I got up at 4:25 AM to get ready to drive to Waller for the 7:30 AM start of the Tour de RACHA. That is early for me. I ate, got dressed and backed the jeep out of the driveway about 5:50 AM. The sun wasn’t up yet but the temperature according to the Jeep was 70. Navigating FM roads through Humble, Spring, and Tomball I arrived at the Waller Junior High School parking lot a few minutes after 7 AM. Pretty close to the amount of time Google maps calculated. (The trip back home took over 2 hours with much more traffic and an accident on I-45).

As I walked to the registration area to pick up my packet I passed out Texbiker business cards. Later at rest stop 2 a man riding a tandem called out my name telling me he reads my blog. I thanked him. Back at the jeep, I got the Canyon Endurace bike out and ready for the ride. By now the sun was up and it felt comfortable.

I chose the 62 mile route. I rode through the start line at 7:34 AM to begin the ride. I estimate 300 bikers but I saw numbers higher than that. My number was 156. The last time I biked 62 or more miles was at the Jalapeno 100 February 29th, 2020. I felt good and my legs were ready. The route map. (I rode this route previously at the Bull Dog Ride 2/20/2016 but only 50.96 miles) I remembered quite a few points of interest and roads from then.

Weather conditions: start 71 (90% humidity, 68 dew point), cloudy, wind SW 7 mph; finish 79 (56% humidity, 62 dew point), fair, wind NW 10 mph gusts 17 mph. I dressed counting on the forecast with shorts, a long sleeve jersey, and a short sleeve jersey. The wind was challenging whenever it became a headwind. Fortunately after rest stop 4 it generally became a tailwind.

Some photos when I stopped at the rest stops. I didn’t stop at the first one but all the ones after that.

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Road surfaces varied greatly. One section was the smoothest asphalt but when it ended the road was the roughest. Other sections repeated the smooth surfaces followed by rough sections or the reverse. The Canyon bike handled them both as I dodged the rough spots and pedaled the smooth roads. Elevation changes were not dramatic with a few inclines into the wind taxing my legs. At the end of the ride a lady at the food area asked me how I liked the road and I mentioned the rough surfaces and also the smooth ones. Not much they can do about that. I suggested she contact the Chamber of Commerce to request a lighter wind. I didn’t know at the time the wind was gusting to 17 mph. I finished the ride at 12:02 PM.

With the help of the wind and the relative flat terrain I finished with a 15.6 mph average speed which I am very pleased with. According to Strava I earned these medals: 6 gold (personal records), 7 silver, and 1 bronze.