Ride #1
I got in a 22.8 mile ride yesterday morning (Monday 8/20) down to Fall Creek Vineyards on the north end of Lake Buchanan and back.  My rear shifter cable broke about half way through and with help from my very experienced riding chum, John Chalmers, we adjusted the shift limiters and were able to get it to lock into 7th on the rear, to avoid having to live through the climbs with it in 9th.  The 15%+ climb out of Tow up to the Paradise Point cutoff of RR2241 was pretty brutal, but I lived through that and found the average 3-4% for the next 2 miles to be pretty easy.  I may have been delerious after the 15% climb but I was really fast on that 3-4% section!  For the full ride my numbers were MaxHR 151bpm, AvgHR 111, calories burned 1,470 with an average speed of 13.7mph.
John loaned me a shifter cable when we got back to his place and showed me how to install it properly, then I rode on home.
Ride #2
Then yesterday afternoon I hauled the Catrike over to Kingsland a met local solar power magnet and music personality Richard Golladay for a 22.8 miler from the corner of FM1431 and FM2900 via town streets to River Oaks Drive then over to Slab Road (Ranch Road 3404) and then out to TX71, and back.  With all the gears available my MaxHR was much lower at 132 but the average was a little higher at 114.  There is about a 300 foot elevation gain from where Slab Road crosses the LLano River to TX71.   After the morning ride, I was struggling a little with “Tired Leg Sysdrome” (TLS).  Average speed was only 13.4 mph.
Ride #3
This morning John Chalmers picked me up and we drove over to Doug Miller’s Place on Lake LBJ from whence we, with lots of help from Doug, abused my increasing alarmed legs with a ride that went from 840 feet msl at its low point to 1,630 feet msl at our turnaround,  The route is shown on the map below.

Blue Lake to Smith Ranch Road highpoint and back.

While we did experience a whopping 790 feet of elevation change, we did it all more than twice (going up and down a bunch), giving us a total ascent of 1,775 feet.  My poor old feeble laigs wuz pretty well used up by the time we arrived back at Doug’s refridgerator (beer storage!).  In the course of the 31.4 miles my MaxHR was kept at a modest 136 bpm by my exhausted legs.  The AvgHR was only 109bpm.  Calories burned showed 2,080.  My average speed was 12.3 mph.
This is a really spectacular route through beautiful Texas Hill Country ranches and I recommend it for anyone with the legs to do it unless they are troubled by encountering the occassional very large and curious bovine critter or any of his wonderfully prolific and organic leavings in the road.  To be honest, I could not figure out if today’s large bull was curious or disgruntled, so being exhausted and considering getting out of my misery, I chose “curious” and rode on past him.  I usually do not do this ride the day after riding 45 miles with a good bit of climbing with the rear shifter locked in 7th gear.  It was however most manly and heroic and all and besides Doug has a great beer collection and said I had to make the ride if I wanted any of it.
What’s the point if your friends can’t enjoy watching you suffer?
Don

Local resident’s granddaughter participates in Texas 4000
Special to the Courier            www.winfieldcourier.com
Leah Horsch, granddaughter of Dr. Kenneth McCanon of Winfield and the late Norma McCanon, recently participated in the “Longest Annual Charity Bike Ride in the World,” peddling more than 4,000 miles.

She left Austin, Texas, on June 1 and arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, with 41 teammates of the nonprofit organization LIVESTRONG TEXAS 4000 on Aug. 10. The mayor greeted the group as they arrived in Anchorage and celebrated their raising of $315,000 to date.

The TEXAS 4000 is dedicated to fighting cancer by sharing hope, knowledge and charity. They cultivate the next generation to lead the fight against cancer through this cornerstone event. They share hope by letting those touched by cancer know that…

Jared Haney wins Time Trial Series II Prize
Tyler Bicycle Club

Jared Haney won the GoPro Camera donated by Farris Machine, the East Texas Triathletes, and the Tyler Bicycle club.  He also won a free bicycle make-over from Simpson Fitness and Sports.

https://twitter.com/BikeLeague/status/237903373427408896

https://twitter.com/dkcholo/status/237882388728926211

Special membership premiums if you join or renew your BikeTexas membership at #HH100 this weekend!

— BikeTexas (@BikeTexas) August 21, 2012

Really excited about this! Thursday night we will be at MSUs NEW Cycling Performance Center for an open house. 6-9 pm in D.L. Ligon 222

— MSU Cycling Team (@MSUCyclingTeam) August 21, 2012

Hoping our teammate @BybeeEvan has a quick recovery after his recent crash. Everyone send that guy your best wishes. #getwellsoon #whawha

— MSU Cycling Team (@MSUCyclingTeam) August 21, 2012

Event: Kids Kup Tyler Speed Waves – When: Sat Nov 10, 2012 Where: Tyler State Park Event Status: confirmed http://t.co/o9AqlNwB

— BikeTexas (@BikeTexas) August 21, 2012

BikeTexas is headed to Fort Worth to train PE teachers in the BikeTexas SafeCyclist Curriculum! Will we see you there?

— BikeTexas (@BikeTexas) August 21, 2012

B-Cycle Station update: The MPO station on the corner of S.Alamo & S.St Mary's will be down until further notice,… http://t.co/hhJu6l8s

— San Antonio Bike Share (@SABikeShare) August 21, 2012

This week's Pure Austin Fitness Driveway course p/b Alchemy Bicycle Company is the ROTHE Training Speed Loop…. http://t.co/tT2Ojfjc

— Driveway Series (@DrivewaySeries) August 21, 2012

We're excited to celebrate the 2012 team's accomplishment this Saturday at Tribute. Are you coming? @JackIngram is! http://t.co/qocS6Uyc

— Texas 4000 (@Texas4000) August 21, 2012

I added a video to a @YouTube playlist http://t.co/Ctr6uZQg Mountain biking Salado Creek in San Antonio, Texa

— Texas MTB Trails (@TexasMTBtrails) August 21, 2012

I added a video to a @YouTube playlist http://t.co/JqHk5sRd Mountain biking McAllister Park in San Antonio, T

— Texas MTB Trails (@TexasMTBtrails) August 21, 2012

Earn this at the Pure Austin Fitness Gear Grinder!… http://t.co/Gnp94gRX

— HOLLAND RACING (@HOLLANDRACERS) August 21, 2012

https://twitter.com/TexasMTBtrails/status/237918880947920897