Peach Pedal, Weatherford, TX

July 10, 2010

Yesterday was my first Peach Pedal experience – but certainly not my last. Hats off to the folks in Weatherford. Rode the 100K - Great Route – Great Signage – Great Support. Great Volunteers! There is a reason this ride keeps growing….actually there are several reasons, and I’ve just named a few. This ride has earned a spot on my ride calendar. See you next year!

This was my first year to ride the Peach Pedal 100K in Weatherford, Texas. A perfect day to ride with low temperatures and low wind. The volunteers made for a very pleasant experience. The routes were beautiful. You pay for the fun of downhill on the return trip with 12 miles of climbing hills. The registration area was very fast and the large open space accommodated the crowd. Again toilets at the registration were way underdone. All I could find were the three potties inside and five porta-potties out side - extreme long lines. The females really had it bad. I think there were riders who did not get to start on time (staggered start) because of the toilet situation. Suggestion, post a site map showing all toilets. The rest stops were in competition to provide the best refreshments, most fun and the best service. One group held your bike, filled your bottles and fetched vittles. This made for a fun time. I wish I had time to visit all of the stops. The burritos at the finish were delicious. It is a fast and hilly ride. I will be back next year.

Great event!! Excellent route support and a great goodie bag: we got t-shirts, a water bottle and a baseball cap! I do have two suggestions though. Even though the routes were color coded, it would be nice if the distances were shown as well. If you didn't have a map, you didn't have the key. Also, it would be nice if the rest stops had cookies. They did have plenty of fruit including peaches, however. The Peach Festival on the other hand was a major disappointment this year. Overpriced mediocre food along with some VERY expensive peaches. May have to skip the festival next yr.

Awesome ride again this year. Top 5 rides in Texas in my book. Signage was great, very friendly people at all rest stops and yummy burritos after the ride. There was also free Monster energy drinks. Probably over 2000 riders it seemed like. Really love the beauty of this ride. Plenty of porta potties. There were several rows. 10 at one spot and 5 at another. Lines were not that bad considering how many riders turned out for this ride. Will see you next year.

First year to ride Peach Pedal and it was terrific! Registration was a snap, but I will admit the bathroom issue REALLY needs to be addressed. My group ended up about 4 minutes late from leaving the 100k start. Other than that, this was a really fun ride! Lots of good roads, challenging sections (but nothing over the top) and the best rest stops I've seen in quite some time! Extremely friendly and helpful volunteers! Only real complaint would be entertainment/food at the end of the ride in the gym. If you got there after noon, you were just about out of luck! Especially if you wanted mexican food...!!! RIDERS!!! PUT YOUR DISCARDED WRAPPERS IN YOUR JERSEY! There is no reason to litter the countryside! See ya next year Peach Pedal!

This was my third year to do the Peach Pedal and I must say that this is one of my favorite rides. This is a well-organized ride. Registration was quick and easy. The rest stops were well-stocked (loved the peaches). All major intersections were manned. Great hills, great weather. Another job well-done by the ride organizers!

July 11, 2009

Peach Pedal Riders:
Thanks again for coming out to Weatherford. We had a record-breaking day with over 2,300 riders. Unbelievable!
I appreciate all of the reviews, positive and negative. We use this site every year to debrief and improve things. We’ll do the same for next year.
Thanks again, and keep riding!
Brent Baker, Weatherford College
Peach Pedal Ride Director

this ride was superb from start to finish. registration was a VERY smooth experience, plus, that was where you encountered the first set of friendly, knowlegeable people. Literally, the entire ride (i did the 100k) was full of happy, friendly, helpful people. the rest stops were all awesome. plenty of ice, fluids, and yummy peaches. bottom line, I really enjoyed the whole experience and will definately be back next year....great job!

This was a tough ride for some because of the heat. I was going slower than normal because I was with my son doing the 40 mile, so we were riding with a lot of the 100K riders at the end. During the last few miles, I’ve never seen so many people struggling with the heat. I’ve also never seen so many people riding in on support vehicles. This is a testament to how well supported this ride is. What could have been a serious situation was resolved by countless volunteers coming to the rescue. This is typical of the Peach Pedal, one of the best run rides in the area. One suggestion would be that it’s 12 miles from the Brock rest stop to the finish, and that’s a little much when it’s so hot. Maybe an additional rest stop halfway between Brock and the high school would be a good idea. There was a group on the turn on Old Dennis Road about 4 miles out with a water cooler at one of the turns offering what little water they had, because people needed it. Also, put up a big sign telling people not to head west on I-20 when they leave the ride. We were stuck in traffic for an hour. It could have been avoided by going east, making a U-turn, and thus avoid all of the Peach Festival traffic getting off I-20.

