2ND AND 3RD SHAKE DOWN RIDES - 14 weeks and counting

Time is rolling by and narrowing the days to my depart quicker than I can mentally grasp! The miles are ever increasing and the recovery from my jaunts is taking its toll. The past two weeks I did two overnight trips. March 4 - 5th I rode from my house in Cypress to Montgomery. After Houston got hit with ice. I am not joking around. We actually got some ice:
My way out route: http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/498261041
My way back Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/498858785hit



The ride was pleasant. I only had to re-route once because of the ice. A tree had fallen and blocked a section with crews working on dropped power lines. The hardest part of the ride was the cold and wet. My rain pants and cold weather gear were perfect. My new rain jacket was perfect too. I stayed warm and dry and no real issue. I had my new sleeping bag and mat with me be but opted for the comforts of a cabin instead of freezing. I really could not risk getting sick and loosing my quick turn training ride.

My total trip mileage was about 125 miles with about 2500 feet of elevation. Not too bad for flat land Texas. No dogs chased me on this ride!

 I went back to work on the 6th and then headed out 4 days later on the 10th  for an epic route of 90 miles in a day with full load of about 50 pounds!

I rode from my house in Cypress TX to Warda, Bluff Creek Ranch. This route gave me about 2000ft of climbing in a day. Took be about 6:45 mins. I was very happy with the pace and my results. I gladly was not chased by any dogs on this ride. I did get chased by cows!

 My out route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/370619761
On arrival I was provided with a wonderful meal of potatoes and ribs by Alan, the ranch manager. He was so generous and kind. I was starving.. After my meal I went and set my camp down by the lake, made a fire, and ate some candy bars!

This trip I tried to sleep without the aid of any sleeping pills and found that I really struggle to relax or calm down from a long day in the saddle. I also found the new sleeping bag and mat to be fantastic. I made a mental not to pack some ear plugs too. The frogs were so gregarious and eager to sing all night. They too were not helping me relax and go to sleep. Then once I feel asleep I was awoken by rain.  This would be my 1st experience of rain in the bivy sack. Nothing like waking up to the rain in a bivy sack. It sounds really loud and you can feel it hitting the tent all around you. Fortunately the rain was brief and I was able to fall back asleep. I woke around 8:00 am and packed up my gear. It takes about 30 mins to an hour to pack. Mostly dependant upon my speed.

My racing and training friend Cesar greeted me in the morning. We had some eggs and ham with Alan and then loaded up and drove over to Rocky Hill Ranch to ride the race route for the Austin Rattler (Leadville Race Training Qualifier) at the end of this month. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/370730905