Bike Masters First Anniversary Ride Report 12/13/08:

Bike Masters celebrated their first anniversary with a 10 mile ride today. Joel showed up at my house this morning and we rode out along the canal banks till we got to the store. We registered for the ride and were also registered in a chance to win a brand new Fuji Newest 3.0 road bike the bike store was raffling off.

I saw a bunch of friends had shown up for the ride and soon we were off. The route was nice and easy and had the Mission police department blocking off the intersections for us so we wouldn't have to stop at the red lights.

We got back to the store about an hour later and were met with tasty treats but the one thing that was on everybody's mind was the bike raffle. After raffling off a couple of water bottle cages it was time to announce the winning ticket number for the bike. I couldn't believe it when Jesus called out my number! How freakin' cool is that?!? And here it is, the new horse added to the stable:




A couple of people told me it was my lucky day and that I should buy a lottery ticket. I never buy lottery tickets but I did today! I'm playing the same numbers that won me the bike.

Vicodin, Joel's Sanction, and a GPS

I must have pinched a nerve or pulled a muscle while trying to straighten out the gasoline pump that was rammed into at the Valero in Harlingen. That had been the most strenuous amount of work I had done in a while. Or maybe it was all the times I fell off the bike while riding through unfinished trail the last time I rode with Joshua that did it. But to feel the pain more than a week later? "It happens", said the doc.

The good doctor prescribed some vicodin and muscle relaxers for my aching lower back. I decided to take the next day off. Joel came over to borrow Roam and I had to go to McAllen to get pricing on some parts for work so he tagged along. We ended up at Bike Masters to inquire about the GT Sanction he had ordered when there it was. Sweet looking bike. Joel was a happy man. The bike of his dreams had just come in. He took a spin in the parking lot but left the bike there since we were in my car and they were going to install some liners and pedals. He picked up the bike later and I met up with him at the trails. The first photo shows Joel and Mauricio from Bike Masters posing with the Sanction.




My Garmin Edge GPS had also come in. This thing has everything I need in a cyclocomputer. It measures speed, distance, heart rate, and cadence among other things. I had thought about getting a GPS after getting lost in Austin while riding the Tour das Hugel. The ability to download user created routes into the GPS was also very appealing. If I want to ride in San Antonio or Austin or anywhere I want, I could choose what routes I'd like to try by getting them from mapmyfitness.com. Theres also routes I'd like to try out that I have seen already next time I go to El Paso. It also comes with a training buddy which I just found out is really you, the last time you rode a course. I am my biggest competitor so this will definetely be an asset in my goal to be a better cyclist. And its also a pretty fun toy to have.

Mission Centennial Race Report 12/6/08:

The Panaracers had come in the night before and they could not have come any sooner. The tires I had on the Cannondale were the stock ones and were in bad shape. Especially the rear tire. Either way, I would have bought the Kenda Nevagals from my neighbor Lee if the Panaracers didn't make it before the race. I put on the Panaracers, aired up the tires, lubed up the chain, and made sure everything was in shape for the race the next morning.

It was a cold morning. But not cold enough to deter me from showing up and participating. Just put on my thermal top and I was good to go. Grabbed my camelback and I was out the door. I arrived and registered and saw some friends and waited for the race to begin.

There was about seven people racing in the clyde category. We were to race two 5 mile laps that included both off road and a paved hike and bike trail. After the expert and sports classes were released they lined us up. I lined up right in the front line. There were about 3 or 4 riders in the line behind us. The countdown began and we were off down a paved straight-away. The racer right next to me shot out like a bat out of hell and I wasn't too far behind. I looked behind me and the other riders were far behind. "Cool, second place so far. The road cycling has helped out" I thought. But how long could this last?

I caught up to the first rider right as we approached the entrance to the first part of the technical trail, Phase 1, but decided I would let him go first. I followed behind but he quickly left me behind again. I remembered some of the things Joshua had taught me a couple of days earlier while riding that same trail. Keep a comfortable pace where you can still push it a little bit more, enter a corner on the outside, exit on the inside, keep pedaling, stand while going over the bumpy sections. The last time I had gone riding with him I tried to pedal hard the whole way but quickly tired and began hurting. I did not want to go through that again since this was a race and would not have a chance to stop and rest.

