I got up early this morning to drive to Livingston for the bike ride. Leaving home at 6:30 am the sky was mostly dark with the sun to yet come up. On the drive north on US59 I went through some patches of fog and wondered if that would be a problem but when I arrived at 7:15 am Livingston High School the sky was clear with no fog in sight. I parked the Wrangler behind another newer one with a bike leaning against it. I walked over to register and on the way back I talked to the Wrangler owner about his nice new Jeep. After that I walked around the parking lot handing out Texbiker.net business cards.

With the sun fully up the ride rolled out at 8:01 am. The route was a little different from the last time I rode it in 2013 with a trip down the US50 south bound service road and a u-turn back towards town. Before getting back to US190 the route moved to side streets avoiding downtown and getting us SH 146. It wasn’t long before a hill appeared and I slowly made my way to the top. The road surface was a well-worn chip and seal which made it almost smooth. The road stayed that way until the first rest stop at 9.7 miles. After that SH 146 sported a nice asphalt shoulder and not any significant hills to climb.

At FM 2665 we made a right turn and the road surface continued to be smooth with a few rolling hills but nothing like the tall one just south of Livingston. Arriving in Goodrich the second rest stop was right after the US59 overpass. I stopped there hoping for ice water but the ladies said they were told ice water would be bad for us and all they had was room temperature water anf sport drink. They did have raisins and I ate two boxes after asking that they inform the organizers that in October ice water is needed.

Rolling away from the rest stop the nice road surface continued and I rode at a good pace. At one point on FM 3126 the road was close enough that I saw Lake Livingston between several houses. No boats though. Rest stop 3 was refreshing because they had ice water and ice which I put in my water bottle. They said they hadn’t heard about riders not wanting cold water so they had just went to get more ice. After drinking a bottle of nice cold water I thanked the lady for holding my bike and began the last 10 miles.

While riding along a gray Mustang pulled up beside me and the driver had the window and yelled encouragement. As he drove off I didn’t expect to see him again but at the intersection with FM 2457 he was standing in the store parking lot beside the road yelling more encouragement as I made the right turn onto FM 2457.

The road surface still remained smooth but a couple of hills slowed me down some but once over them I regained my speed. I thought the ride was going smoothly but then I merged onto US190 where the shoulder turned into the roughest road I have biked on in many years. I thought being a US highway the shoulder wouldn’t be this bad but it was. This lasted until about 1/4 mile away from the right turn onto FM 350 where the ride ended back at the high school. My arms were still shaking when I biked on FM 350 and my teeth chattered.

Finishing the ride at 11:18 am I went to the Jeep and put the Canyon bike away before walking over to where they served lunch. After getting some Cheetos and ice tea I talked to two ladies serving food about the rough shoulder and they repeated requests to TXDot had not improved anything so next year they may alter the route to avoid that section.

The ride was well marked with painted arrows and signs. Rest stops had happy people and plenty of snacks except for no cold water. I hope to ride again next year. I would guess there 150 to 200 bikers though I forgot to ask how many registered.

Photos form the bike ride.

SportTracks Bike Ride Summary