My First Urban Houston Group Ride

After a month with very few rides, I decided last weekend to join the Bike Barn (Kirby location) Sunday Shop ride. The ride is advertised as "covering a variety of Houston neighborhoods" and is "not recommended for beginners. Must have intermediate to advanced cycling skills and be able to maintain a minimum of 15 mph for 25 miles." Disclaimers like these always make me nervous, because many cyclists seem to take them as a challenge. I expected the speed would be faster, but part of my decision process in choosing the ride was accepting that I would meet the challenge and ride hard and fast.

I was prepped and ready, sitting on my top tube at 7:15a, and met two other riders that were first timers. We chit-chatted about the challenges of finding good group rides in Houston, and figured out that we all shared the goal of not getting dropped. Being new to the ride, we were all concerned about getting separated from the group on a ride with LOTS of turns. The ride leader got our attention and announced we were ready to start, and we rolled promptly at 7:30a.

For the first few miles, we moved so slowly that I wasn't worried about getting dropped. Instead, I was worried that I had misread the ride description and that it was a novice ride. We rolled as mob, breezing through stop signs and barely hitting 12-15 mph. I wasn't keeping track of our location, but simply following the group. We very abruptly exited an oak-shaded neighborhood and crossed the Southwest Freeway via the Woodhead Bridge. I don't know that I've ever driven across the bridge, one of several that connect the gentrified urban neighborhoods on either side of the freeway.

Aerial Shot of Bridges Across US 59 Near Downtown Houston

As we pedaled north, we crossed through many intersections with stop signs or signals. It may have been dozens. It was uncomfortable for me, but we treated all but the largest of intersections as yields. If not for taking this approach, the ride would have disintegrated and taken hours longer. As I got used to the start and stop of the intersections, suddenly the group hit Waugh Drive / Heights Boulevard, and the hammering began.

We sprinted along Heights Boulevard from intersection to intersection, signal to signal, frantically riding through the serene, tree-lined boulevard as shown in the photo below. A small group separated at one of the signals, and as it was too dangerous to roll through, they became the rabbit for our chase group. We rode hard in the 23-28 mph zone, and within a few blocks we caught them. I was no longer worried about being challenged on the ride.

Oak Trees Along Heights Boulevard

The surges and sprints continued as we headed south along the Elysian Street Viaduct. It dumped us into downtown Houston, and we passed Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center, although I didn't have time to really take a close look. It was a new and fulfilling experience to ride on the smooth, wide streets of the city center.

Google Satellite Map of Houston City Center with Route Shown in Red

We left downtown Houston, and cruised past my alma mater, the University of Houston. We connected with Macgregor Way, speeds still in the 25 mph range, peaking at 32 mph as we passed near Hermann Park. As we neared Kirby Drive, a few riders turned off for the shop, but I stayed with a group that added on another few strenuous miles.

I finished with some interesting stats:

Distance -- 31.7 miles
Avg Speed -- 18.4 mph
Peak Speed -- 32.2 mph

It really felt like a tougher ride, and the Garmin Connect ride data supports the feeling. My heart rate was in the 160-170 bpm range for most of the ride. I didn't realize it during the ride, but after the ride I realized that the difficulty was exaggerated by the yo-yo effect of all the intersections. The start-stop sprints were taxing, and without going too deep into the analysis, it looks like the post warm-up average speed was probably nearer the 20-22mph range.

It's important to note that the ride did break into groups. A slower, intermediate level group separated fairly early in the ride, and finished about the same time our faster, extra-mileage group finished. The ride description is accurate -- if you can't ride at 15mph, you'll get dropped on this ride. It's a strenuous ride through a wide range of scenery in urban Houston, and I would definitely recommend it for any new or visiting Houston riders. I'll be back, and ready for the surges and pounding heart rate.