Yesterday, in Ennis, Texas, I did my 25th bike rally of the year and my 471st overall. This is the second year of the Lion Pride Bike Ride. I did the first one a year ago in similar weather conditions: cold (at least at the start), clear, and calm. Okay, there was a bit of wind yesterday, but not enough for me to classify it as "windy" in my log.
I went out hard with a few other riders. All of them were younger than I am, but I was determined to stay with them for as long as I could. If nothing else, it would get me warm! A few miles out, there were eight of us left. I took a hellacious pull at the front. As each rider came by, he said, "Good pull." I was flattered, for it's not often that you get accolades such as this. Unfortunately for me, we came to a small hill not long after my pull, and I was too winded to keep up. There went my pack! I didn't mind, because I had already had a 22-minute workout and wanted to listen to music on my Zune. I like to get a good, hard workout during at least part of each rally I do.
The course was flatter than Springtown a week earlier, as you can see by my maximum speed: 29.7 miles per hour. I had 42.1 a week ago. My average was also higher: 17.29 as opposed to 16.80. (A year ago, on the same 62.1-mile course, I averaged 19.19 miles per hour—mainly because I stayed in the lead pack longer.) I rode 18.3 miles the first hour (I was averaging 21.7 when I got dropped), 16.9 the second, and 17.4 the third. I averaged 16.09 miles per hour for the final 35:25. Just like a year ago, there was a motor escort across Lake Bardwell on the return trip. This is a nice touch by the rally organizers. As I pedaled across the mile-long bridge, a pickup truck with lights flashing stayed behind me, to keep fast-moving vehicles from hitting me and to allow me to use the entire lane.
Part of the course was out and back, so I stopped at the same rest stop twice. It was manned by students from Ennis High School. The first time I stopped, there were dill pickles in little cups. They hit the spot. I had my heart set on more dill pickles the second time around, but they were gone. I saw some pickle juice in the pickle jar, so I asked for it. It was delicious! We don't need more cowbell. We need more pickles!
There were many dogs on the course, some of whom came onto the roadway. One dog rushed across the road toward me just as a car was coming from behind. The driver of the car saw it happening and slowed to a halt, which probably saved the dog's life. I hope I never see a dog hit by a car. It would traumatize me for life. I don't even think I could stand to see a squirrel hit. Could you?
Addendum: I did five organized events this past month: bike rallies on 3, 17, 24, and 31 October and a 10K footrace on 10 October (in which I won a third-place medal). The weather was gorgeous on all five occasions. This is highly unusual in a volatile month such as October, especially this year, when it has rained a great deal. Each week, like clockwork, it rained during the week and cleared by Saturday. Thank you, weather gods!
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 