chevy42083

Anyone else riding?

Pretty sure I am, but not registered yet. I don't know anyone who's ridden before, and don't know anything about the ride... but it works in my schedule, so I figure I'd give it a shot.

https://www.novemberfestmetriccentury.org/

Straight from the site....
2007 NovemberFest Metric Century
Saturday - November 10, 2007
Foundation for the ******** invites you to participate in the NovemberFest Metric Century on Saturday, November 10, 2007. Routes include 10, 27, 44, and 62 mile rides near scenic Stephen F. Austin State Park and the pastoral surrounding countryside. This fun-filled, pedal-pounding event is held in conjunction with NovemberFest 2007, a day of food, live music, live and silent auctions, a parade, and entertainment for the whole family.

Routes
All four routes begin and end at Willow River Farms, about 45 miles west of Houston on the outskirts of historic San Felipe, Texas. The 27, 44, and 62 mile routes will start at 9:00 a.m. The 10 mile route will start at 9:15 a.m. The route takes you across the Brazos River, winding through serveral small Texas towns. NovemberFest Metric Century is not a race, so you can cruise leisurely or try to set a personal best. Well-stocked rest stops, police support, sag wagons, mechanical assistance, and emergency medical support will be provided along the route. After the ride, enjoy the fun family festival.

Registration
The deadline for early registration is October 15. The entry fee is $30 per rider.

After October 15, the entry fee is $35 per rider.Day of the ride the entry fee is $40

There is a special registration fee of $70 for families of up to two adults and any number of minor children prior to Oct. 15, $75 after Oct. 15, and $80 the day of ride.

The registration fee includes lunch and a NovemberFest Metric Century T-Shirt. You may register the day of the ride, although we cannot guarantee a T-Shirt.

aggie_grad

Its a nice ride and the festivities and food afterwards are really better then what is common in the Houston area. It reminds me of the rides I do in East Texas. I rode it last year and plan on going back to take the whole family. It is a great family atmosphere.

blwells

I'm signed up for the metric. My first time on this ride...

chevy42083

Registration went up today... guess I should've posted that before today

Anyways, I registered... I need to get a long ride in ... it's been way too long.

chinotex

I'm registered for the 62... chevy, we should try to get all the guys to go.

bluebottle1

I'm signed up to ride marshal this one. It'll be only my second time on this ride, but I recall it being pretty pleasant. Good time of year for it, the route is pretty good, and the food and festivities afterward are very good.

dr. nate

I plan to sign up Saturday, I get paid Friday but will be at work and might not be able to sign up.

-Nate

chevy42083

I can't wait... gonna be FUN

dr. nate

I'm registered.

chinotex

Are Will and Chris in for this weekend? If so, we should seriously discuss where to do the Free Agent ride for this month.

chevy42083

Will is registered... Chris already had other plans.

Oh yeah, and I'm planning the 62 miles also. Haven't done any serious riding lately, so the overal pace will probably be slow... dunno how the pace at the start will be.

aggie_grad

I am in for this weekend. I believe I will have my 5 and 6 year old with me so I am probably going to cut it off at the 27. I will be easy to spot. I will be the only tandem+trail a bike trying to keep up with a 87 year old on a Serotta. Looks like this will be a great weekend for riding.

dr. nate

I am signed up for the 62 mile route.

-Nate

chinotex

We'll finish the 62 together, no matter the pace. I'm tired of showing up to an organized ride alone and trying to keep up with a paceline going 24 mph, and then dragging myself the rest of the way after they leave me in the dust.

dr. nate

Wow, you just called me slow.

Haha, well it should be Duane, Will, you, and I...so a paceline of at least four.

-Nate

chinotex

nono, you don't understand. I would spend 5 minutes with those guys going way too fast, and then ride alone trying to catch my breath.... I am very much looking forward to riding with Team Free Agent. I think Duane was saying he would be going slow, since he hasn't ridden in a while. Nate, I was having trouble keeping up with you at the ramble up until we hit that hill in Memorial, so don't give me this "hey, don't call me slow" business

I'm headed out now for a few miles... standard time sucks, I like sunshine.

dr. nate

Hills own me, and the ramble was a blast.

chinotex

Do y'all want to meet at the Katy park and ride (Where we met that first time in August) and drive over in a group? It might be hard to find each other before the ride starts otherwise...

chevy42083

I think meeting before hand is a good idea. Some of us are carpooling... so we might send you to the place we are gonna meet... but we haven't picked that place yet If it's my place, it'll only be 2 blocks from the P&R. I'll definatly let you know. Also, I haven't the faintest idea when we need to roll out.... we all still need to pick up our packets.

SpiderMike

D'oh. I'll be stuck at church tomorrow. But with the in-laws in town, we will be drinking away my "not being able to go ride blues".

