After a good rainstorm last night, today's high temperatures in central Texas were set to be around a 90°F, a reasonable temperature for a century around here. So I woke up early enough to make time for a tall cup of coffee -- I still needed lights before I headed out the door. I started with just a jersey, bibs, and sun-sleeves, it was plenty warm, even in the dark.
It was the first ride on the road bike in over 12 weeks, so for the first hour I focused on being smooth. The derailleur was a bit out of alignment, which took a few stops to get the barrel adjuster turned the right way. Otherwise, the bike felt great, and especially light compared to the touring rig I had been riding most of the summer. I thoroughly enjoyed taking in the familiar routes -- not much had changed while I was gone (although they did add speed-bumps to one particularly nice cycling road -- good for traffic mitigation but also a bit rough on the skinny wheels). Probably also because of the familiarity -- especially after a summer of touring -- nothing quite seemed photo-worthy, not even my favorite crossing of the San Marcos River (around mile 35).
From the river, Lockhart was only another 15 miles and offered a variety of services. Halfway through the century, lunch was sounding good, but it was only 10 am -- most places weren't open yet. I settled for Whataburger, a regional favorite always maintaining 24-hour service. I tried to hydrate as best I could, with a mix of Powerade, a sip of soda, and topped up water bottles; the heat and sun would be more taxing for the second half of the century.
From Lockhart, Martindale is a straight 15-mile segment down a wide highway shoulder; it's not exactly peaceful, but it is a safe ride. Then in Martindale, there are several options to cross the San Marcos River again, and find yourself back down towards the local favorite, York Creek Road. I started up York Creek for a mile or so before encountering a familiar face -- another member of the San Marcos Cycling Friends -- and turned around. Since I'd need a few extra miles to get the century anyway, I thought I might as well liven up the afternoon with some idle chat. The conversation didn't seem to slow our pace at all (even though we weren't drafting), and we both made good time on the roll back into town.
Officially, it was my fastest recorded century at sub-six hours riding time. Turns out, riding heavy bikes can improve your cycling speed (on lighter bikes)...
