Decided to take a bit longer ride than usual last weekend; 28.6 miles each way to Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose. Left the trailer at home for this one, since it was just an overnighter, though I did pack food for two nights just in case.
Started out at about 6:30 PM, knowing sunset would be around 7:30. There was still enough light until almost 8 to avoid turning on the headlight until then. This turned out to be a pretty good decision, though I didn’t realize that until a few miles into the return trip; I drank a liter of water on the way to the park and averaged just under 13mph with one short break, even with all four panniers full and a lot of rollercoaster hills. On the way back, I started out a bit after 1PM, averaged 10mph, took a three 15+ minute breaks, walked the bike at least a couple of those miles, and had to refill both water bottles from the hose at the Paluxy Baptist Church with just under 20 miles still to go. Avoiding the heat of the day can be a very good thing if you have the battery capacity to stay safely lit on the roads at night.
One unusual hazard on the route I took (205 to Paluxy, 51 north to Edwards Road/CR 1008, south back to 205 after avoiding a couple of big hills) is the low water crossing on Edwards Road. Never try to ride across these. No matter how easy it may look, the constant water flow leaves moss that’s worse than any ice you’ve ever dealt with. Even walking the bike, I nearly fell several times.
I got to the campsite a little before 10PM, set up the hammock, and had another bottle of water. After a shower and some snacks, I got a good reminder of why hammocks are so nice in warm weather, though I did wake up about 3AM to get the sleeping bag and put it under me, then around 5AM to crawl into it as the night cooled off. The next morning, I had a bowl of Cream of Wheat cooked over the alcohol stove, wandered around checking out the Hank FM Hunting and Fishing Expo that was going on in the park that weekend, got to try out an atlatl, and had an insanely large plate of meat for $10 from one of the vendors at the expo. (Seriously; it just said chicken and sausage plate, but it was half a good sized chicken and at least 3/4 pound of sausage, plus beans, bread and potato salad. I’m not normally one to leave much on the plate, but if I’d had a way to carry it, that would have been dinner too.) Then it was time to check out the dinosaur tracks for the first time in over a decade, (not sure if I expected them to change in ten years after being there for millennia) and ride part of the nature trail.
As I mentioned earlier, the ride back was hot and not nearly as much fun. I’m fairly certain this was more from the heat than any residual fatigue from the previous day, as 20-30 mile days just aren’t that unusual for me, and never resulted in problems afterward. On the other hand, it was good to get to see some of the landscape in daylight after having passed most of it in the dark the night before.
So, tips gained from this trip; Dole Fruit Snacks are pretty good for riding. They’re basically just fructose, citric acid and fiber, with a little sodium, so a handful of them washed down with a big gulp of water will boost your energy for a couple miles. Showers at the end of the ride are a truly great bonus. Sunscreen is always a good idea, and should be in a side pocket of the panniers with first aid gear, so you’re not tempted to wait a bit to dig it out. Same for bug repellent and a lightweight face mask to keep the bugs out of your mouth and nose. My lights lasted longer than I expected too; in previous testing, I got a bit over 2 hours from the headlight, but I was able to ride/rest for something over 2 with it on, and still use it for light during setup and the ride back to the showers without having to switch batteries. Probably close to 3 hours altogether on a single set of 4 18650s.
Gear used for this trip:
Texas From the Other Kind of Saddle 