Yesterday, in beautiful Muenster, Texas, I did my third bike rally of the year and my 475th overall. The rally was the 30th annual Germanfest Metric Century. I did my first Metric Century in 1990, when I was 33. I missed three along the way (one because of a hand injury, one because I went to another rally instead, and one because of rain), so yesterday's rally was my 18th in 21 years. There was also a Muenster rally in August many years ago, on the same 60-mile course. I did the August rally twice, which means yesterday's rally was my 20th on the course. In 1991, I averaged 21.22 miles per hour. Yesterday, by contrast, I averaged 16.55. I hate aging.
Several of my friends showed up: Joe, Phil, Randy, Julius, and Marc. The weather was gorgeous: a clear blue sky, a temperature in the 70s, and dry air (as opposed to humid air). The only bad thing was the wind, which was coming out of the west-southwest at a high speed. The wind is usually out of the south, so this was something new. We fought the wind about 75% of the way, because a crosswind is almost as disabling as a headwind. When the wind was behind us, it felt great. I hit a top speed of 47.7 miles per hour on the big hill north of Saint Jo. My record on that hill is 48.8 (set a year ago).
There must have been several thousand riders on the various courses. The first few miles, heading out of town, are hazardous, because the roadway is crammed with bikes. I didn't see any accidents, though later I did. I rode hard for the first 10.5 miles, despite the headwind, averaging 19.1 miles per hour. At one point, I drafted on a tandem for two or three miles. We reached speeds of 25 miles per hour. It was great fun. I decided to get a workout early and wait for my friends at the turn. I did this several times during the rally.
Muenster is one of the hilliest rallies we do, if not the hilliest. That it comes early in the rally season makes it all the more difficult. Up and down we rode, riding small gears on the ascents and flying down the descents. The Muenster countryside is spectacular. Everything is green at this time of year. I saw fields of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. I've lived in three states (Michigan, Arizona, and Texas) and visited about 40 of the 50 states. Take my word for it: North Texas is second to none in natural beauty. If you don't believe me, come and see.
The final eight or nine miles of the course were hard, as usual. We ascended from the Red River (which divides Texas from Oklahoma) and fought the headwind/crosswind. Julius was by far the strongest rider, which is amazing, since he's also the oldest (about 62). The other five of us came in within minutes of one another, exhausted but satisfied. There were no accidents and no flats in our group, so it was a perfect rally. The wind will toughen us up for future rallies.
Addendum: The official high temperature for the day (at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport) was 79º. The average wind speed was 14.5 miles per hour. The maximum wind speed was 29.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 