When I got home from our trip to Oregon, I checked with Jeff to see what the riding plans were. I was originally thinking I might ride something like Paleface 125, but Jeff and Amy had already picked out Round Mountain Roundup. Now, I love this route normally, but I was a little worried that this hilly route might be the wrong choice to get back on the horse. I did plan to test out the new asthma meds to see if they would help.
In the end, I signed up. A chance to ride with my good friends Jeff and Amy was the strongest motivation. The night before, I slept poorly. I woke up several times with anxiety and cramps in my feet. I got up before the alarm went off and made coffee. I went out and inflated the tires on the bike and made sure I put the Garmin on the bike. I came back in and fixed a cup of coffee and then filled bottles and got dressed. I then used the Advair. Amy arrived (she parked at my house) and we got on the bikes and rode up to Shipley's where we met Jeff. I had a kolache and a cinnamon sugar twist with a small coffee. The credit card machine broke when I went to pay so I had to borrow $5 to pay from Jeff and Amy.
The wind was due to be blowing out of the south so we expected a crosswind most of the day and expected to feel a hot tail wind when we returned to Austin to ride up Loop 360. The morning started overcast and we took advantage of the cloud cover and made good time to the first control on Fitzhugh Rd. Jeff and Amy both got tacos, but I opted to buy a Snickers ice cream bar and to drink my Ensure Plus which was now thawed and ready to drink.
We left the store with our average at 11.6 and carried on west towards Round Mountain. I felt good all morning and was pleased to find the new meds were working. So nice to climb hills and not be panting and hyperventilating. The cloud cover held all the way to the C-store in Round Mountain (Bigs). We made up time and arrived with our average at 13.1. At the store, I saw they had a F'Real machine, but I opted to buy chocolate milk and some Bugles and a cup of ice. I added ice to my bottles. Amy also bought a bag of ice so I used some of that to add a bit more ice to my bottles. Jeff bought a can of Coke and said we would stop after the big climb on Hamilton Pool Rd to share the Coke. We had a nice discussion to see if we would share the can or distribute the soda some other way. We ended up sharing via bottles. Jeff was having some knee problems and he stopped at some point to raise his saddle a bit which seemed to help.
The clouds were clearing and I felt the heat sapping my strength and I was very glad to see the store on Fitzhugh. The car traffic on Fitzhugh Rd was heavy and much of this road lacks a shoulder which means a constant backup until the cars can safely pass. I felt those chills that indicate overheating. I was glad to stop and cool myself down. Amy arrived first and I rolled in a couple minutes later. Jeff was back a bit nursing his knee. I bought a Dr. Pepper, a large bottle of water, an ice cream, and a cup of ice. We all enjoyed sitting in the shade enjoying cold things. I poured water on my sun sleeves and it seemed to evaporate almost immediately. We left the store and made our way to the turn on Loop 360. We kept the pace friendly with the heat. As we turned on Loop 360, we felt the heat and Jeff reported the Garmin said it was 100 degrees. We got a helpful push up 360, but we opted to stop in the shade near Lost Creek to drink, cool down, and dump more water on our sun sleeves.
We left the shade and continued north. The nice thing about this direction on Loop 360 is lots of descending which helped with the heat. The final 2 climbs were a grinder up Loop 360 from Spicewood Springs intersection. We then turn right and face the big climb on Mountain Ridge. Amy got a cramp and had to walk part of the hill. Jeff and I waited at the top in the shade. We rode the final few miles to the Mini Mart on Anderson Ln and finished our ride in 10 hours 53 minutes. I was really pleased to have a successful 200K. I felt more like my old self. Jeff is trying to talk me into going up to Greenville in a few weeks for a 1000K. We'll see if that pans out.
All the photos I took today can be found here https://photos.app.goo.gl/Eqyc556eHL5LH7559
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