Tour of the Peanut Country - Gorman, TX

July 16, 2011

The Gorman ride is a undiscovered biking gem. Unless you like large crowds with long lines and parking nightmares then come out next year for Texas biking at it's best. My only disappointment is that local biking legend Curly has retired but was there. He will soon be 90. I rate this ride a A+.

It's just under 1 1/2 hours drive time from the Aledo Park and Ride to Gorman; but, I think it's worth the travel time to do this small town ride with decent roads and friendly folk. About 70 cyclists were present this year. Plenty of close-in parking to the starting line. The air-conditioned Senior Center was open for our use pre-ride and post ride. Packet pickup was quick. Goodie bag had a Dublin Dr Pepper, nice T-shirt, and a few other goodies. The road surfaces were good, traffic was light, and there weren't a whole lot of hills. My Garmin said climbing feet over 45 miles were only 1243'. Rest stops had fluids including pickle juice, cookies, peanuts of course, bananas, oranges, apples, and friendly folk. The apples and oranges would have been better served as slices instead of whole. Finishing riders were greeted with applause. Cold drinks and snacks, including peanuts of course, were available at the finish. This was my 3rd year to do the Gorman ride and I plan to go again next year

June 2010

The 2010 "Tour the Peanut Country" in Gorman, TX was a fun ride. I did the ride in 2009, and there were quite a few more riders in 2010 (maybe 50 or so this year?). Rider check-in had almost no wait, and parking is right by the start/finish line. I did the 45 mile route (as I did last time), which basically makes a clockwise square (south out of Gorman, then turn west, then north to Carbon, then back east to Gorman). The westbound leg had the most hills (and was into a mild headwind), but none were too steep. The 13 mile northbound leg was my favorite - lots of easy rolling hills and flat stretches. Sag support was very visible. Rest stops were good, but seemed to have a bit less ice and gatorade as you went further along the route. Overall, everyone was very friendly and helpful. The routes are well-marked, the scenery and hills are nice, and you dodge the huge crowds of some other more popular rides. Schedule permitting, I'll be back again next year.

I rode the 45 mile route of the Gorman Tour of the Peanut Country on 7-17 for the first time. There were 77 riders and 30 "walkers" for the 5K. This was up from 36 riders last year due to a conflict with rides in Cross Plains and Dublin. They plan to keep the third Saturday of July for future rides. Mark your calendars, you don't want to miss this one. The folks were very friendly and the rest stops were stocked with fruit, cookies, water, gatorade and peanuts. The packets were great, with peanuts, a Dr Pepper, free passes to a tour of the Dr Pepper Bottling plant in Dublin, key chains, jelly beans, and T Shirt. They don't use ride numbers. The laid back small town atmosphere was great!

June 13, 2009

Excellent ride! Very small turnout (30-40 riders) probably because of the other rides in the area, but this one is worth the extra drive time to Gorman. I rode the 45 mile route. It was mostly on back roads, saw maybe 10-15 cars until the last 10 mile stretch back into town on Hwy 6, which has a wide shoulder so it wasn't an issue. Good combination of flatland and slow rolling hills. The rest stops are evenly placed along the ride, and well stocked with snacks and water/gatorade. Some of the workers mentioned maybe changing it to another date so it doesn't conflict with the rides in Cross Plains and Dublin, which should help the turnout because everyone needs to experience this ride! I highly recommend this ride!

Ditto to all previous comments, we can only hope they are able to promote this event to draw a few more folks, as I fear a nice event may fade away.

June 14, 2008

Gorman – Still one of the best in terms of scenery and low traffic. The smallest ride on the north-central Texas circuit and a must-do ride.

June 9, 2007

Another of the top five in north central Texas. Back roads with low traffic. A must do ride.

June 10, 2006

Our 3rd year. One of the smallest but one of the best. Very country, very scenic, very low traffic. Make the drive. Stay in Stephenville or Eastland.