I have commented about this ride before,so I'll just say a short version. Another home run for the peach pedal ride. And most of the complaints that were mentioned on this web site were delt with. So if you got a gripe,..........they are listening. I only wish they could change the HEAT! It was up there and early, I might add. But that is Texas. Support was great and I saw now problems. To all the organizers and police depts-- THANK YOU!!!!! See Ya next year.

Peach Pedal ride was another success. Great volunteers at all the stops, good routes and plenty of heat. There was always ice at the stops, which is a must. Some rides just miss that small step. Nice t-shirt. I will definitely be back next year.

A good ride. I'll do it again for sure. Only one real complaint; the turns needed to be marked better, with more than one arrow on the road surface itself and more than one vertical sign at each turn. There were a couple of times when I must have had my head down or was otherwise distracted and missed the vertical signs but was able to follow the other riders onto the correct turn. There was also one crossing, near the end, (and I was WAY late) where the route crossed a major road but didn't turn and we were'nt sure whether we were supposed to turn there or not. Thankfully we stayed on the correct route and go back to home plate OK.

First time rider of the Peach Pedal. Did the 40 miler- Well run ride – only a few minor complaints
Great starting point for the ride, plenty of parking at the HS. I 20 backs up early get to the HS by 6:45am
Maybe more port of Potties at each stop and at the start, more then 4 is needed. Rest stops very friendly and great Food/drinks/Ice --- Volunteers where great-Thank You Police also on the road a great support, one stretch was a little tricky, next to the inter-state. The course was fair, some rolls but nothing like the Tour :{ ---
No food at the end, or they where out at 1200PM... Would ride again, Did take 45 minutes to get back on 1 20---need more help getting out of Town. Great to Have RBM as a sponsor and picking up the registration early—No one better.

This was a wonderfully run ride. The organizers out did themselves on this one. There was plenty of parking, lots of food and porta potties at the rest stops, well marked route, ride marshalls at a lot of the intersections and free food at the finish. One nit: the directions on the web site say to take exit 407 if you're coming from DFW. The problem is there is no exit 407. Exits 408 or 406 work just as well. To the previous poster complaining about festival traffic: On the Peach Pedal web site there are instructions on how to leave the high school, under the directions tab, so you don't run into the festival traffic. They work like a charm too!

Rode the Peach Pedal for the first time and it was a good ride. Very, very well supported and the course was clearly marked. A small rest stop between Brock and the finish would have been nice because it was so hot outside, but the volunteers (and there were lots of them!) set up a small area to give out what water they had left. That was very much appreciated. I'll be back next year. Hats off to all the organizers, supporters, and volunteers of the Peach Pedal, Weatherford, Texas!!

I did the Peach Pedal 26 mile ride in Weatherford yesterday. The registration was really great and having it in the gym was perfect. The staff was great. The only thing I thought needed addressing was the police at the entrance to the high school. They were not there at the exit from I-20 and traffic was stopped, and backed up. They needed to do a better job there. The road needed to be marked a little better and when we came back onto the last road there were no police at all directing traffic.

My review of the 2009 Peach Pedal ride follows:
Registration:  If you pre-register, you should be guaranteed the T-Shirt size you requested.  The T-Shirt should be in the packet ready to be picked up.  Although this requires more preparation on the part of the ride organizers, it is worth it because of the time saved.  
The Peach Pedal did not do this.  Instead they took down your name, ostensibly to send you a shirt later.  I wonder how much this is going to cost them, given the large number of riders who turned up.  This money should have been going to the charity, not being used to send T-Shirts to riders.
Rest Stops:  Los Arboles was out of ice when we got there, serving only tepid water and (ghaaaaa!) tepid Gatorade.  Just as we were about to pull out in disgust the ice arrived.  This was fortunate, as the day was getting very hot and this was a very hilly ride. 
Another thing the organizers should have done is obtained and ripened the peaches a few days ahead of the ride.  What was being served was unripe and almost green, and would have given a stomach ache to any one foolish enough to eat them.  The rest of the faire did not live up to prior year’s home made cookies; perhaps there are just too many riders now.  
The Brock rest stop at the brand spanking new church was fully stocked with ice, cold water and Gatorade and was the best rest stop in my opinion.
Now, the day was extremely hot, and it can be expected that this will be the case every year.  The course was very hilly, and the riders on the 40 mile route were short changed, as there were only 3 rest stops on the route.  Last year there was a rest stop at Dean, and it should not have been eliminated.  Many riders were dehydrating, stopped at the foot of the steep hills, trying to gather the fortitude to make the ascent.  Another rest stop with ice cold water would have done a lot to make this an easier rider for everyone.  The Dean rest stop needs to be included next year. 
The festival after the ride was good this year.

