Yesterday, in beautiful Glen Rose, Texas, I did my 22d bike rally of the year and my 468th overall. My plan was to do the long course of 80 miles. I knew my friend Randy would be there, and I assumed he would do the 45-mile course; but when he told me that he planned to ride 60 miles, I decided to do it with him. Rain was forecast, but not until afternoon. It was chilly at the start. I was tempted to wear a long-sleeved shirt under my jersey, but decided that I'd rather be chilly for half an hour than hot for three. It was a good decision. Several hundred people showed up at Glen Rose High School to do the rally, which is known as the Paluxy Pedal.
Some of the course was familiar from the Cleburne rally, which I have done many times in the summer heat. Randy and I rode side by side most of the time, talking. The primary subject was history, and in particular the history of the American founding. There was a man behind us during this time. He seemed interested in our conversation and joined in. We ended up riding with him for many miles. He recently did his first Hotter 'n Hell Hundred. His children are grown and he has come back to cycling after a 10-year hiatus. I warned him about The Wall. In fact, I warned quite a few people. I told them that they had better be in their smallest gear when they get to the bottom of it; otherwise, they would fall off their bikes on the ascent. It's that steep!
The sky clouded up as we rode. We went from blue skies with streaky clouds to dark clouds to sprinkles by the time we finished. The rider we met, Al, did the 80-mile course. I'm sure he got soaked, because as soon as I left the parking lot in my car, the rain came down in buckets. It rained all the way home, sometimes quite hard. As for The Wall, it was difficult but fun. I got my heart rate up to 163 on the lower part. My front wheel came off the pavement a few times because of the power of my pedaling. When I got near the top, still gasping, I stopped riding and turned around to take pictures of Randy. This is by far the steepest climb of any rally. I've done it three times and look forward to doing it for many more years.
Statistically, I averaged only 15.69 miles per hour for 57.8 miles. (Elapsed time = 3:40:56.) It's a hard course, and we weren't trying to go fast. I reached a top speed of 39.3 miles per hour on one of the descents. Perhaps next year I will do the 80-mile course. It's the same as the 60-mile course with a loop tacked on. I hope Randy had as much fun as I did. If you click the image in this post, you will see Randy nearing the top of The Wall. He rode well for a sack o' potatoes.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 