Yesterday morning, in Mesquite, Texas, I did my eighth bike rally of the year and my 502d overall. This was the 15th annual Mesquite Rodeo Bike Ride. I've done 13 of them. The weather at the 8:00 start was perfect for cycling. It was sunny, warm, less humid than usual, and, most importantly, calm. Four of my friends (Julius, Troy, Don, and Donna) joined me at the starting line. Phil and Randy were in Comanche, Texas, for a bike rally and Joe was hiking in New Mexico. The turnout was impressive. It's great to see such enthusiasm for cycling.
The pace was high from the beginning. Julius and I fell in with a couple of dozen others who were going our speed. I had 10.03 miles at the 30-minute mark, which is an average speed of 20.06 miles per hour. I never thought I'd hang on to 20 for the day, but I did. I pedaled 20.86 miles the first hour and 20.88 the second. I averaged 19.02 miles per hour for the final 1:04:00, which gave me an overall average speed (for 62.03 miles) of 20.22 miles per hour. (Elapsed time = 3:04:00.) This was my fastest ride at any distance in three years and my fastest ride of 62 miles or more since 1997, when I was 40 years old. (I'm now 54.)
It almost wasn't to be, however. Early on, while my pack was traveling at 23 miles per hour, a woman crashed three riders in front of me. I was drinking from my water bottle at the time, so I had only one hand on the handlebar. The woman hit a two-inch step in the center of the road and went down hard on her right side. The man immediately behind her couldn't avoid her and crashed hard on top of her. Julius was next in line, and I behind him. I saw the crash unfolding and instinctively followed Julius's wheel to the left. Luckily for us, we avoided the carnage. Remember: All of this was happening at 23 miles per hour. There was almost no time to react. I hope the people who crashed didn't break any bones, though I wouldn't be surprised if they did. There but for the grace of God go I.
The step in the road was caused by construction. Workers had scraped the left lane of the road preparatory to repaving it, and there were no marks put down by the rally organizers to warn riders of the danger. I wasn't aware of the step until the crash occurred, when I looked at the pavement. For all I know, there were other crashes as well, either in front of me or behind me. Julius and I talked about how wary one must be while riding a bike. Just when you think you're safe, or just when you let your mind wander, something awful happens. Julius told me that the woman made a comment to him just before the accident, something about how much fun it was being in a large, fast-moving pack.
The remainder of the rally was uneventful, thank goodness. Julius and I eventually caught up to the pack in which Troy (his son in law) was riding. This pack stayed together until the 32-mile rest stop. We stayed there for 15 minutes. By this time, it was getting hot. I looked at my map, ate a PowerBar, used the Porta-Potty, and refilled a bottle. When we resumed riding, we were without a pack. Troy had a flat tire not long after, which Julius and I were unaware of. We thought he had tired and eased up. Julius and I stayed together until the final couple of miles, when Julius dropped me. By riding together for so many miles, we kept our average speed up.
According to my Garmin GPS device, I burned 4,176 calories on the ride. My average heart rate was 112 and my maximum 144. At one point in the first hour, I was cruising along in the pack at 24 miles per hour with a heart rate of 97. I know people whose resting heart rate is 97! Do you see why it was important for Lance Armstrong to stay shielded from the wind during his Tour de France victories? You save a great deal of energy by staying shielded—energy that can be put to use on a climb, for example, or in a sprint.
My top speed for the day was 31.3 miles per hour. The official high temperature at DFW Airport was 96º Fahrenheit. The average wind speed was 7.7 miles per hour and the maximum 17. I attribute my high average speed to three things: (1) a flat course, (2) comparatively light wind, and (3) much pack riding. This was my fastest Mesquite Rodeo ride of the 13 I've done, going back to 1997. I had a great time.
Addendum: Here are several reviews of the rally. Apparently, there were many accidents on the road that had the two-inch step (or lip).
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 