Our group did the 100K route. (61 miles).
This is one of my favorite rides, primarily because of the challenging terrain and nice road surfaces (for the most part). The organization is excellent, but as with any event it had a few glitches this year that they didn't seem to have last year. The rest stop at mile 30 didn't have ice for the riders (just enough to fill their water coolers).
There were a few unprotected turns and a few turns with no signs (but the road did have arrows). When we arrived at the finish there was no food. When they arrived with more food most of our group had gotten tired of waiting and left.
Last year they sold peach cobbler to go with the peach ice-cream for sale. This year they didn't.
Traffic getting into and out of this location was ridiculous. Please specify on flyer what exit to take coming in, and how to avoid festival traffic leaving. The positives far outweigh those things--registration, parking, simple T shirt design, great folks at rest stops, sag support, all just fantastic! I think they were simply overwhelmed with additional race day registrants and the heat this year.

Great ride! This is the first time I’ve ridden the new route (did the 100K). Good roads and road surfaces, challenging hills, and minimal car traffic. I agree with the person who commented on the distance from the Brock rest stop to the end of the ride. 12 miles is a long distance in the heat, especially since that stretch includes riders from the shorter routes and often that means kids. Maybe put another stop along the 12 mile stretch that just has water and Gatorade. Even that would have helped. Also, when I got to the Brock rest stop, they were completely out of Gatorade and had no salty snacks. I was not at the tail end of the riders, so there were quite a few people behind me who were going to encounter this dangerous situation. In July heat, it’s imperative that the last rest stop be well-stocked. This ride is well-organized and the volunteers were great. The Los Arboles rest stop was something else with its variety of food. It was like going through the buffet line at an all-you-can-eat. Do the same at the Brock rest stop and this ride will be perfect!

The 2009 Peach Pedal in Weatherford was generally exceptional! The start was very well organized with everyone getting off quickly and without incident (that I saw or heard of). We didn't stop at the first rest stop, but did at the second. The Los Arboles rest stop, the second rest stop of the rally, was one of the best stocked and run of any I have used before. The 'grub' selection was superb (kudos to the trail mix), shade abundant, the water hose boys were a hit with everyone and whoever had the foresight to put wet wipes and baby powder in the porta potties-you were thanked several times over!
I have read previous review complaints about the roads and the markings for directions. I thought the route was very easy and rode fast. There was some bumpiness, but that's life! No bad holes, gravel very minimal, etc. The markings were great with the signs posted in advance, and the spray arrows to verify. All of the turns, with one exception, were manned with personnel to ensure a safe and rapid routing. The one left without people was easy to see for a good half mile, and with any prudence wouldn't have been a problem.
My ONLY complaint-and it really got to me and several other people-the burritos! WHY, after previous years complaints, would you run out AGAIN??? We came in from the 100K at 12:30 and no burritos! Really? Are you serious???? I could understand if we came in at 3:30, but 12:30? I really don't think Rosas Cantina needs to be a sponsor again-that is truly pathetic! After running out in previous years they should have done much better than that. Do I need to ride the 30 miler to get what everyone is supposed to get? That's pretty sorry!
Rosas aside-I would recommend this ride to anyone, I feel it was very safe, well patrolled with SAG and medics and the people were happy and eager to please!

As everyone noted, great ride. Roads were as good as you can get, support great, everything great. Best ride of the year so far.
My complaint is with us. I saw more discarded gel packs, tubes, air canisters, food wrappers, etc etc etc. Especially during the last half of the ride. What was up with that?
I always have a zip lock bag or something in my jersey for trash.

Great new course! Rode the 9 mile with my son and was happy to see so many families riding together. Youth size tees should be made available, lots of little guys on this ride. Does the highschool/college have cheerleaders? Someone needs to man the finish line other than riders who have finished riding and their families.

