...0bccea_c_d.jpg

Starting line
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/341/1...ed4c95_c_d.jpg

Underway
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/562/1...a8f449_c_d.jpg

One of the first rest stops
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/535/1...96c701_c_d.jpg

Pace line probably around mile 25 or so
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/349/1...1575b9_c_d.jpg

A cool look at the hay in the field. This is why I like doing these rides!
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/297/1...f23407_c_d.jpg

Open road quasi-selfie
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3734/...98135c_c_d.jpg

Flatland? That looks like a hill to me! (the first of many)
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/...a6462a_c_d.jpg

Had a friend tag along for a little while
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3801/...141c05_c_d.jpg

My end of the ride photo at the banner. The guy there took it out of focus but oh well. Everyone standing around got a kick out of it when I handed my phone off, then laid my bike down and flopped down myself. lol
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/497/1...efa34a_c_d.jpg

Ah yes. Drafting the kooky mountain bike lady. She was an animal. If she ever decides to stop bouncing around on that mountain bike and get a road bike, she would be a force to be reckoned with. I wonder how far she rode. At the pace she was pulling and all that bouncing around I couldn't imagine she went too far. Who knows!

Yeah she was haulin. Wasn't the safest/smartest rider though. Took some stupid chances passing people.

:thumb: Sci Guy is always coming through with the pictures.

I've not done it yet - thinking next year maybe. But it's a two day event with some considerable miles on both days. Probably not for newbies. IMO anyway.

I rode two years ago. The Fred Hartman bridge was easy (it's all relative). The "tough" bridge was on day one over the Intercoastal Waterway. It was hot. It was STEEP. There was a headwind on the descent. Road surface was crappy. It was not fun. My buddy was SAG'n shortly thereafter to the lunch stop around mile 70.

Bike Around The Bay is long, but if you adequately train for it, anyone can do it. Good SAG support and rest stops.

BATB is an awesome ride. The distances are a bigger issue than the bridges. But the sag support and rest stops are excellent. You'll be fine.

Well, you don't need a CF race bike. An aluminum frame hybrid can be had for around $400 on the cheap side, and aluminum road/endurance bikes you'll find around $800+

Thanks for mentioning Texbiker.net

I think I saw the woman you are talking about. I pulled her (and a couple of guys drafting off of her) for the last couple of miles into the 2nd BP out on 529. She came by us when my wife was taking a pull for a little while and was going easy down the hill towards the river bridge. As soon as we started back up the slight incline, it was clear she wasn't going as fast as she thought she was without the help of a little gravity. If she was out there, she had to have gone at least 40. She would be a force on a real road bike without all the vertical bouncing.

That had to be us. We pulled into that rest stop and that was the last I saw of her. We left rest stop one at about the same time and we kept yo-yo'ing with her. I was in front when she passed one time and I was like, ok, you want to pull, you can pull. I just sat in behind her. She would surge past riders then slow. I was of the opinion that I was going to take all the help I could get to finish the century, so more power to her. She had this weird thing she would do... Every 10 minutes or so, she would call out "Stretching!" and stand up in the saddle and stretch her legs. Then she would sit back down and continue to bounce down the road.

I can't imagine that bouncing was all that comfortable on her privates. I would imagine she was stretching to relieve some pressure. Calling out stretching is just good courtesy, but I generally won't do it unless somebody is just crawling up my backside. I normally just crank hard for a few pedal strokes to get a gap, then stand up and it becomes obvious what I am doing.

I couldn't tell how much of her bouncing was her suspension or tires on her bike versus how much was just her natural pedaling style. I was wearing a yellow "Don't tread on me" jersey that ride, but I honestly didn't even look at the riders behind her to be able to know if it was you. When my wife took over on the front, we were going about 17.5-18. Her group went by us at about 18.5, so we tagged along on the back. Within the next mile or so, she started slowing down to about 16.5-17, so I went back to the front and pulled the rest of the way to the break point at about 19-20. She didn't seem to have any problem keeping up at that speed with me pulling. I didn't stay at that break point for very long once I saw how long the line for the water was. It was only 5 more miles to the next breakpoint on the 62 mile route, so my wife and I got back on and went there.

It was her tires. I was trying to figure it out, it was so out of the ordinary. I finally got it when I looked away from the bike to the shadow on the ground. Her rear tire was compressing on every pedal stroke. Boing, boing, boing...

Well if we passed you I was bringing up the rear in my syracuse gear.

Heard about that on Facebook this morning. Anyone know any names? Any updates on conditions?