Lufkin put out the good weather carpet for over 500 riders today at the Pineywoods Purgatory. With the temperature in the mid-60’s at the start and a gentle breeze riders lined up for a ride through the hills of East Texas.

I did not do the ride last year. I was planning on it but when I woke up and checked the weather heavy rain was falling. A rider at rest stop one said he rode the 100 mile route and 95 miles of it was in the rain. I am not a fan of riding in the rain unless I get caught in it after I start. There is something about all of the grit and grime that takes the fun out of it.

Speaking of rides of yester-year, today I noticed the turn off that I took in the 1993 ride. I was suffering from severe abdominal pain and one of the motorcycle support riders noticed my pain and escorted me to the rest stop on US69 just east of Highway 7. The SAG vehicle took me to the finish line. Fortunately my wife came with me that year so she came and picked me up. In a few days I was in the hospital scheduled for surgery for abdominal adhesions from my crash in 1989.

So the last year I rode the Pineywoods was 2006. That year the weather was not that different from today. My results were 71 miles in 5 hours 23 minutes, averaging 14.5 mph. Actual in the saddle time was 4:54. This year the mileage was 70.85, total time of 5:25 averaging 15.4 mph. Saddle time was 4:34. Maybe the faster time is the result of a new set of Bontrager wheels and a SRAM Rival 12-26 cassette. At the finish I was talking with a couple from Denton and he said that the total vertical gain on the 72 mile route was 3,014 feet. He compared that to the Davis Mountain ride they had done a couple weeks ago with a 4,100 feet vertical gain.

I did notice that while I went up the hills slowly (or so it seemed to me) I never went to my lowest gear combination. A couple of bikes ago I had a triple crank for rides like this. I now have the 12-26 cassette with a 52/39 front crank. While I don’t know if this would get me over the Rockies it is good for here.

A couple of people recognized the Texbiker.net jersey I was wearing. One was at rest stop 9 and the other was back at the finish line while I was eating those fajitas.

One request I would ask for next year’s ride: some portal cans at the start line. The long line in the only men’s restroom almost delayed me getting to the start line on time. Part of this is my fault for not leaving home earlier this morning, stopping for gas and not hurrying enough. Leaving Kingwood at 5:30 AM is not quite early enough.

The 72 mile route is unchanged from previous years. The most problem some part of the route is on Highway 7 after rest stop 9 en route to US69. There is no shoulder most of the way and with some construction work traffic can be an issue. Fortunately the south bound traffic was light today with only a couple 18-wheelers passing by. Maybe an option is to take Rifle Road off of Highway 7 to US69. Google maps shows Rifle Road to wander some but it looks no worse than some of the other secondary roads we traveled.

While riding is why I am there, the rest stop people are what make this a great ride. Plenty to eat, cold liquids and the porta-potties help complete the support. I stopped at every one except #12. Some of the sponsors that I remember: Consolidated Communications, Lufkin Shrine Club, SuddenLink, Angelina Bicycle Club, Lufkin Chamber of Commerce, Woodland Heights Medical Center. Thanks to you all!

Police and sheriff support at the key intersections was superb.

While I was eating my fajitas at the finish I talked to a couple from The Woodlands. they rode the 50 mile route and were waiting for a couple to finish the 72 mile route. They recently lived in Canada and before that in the Barbados. They were relieved they did not ride the 72 mile route since they had not trained for it. They plan on tackling it next year with some preparation.

I had my Flip video camera and recorded scenes during the ride. This is a mix of all of the clips.