July 12, 2008

Ahoy Mateys!!! Thanks for the votes! This is the Pirate Crew from stop 3 (formerly and infamously stop six). We would like to thank all the volunteers this year at the Parker County Peach Pedal and Brent Baker for making this ride outstanding! We love doing the rest stop and will continue our 13 years of support for all you wonderful gung ho riders! See ya next year!!!! Arrgh

This new route is truly a keeper. Great scenery, most road surfaces good, great rest stops. Make sure to go early as the traffic into the new High School backs up really far. Plenty of parking though once you get there, great showers at the end. In addition, having pre registration run longer really helped with getting your packets picked up. We registered on line the day before and went directly in and did not even have to wait to pick the packet up.

The starting location at the high school is 5000% better than the old one at the middle school. The 40 mile route used a lot of the same roads as last yr just in reverse and most of the roads were in good shape. It seemed like they had volunteers at every turn in the route which impressed me. Rest stops were well stocked and were busy since there were a LOT of people doing this ride. Saw a lot of people walking/stopping in the latter half of the ride because of the heat and hills. Same time next yr!

That's all that can be said about it! Easy to get to, great rest stops, pleasant helpful volunteers, hot but decent weather, plenty of conscientious help from the local police at the intersections, great directions, outstanding mechanic help at the rest stop near the end of the ride, ..... I even found a porta pottie that was clean! Actually clean! By far the best ride so far this season.
The parking was a little messy if you got there later in the morning. They need some directional assistance in the lots. Next year it would be nice if they could have the school turn off their sprinkler system that leaves the parking area to the start. Refreshing in the morning heat but slippery.

The ride was large and well organized with a couple small kinks to work out.
A ride this big should have a bullhorn or PA system for the starter.
The new route was well chosen but not well marked.
The major turns and intersections were manned and the directions given by the volunteers and police were easy to follow. The problem was with the minor twists and turns. Most corners were marked only once with arrows painted right on the corner. The 100K route we rode was marked with dark green arrows which were not visible until you were literally right on top of them.
I guess we weren't the only ones playing follow the leader because we were at the back of the first bunch going into the first turn off the main road and were greeted with the sight of the lead riders riding straight toward us. They were doubling back having missed the turn and gone straight. That would have made a great aerial TV shot as both groups headed straight toward each other and merged while turning onto a smaller road
All the rest stops were great along with the facilities. We will be back next year. This is a great ride and I am sure the organizers will fine tune things.

Hi I rode in the Peach Pedal 2008 this year. I did the 100K route. As this is my first year to do the Peach Pedal I am hearing that this is a new route.
I was not happy with the lack of police traffic control at major intersections. Especially on I-20. I thought the rodes were not very appropriate for road bike tires. I felt the terrain was too rough for road bike. There were two rail road tracks to cross that were very rough. Not good for that kind of tire.
I did however appreciate the registration process as it was a peice of cake and appreciated the showers as well.
Unfortualy there was no meal offered which I am used to having a meal for the cost of a ride.

For starters the parking was great with plenty of room, but other than that I believe the ride was poorly organized and managed. I rode the 27 mile with my son which is short considering my normal rides. I would be helpful to have some signs posted for turns not just spray painted right at the turn. As far as road conditions are concerned not great for road bikes on the major roads. First rest stop for the 27 mile not clearly marked and 16 miles in, and the second was only 5 miles from the finish. POORLY SPACED! But wait there’s more. You go to make the last turn back onto the start road no Police or Ride help presence to guide with traffic. Fortunately we needed no ride support help because we did not see any, but we found the at the finish line making laps around the parking lot I guess many people need help there being picked up. Loved having the showers and all that but the finish was a little disappointing it felt like you just went out for a casual ride and rode back to pick up your car. Nobody at the finish line, no banner or ride staff. I will say this to wrap up such a negative review. All of these items are fixable. Maybe the ride staff could visit with those Goatneck folks and get some good pointers.

Loved the new route. It’s much better than past years and the start from the high school was great. Plenty of parking, easy registration, great facility! I disagree with the comment the roads were not appropriate for road bikes. There is some chip seal – but that’s just a fact of life in Texas. I haven’t done a ride that didn’t have some. A little too much gravel left in intersections/turns made it a bit treacherous. The placement of the rest areas was also a little tough – with the first being in the middle of a pretty good downhill. Stopping was treacherous. At the end the rest stop was in the middle of an uphill. Both were on the left side of the road – again making easy stopping more difficult and dangerous.
But overall I loved this ride and will definitely be back next year.