Y'all have fun.

dr. nate

We are meeting at the P&R location. Your welcome to toss your bike on the rack and ride with us. I'm driving the full size, so we have an extra seat. Be there between 7:00 AM and 7:15 AM so we can get there at 8:00 AM and have about an hour to get ready. I hate having to rush through getting ready.

-Nate

dr. nate

That 62 mile route was the worst ever.

chinotex

I second that.

chevy42083

Yeah, the route was pretty rough.

I'll explain a little more for those who are looking into various rides... as that is why I read many ride reviews
Cliffs Notes at the bottom

Riders in group: Dr. Nate, Chinotex, Will, and I. 2 aluminum roadies, my '83 Bianchi roadie, and a fixed Surly streamroller.

The start wasn't so bad... not glass smooth, but not horrible. The motorcycles were pretty annoying... they were marshalls, or ride hosts, or something... I dunno, didn't see them doing anything but get in the way. Basically cruising down the right side of the road (not off the side, all on the pavement) at 10ish mph, with EVERY bike passing them on the left... not one single bicycle was going slower than them. These full-dresser and trike motorcycles... taking alot of valuable space during the first several miles when riders are semi-bunched and trying to set their pace and get infront of slower riders. Just before reaching the first rest stop we turned onto hwy 36..... the "vibrator". Chip seal from hell. We were on that road for about 10-15min doing a 20-ish pace. At the end we stopped just to let our hands stop tingling. We passed up rest stop 1 BTW, but stopped at 2.

We were all pleasantly surprised with the "stock". ICE COLD water and powerade (didn't taste watered down, or like hosewater ), bananas, pickles, oranges, bagels, trail-mix, skittles, pretzels, ... and more.

Shortly after that the 62 mile route branched off, and the roads got bad. Parts were large slabs with huge cracks every 15ft, and other sections were just largely destroyed and rough... felt like a slolom trying to find a decent line which wouldn't yeild a flat/bent wheel. EVERYTHING was rattling, creaking, and making a racket.... even on one of the guys Fixed gear bikes... where there is NOTHING TO RATTLE.

Rest stop 3 was stocked much the same as 2 (this one had porta-cans too), but less quantity...well duh, only the 62ers would pass here. Powerade was less than ideal... funny taste. Storms on the horizon. Two of us with leather seats bagged them in prevention... no, not to stop them from getting wet... to stop it from raining in the first place... you know how that works.

Rode on to find the hills start... right about 30ish miles into the ride.... with a headwind. I've been out of shape anyways, and it showed here. LONG uphills, and headwinds strong enough that we pedaled on downhills just to keep our speed. Normally, I love hills.... not yesterday. Rest stop 4 was a much needed break after fighting the wind and hills.... I was pretty dead. And VERY happy I didn't give in to the thought of riding my fixed gear bike.

Directly after rest stop 4 was a turn... and a big hill. This stretch had lots of rolling hills, and lots of bad pavement. It was here that we saw a rider down, and an ambulance passed us going to help her. We only assume it was the speed and the bad roads...either additional swerving, or simply lost it on one of the bumps/cracks. This was Coshatte rd.... long straight rolling hills and harsh bumps.

After that road, we loop back onto a section that we had previously road on, and head down the same hill to rest stop 5... which was previously 2. Still stocked Talk about De ja vu... coming over the same hill to see the same rest stop

Continued on, average roads, no killer hills... or atleast my legs were already used to them. I had given up on speed... and was just working to get over them. We made a quick stop at rest 6 (final), and got back on the road... back into the wind.

As we neared the finish it became apparent that 62 miles would end up being 57miles. Not that I was itching to ride more... but when I set out for 62, I like to do it.

Cliffs:
Rest stops - EXCELLENT. Well stocked, friendly, only 1 could have used more space... kinda crowded on the shoulder of the road, this was 2/5, which also saw the most riders all day.

Roads - BAD. The WORST was on the 62 mile stretch, but other sections were definatly bad. I won't ride the 62 as long as it's on those roads.... and I'd have to give the 44 a lot of thought. I'll never complain about the streets around my house again. Routes were WELL marked, no doubts, no problems.

Support - Where was it again? The sags were going back and forth often, so that would not have been a problem if they were needed. I think 1, maybe 2 intersections had someone there to help with traffic... one was an officer just watching the signal... not a problem though really. I only saw the motorcycles the first half of the day on the main route that 27/44/62 all followed.... don't know what they were supposed to do... just got in the way. They can stay at home, or pick a tree off the road to park under next year

Terrain - Hills would have been nice without the headwind... but hey that's riding. Together they were a challenge for me.


I had fun, but it was grueling... I was out of shape to begin with, and felt like the roads beat me into submission.

stats
3h 36m pedal time
15.8 avg (had an 18+ average the first half)
56.98miles distance

dr. nate

Yes, I will not be riding in this ride again until the learn to pick a route that doesn't involve having my bike go to the shop for work.

-Nate