A short while later I heard the huffing and puffing of riders behind me. They had caught up fast. "Whenever you have a chance", a rider shouted out requesting I let him pass once we cleared some of the tight singletrack we were in. I was holding them up but one rider did manage to get by me. We hit some straightaway on that trail and I motioned for whoever was behind that it was safe to pass. Nobody did, as I had picked up speed on this section I left them behind again.

As soon as we hit the technical portions again they had caught up again and others would pass. It was a cat and mouse game until all but one passed me. I later found out he had DNF'd earlier. I had trouble finishing up the first lap but I was determined to finish the race. "It will all be over soon", I thought to myself. As I was finishing up the first lap I saw another rider walking his bike back towards the parking lot. Another DNF. This could work to my advantage.

I entered Phase 1 again. This time I was warmed up. Something I should've done before I arrived at the starting line. I was feeling alot better this second time. I entered the corners and went over the bumpy sections of the trail. Even got a little bit of air on some of the jumps. I later ran into the first rider who had passed me during the first lap. I continued on and even passed a rider on the return section of the hike and bike. At this point I was in third place but still had one more technical section before the race was over. I tried to put a large gap between us as I passed him as I knew he would have the advantage once we entered the off road trails again. Pretty soon he had passed me up and I lost my chance at winning the third place medal.

I finished at 1:09'51. Fourty-six seconds behind third and almost a minute behind second. While I had the speed, I lacked the technical abilities my competitors had. A warm up before the race would've helped out more. It was a fun race. I plan to ride my mountain bike as much as I ride the road bike. The camelback was too heavy. The one liter bottle of cytomax I had would have sufficed for this race. A tube and CO2 pump stuffed into the jersey would've worked well in case I got a flat. I look forward to the next race. This picture is taken during the up and over return section of the race and was taken from the missiontrails.org website.

Thanksgiving Day Ride Report 11/27/08:

What better way to enjoy a day off during the middle of the week with a nice 35 miler ride. With little to no traffic, beautiful weather, and knowing I was going to indulge myself with a delicious meal later, this ride was a nice treat.

Originally I was going to meet another rider about seven miles into my ride but he had called me just as I was rolling out the driveway to inform me he was going to be unable to make it. Although the company would've been nice, it was also nice to ride alone, to go at my own pace and clear my thoughts and just ride. This morning was not about pushing it like we do on our Sunday morning training rides, it was about enjoying the morning, even stopping midway through the ride to eat a fruit bar I had taken along with me.

I finished the ride at right about 2 hours. Just in time for breakfast.

Short But Sweet Race Report 11/22/08:

This should've been called Short But Painful. This was my first time I raced on a track built for motocross racing and this was actually the first time the race track was being used for a mountain bike race a la BMX style.

I had gone out Thursday night for a practice run at the D-Tronics MX Park in Donna, (http://www.dtronicsmxpark.com/)my first time out there and my first time out on my mountain bike in a long time. After one lap I was beat. The Monitor, the local newspaper had shown up to do a story on the upcoming race and the mountain bike club and to take photographs. (http://www.themonitor.com/articles/mountain_20169___article.html/donna_org.html)
My bike got a flat on my fourth lap. I walked the bike out to the bleachers, walked over to the concession stand and got myself a beer.

I arrived Saturday evening and registered for the big boy category, otherwise known as the clydesdale category, meant for participants weighing above 200 lbs. Only three had registered for the clyde category. Originally it was only going to be a 10 minute race but since we had only three people in our category, they threw us in with the sport category and now had an additional five minutes added to the race.

It was a mass start and I was right in the middle after the race had begun. I was right with the pack until I got stuck behind a slower rider and could not get around him. By the time I got around him, mostly everybody had passed the both of us. I finally got around the slower rider and huffed and puffed my way down and up the track.

The motocross track is impressive. It is approximately half a mile in length with twists and turns and berms and hills. It was cool racing at night under the big bright lights with music blaring from the speakers and spectators rooting for everybody.