Moving the ride out to the high school has made this ride a lot better. Roads were in pretty good condition. Registration was better. This is the first time ever at this ride that I got a t-shirt that was actually my size. Some negatives: The first rest stop could not have been put in a worse place. A rest stop should not be placed on a downhill, ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD. They need to move this rest stop to a better place. I only saw 1 sag all day. Need more traffic control at intersections. Overall not a bad ride. It is definitely improving with the move out to the high school.

Great course and support. Plenty of excellent rest stops, but rest stop #3, with the Pirate theme and snacks, was the best. Didn’t see any SAG vehicles, but I didn’t have any problems.

Wow, they keep getting better and better every year. Top Notch. Awesome new route and location. My number one this year. I don’t know if anyone can top it. I will definitely choose this ride over any other any weekend. Keep up the good work and see you next year.

The Peach Pedal ride was outstanding. I've done this ride for quite a few years now and it just gets better. Parking was great when you consider what the parking was like at the middle school in the past. Talking to officials, they guesstimated 23-2500 riders. No one can complain about the parking, and I would like to thank the Weatherford Police for the great job they did.
I don't understand the people who complain about the road conditions on this ride. This is a road bike course and roads are not picture perfect. If you want silky smooth conditions, get back on the spin class bike and you will be safe. And do you change an otherwise great course because of RRcrossings? Slow down for the ten seconds it takes to cross them and get back to warp speed. Rest stops were great and I never did without. The sags were there for anyone who needed them. There are so many lousy bike rides that I have done in the past, BUT, this is not one of them. Free drinks and free burritoes from Rosa's Cafe were given to ANY person who wanted them. I stuffed myself and they offered me more. Blugrass music, freebies. Hot showers were a nice finishing touch. This ride is as good as it gets. OK, there could be some signs or better marking of the course. Big deal.
I will support this ride as long as it stays this good. Anyone who complains about this ride needs to form there own ride and see what goes into this. To all involved in the making of this 1st class ride-----THANK YOU!!!!

Thank you for moving the start/finish of the Peach Pedal to the new high school. Parking was plentiful but again traffic on the interstate getting in was a little dicey. The new routes were beautiful particularly the 100K course but the green arrows on the road were very difficult to see. Some of the corners need to be better marked, a easy fix. Then a few corners had alot of gravel again a little dicey but if it was marked on the road prior to the gravel so we could slow down/prepare that would be great. Only saw 1 marked SAG vehicle at about the 40 mile marker area. Did see alot of people going to the motorcycle SAG to get air in their tires, I think at least 6 of them. A few more port a potties would be great also the line at R.S. #2 was VERY long, again a easy fix. Thank you to everyone who volunteered, everyone was very friendly and helpful. This ride was improved 200% from the previous years, just a few more little fixes and look out Goatneck you'll have some strong competition. We'll be back next year. Thank you again.

We rode this ride for the last 3 years. We absolutely loved the new routes. We rode the 40 mile and it was just a beautiful ride. A bit challenging, but not torture like the last 2 years. The routes were marked well, rest stops were great and police and volunteers were at all major turns except for the last one. One thing we missed was the finish line celebration and maybe a photographer to take a picture at the finish line would have been nice too. Way to go Peach Pedal Organizers, we will actually be looking forward to participating in this ride again in 2009.

Obviously a very popular ride since there was close to a two mile backup of cars trying to get to the high school via I-20 exit 406. Did not pre-register but no problem. Late, no pre-register and still they ask “What shirt size? Large? We’ve got it!” Thanks too for the cut peaches while they pulled the shirt and goodie bag. A ride this big did not have much of a showy start, oh well. Some hills but not too hard. The rest stops seemed crowded and overwhelmed. Skipped the first. A long line at the second waiting to fill up with liquids and for volunteers to cut up the fruits. Brock rest stop kept up well. For a ride this big it all seemed to go well. Thanks again to all.

