Loop Around The Lake

Sparse crowds and cool weather greeted de Oro Dedo (dOD)and ME this morning. For the ignorant, the Jester King (where we met at 6am this morning) holds court and cranks out some incredible farmhouse brew on Fitzhugh, near Crumley Ranch road. dOD decided to ride to the start. Why not? It was only a 120 mile ride. What's another 20 miles for the arch villain? The inaugural ride, which benefitted the Walnut Creek Academy, felt a lot like a slimmed down version of the Marble Falls GF. For those that rolled the MFGF, a more intimate peloton may not seem possible. However, we had an exclusive 21 entrants today. Weather scared away some, travel others, mileage the rest. HTFU, people.

Guess what? the weather was frakkin' perfect! Starting temps in the 60s. Most of the ride in the 70's. Slight header to Liberty Hill, resultant tailwind the the back half of the ride. 

The pelo was an eclectic mix. Some docs (one that rides an Isaac and works for Hoodie), some weekend warriors, and King Jimmy, who rolled with the HCD on day 2 of the MS150. 

dOD forgot his water bottles.Scrounging one from the SAG, he sucked down one of my bottles at the start of the ride. Hydration was a potential issue from pedal stroke #1. Not to be redundant, but the weather rocked. Spun a sweet warmup down Crumley Ranch, Hamilton Pool and 620. At Panozzo Point, dOD punctured, leaving us #20 and #21 in the group. Ever the scrupulous Ortho, dOD's attention to puncture reparum was fastidious, all encompassing, and pretty slow. SAG refilled our bottles as we waited, allowing us to skip Rest Stop 1. Still, we were WAY back. This proved to be a good thing.

Without the pressure from the Jimmy KIng, we found a rhythm, spinning Steady State up 620. reeled in some of the arriere' on 620, but no sign of the Jimminator and the main group. Wheeled up on the ride founder (Bryce Hendrix) who proved to be a pleasant source of conversation, a good guide and a willing worker at the front. We weaved our way through Round Rock/Cedar Park on Lake Line and Bagdad, finally finding some country roads, truly in the sticks. 

INTERESTING NOTE - 3 separate bugs got lodged in my helmet today. This is a disturbing sensation. It gets in there, and you just wait for it to either sting you, or insert some brain eating larvae. good times.

Rest stop 2 was fortifying. We crammed stuff down our gullets, and discovered that Jimminy Crack-it was about 5-10 minutes ahead of us, having passed rest stop 2. Back on the road, we resumed our even pace, making some good time without hitting the red zone. Until the SAG pulled up. Two lovely ladies asked us if we wanted them to motor-pace us to the lead group. UH YEAH!  (mistake) A BMW driven by two ladies can crack two Dough in about 13 minutes.

Mission accomplished, we reached the lead group 3:45 into the ride.

From that point forward the ride got a little more painful. We somehow got in front of the group after Jimmy tried to confirm directions with a well-intentioned, but NON-helpful PO-PO. Since I had the route in my Garmin, dOD and ME trusted the machine, and rolled on.

Jimmy caught us on the south side of Marble Falls, rolling up with a smile on his face, and menace in his legs. We had a great conversation util we hit the Roubaix section. Caliche and gravel must be a bike-rodesiac for Jimmy, as he busted ass in front of us with absolutely no sign that you shouldn't go 20mph uphill on gravel. ME and Dykes just watched him go, thinking we could cut back into the bulge once we got the downhill pavement. When we crested, the distance Jimmy put on us was ABSURD!! He was a tiny dot, moving rapidly out of view and into legend. 

Rest of the ride was WORK.  ME and Dykes finished on the podium, with Jimmy #1. If there was a podium, or anyone that really cared.

Jester King Brewery was awesome. The place was jam packed with an Austin sub-culture that I don't typically rub elbows with. We got six beers. and all were frakkin awesome. We need to start rides there sometime. Great location for riding, and prime location for post-ride carbo-sustenance.

In Summary - - If you missed this ride, melancholy is your friend. Sadness your wingman. If Ullrich would have done it, his conclusion would have been "Best Ride Ever!"