Monday, September 18, 2017

Fort Davis Cyclefest

Fort Davis Cyclefest
Fort Davis, Texas
September 16, 2017
 It was chilly and still a little wet from overnight rains, hence the blurred line-up picture from my shaking. 
 From the Prude Ranch to Fort Davis is a series of ups and downs through a pretty canyon.
 
 Entering Fort Davis proper. 
 Past the Courthouse and tower. They have fixed the clock and it correctly reads about 18 after 8 a.m.
 Rest stop 1 with my trusty Giant Road E with a nice hill in the backdrop.
 There are so many nice shots of great scenery that it is always hard to choose what to include.
 
 Pavement is still wet from the morning drizzle. 
 
Point of Rocks is always one of my favorite stopping places. Especially if I am just out riding versus trying to complete the 75 mile loop.
 This day Christine and I were just going to the second rest stop and return. About 57 miles total.
So no hurry. 
 
 
 
 Onward. The road continues the false flat because we are actually climbing 1-2% for about 15 miles. 
 
 
 
 
 Slightly more than the routine 2% incline, but just over the rise is a great 3 mile downhill to rest stop 2.
 It may not look it, but the start of the downhill is 5%.
 Once the rolling starts, one does not have to pedal except maybe twice all the way to the rest stop. 
  
 Shiny strip in the road is one of the many cattle guards on this route. Crossing the guard really wakes one up.  
 Red rock cut out is pretty, but illustrates the lack of topsoil depth. 
 Around the corner is  
Rest Stop 2. 
 Christine
 Rick, who was a volunteer SAG, along with Jeffri and Joe.
 Marlon and Shea.
 Jeffri continues her iconic poses on tours. Bashful she is not. 
 Rick, from San Angelo, enjoys helping out the Permian Basin Bicycle Club that hosts the annual Cyclefest. 
 As the trip was an out and back, some of the return shots illustrate the decline that I mentioned. Of course, the return is an incline.
  
 Eventually, we get back to the false flat.
 On the return, we could coast at 19 mph.  
 Occasionally, we would have to pedal to maintain our momentum. 
 Coming up on the reverse side of Point of Rocks Park.
 Rick, as SAG, had the Fort Davis-Rest Stop 2 patrol. 
 And Rick was kind enough to take our picture showing off Christine's Trek XM 700. 
 Angle of the shot sort of demonstrates the decline back into Fort Davis. 
 Soon, we get into the foothills just out of Fort Davis and the ride is just about complete.  
However, after the ride, hamburgers and liquid refreshment are available to all the riders. San Angelo group took full advantage of the hospitality and caught up on each's adventures.
Thanks volunteers, PBBA, and the refreshment crew. Great job. 

Monday, September 11, 2017

Wild Rose Pass

Wild Rose Pass
Fort Davis, Texas
September 9, 2017  
Christine readies for a ride from a roadside park just below Wild Rose Pass with the destination of Balmorhea about 25 miles down the road. (I was coming down with a cold and sat this one out).
The ride from Fort Davis to Balmorhea is a popular one among riders as it is "mostly" downhill.  Annually, the Permian Basin Bike Club will ride from Prude Ranch to Balmorhea and then have a trailer to SAG the bikes back to the Prude. Lots of fun as the ride back is of course mostly uphill.  
 Not that the ride to Balmorhea is without the inclines, but Christine is undaunted as she shows off her Trek XM 700. I think we reported that she got it in March and immediately loved the bike. Love that pedal assist!
 The ride is filled with scenic views rugged granite outcrops. The shown incline is normally a bit steep on a "normal" bike, but jumping ahead of the story, Christine finished the ride with a 22 mph average. 


  
 Hill? What hill?
 

 Christine yelled at me for taking so many pictures of her that I thought I had better back off a while.
 Just concentrate on the views. 


 
 We will be back in this area next weekend for the Fort Davis Cyclefest.
 We had an ulterior motive for this trip. 
 We were thinking of riding the Mt. Locke race on Sunday. 
 As we were not sure of making it up the mountain even with our super-bikes, if we were to fail we wanted no "witnesses."
 We did not fail. Christine is thinking of doing the 1.5 mile race and I the 7 mile race.
 Previously, I had called a race official and stated that I had an ebike, so could I ride? 
 He said sure I could ride, I just couldn't win. Not a problem!! I have stated that the ebike takes 50 years off my age, but that still makes me an old man in a race. So, I will be out there to have fun.
 Gradually, Christine gets to the foothills.
 Closer to Balmorhea we get back into desert-like terrain where one can see forever. 
Finishing her ride, Christine is a happy biker. And if anyone has read any of our stories in the last nine years, it is acknowledged that 22 mph average...ain't us, it's the bikes.