We rode the Peach Pedal. Great scenery. Great rest stops. Wonderful chilled peaches! Parking was great unless you got there late, then had to park on grass w/stickers. Was there more we didn’t see? Being able to pick up packets at sponsors was great. Overall great ride. My wife and daughter rode the 9 mile. A first aid station at the end of the ride is needed. If there was one, we did not see it, and the people inside the Outback were unaware of one. Also, no protection on Bethel Road was awful for the 9 mile ride. She felt like a bad parent for risking her daughter’s life. She would like to go next year if we can have more protection on Bethel. The 9 mile also needs a rest stop. I rode the 27. Both routes need advance warning of turns. Painted arrows need to be wider, thicker, more noticeable. Clearing gravel out of more turns would be nice. Lots of help at turns on the 27 except turning onto Bethel at the end, then I felt very exposed to that high speed traffic until we got to the high school. Have something at the finish line to make it feel like it is more than being on a daily ride. There was no Rosa’s food left when we got there except what we could buy.

Weatherford is a very welcoming community for this event and I always enjoy going out there. This year I rode the 9 mile family ride with my 10 year old daughter (her first ride) and my wife (her first ride). We missed one of those skinny little yellow arrows and ended up quite a ways off course. When I finally figured out we were off, we ran into more riders who obviously made the same mistake. I had quite a procession following me back to rejoin the route. The short course was perfect for kids, but I hope they’ll keep in mind the short distance riders are often less experienced and need a little more help staying on the route.

Only a couple issues with rest stops. The Old Dennis Road RS was on a downhill that I was going about 30 when I saw it. Several people trying to cross the road to get to it. The Los Arboles RS had lines out to the street. I guess more people showed up than expected. Both minor things/ Great new route and ride. .

The Peach Pedal has always been one of our favorite rides - we ride tandem and the hills provide some challenges - the obvious ones going up - but this year we faced a challenge on one of the descents - the placement of the first rest stop (Old Dennis Rest Stop) on a sizeable downhill and on the left side of the road is insane - needless to say we had to apply the brakes numerous times and scream at people crossing the road to get out of the way - in all of the rides we have ridden over the past 15 years this ranks near the top in unsafe situations.
Agree with all of the other posted comments - good route, much better starting location - however getting into the ride was a major challenge - locals knew the “alternative routes”, but the back up on I-20 from Dallas was way too long - 25+ minutes caused us to miss the 7:30 start (which actually left at 7:40ish) - we hit the backup at 6:55 - at least there were police to direct traffic as best they could otherwise I think we might still be in the backup.
We opted for the 40 mile route - due to how we felt (hills and all), later start (we left the starting line at the tail-end of the 40 mile start) - several intersections were un-manned and the 2nd rest stop (Los Arboles Rest Stop) - excellent placement but the long lines were reminiscent of the 2nd and 3rd H-n-H rest stops - but wait these were just to the refreshments - needless to say we did not stop long nor get in the long lines.
Unfortunately, we encountered mechanical difficulty just past the Brock Rest Stop - broken rear derailleur’s tend to put a stop to the festivities - especially on a tandem - we were able to limp/coast back to the rest stop which had a Performance Bike mechanic providing help - he was a trooper - there were several folks that were availing themselves to his expertise - not to mention his friendly disposition - really appreciate this type of support. Then one of the volunteers at the rest stop - sagged us and 3 other singles in - since the sag vehicles were overloaded and it would be a long wait - what a tribute to all the volunteers for this gentleman to offer this help.
We look forward to next year’s Peach Pedal.

There needs to be a route between the 40 miles and the 100k. Maybe lop the Newberry portion off the 100k to make something around 50 miles.

We've done dozens of races, marathons, walk-a-thons, and similar events. This was the worst one by far.
Here are some of the things that went wrong:
A large stretch (at least a couple of miles) of the race (at the beginning and end) is on a 2-lane freeway with cars speeding past you at over 55 mph. That's correct, the organizers did not close off the main thoroughfare. It was scary, and some auto and truck drivers were mean.
The countryside was pretty enough. However, you know how races always have dozens of helpers on the trail shouting out words of encouragement, waving you on, offering you water or a treat, and pointing you to the right direction? None of that for the Peach Pedal. There was just one person on the trail, a very old farmer, who was helping along the way. That is correct. Just one volunteer. No tents along the way. No one in the local community stepped outside to even look at the racers. What is worse, there were no markers along the trail. Zero. The trail was over country roads. People were passing us, then we were passing them, from both directions. Everyone got lost. For all we know, some people never exited. We were supposed to bike 9 miles. By the time we found our way out of the maze of unmarked back roads, we estimate that we had biked at least twice that amount. There were no cheering crowds at the finish line. Zilch. We never even saw a peach. The peach festival in downtown Weatherford was fun afterwards, but we couldn't convince the employees/visitors at the gate that we should have been given, as promised, free admission because we biked in the Peach Pedal.
Don't call it the Peach Pedal. Call it the Peach Ripoff.
There were approximately 10 in our group. No one left this race unscathed.
Avoid this race, but try the peach ice tea at the festival.

