Personal Record Ride...with Pesticide

Earlier in the week, my cycling buddy Dutchman asked if I wanted to ride on Friday.  He's mired in one of those "mandatory Friday vacation" situations due to the automotive crisis, so we've ridden on Friday a few times in the recent past.  In preparation Thursday night, I detailed my bike, cleaned the drivetrain, and replaced my cut and booted rear tire.  When I came in from the garage at 9:30p, I didn't have a message from Dutch.  I started thinking about routes, and noticed the wind would be building from the southeast.  That usually means the dreaded ride to Progreso, which Dutch and I both hate, mainly because we've done it too many times.  With no response from Dutch and a route that wasn't a favorite, the ride wasn't setting up well.

I woke up on Friday, with still no message from Dutch.  I wasn't happy.  All I could think was that I would be riding alone, and on a route that I didn't really like.  Should I not go?  Maybe try to do an afternoon ride?  I put those thoughts aside, and I resolved to ride alone to Progreso.  I left the house at 8am, with clear skies and 67F temperature.  It was a beautiful day for a ride, unless the wind decided to be mean.  As I rolled out of Sharyland Plantation, I felt good, and decided to set an aggressive goal:  complete the 50+ mile ride with a rolling speed of greater than 20 mph.  Even riding in a group, I've only finished one ride with 20+ mph average, so this was aggressive.  I rationalized that I would have the wind on the way back, and I would probably be able to fly.  I started pushing 20+, feeling like the goal was achievable.

As I crossed from McAllen into Hidalgo, I saw a strange structure, and stopped to take a photo.  It really doesn't have anything to do with the ride; I just thought the unfinished industrial building, with architecure that reminded me of a church, was really interesting.

From 090403 Ride to Progreso

I pedaled on from there, struggling to keep my speed about 20 mph.  I was heading into the ESE wind, and it just kept getting stronger.  I was in the small ring, trying to get some speed, but it just kept dropping...21 mph, 20, 19.5, 18, 16.  It wasn't looking good.  I started getting a little depressed about my fading goal, and just then I saw an irrigation pipe that was leaking water, with the border wall in the background.  Seemed like a good photo op and rest stop, so I stopped.  It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but the wall here is on or in front of a levee, which has a road on top.  I'm not sure why there's a higher section with a gap in the middle, but it looks cool.

From 090403 Ride to Progreso

I hydrated a little, got back on the bike, determined to stick with the goal.  I wasn't able to hit 20 mph, but I could get to 18 mph without dying.  That's when I saw and smelled the crop duster.  It was spraying pesticide, and if you've ever attached one of those bottles to a hose and sprayed your lawn or landscaping, it smelled exactly like that.  You know, the same stuff that warns you to stay upwind of the mist?  It's a bit hard to do when you're riding near a crop duster, and the wind is gusting.  Here's a sequence of photos that I grabbed while riding.  I'm pretty happy with the framing and results, although it looks farther away than it actually was.  Eventually it flew directly overhead, although I think he cut short the spray because he saw me on the road.

From 090403 Ride to Progreso

From 090403 Ride to Progreso

From 090403 Ride to Progreso

Once I hit Progreso, I didn't even check my stats.  I thought "it is what it is", and took my time eating a PB&J sandwich and refilling my bottles.  Unlike previous rides, I didn't eat a taco, although I did get a shot of the convenience store and taco sign.  For the non-Texans, you can see that tacos are an ingrained part of the culture down here!

From 090403 Ride to Progreso

I turned and headed back, anxious for the tailwind, and feeling energized. I could tell the wind was picking up, but I was totally surprised at how easy it was to hit 26-28 mph. I was encouraged, as I knew if I could hold mid-20 mph speeds, I would have a good chance at meeting my goal. I shifted up to the big ring, got into the drops, and hammered. I felt strong, fast, and on target. I cranked and cranked, with strength in my legs and plenty of breath the whole way home.

When I uploaded the data, the first thing I did was check the average speed: 20.3 mph over a 54 mile course! Even faster than my group max! Yes, I did have 14 mph wind on the way back home, but I was riding into the same stiff wind on the way out. The most telling data point is that my speed on the way home never dropped below 20 mph unless I was approaching a stop sign or signal, and for most of the return I was at 25+.  Also, my heart rate was higher the whole ride back than the ride out, indicating that not only did the wind help, but I pushed myself harder on the way home. That's fairly atypical of what amounted to a 54 mile non-continuous time trial effort, but that's what happened.

Overall, it was a great day, a great ride, and it felt great to hit the goal. The data detail is here.