What a great way to spend Saturday. Driving out Saturday morning makes for a long day, but it was worth every minute. When we arrived, there was two other bikes in sight. We thought,"wow this is a small ride". I believe the total number of riders was 77 if I heard right. Start was alittle confusing with routes going out in different directions, but no mishaps that I know of. I did the 45 mile ride, and I could not have been more pleased with the entire route. Traffic was almost non-existent. Rest stops were well placed, and manned by very, very friendly folks. I really enjoyed talking to the gentleman at the stop in Carbon. If the wind would have figured out which way it supposed to blow, the ride would have been perfect. This ride is one of the best kept secrets in North Texas,(even without the expected peanuts) For my sake, I hope it stays that way. For the ride organizers, I hope the secret gets out. We are going to take a Saturday afternoon road trip just to collect on the free steak dinner that was offered. We will definitely mark our calendars for this ride every year.

June, 2005

This ride is one of the smallest but is one of the most scenic and safest. This is pure country with rarely any vehicular traffic. And the people are among the friendliest. I've ridden this ride two years in a row and will continue to mark my calendar for this ride.

June 12th, 2004

A good ride put on by the Lions Club of Gorman. While this is a small ride, it has potential to grow. Only a couple hours away from Fort Worth, I enjoyed the relaxed country atmosphere away from the big city traffic. The wind added to the challenge going from DeLeon into Duster, but what a heck of push we got going back into Gorman. The routes were smooth and simple to follow without hardly a left turn to make.
While there's no mechanical support, the Gorman Volunteer Fire Dept did a great job with their SAG duties by bringing riders back in. It's hard the beat the friendliness of the country folk you find out this way. The staff shows they care about the riders by having you sign in and out to make sure all are accounted for. There are no big city attitudes here in Gorman and that's what attracts me to this ride. Without a doubt, I'll be back next year.

This was a really nice ride. The support was awesome and the people working the ride were nothing less wonderful. We got great goody bags with really cool Tshirts. All of the routes and turns were clearly marked and the sag support was always there. The rest stops were staffed with the nicest people and very well-stocked with fruit, good cookies, Gatorade (not at all watered down either!) and of course, lots of peanuts! I was loving it till the last leg of the 46 mile ride on the 11 mile stretch at the end. I re-discovered my religion and the necessity prayer on the way in from that one! LOL. In any event, I highly recommend this to everyone - this is one ride to put on your "must do" list in the future.

The Gorman Peanut Country Tour is one of those rides that ranks as a "well kept secret". About 50 riders showed up for this year's tour. The people in Gorman are top notch and it's a shame more people don't bother to come out and do this ride. I've driven farther and longer for some rides that don't even come close to the quality of this ride. Excellent road surfaces (smoother than those found on the Burleson ride), challenging climbs and friendly, caring volunteers help make this a good ride. After the ride, you can continue the fun by driving to nearby Dublin for the Dr Pepper Days festivities. Overall, it makes for a great day out in the country. Good job, Gorman!

This ride is one of the smallest but is one of the most scenic and safest. This is pure country with rarely any vehicular traffic. And the people are among the friendliest. I've ridden this ride two years in a row and will continue to mark my calendar for this ride.

June 14, 2003

What a great ride! Tour of the Peanut Country is one of the smoothest rides around. I'm surprised more people didn't do this one this year. Maybe a lack of advertising? People who ride the DeLeon Melon Patch Tour should have no problem finding Gorman. A lot of rides have problems with automobile traffic. I was pleased to find that the Gorman routes had very little traffic. SAG support was well marked and visible all the way to the finish. Routes were easy to follow and the rest stops were well-stocked. The attitudes from the support volunteers were friendly and supportive. From all the rallies I've done, Gorman ranks in my mind as a nice, friendly "country folk" kind of ride. Only a couple hours away from Fort Worth, it's worth the drive. I'll definitely be back next year.

A really good, country ride. A very pleasant town with super people. I wish more people would come out and ride this ride. Just because it is far out in the country doesn't mean it isn't done well because it was!!! I am from FW and plan to do it again!

September 11, 1999 - Peanut Festival Ride, Gorman, TX

We had a good time, though -- or maybe because -- there were only about 60 riders. They had good courses, at least partially along the same route as the DeLeon Melon Patch Ride (A great one, if you've never done it). The people at the rest stops were friendly (although they tended to smoke a little too much) and there appeared to be pretty good sag support. * Only downer was that they started in a grassy field at the baseball diamond, and we all had to carry our bikes out to the paved road to keep from picking up burrs!