The only thing I heard was my gasping for air and my heart thumping. Midway through my fourth lap I felt as if my heart was going to explode and my tar stained lungs collapse. Just as I was about to call it quits upon completing that lap, the race officials told me the race was over. Those fifteen minutes could not have come sooner. I was relieved it was over, as were my heart and lungs. It may have been short, but it was anything but sweet. Either way I at least was better than somebody else that night. I got second place in the clyde category. Did I mention it was kind of chilly that night? Mikeytoe, first place in the clyde category is to the left of me. The rider who won third place had left before the awards ceremony. Picture taken from missiontrails.org website.

Tour das Hugel Ride Report 11/15/08:

I was greeted by a chilling cold front, howling wind, and Devil as I rolled into Austin friday night. Not having seen Devil in a while I stayed up longer than I should've talking about about good times sounding like a broken record reliving the past. I finally got some shuteye at about 2am. It was a cold cold night. I had trouble sleeping because I was so cold and kept questioning myself if I should do the ride or not.

Joshua called at 6.30am. He was already airing up his tires at Zilker as I was driving west on Parmer. I got on Mopac and arrived at the park as they were handing out the maps for the first loop before heading out. Joshua and Melissa met up with me while I was getting ready and we were soon off.

The first couple of hills weren't that bad at all. Nothing like the climbs at Garner. Or so I thought. We later encountered roads that looked more like walls than roads at all. Some I could do, some I couldn't. I tried the zig-zag approach on some but gravity proved to powerful as it quickly brought me back down again. The winds and cold weather didn't help much either. Joshua easily sailed up the climbs while I huffed and puffed all that I could feeling like my heart was going to explode. We quickly lost sight of Melissa as we headed down a wrong turn. We tried to catch up to her by turning on a side street and going the opposite way on the right path but were unsuccesful in finding her.

The best part of going up was knowing that a nice downhill was sure to follow. And there were plenty. Joshua says I am brake happy but I believe I am life happy. Going 40mph down hairpin turns is plenty for me but not for Joshua as he would pass me catching up to cars, drafting behind them until they either sped away or it was time to attack another climb.

By the time we reached the second rest stop I was about to call Devil to come pick me up. My speedometer read 32 miles and I was happy with that. Joshua convinced me to at least finish the first loop and after a couple of PBJ sandwiches we were off again. It was here where we also learned that Melissa had bailed out earlier.

A couple of miles later we were headed down the Capital of Texas Highway and looking to turn on Westbank to lead us back to the park. We were looking for that road and for any orange arrows indicating the turn like the ones we had seen throughout the ride but did not see any. We hammered on and pretty soon found ourselves at the intersection with Mopac. We had missed our turn but rather than turning around we went south on the Mopac. First off we should've gone north, second of all, we were riding our bikes on the freeway!

Thoughts of a news reporter broadcasting live saying something like two cyclists from out of town participating in the Tour das Hugel got lost and ended up on Loop 1 where a driver slammed into them from behind killing both of them kept playing through my mind. Luckily that section had a nice wide shoulder and we made it to the next exit a couple of hundred feet later.

We found out that we were riding south instead of north like we should've been. The only other option would be to ride back on the freeway again but the northbound section had no shoulder as it was the exit for 360. Joshua said, "we'll just have to chuck it". Riding on the freeway with a wide enough shoulder was bad enough but now you have cars exiting the freeway doing 60. "Thats just asking for trouble", I told him. "I'll let you go in front", was his response. Thoughts of the news reporter chimed in again except this time the possibility of that happening was greater. I was thinking maybe I could just call Devil to come get me, I would go back to the park, come back and get Joshua. I had held Joshua back this whole time but this time he wasn't letting me.

Joshua clipped in and took off down Mopac. I rode up the overpass to try and get a picture of him riding down the freeway but by the time I got up there he was no longer to be seen. Any minute now he would appear below me or so I thought. Where the hell is he? I waited and waited but nothing. Maybe he got a flat. I rode back down but did not see him at all. I rode back up and nothing. There was no way he could've ridden that section of the freeway in that short of time. Or so I thought but a couple of minutes later I get a call saying he is already at the park loading up his bike. It took him longer to come pick me up in his truck than it did to go to the park on his bike. We load up my bike and I get in the truck, cold, sweaty, relieved, and even though I didn't finish the whole tour or the first loop for that matter because we got lost, hell we actually did more than the first loop come to think of it, I felt good at what I had done. I finished up at 43.38 miles in 4 hours and 4 minutes with a 10.6mph average.

