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About 600 to 700 hundred riders (my estimate) gathered at the downtown convention center under clear skies and a somewhat cool (58 degrees) temperature to start the Pineywoods Purgatory ride. This is a favorite ride of mine but it can be challenging with all of the hills on the route. At the first rest stop I overheard a rider from Houston who must have been riding his first time comment on how the ride description says rolling hills and he said they must mean one rolls right after another. He was asking if the 50 mile route had fewer hills. I do not know since I have not ridden the 50 mile route. I have always ridden the 70 mile route.

Fortunately I was able to ride up all of the mountains, I mean hills, but sometimes I was going slow enough that I could count the aggregate in the asphalt as I went up the hill. wind was not a factor today and by the end of the ride the temperature had hit 84 degrees. I started out with leg warmers and two jerseys; one long sleeve and my trusty Texbiker.net short sleeve jersey. At the halfway mark I shed the leg warmers but kept both jerseys because I did not have any place to store one. Surprisingly I was not that cold even wearing half finger gloves. I am glad I did not bother with the full-finger gloves.

The fajitas at the end of the ride were as great as usual and the rest stops were well stocked with snacks and pleasant people. I stopped at rest stops 1, 2, 3, and 5 on the 70 mile route. Going up the hills I only had to go to my lowest gear on one hill although I was tempted on a couple of occasions. Coasting down the hills was fabulous but they did not last long enough compared to the time it took to get up the hill.

This year I was able to use my Flip camera unlike last year when my batteries died. Below is the movie of highlights from the ride. there are some shots here the road and camera work get a little jittery but I think you can see how the ride went.

Today’s ride statistics:

• miles 70.53
• riding time 4:42:55
• average pace 4:01 min/mile (surprising with all of the hills)
• average speed 15.0 mph
• max speed 36.5 mph
• average cadence 73.9 rpm
• max cadence 109 rpm
• climb 1875 ft., descend 1873 ft.
• max elevation 453 ft., min elevation 187 ft.
• October miles 70.53
• YTD miles 4072.13

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