For my birthday I asked my wife for us to drive to Harlingen so I could ride in the Jalapeno 100 Bike Ride. One of the main attractions is the usually warmer weather. We drove to Harlingen yesterday and after getting up at 6 AM this morning my wife drove us to the starting location at the Boys Club 1209 W. Washington.

When we arrived many people beat us there. Yesterday at Bicycle World RGV I picked up my packet and asked how riders they expected. The lady said they hoped for 800 but expected 700+. I saw a rider wearing 894 during the ride.

Getting the Canyon Endurace out of the Jeep I installed the front wheel, put my shoes on and attached the Elemnt computer, water bottle, kissed my wife and walked to the starting area. As I walked I talked to a number of people and handed out Texbiker.net business cards.

Around 7:40 AM riders started rolling out and the ride was underway. At the time I didn’t realize it but I made a big mistake by not having a map of the 65 mile route. Later in the ride I rode part of the 100 mile and after the last rest stop with 10 miles to go I got lost trying to get back to the starting point. I ended up riding 74.44 miles, 12 miles more than I planned for.

The first mistake happened in Raymondville when I missed the right turn for the 65 mile route and went about 1/2 mile on the 50 mile route before I realized it.

On the road heading east from Raymondville I joined three other bikers to the 65 mile route turned south and the 100 mile went straight. It was great talking with them as we rode. One is a nuclear pharmacist, another is a school teacher and the last is the information officer for the El Paso Police Department. They rode together last year and decided to do it again.

So far the wind was not a problem but at the FM 1420 turn the headwind started buffeting me and my average speed slowly started falling from 14.8 mph to 14 mph and lower by the finish at 2 PM.

For me one major problem was the route markers. They were small and I missed several resulting in the extra miles.

The wind started shifting direction around 11 AM from the south to the west and then from the north. Unfortunately this made the last 15 miles tougher with a headwind. Weather during the ride: start 72 (91%humidity), fog mist, wind S 14 mph. Finish 83 (55% humidity), fair, wind N 10 mph.

The last 10 miles turned into 13 miles as I got off the route and ended up putting the finish address in my phone and got directions. Thank goodness for Google Maps. The wind punished me during this time. Two other riders were also off course riding near me. When I stopped to look at Google Maps they did the same. I tried to get their attention as I started following the instructions but they didn’t see me.

This link will take you to the photos I took during the ride.

This link will take you to the ride summary at SportTracks.