Unlimited Sport Adventure 3rd Mountain Bike Race Report 11/9/08:

I did the first one back in September. Missed the second one. I payed for the whole series. I wanted to participate in the last one.

The last time I rode my mountain bike was the time I rode with Joel. Already more than a month ago. Since then I had taken off my clipless pedals because I had lost the screws to my cleats and had messed up my shoe trying to use some other screws I purchased at the hardware store. Rather than going to the bike shop and just getting a pair of replacement cleats like I did the other day, I put the platform pedals back on. At the time I thought I had put them on correctly but did not find out till race day that I put them on wrong.

Lined up with the rest of the racers in my category, I was ready. I was happy to be back on a mountain bike. 5,4,3,2,1,Go! Off we went down the unpaved parking lot, turn, onto the sidewalk where its straight for a good 400 feet or so till we enter the Brownsville trails backwards. I am starting to breathe heavy, heart is pounding, but I'm feeling good. We enter the trails and are immediately met by switchbacks. It must've been the 3rd or 4th switchback when I hear a yelp as a rider goes down hard. In the corner of my eye I saw a neon green team kit. The same kit I should've worn that day if I had gotten up earlier that morning and looked for it. Out on the trails I always stop when I see or hear a rider in distress but this was a race. The show must go on. Ruben was there, camera in hand to help out if needed. I continued and so did the rest. My pedal started feeling weird. I thought to myself it was because I had grown accustomed to riding clipless. We exited that small section and were on our way down a bumpy straightaway along side the canal, and then it happened. On a small little climb the pedal had become so loose that making it proved to difficult and then the pedal fell. The walk of shame began. Luckily I wasn't too far from the staging area, unluckily I wasn't too far from the staging area. In total it was at most 1/4 mile I had raced. My first DNF ever. Very depressing. The rider who had fallen, Tony G from San Benito, came in 5 minutes after me. His fall messed up his rear derailer. We spent the rest of the race with Jaime and his boss's chocolate lab, Rocky, the Cactus Cruzer mascot. I'll see you next year Brownsville.

Riding with Monsters Ride Report 11/8/08

I arrived at Exxon on a chilly Saturday morning around 6:45. Rhonda was already there waiting comfortably. Miguel and Gustavo showed up a bit later. Four riders total this
Saturday morning. We took off west down Military at a nice pace of 17-20mph. We continued up Bryan to 495 where Rhonda broke away from our small group.

I knew that once she left that I was in for a world of hurt. Gustavo and Miguel quickly picked up the pace as we continued on our 30 mile non stop ride. I quickly learned that these people I was riding with were monsters. The wind had no chance against these monsters! Even though I tried to do my part and help pull, I soon found myself in the back trying to guess where and when we were going to pull over for a breather. Having never ridden this route there were many options. Would it be the watermill, one of the many gas stations littered around the route, the park? I realized these breed of monsters do not need oxygen or water but instead live off the pain and suffering of the weak.

We finished off the 30 miles in about an hour and a half time. My top speed was 31mph going down Ware Rd., within 5 miles of our destination. Definetely one of the fastest rides I have been one. I look forward to the next ride with the monsters. Here is a picture of some new wheels I got along with the route we took.

Wild in Willacy Ride Report 10/25/08

Gustavo called friday asking if I could join the team saturday morning for a ride going on in Raymondville. What kind of ride was this? I had not heard of any ride or saw any ride listings on any of the local cycling forums. He said it was only going to be a 25 mile ride but that there was going to be a fajita cook-off afterwards. Team McAllen was going to be hosting the third time trial event in Granjeno the same day and seeing that I only participated in the first event I wanted to go to this one but opted instead of joining my team mates for a ride in Willacy county.

