Part 2

Part 2:
Sunday came in a little crazy for me as it was day light savings and that always messes me up. Billy swung by @ 8 saying were going to leave @ 9:30 and it was actually 9 at the time and I was all a mess. But being prepared as I am I already had my bike stuff on so I was in good shape.
At 9:30 we took off. Sunday is always a smaller ride as some people have left and others are running instead of riding. So 6 of us took off in search of breakfast @ Lost Maples Café. Pat, Brad, Stephan, Illiana, Billy and myself made our way around the killer hills from the day before and east towards Utopia, TX. Never heard of it? Well the only real thing there is the Lost Maples Café and a gas station. It’s 16.7 or according to Pat 17.1 miles from Lost Maples Campground. Yup…..17 miles to the nearest food. Yes, we are in the middle of nowhere.
The ride out there was the closest thing to flat that you can get out that way. Some small rollers but nothing even close to tough. We held an easy pace on the way out since we all knew we would need our energy to eat. Once @ Lost Maples Café it was chow time. Pats gf Hillary joined us and everyone sat down, ordered coffee and water while I added a cinnamon roll to my first order. Mind you that I already ate a bowl of Grapenuts for breakfast before we left. The waitress brings the coffee and water and then hauls over the cinnamon roll. Yes I said HAUL….. this thing was freaking HUGE. We were all amazed at how large this thing was. I passed it around the table for everyone to try and we all agreed it was the most delicious cinnamon roll we had ever had. It was freaking HUGE and WICKED good!!!! After that I figured I’d be good for a week but the French toast looked good and what the hell…..throw some bacon in with that. Gotta love country cooking and eating!
After I was stuff and everyone else was finished with their meal we loaded up on sunblock and soon we were back on the road. Pat, Billy, Brad and Stephan planned on doing the 60 mile loop with the same hills from the day before. Illiana and I had had our full of those hills and opted for a less elevated 50 mile route. This route was much easier than the day before. Only one long climb and it wasn’t all that bad. Very very low traffic area which was nice. Always tons of chipseal payment around but by this time it didn’t even bother us. Illiana rocks on the hills but gets bored with the flats so I started to pull away a bit on the way back as we had a tailed wind and I am a bit better on the flats. About every 10 minutes I would look back to make sure she was somewhere in sight and all but one time she was. That one time I doubled back hunting for her and realized the wind was a bit more than I had guessed. Thank goodness she wasn’t too far off. We finished with 50 miles under us @ 17.2 mph with a full belly and chip seal. Not a bad day for not pushing it too hard.
Once back @ camp I jumped into the water with Hillary who just finished running. The water so wonderfully cold. Felt great on my legs. This was around 1:52 p.m. The boys stopped by the water as they were finishing. The park ranger swung by and let everyone know that they needed to out of there camping spots @ 2:00. I had a good quiet chuckle since I had booked my spot for a day longer and that meant I had all day to leave as the others had 7 minutes. Being the good sport I am I broke down their pop up as they got to packing and such. Once done with that Brad swung by for a Coke and conversation. His ass was beat down from this weekend but it’s all for the greater good of training.
I was out of the camp around 3:15 with 3 hours of driving ahead of me. About a mile into Austin I was cut off by another driver and that snapped me back into reality as I realized I was back home again.
This weekend was just fantastic. Good friends and great training. I really wish I could get out there again this spring before the heat hits but I’m just not sure I can with my schedule. If you are a rider and you want a challenge then this ride is totally for you. But if you have a weak constitution then stay at home because of 2 reasons. 1- Mentally you will be tested on the hills and chip seal. 2- Because I don’t want to hear anyone complaining about a ride that I love. Keep that crap to yourself.
Leakey Death Ride 2010 is in the books. Already looking forward to next year.