Yesterday, in Waco, Texas, I did my 21st bike rally of the year and my 467th overall. I began doing this rally in 1989, when I was 32. I've done 19 of the past 21. On two occasions, I went to another rally instead, mainly to cut down on driving. (It's 94.1 miles from my house to the start.) I've always considered the Waco Wild West Century to be the second-best rally, behind the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls. It's well-organized; it always has a 100-mile course; and the turnout is good. It doesn't hurt that one of the rest stops is at the Mars candy factory.
Two of my friends showed up: Joe and Mike. They only recently returned from a two-week camping and hiking trip in Olympic National Park in Washington. A year ago, I did the 100-mile course with Joe and his son Jason, who were on their tandem. This year, we did the 100-kilometer course. Mike rode 50 miles. He did everything Joe and I did except an out-and-back stretch about halfway in. Mike waited for us at the Mars factory and we rode in together. I finished with 62.5 miles. As I told Joe, I could easily have ridden 100 miles. The weather was perfect and I felt strong at the finish. About the only reason not to ride 100 miles is that it would get me home two hours later. It's nice to get home at two o'clock instead of four or 4:30.
Our aim was to stay safe and have fun, which we did. We chose not to ride in packs or pacelines, although we did sometimes ride in single file to save energy. Late in the rally, we came upon a rider lying face down in the road, at an intersection. There were several riders attending to her, so it would have done no good for us to stop. I have no idea why she was lying face down, unless the accident happened only moments before we arrived. Joe said she moved, so she must have been conscious. I hope she's all right. When you see an accident, it has a sobering effect.
Statistically, I averaged 17.23 miles per hour. (Elapsed time = 3:37:33.) A year ago, I averaged 17.33 miles per hour for 103.7 miles. My plan this year was to ride the same three centuries I rode in 2008: Waxahachie, Wichita Falls, and Waco. I'll have to settle for two. Next year, I'll try to get back to three. It's nice to know that I can still ride 100 miles. My friend Don Tennant was doing centuries well into his 60s. He's my role model. My maximum heart rate for the day was 159 (the same as a week ago in Greenville). My average heart rate was 115, which is significantly lower than the 131 I recorded a week earlier. It shows that I took it easy. My maximum speed was only 29.8 miles per hour, set on one of the rolling hills in the second half of the course. I burned 1,884 calories.
All in all, I had a wonderful time riding with my friends on a beautiful autumn day. I hope we're still doing rallies 10 and even 20 years from now.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 