I met up with the guys at one of the local bike shops at 6am. We loaded our bikes on the van and waited for the other van to arrive to caravan to Raymondville. About a 30 minute drive.

Upon arrival we registered and got ready. Besides the 8 or so people from our team there were only about 5 or 6 more riders at the event. By far the smallest event I have ever participated in. This was more like a training ride than an actual bike event but I guess the fact that it was not at all advertised did not help it either.

The ride itself was still nice though. I have been wanting to do a ride in that part of valley for a while now and this was a perfect opportunity. We were riding at a nice leisurely place onward to the small town of San Perlita just east of Raymondville. I stuck in the upper middle of the pack and helped pull while mashing the big gear. We arrived in San Perlita and were greeted by a small group of supporters tending to a rest stop stocked with bananas and windmill shaped cookies located outside the R2 convenience store.

After munching down and posing for a couple of pictures we were off again and begun our trek back to the stockyards. I wanted to just hang in the back and enjoy the scenery especially since my hands were numbing due to not having worn any gloves but I could not resist getting up front. We got some light tailwind on the way back and sailed back to Raymondville.

Once we arrived at the staging area we all had one though on our minds. Food. The ride leader ordered Subway sandwiches but would not get there till an hour later. Who wants Subway when theres a fajita cook-off going on? But it was still way too early, the chefs were barely prepping and not a single slab of meat had hit any of the grills. We decided to leave and ended up having breakfast at a restaraunt in Edinburg. We soon arrived back at the bike shop there after. Unloaded the bikes and said goodbye.

Sunday with Sports Federation

I rode this past sunday with Sports Federation. Hadn't ridden with them in a while and I hadn't ridden at all since the River Region Classic. Sunday is when the stronger riders of the group get together and have a faster than usual ride. I met up with AK, Israel, Gustavo, Miguel, and a new rider with the group, Mauricio.

We met up at the Exxon station and were on our way down to Granjeno. We started off at a decent pace then quickly picked it up. For not having ridden in a week I felt OK. We were taking turns pulling. I pulled at around 20mph into a nice headwind for a while then quickly fell to the back of the pack. I was longing for a break afterwards and almost got dropped but I did not let this happen. I concentrated on my breathing and mentally told myself to hang in there. Before I knew it me and my team mates were all taking a breather figuring out where to go from there.

We decided to head back the same way and had a light tailwind in doing so allowing us to pick it up a notch. We did one more lap at Granjeno loop and on the way back we encountored some real smooth road perfect for sprinting. I peaked at 30 but others peaked at about 32-33mph. Overall this was a challenging hard ride for me but enjoyable as well. We completed approximately 30 miles in just a little over an hour and a half. This is the route we took.

Death of a Tire

Imagine how it looked like at full pressure with the tube pushing the liner out through the slash. Here is the new "all around" tire I got today.

Texas Hill Country River Region Classic Report 10/11/08

So far this has been the craziest ride I have done so far. The main reason I wanted to do this ride is because it takes off from Garner State Park. I had never been to Garner before but everybody I know that has been there say it is very beautiful and they were right.

I picked up Ruben at his office and loaded up his bike and gear. We left McAllen about 5pm Friday. Heading into Concan I could see the outlines of the large hills in the area. They were more like mountains. The cool jeweled moon lingered above shining its light on these mountains reminiscent of night time vistas like those seen in New Mexico. I really wished I had remembered to pick up some batteries for the camera when we filled up in Castroville. I remembered the 16oz can of Budweiser though.

We arrived at Garner around 11:30 and quickly set up our tents. I climbed in my tent and opened my beer. I pulled the tab and heard a crisp pshh that echoed through out our campsite. Enter sandman.

Woke up, got dressed and headed towards the registration area to check in. The morning was cool with overcast skies. We lined up and headed out on our 52 mile challenge. The plan was for me and Ruben to work together but Ruben is way too fast and a much better rider than I am. That was ok though, I wanted to enjoy the scenery and I was still going at a good pace pacing some riders and some riders passed me.

