Yesterday, in Denton, Texas, I did my 26th bike rally of the year and my 472d overall. (My goal, recall, is to do 1,000 bike rallies.) I did my first Turkey Roll (as it's called) in 1989, so this is my 21st year. I missed four of them along the way: two because I opted to do a 30K (18.6-mile) footrace instead and two because, well, I wimped out. In 1992, I rose in my apartment in Grand Prairie and saw snow falling (okay, sleet). Although I had paid in advance, I decided to stay home. My friend Joe has never let me forget it. I am a wimp forever in his eyes.
This is always the final bike rally of the year, which makes it special. The weather can be anything from atrocious to delightful. Half the fun is not knowing what you're going to get. It's also the last chance to see cycling buddies until springtime, when the rallies begin anew. I used to ride all year 'round, but now I put the bike aside after the Turkey Roll and do footraces all fall and winter. It keeps me from getting burned out.
We lucked out with the weather this year. No rain (or snow!) fell on us, and the roads were dry despite rain the day before. The temperature was fine (mid-50s) and there was little wind. About the only thing I could have wished for is sunshine, and even the sun peeked out from behind the clouds late in the rally. It was wonderful. I teased Joe for wearing a rain cape, but he took it off early on. I wore a long-sleeved shirt under my jersey, but probably didn't need it.
I had two close calls during the rally. While hammering down a stretch of road near Valley View, with my four friends in my slipstream, I went wide to make a right turn at high speed. I didn't see a vehicle coming, so I took the best line, which meant going into the other lane. Just as I turned, at a speed of 25 to 30 miles per hour, I heard Julius yell from behind me. I looked up and saw a small truck coming toward me. I think the driver slowed when he saw me, and I immediately veered into the right lane. My bad. I told Julius that he had saved my life, so blame him if you hate this blog and wish it would go away.
Earlier, while riding up to a portable toilet at a rest stop, I almost went over my handlebars. Either my front brakes locked up (which has never happened to me) or the grass I was riding on caught my front tire. All of a sudden, my rear wheel was off the ground and I was headed for a header. Somehow, instinctively, I yanked up on the front wheel, bounced for balance, and kept from doing a somersault. It must have been funny to watch, though I don't know whether anyone saw it.
Besides these two close calls, I had a flat tire. This was my only flat tire in 26 rallies this year. I had hoped to get through the rally season with no flats. I told my friends to go on without me, since I was within an hour of the finish, but they insisted on waiting. They even tried to help, but that only slowed me down. I replaced the punctured tube in a few minutes, inflated it, put the tire back on, and headed on up the road. I have good friends. I thanked them for waiting for me. Come to think of it, they probably wanted to continue exploiting me. With friends like that, who needs enemies!
Statistically, I had a great day. My fastest Turkey Roll, of the 17 I've done, was the first, in 1989. I averaged exactly 19 miles per hour. Yesterday, I averaged exactly 18 miles per hour (for 61.6 miles). A year ago, by contrast, I averaged only 15.56 miles per hour. I felt good until near the end, when my legs weakened. I hadn't been on the bike in three weeks. Julius was strong near the end, and so was Joe, who is training for the Dallas White Rock Marathon. (I'll be doing the half marathon that day.) Troy and Marc brought up the rear. I think I speak for the others in saying that we had a great time. I wish my other friends Phil and Randy had been there.
And so ends another rally season. I had no accidents this year (knock on wood) and only one flat. I rode in the rain twice (Flower Mound and Crowley), did two centuries (Waxahachie and Wichita Falls), met many interesting people, listened to good music on certain stretches of country road, evaded many dogs, stopped at many rest stops, and burned many thousands of calories, which allowed me to eat more than I otherwise could. This was my best year, mileage wise, since 1996. I rode 2,161.7 miles in 2009. I did my first rally in Aledo on 28 March and my last in Denton on 21 November. That's almost eight months. I hope you enjoyed reading about my rides. I certainly enjoyed writing about them.
On to running!
Addendum: If you click the second image in this post, you will see my friends and me flying down the road in perfect aerodynamic formation. I'm in red. Joe is in yellow. Julius is in black. Troy is in white. The man in blue is someone we were passing at the time. The image was snapped with my Nikon camera by my friend Marc. Thanks, Marc!
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 