With this many riders and heat to go with them, this year’s ride was the hot item in Wichita Falls. The last two years did not make into the 100 degree plus numbers.
The packet pick-up was slow for pre-registered riders while those register Friday evening breezed through their lines. I was starting to wonder why I bothered to pre-register when the others zoomed through. The pre-registered lines were broken into number groups with some having no one in line and others lined out the door. Next year the system and room size needs to be re-thought.
The vendor expo was an excercise of squeezing too many people in too small of a space. I did not buy anything because I could not get to anything to look it over. More space is the call here.
Saturday’s ride starting coming together before sunrise with racers and riders gathering on Scott Street downtown. As the crowd grew it was hard to imagine this many riders in one place. Thank goodness for a wide city street with 4 lanes and a long straight approach. The bad news, no fault of the organizers, was the high overpass just past the official starting line which bogged everyone down. From the end of the Star-Spangled banner, the stirring flyover of two T38 jets from Spehard AFB to the time I started to move was about 20 minutes. Speaking of the flyover, my spirited was stirred as you watch the tight 2 jet formation streak overhead. Many riders voiced their approval with chants. I like it, very much.
Once the riders around me started to move we crossed the start line at 7:45 AM, 36 minutes after the official start with the T38 flyover. With 12,000+ riders it takes awhile to get everyone moving. I was about half way back in the crowd. The radio DJ’s covering the rider said the crowd stretched many blocks. Now it was my turn to battle with the overpass. One rider several rows to my left snagged a foot or leg on his bike and went down in a heap. Several riders reached to help him back up. Even with the number of riders that was the only fall I saw all day.
Temperature at the start on the top of the bank building downtwon was 81 degrees. When I returned at 2:15 the number had increased to 106. The official high for the day was 104 but with clear skies and a rather light southerly breeze at 14 mph the weather was going to play a major role.
I was riding along at 15 to 18 mph as we headed west. The first rest stop was mandatory for me due a restroom
necessity. Fearing long lines I was surprised by the somewhat short wait. Once I re-filled my Camelback I was on the road. Next stop was rest stop #3, skipping #2 to try to get ahead of some of the crowd. It was between stops 2 and 3 that I started to notice the sag wagon was already picking up riders.
A little later I saw a pickup drive by with the sign sticking up the back with the closing Hell’s Gate notice. This was around 11:15 when the scheduled time was supposed to be 12:30 unless the rider organizers decided the riders were not handling the heat and other conditions. After rest stop 4 I got to the sign with the announcement. No 100 mile ride today. I was going to have to settle for the 73 mile route. Several riders around me were disappointed with the closure but I also saw riders who needed the closure even if they did not think so.
Keeping my Camelback filled with ice water and eating regularly kept me in good shape as the ride progressed so I was not experiencing any difficulties. No mechanical issues either. I tried to play it safe as I exited each res stop becuase of my past experience with the goat’s head burrs. The grass and weeds have these sometimes and bike tires are magnet for them.
With the gate closed I made my way to the finish stopping at the last 2 rest stops for ice. At the last stop I tried to call my wife on cellphone and could not get the call to complete. Our plan was for me to call her at the last stop so that we could coordinate our meeting at the finish line. Between there and the finish line I tried several more calls but was never able to complete a call.
At the finish line I did not see my wife after a brief walk around the area so I rode to the hotel thinking she would there. Not the case. More cell call attempts with no success. I tried another rider’s cellphone and again no call. In the meantime I managed to lock myself out of the hotel room with no money, no bike and no walking shoes. The people in the next room could not get in either so the mainteance man came to let them in and I got him to let me back in the room. In between I managed to send a text message to my wife and she figured it might have come from me so she headed back to the hotel just as I was going to the elevator to ride back to the finish line. Disaster averted!! From there the day moved much better. Some Mexican food at El Chico and I was ready for another ride.
The Wichita Falls Times Record’s article from Sunday’s edition. (Story link)