The first 10 miles were nice with gently rolling hills. With the weather and terrain I thought this was going to be a breeze. Boy was I wrong. I stopped off at the first rest stop in Leakey and got some food and gatorade not having eaten anything before the ride. A light shower started to fall on us and thats when I noticed my front tire, the same front tire Ruben had pointed out before the ride, starting to look really funny.

I pressed on and soon found myself huffing and puffing up the first climb. I made it, it was tough but the reward going downhill was awesome. Then came the next climb. It looked bad but at least it didn't look that long. As soon as I turned and thought I was going to bask in downhill heaven again, there was more climbing to conquer. Then another turn then another climb, then another, then another. The climbs just kept on coming. Then finally the downhill portion came flying down fast wet twisty roads at 45 mph was a blast. That was the best part of the ride. But there was more climbing that needed to be done.

About 4 and a half hours later I pull into the park past the finish line to where they were having a spaghetti dinner for all the riders and packet pick up. As soon as I get off the bike, the tire and tube explode. Sounded like somebody fired a gun. Scared the hell out of everyone including myself. Thank God it happened there and not on one of those downhills going almost 50mph! That would've been the story of me. Thank God for tire liners.

Walked back to the campsite. Met up with Ruben. Ate one of the best spaghetti plates I had ever eaten. Thought to myself how crazy all of us are for attempting stuff like this. Showered. Drank a beer. Drove back. I did buy some batteries after all at the park store.

Nails Creek State Park 10/8/08

I was up in Giddings just west of Austin getting some equipment calibrated at the Texas Department of Weights and Measures. I had at least an hour and a half to kill so I decided to check out Nails Creek State Park. I knew I should of brought the mountain bike. Apart from being an awesome looking park located next to Lake Somerville, this park also offers more than 20 miles of trails for mountain biking and hiking. Note to self: Take bike everywhere you go.

Decided to head west towards Austin to get I-35 back down to the Valley. Stopped off at Hoffbrau Steaks off 6th St. for lunch. http://www.originalhoffbrausteaks.com/ Inside was packed, just about every other place during lunch time off 6th. We tried going to Huts then some pizza place right behind it but there was a long wait time. We sat outside and it was amazing to see so many people on bikes. Commuting, riding, on mountain bikes, road, track bikes, singlespeeds, zipping down 6th faster than traffic.

Vuelta al Valle Ride Report 10/4 & 10/5/08

Sports Federation of the Valley, which happens to be the road cycling group I ride with hosted Vuelta al Valle. A 2 day event which included a 10 mile time trial on Saturday and a 35 mile road race on Sunday located north of Edinburg. I went ahead and signed up for both in the beginner category.

This was my 2nd time trial event. My first time trial was back in August hosted by Team McAllen in Granjeno so I felt alot better going in with what I learned. I got 31:33.7, 9th out of 15th place.

Next day I rode out with the beginners in the 35 mile road race. My first road race. I have done plenty of charity rides but this was my first road race. I tried to get as close to the front of the pack as I could but so was everybody else. I could not line up straight since it was a tight closeknit pack so I had to line up at an angle. Kind of unsafe to be honest with you especially after having to clip in and the fact that it was a mass start. We were off and I was right in the upper middle of the pack. I felt good, I felt real good. We were pushing about 22-23mph and I felt great.

Everything was going good until I decided to pull out of the paceline to slow down a bit to get a drink of water. I do not feel comfortable reaching down for the water bottle, drinking, and putting the bottle back in its cage at those speeds. I dropped a bottle once at the Ride for Hunger and I almost took the rider behind me down. I imagined the mess I could cause in a large group if I dropped the water bottle.

So back I went and down my speed went and the group attacked. I got dropped. But there was still hope, the group wasn't too far ahead. I mashed the pedal as hard as I could until I caught up. Once I caught up a rider saw that I had caught up motioned to his buddies and they attacked again. I tried to hang on for dear life but was unable to. I got dropped again. It was the Chile Pepper Challenge in El Paso all over again. Bumpy roads and all heading down Hwy 186. In my mind I failed. I tried to blame it on the bumpy roads, the fact that I was too far up front in the group instead of in the back conserving energy. I started overanalyzing everything hating myself. What the hell am I doing. Two other riders passed me. This can't be. I'm better than them. I know I am. Or maybe they really are better than me. Somebody has to come in last. The finish line will be empty by the time I arrive. I still have a freakin flat on my truck to fix.

