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Back at it
Jan. 9th, 2014 12:24 pmI was hoping the return ride from Austin back to Bryan would go faster and be less eventful than the ride out. The weather, however, had other plans for me. I don't know that I need to write a full blow-by-blow, but some thoughts from the ride:
-I'm getting closer to honing in on the best route into and out of Austin and through to the town of Manor ("May-nor"). I think there's going to inevitably be one busy stretch along one of two farm roads, but oh well. I also spotted some sort of express bus in Manor that makes me wonder about riding to Manor and then catching a bus the rest of the way into town. A good strategy for avoiding the worst of the hills, too.
-I now want to spend more time investigating shoulder conditions along the main highways. The dog chases (and run-alongs) on FR 696 were pretty bad, and it isn't much fun riding back roads with 70 mph speed limits on large-diameter chipseal (speed-sucker) with no shoulder, even when there isn't much traffic and all of the traffic is careful and courteous. The highways have the same speed limits and more traffic, but wide shoulders and less chipseal (generally), which mean no competition for space. The trouble is that the shoulders disappear at certain points (generally, approaches into towns), and so it's a question of the trade-off between brief, concentrated unpleasantry on the highways and extended unpleasantry on the farm roads. Plus, the hills tend to be gentler along the highways. It all adds up on a 100-mile ride, when one is carrying a lot of extra weight.
-Wind and rain. Hot damn. I need to put neoprene booties and fenders for Froinlavin on the shopping list. Wool helps, but I was sopping wet and gritty by the time I finally made it home. I hope I managed to keep myself warm enough to avoid immune challenges. Time will tell. The headwind was bad along some of the exposed stretches towards the end of the ride in the Brazos River Valley.
-100 miles is too long for a bike touring day. I already knew that, but now I know it with evidence. Lexington, the place where I stopped for lunch on the way out and the way back, would make a good midpoint for an overnight stay. Interestingly, people at the place where I ate, Hurk's, said they'd had two cyclotourists pass through in the prior couple of months, both on their way to Argentina. I guess there isn't much else going on to talk about in small-town Texas.
And now, I have a whole bunch of science to do and think about. The conference in Austin was as phenomenal as I'd heard it would be. Definitely a good one to attend in the future.
-I'm getting closer to honing in on the best route into and out of Austin and through to the town of Manor ("May-nor"). I think there's going to inevitably be one busy stretch along one of two farm roads, but oh well. I also spotted some sort of express bus in Manor that makes me wonder about riding to Manor and then catching a bus the rest of the way into town. A good strategy for avoiding the worst of the hills, too.
-I now want to spend more time investigating shoulder conditions along the main highways. The dog chases (and run-alongs) on FR 696 were pretty bad, and it isn't much fun riding back roads with 70 mph speed limits on large-diameter chipseal (speed-sucker) with no shoulder, even when there isn't much traffic and all of the traffic is careful and courteous. The highways have the same speed limits and more traffic, but wide shoulders and less chipseal (generally), which mean no competition for space. The trouble is that the shoulders disappear at certain points (generally, approaches into towns), and so it's a question of the trade-off between brief, concentrated unpleasantry on the highways and extended unpleasantry on the farm roads. Plus, the hills tend to be gentler along the highways. It all adds up on a 100-mile ride, when one is carrying a lot of extra weight.
-Wind and rain. Hot damn. I need to put neoprene booties and fenders for Froinlavin on the shopping list. Wool helps, but I was sopping wet and gritty by the time I finally made it home. I hope I managed to keep myself warm enough to avoid immune challenges. Time will tell. The headwind was bad along some of the exposed stretches towards the end of the ride in the Brazos River Valley.
-100 miles is too long for a bike touring day. I already knew that, but now I know it with evidence. Lexington, the place where I stopped for lunch on the way out and the way back, would make a good midpoint for an overnight stay. Interestingly, people at the place where I ate, Hurk's, said they'd had two cyclotourists pass through in the prior couple of months, both on their way to Argentina. I guess there isn't much else going on to talk about in small-town Texas.
And now, I have a whole bunch of science to do and think about. The conference in Austin was as phenomenal as I'd heard it would be. Definitely a good one to attend in the future.
