Made it - Although it has taken me a week plus to recover to update the blog ! It was a very windy weekend - Apparently the worst weather in 7 years with a head wind running at 15 mph to 18 mph on both days and gusting to 24 mph. The wind started about 8.30 am and went all day until about 5 pm as the tempreature dropped. I left with the other BHP Billiton riders from Houston about 7 am and crawled into La Grange about 5.37 pm - My average speed was about 12 mph as the wind was so strong. I did stop at nearly all the break points along the way and found I was worn out, after doing the 100.5 miles on Day 1.

The mornings were cool, and it was very cold in La Grange on day 2. We wound up wearing extra layers - I borrowed a long sleeved jersey from a very kind fellow rider on Day 2, as I did not bring any cold weather gear. It did however warm up by lunch time and and it got wuite hot in the afternoon. On Day 2, I did another 72.5 miles, taking the Express route and avoiding the Park - (Bastrop State Forest) This turned out to be a wise decision, as I was tired from the wind and I got in later than I had done the previous year, even though I did not do the big hills in the park. It was a nice feeling to cruise home though...

Against the Wind!

Weather looks like it will be fine with no rain, but we have a NW wind with speeds up to 10 mph on the first day... Sat72°F 45°F and Sun74°F 47°F. Whilst the wind won't be nice...at least it will be overcast on Saturday...Here is Cameron helping me attach the bike numbers on......

Rider Number 7121

I am rider 7121 ! I got my rider number earlier in the week and our cycling club at work handed out the new look jerseys for the ride. BHP is sponsoring the Beijing olympics so we have the logo on the jersey as well. We have approx 5 numbers to attach to the bike along the top tube, handlebars, helmets, jersey etc etc... No way they will miss me when I power over the finish line. This year we also have a gadget called ride connect which you attach to your shoe. When you ride over strategically placed mats, it will send a text message to a cell phone. A great way to let people know your progress through the day.......

The Schlumberger Education Expedition Ride

Managed 56 miles over the course of a long morning. The ride started at 7 am and it was overcast and cool. We made the 10 am cutoff for the 82 mile route but decided to take the less tiring 56 miles and leave part of the afternoon to recover and get some chores done around the house. This has been the longest run I have done thus far - and have not been able to put in any back to back rides - Schlumberger are the maiun sponsor, and there was a competition for the best rest stop. Some of the local schools participating went to a lot of trouble to decorate and cheer the riders on. Lunch was cheerfully provided. We had a choice of a healthy subway and a less healthy couple of fajitas on the way back - Here is a picture of us attacking the lunch stand at the end of the ride.......

Tour De Houston

The Guaranty Bank Tour de Houston on March 14th had about 4000 cyclists that started downtown Houston that looped out over the Hardy Toll Road which was closed for the ride until 2 pm that morning. I was riding with a friend from work who wound up helping me change two tubes after a biking accident when existing the car park at the Wortheim centre, up from City Hall. Crossing a grating caused the tube to blow out, and we stopped to change the tube before we even got started on the ride. The new tube sufferred a broken valve stem, as we were pumping it up, and we were down to the 2nd and last spare tube between us to get us going. A lot of other cyclists were caught out by this grating - When we found a bike repair stand at the starting line, the guy had changed a lot of tubes that morning. Armed with a new spare, we set off over an hour late and nearly at the back of the pack. A clean clear morning, it soon became fairly hot. The course took us out to the Shell Houston Open golf course, located in a housing estate on the east of the 59 towards the airport. We clocked up 41 miles and maxed out at 34 mph when coming over the flyover bridges....It was a good ride. Best bit were the folks along Elysian Way who came out of their houses early morning to cheer us along!