About 25 miles into the ride I see shadows behind me and hear my name. It was Miguel and Arnold, two of my friends from Sports Federation. I wasn't the last one after all! According to them there were still alot of people behind. I attached to the 2 man paceline getting a break from the wind and some new hope. We pulled, we rested, we pulled, we rested, etc... I saw two riders up ahead. Unsure if they were the same riders that had passed me earlier I tried my best to catch up. I caught my second wind and sprinted to try and catch up. I could see the finish line by now but the two riders had already cleared it. A few moments later I did as well. According to my computer, I completed the race in exactly 2 hours finishing off with a 17.5mph average.

Now it was time to fix a flat tire.

Ride with Joel, Farewell to Joshua 10/1/08

I received a call about 7:30am from Joel. I hadn't talked to Joel or ridden with him since our Ben&Jerry's ride a couple of weeks ago. Joel came by and we took off from my house on our mountain bikes. We took off and made the route as we rode riding mostly on the road but did a bit off road as well. We rode to an Exxon where we fueled up with some breakfast burritos before continuing on our ride.

Here is Joel finishing up his burrito.


We rode from my house in Mission, down to the Sharyland Plantation area, to the new shopping district off Ware Rd. in McAllen where we met up with Ruben while he was working, down through McAllen downtown dodging moving traffic and parked cars, up the hike and bike off 2nd St. all the way up to Trenton, back to 10th where we tried to catch up with Armando, down 23rd St. till Lark, took canal banks back to Nolana, cut alongside cemetery down Taylor, down to 2 Mile Line all the way down Mayberry till we got back to my house.

Later that evening I met up with some of the Cruzers at BJ's to hang out with Joshua before he leaves for his new project in Austin. We talked, we ate, we laughed, we cried, all one last time before Joshua said goodbye. I wouldn't be the rider I am today if it wasn't for him. I look forward to riding with him again.

South Llano River State Park 9/30/08

I left El Paso monday afternoon after spending a couple of hours with the grandparents. I really wanted to do some bouldering at Hueco Tanks but you can't really appreciate rock climbing with only a few hours to spare. I also wanted to split the 13 hour trip into 2 days. This almost changed when I was contemplating turning back when I was 70 miles outside El Paso at Sierra Blanca when I heard The Mars Volta was going to be performing at Club 101. Its crazy stuff like this that I miss about living in El Paso. Just the other day I found out Beck strolled into the Black Market and played an un-announced set on borrowed instruments!

So I pushed along I-10 and after about 6.5 hours of driving I made it into the town of Junction around 10pm. Junction really is a junction. Its where I-10 meets Hwy 83. For me its where my old life (I-10) and new life (Hwy 83) intersects.

I knew I wanted to make it to Junction that nite. I had never stayed in Junction before but had been wanting to check out the South Llano River State Park for a while now. Not to mention Coopers BBQ right next to the Chevron station where I always fill up.

That next morning I woke up and headed over to the park. The drive there was really nice. The park is about 3 miles outside of town nestled in the hill valley alongside the South Llano River. I checked into the park and got a map of the park along with a map of the adjacent wildlife management area which is open to the public. I also got a river map. My only regret was not having my kayak or mountain bike. The trails I got a glimpse of from the park road looked inviting as well as the river for kayaking. I started going down one of the trails in my road bike but turned around as I envisioned messing something up on the bike.I definetely have to plan a camping trip and bring the kayak next time.

Chile Pepper Challenge 9/28/08

We got back into El Paso saturday nite. Sunday morning I woke up early and headed over to the Rio Grande Valley Ranch in Canutillo for the Chile Pepper Challenge. A ride that goes from Canutillo up to Mesilla, New Mexico and back. I stopped off at the Howdy's off TransMountain Rd. to fill up the car and get some breakfast. A bear claw.

Once at the ranch I registered and signed up for the 50 mile ride. I went back to the car and got my bike ready and myself ready and lined up with the rest of the riders. After the usual pre-ride speech we were off and the 50 mile journey begun.

