Yesterday morning, in McKinney, Texas, I did my ninth bike rally of the year and my 503d overall. The rally, now in its 20th year, is known as the Collin Classic, because it takes place in Collin County. For many years, the rally started in Plano, but since 2001 it has started in McKinney, which is north of Dallas. I've done 10 of the 11 McKinney rallies. Mike Keel does a terrific job of organizing the rally and taking care of the cyclists.
It was another scorcher. The official high temperature for the day at DFW Airport was 96º Fahrenheit, and it was already hot by the 8:00 start. Three of my friends showed up: Julius, Marc, and Troy. If you click the image in this post, you'll see them in action shortly after the start. Troy is in green, followed by Marc in blue, followed by Julius in red and white. I eased to the left to snap the picture with my BlackBerry. You can see my shadow on the pavement near Julius.
My first hour was very good. I rode 20.36 miles. The course was hillier than that of the previous week in Mesquite, and I stayed in packs most of the way. My second hour was not so good: 17.68 miles. The rolling hills wore me down, and I was feeling the effects of my Thursday morning gym workout. (Katherine and I got memberships to the Maverick Activity Center at my university. I ran 3.1 miles on the indoor track at a 7:11 pace and then did about a dozen weight exercises. Every muscle in my body is sore!) I averaged 18.84 miles per hour during the final 1:12:38, which gave me an overall average speed of 18.95 miles per hour for 60.85 miles. (Elapsed time = 3:12:38.) It's my second-fastest McKinney rally of the 10 I've done.
I rode with Julius and Troy most of the way. Marc dropped us after 40 minutes or so of riding, but we hooked back up with him at the 32-mile rest stop. Later, he dropped us again. He's in great shape. Meanwhile, Julius, Troy, and I fell in with a large pack of Texas Irish riders. Their pace was fast, but I managed to hang on. I thoroughly enjoy pack riding, having ridden alone for so many thousands of miles before moving to the DFW Metroplex in 1989.
My average heart rate was 115 and my maximum 144. I burned 3,810 calories. My top speed for the day was 36.9 miles per hour. I've now ridden on 18 consecutive weekends. Each week, I get a bit stronger, so that, by late August, I can ride 100 miles in brutal heat in Wichita Falls. I wish my brother Glenn would come down from Michigan to do the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred with me. Come on, bro: join me in this planned ordeal!
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 