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Please support my 2015 BP MS150 ride!
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Credit

Although this blog was originally created by Andy Brickell and continues to be updated by him, the design and layout of the page is credited to his daughter, Mary-Claire Brickell. She's pretty awesome.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Ice cold in Hockley

"Ice Cold in Alex" was a gritty 1958 WW2 drama starring the ever-troubled John Mills and a few other old standbys of the era.  The "Ice Cold" of the title refers to the beer that Mills is forever talking about drinking in his favourite watering-hole in Alexandria, Egypt, if only they can cross the Sahara in a rickety Army ambulance.

Flash forward to 2014 and a chilly, foggy morning at Zube Park where Kevin and I met up with sundry Mules for a ride.  Paddy was back from Perth full of miles - he's done more than 600 already and wants to ride 6,000 this year.  It was a treat to see Mike, who has returned to Houston from a brief stint in the UK, and Britt, a young buck who hasn't been doing much lately.  Gene was there too with his wife Yvonne - the couple with the best bikes on the team.

Kevin's car was showing 41 degrees and we know it runs on the warm side!  I wasn't expecting it to be so cold and the fog didn't help.  Was I to be Ice Cold in Hockley all the way round?  Kevin went with the full Monty including overshoes and full finger gloves - I was cold for sure but didn't want to overheat so I pulled on arm and leg warmers but but left it at that.

Prior to rolling out, Paddy held an impromptu safety briefing to talk about last week's wreck and how to avoid one in future - good advice, well received.

Off we went with the fog still pretty thick and boy was I cold.  The damp air didn't help at all.  We had barely started when Yvonne pulled over with a mechanical - her DI2 electronic shifters weren't shifting, probably due to a flat battery, so she baled out.

We pushed on, trying to keep to 17mph without much success.  Paddy took us on a variant of the usual route that was new for Kevin and me.  It eliminated Business 290 which was great but had us on a couple of pretty busy roads.  But soon enough we found ourselves on familiar territory, heading for the gas station.  The group was starting to split, mainly due to John, a new Mule and a somewhat slower rider.  Kevin, Britt and I hung back with him while Paddy and Gene pushed ahead.

After a break we headed out on the scenic route via Prairie View A&M University.  Kevin had been quietly grumbling that he wasn't getting a work out, so he was looking forward to the three climbs.  I was also feeling strong and managed to ambush him on the first, putting on a big spurt just ahead of him.  Round one to me, but he got his revenge on the next two.  Fool me once, shame on you..

Another new routing to avoid the Buc-ee's traffic took us down a nice smooth road before we picked up Old Houston for the final run home.  I managed a small sprint for the last hundred yards, mainly because by now I was in serious need of a pee!

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Bear Creek - Terry Hershey loop

Bear Creek - Terry Hershey loop

Daily commute to work

Daily commute to work
This isn't quite right but it's close. 9.5 miles, about 40 minutes.

Terry Hershey Park

Terry Hershey Park
10 miles of safe, paved cycling bliss - except for all the foot traffic

The Sealy ride

The Sealy ride
45 miles through very pretty Texas countryside. Looks benign but there's a very hilly section at mile 35.

The Katy ride

The Katy ride
It's on the Katy prairie - flat, flat, flat