Real Ale Ride 2009
This weekend, Emily and I rode in the 2009 Real Ale Ride in Blanco, Texas. We had a couple friends who were planning to ride already, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. My brother owns a ranch near Blanco, so we all stayed there Friday night. This made it much easier to get to Blanco by 7am the next morning when the ride began. The ride features multiple tracks to choose from: 15, 30, 50, 65 and 80 miles. We’ve done a couple of long rides around Austin, but they were always leisurely rides that included many stops. After doing a 23 mile ride around Austin the previous Sunday, we felt we could handle the 30-mile route with Emily’s friend Beth.
You start out at the Real Ale Brewery just north of downtown Blanco on Highway 281. We started across the start line around 8:20am. The first mile or two, I was not feeling it. My legs were a bit tired and rubbery, but at about mile 3 I think they started to warm up. At first Emily had a couple issues with her bike not shifting properly. Her chain came off a couple times, but we popped it back on and we were on our way. Then came a big hill right before mile 9. We could see all of the people ahead walking up the hill, but I was determined not to walk. It helped of course that I have a mountain bike, because it is geared to climb hills. I made it up the hill without stopping. Emily and Beth had to walk, but they were not far behind. Once they caught up it was smooth sailing into the first rest stop at mile 13 (Crabapple Rd and Old Blanco Kendale Rd). They had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, orange slices, Oreo, Nilla Wafers, and refills on water. It was a nice little pause before “The Beast”.
After you leave the first rest stop you begin, about a 2 mile climb that includes some VERY steep grades. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to ride all the way up considering I have not worked out regularly in years. Emily was hanging back a bit, so Beth decided to go on without us. At the top of the hill I waited around for Emily. I saw her coming up the hill, but then all of the sudden I looked back and she was gone. I was concerned, so I rode back down to find her. Some other lady had started to hyperventilate, so Emily ran back down the hill to help her. Apparently, she was wheezing pretty badly. After she started breathing normal again, she said she had no history of Asthma, but I guess a combination of the cedar in the air and the hills could cause anyone to wheeze.
After reaching the pinnacle of the hill section it was smooth sailing downhill from there. Near the bottom of one of the big hills was another rest stop. We stopped to grab some more grub and then hit the road again. The next portion of the ride was fairly easy. There were some gentle rolling hills, but nothing that caused us to walk. We just peddled a leisurely pace all the way back to the finish line. We came in at just under 3 hours (about 11:10am). I was proud of Emily. I know she was tired and struggling a little, but she made it the whole way.
The ride ended back at the Real Ale Brewery where we began. They had free beer, barbeque, Sweet Leaf Tea, and ice cream for event participants, so we hung out a couple of hours and waited for the rest of our crew to arrive. Emily’s brother Charlie rode the 50 mile course with his friend Charles and someone else. Beth’s friend Dianna also rode the 50 mile route with some of her friends. Beth’s boyfriend Darren let his friend Evan talk him into doing the 80 mile route, although Darren only wanted to do the 50-miler. They arrived a couple of hours after us at the finish line and they looked beat! To top it off, right after the turn off to the 80-mile route Darren’s front derailed fell off, so he could not easily switch his front gears.
Shortly after they arrived we all headed back to my brother’s ranch. Overall it was a great ride and I look forward to doing more in the future. We’ll definitely do this ride again next year, but we’re also planning to try a couple other rides out. Maybe the MS150. J
Here is a map of our route. If you want a more detailed version check out the following links.
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/blanco/452989284
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2894719
