I knew as soon as I finished the Shiner GASP century ride last year that I would be back again. The 100 mile point-to-point ride from Austin to Shiner, Texas is challenging but the after party on the lawn of the Spoetzl Brewery makes up for any fatigue gathered along the way. Once again, we had a great group riding and Ninja acting as our crew chief extraordinaire in his self-proclaimed "Swag Wagon."
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| Teri, Me, Mr K, Keith, Fi, Dat, Julie, & Cat ready to roll (Photo: Ninja) |
I found that I was not as nervous this year, knowing that I was fully capable of completing the distance, and I was really looking forward to getting Johann (my new bike) out on the road to see just what he could do. We were treated to some fairly nice weather, considering our friends who did this two years ago battled some awful heat. The start of rallies always make me a little nervous...so many bikes! It didn't take our group too long to settle into a nice pace. I would be spending a good deal of my day with Julie and Teri while Dat, Fi, Cat, Mr K, and Keith were ahead of us a bit. Mary was riding the Half GASP and would be starting her day at the half way mark at Whizzerville Hall. We decided to skip the first rest stop and cruise right on to the second one at mile 29. It was here that we found Ana and Hugo, our friends from the Tri-Now cycling camp, along with Keith and Mr K. We paused for a quick bite and a few pictures before hitting the road again. The next stop would be approximately half-way mark!
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| We found Ana and Hugo! (Photo: Ana) |
I remembered being very frustrated during this stretch last year and I was quickly reminded why as much of it took us directly into the wind. I remembered seeing some flags laying flat on a flag pole and thinking "how is that even possible?" and wondering if they were made of lead. I'm still not sure what was up with those flags, because it was definitely windy. There are only a couple of fun downhills on this route and one of them is as we roll into tiny McMahan, Texas. Once again, we met up with our party as we snacked on some small pizza squares, cookies, and refilled our bottles. It was here that Mr K showed me that one of his aero bars had snapped clean in two and that he was having to ride sitting up - highly undesirable on a tri bike. I am not sure how he made it the rest of the way like that - what a trooper.
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| Half Way! (Photo: Ninja) |
The people at the rest stops and in the small towns add so much charm to this ride. One of the volunteers at Whizzerville Hall told me how much her family looks forward to this day each year. I am so thankful for those who give so much time and energy to make our day possible. A brief stop at mile 59 found me guzzling pickle juice and eating cookies...sometimes you just have to go with it. The stretch between mile 59 and the next stop at 73 is downright grueling. The road turned to chip seal and then to rough asphalt and there are some long, gradual climbs and full sun. We start turned south again at this point and the wind was back in our faces. The only thing keeping me going was knowing that Ninja would be waiting at mile 73 with my MexiCoke. Oh sweet sugar of the gods.
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I can't even begin to thank Ninja enough for serving as our crew chief. He kept our bottles filled with ice and had fresh, cold pineapple readily available. We got some jealous looks from other riders at the mile 73 stop as we were wandering around with our fancy glass bottle Cokes. I know that he'd rather be riding, but his help was invaluable. Soon enough we took off from mile 73, knowing that we had a great deal of our day behind us. A few miles later, Julie and I were cruising along when we heard a loud popping/air sound. Yep, it was her back tire. I phoned Ninja while Julie got to work changing her tube. We were soon back on the road...until a few miles later when Julie's tire made that noise again. Unfortunately, she did not have any more tubes and her ride was done. I was sad to lose my buddy, but set off for the next rest stop at mile 83 - the humorously named Flatonia, Texas.
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| Julie doing the first of a few tire changes |
I was starting to feel the fatigue setting in at this point, but was happy because I knew that I was riding much better than I had last year. Johann made a huge difference and I was really enjoying his responsiveness. Granted, I was getting a little tired of him - but I knew that the end was getting closer. The folks at this rest stop had cold coffee shots for us from High Brew Coffee in Austin and I think that the caffeine was just what I needed! I set off from Flatonia with a new pep in my step...which was quickly deflated by the hills of Flatonia...womp.
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| The crew is hard at work on Julie's tire |
Thankfully the next rest stop was at mile 91, only 8 miles away. I really appreciate the Shiner GASP folks putting these stops closer together at the end. It was here that I found Teri, Mr K, Julie, Ninja, and Dat. Dat finished his ride like a boss in a ridiculous time (under 5 hours, I'm thinking) and rode back out on the course to find us. Dat and Ninja were trying to fix Julie's tire so that she could finish up the ride, but it was not meant to be. With just 9 miles to go Teri, Mr K, Dat, and I headed out - there were only 9 miles left, but they are the worst nine miles in the whole ride. Uphill, into the wind, on a rough highway, with large trucks constantly passing by...no fun. It is so hard to be patient during these miles - so close, yet so far yet. Mr K was looking strong, despite his broken aero bar and took off ahead of us. I was puttering along when the road began to feel funny under my back tire. A flat tire at mile 95? Yep, that happened. I'm so thankful that Dat had come back for us because he changed my tire so quickly! I really thought that my ride was done, thanks again for saving the day Dat!!
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| A flat at mile 95? Dat had me rolling in no time! |
At this point all I could think of was seeing the famous Shiner sign on the outside of town. I desperately searched ahead on the horizon until *finally* it appeared. Once we passed the sign, I could see the top of the Spoetzl Brewery and Dat said "this is it, we are here!" I rolled across the finish line with a huge smile on my face. What a day! I was even more thrilled when I checked my time and saw that I rode it almost an hour faster than last year. Hooray for progress!
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| I rode 100 miles for this Shiner |
The after party is by far the best of any race or rally that I've ever done - complete with a shady lawn, live music, delicious brats, plenty of Shiner, a cool breeze, and plenty of shenanigans. The shower trucks are a nice touch too, allowing me to feel somewhat human again. After the party in Shiner we packed up all of those bikes and headed over to Lockhart for some of their famous BBQ. Have I ever mentioned how much I love the Texas Hill Country?
I love this ride and I love seeing rural Texas from atop my handlebars and I hope that it is something I can do for a good, long time. Thanks for another great year, Shiner!
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