Around the 4th or 5th mile I already wanted to quit. Not because my legs or lungs or my lowerback were killing me but would you belive my hands! I could not believe it! The gloves I decided to wear that day felt like they were cutting the circulation to my hands. The senseable thing to do would have been to pull over and take them off but seeing that I was averaging 21-22mph, the last thing I wanted to do was stop.

Well I don't know what it was, maybe it was the lousy breakfast, the heavy dinner the nite before, the torture I put myself through the day before mountain biking in Ruidoso, the rough roads, the gloves, or a combination of all those but I started bonking. I started bonking bad. From my 21-22 mph average, I quickly dropped down to 18, then 15, 14, 12, 10mph!!! I started looking around for a SAG vehicle as people started passing me left and right. All this within the first 10 miles and I signed up for 50!! This was not happening.

I started feeling my second wind but at the same time I felt a group of cyclists coming up behind me. I decided to get behind the pack and hang on for dear life. As they passed me I got behind the group of 8 cyclists and immediately noticed the effect. No longer was I huffing and puffing and crying inside but was enjoying the ride and scenery of the Franklin and Organ mountains from the upper valley as we crisscrossed the Rio Grande River through fields and farmlands and vineyards.

This was a great group. Not too fast and not slow at all. I felt very comfortable being pulled at 21-22mph again for a good 10 miles. We even passed the first rest stop without stopping because everything was flowing smoothly. All was good until it was time for me to do my part and help pull. I got to the front of the line but was only able to pull at around 18-19mph. By this time about 2-3 people we had passed had joined the paceline. After about three miles of pulling I saw a curve coming up and decided I was going to the back of the pack again. Immediately after the curve I almost lost it as we came upon 2 slower riders while I was trying to move to the back of the group. The rest of the group hustled on smoothly. Because of this I got dropped and I got dropped bad. I tried to catch up but for the life of me I couldn't.

I started riding slow again until I latched on to another group. This group wasn't as fast as the other nor as organized but still a group I could draft behind while I rested and caught my breath again. When it was time for me to pull I felt alot better . We soon reached to next rest stop and by this time I was feeling very very hungry. I must've eaten 3 PBJ sandwiches but I was feeling alot better. I took my time getting rested at this stop. The SAG vehicle I was so desperately searching for earlier was there picking up riders who had too much but this rider was persistent. This rest stop was also the 50 mile turnaround. I was feeling so well I decided to keep going and do the 62.5 mile ride. I am glad I did.

With no groups to latch onto, I picked a comfortable pace and rode down the Don Juan de Onate trail as groups of leather wearing motorcyle riders passed the opposite way on the way to the town of Mesilla. I rode through pecan orchards so big they covered the highway like a natural umbrella near Strahmans farm. I rode through Chopes in La Mesa wear I almost ran into a churchgoer crossing the street without looking. I rode through Zin Valle Vineyards in La Union, through the Tarahumara Polo Field until I got to the last rest stop near Gadsden still in New Mexico.

I ran into Rick from Revolution Cyclery at that last rest stop and rode back with him, a group of beginners he was helping, and his friend Andie from Seattle. After about a mile the beginners got dropped and Rick went back to be with them while me and Andie sprinted back to the ranch in Texas.

Once we arrived at the ranch I put up the bike in the car, changed, and checked in. We had to check our number in in order to receive our meal tickets. I got a BBQ burrito and water. I finished the 100k in just under 4 hours.

Smokey Bear Ride Report 9/27/08

This past weekend me and my buddy Johnathan from El Paso drove up to Ruidoso, New Mexico for some mountain bike riding in the Lincoln Forest, home of Smokey Bear. After waking up early saturday morning we looked for the cyclists participating in the Tour de Ruidoso but did not see them at all. After having breakfast we went to Boneshaker Cyclery and rented some Specialized Hardrock mountain bikes. We left the car at the parking lot and drove from the bike shop back to the cabin to change and fill up the camelback. We rode up to the Ranger Station and rode our bikes up to one of the many mountains where we were welcomed by some really awesome singletrack crossing creeks and meadows.