July 14, 2007

From Brent Baker, Ride Director:
I want to thank everyone that came out to the 2007 Peach Pedal…we had over 2,100 riders (we’re still counting) which was way more than we expected, considering the threat of rain.
I heard a lot of complimentary feedback at the ride, as well as some good constructive criticism. I want you to know we take all those comments to heart, especially what’s posted on this website.
Because of the huge jump in riders, we fell behind on sag support and food supplies quickly. I learned a few things from talking to riders this year, and next year we plan to have mechanical support at every rest stop, with sags running in between. Also, we’ll have a better feel for which rest stops need the most supplies, and we’ll double our orders for just about everything.
We’re also looking at moving the start/finish to the new Weatherford High School next year. That will give us a huge parking lot, newer facilities, and less riding in town.
Thanks again for coming out…again, we take your comments seriously. Feel free to email me at bakerb@wc.edu.

FOUND: AT PEACH PEDAL/WEATHERFORD 2007!!!!!
BLUE LOUIS GARNEAU HELMET WITH RIDER #930. IN PARKING LOT BY BALLFIELD/BLEACHERS. WILL TRY CALLING RIDE ORGANIZERS FOR OWNER INFO.i AM HAPPY TO REPORT THE HELMET WAS RETURNED THE OWNER, THANKS TO TWO BICYCLE-STUFF READERS.

No rain!! The weather was perfect for this ride - not too hot and very little wind. We did the 40 miles and found the rest stops well stocked and the route marked fairly well. Most of the intersections had volunteers at them until the latter half of the ride. Didn't see any sag wagon but then I wasn't looking either. I'm sorry to say that some of the roads were flat out awful: sections of pavement missing, lots of gravel and sand, and some looked stripped in preperation for repaving. Maybe the recent rains did a number on the roads? I also noticed more cars on the route this year. I saw two guys give up on the 100k route because of an unsppported left turn across traffic. Perhaps it's time for some new routes?
This was the fourth year I have ridden the Peach Pedal ride. We generally look forward to this as one of the more enjoyable rides of the circuit. Unfortunately, this year we were sorely disappointed.
The only good part of this ride this year was the registration. The early packet pickup was very handy and I was able to pickup our packets on the way back from Stephenville two weeks before the ride. After that it was all downhill, however.
The parking was inadequate as usual. There are a lot of small parking places near the ride start but no where near enough for all the riders who come for this ride, and there are no volunteers directing traffic and helping people find spots. It is high time the start of this ride was moved to somewhere with a large parking area. There were not enough portajohns at the start of the ride, and for some reason, the gym was placed off limits to riders, meaning they couldn’t use the restrooms in the gym.
The route was adequately marked at the beginning, but the most important turn, the 41 mile/100k split, was neither adequately marked nor provided with a volunteer to direct traffic.
The most disappointing thing about the ride this year were the rest stops. In previous years the rest stops had been provided with homemade cookies (at least at rest stop # 4) as well as oranges, bananas and of course peaches. This year, if there were cookies at the rest stops there were not enough. Although the peach crop was supposable good this year because of the rain, many of the peaches were unripe. Rest stop 5 hand nothing but sour oranges and lukewarm water when we arrived. It was if the organizers decided to skimp on rest stop provisions this year.
I noticed very little mechanical SAG on the ride. None of the major bike shops were present.
All in all it was a very disappointing day.

The weather was great. We did the 100k, some roads were pretty rough, some road markings were a bit confusing and there were some uncontrolled intersections, that could pose potential problems. I haven't done the PeachPedal in a number of years. Probably won't do it again. The rest stops were the worst of any ride we have done so far this year. Not enough Port o Pots and most had run out of Gatoraid. Many were out of food. Riders need food for fuel. Those that did have food, just had fruit. Bananas are a great source of potasium, but the fuel in fruit is short term. Cookies, too are a short term energy burst. You need something like PowerBars, or better yet crackers. These carbs metabolize slower and give you the energy to a longer distance. There should always be something at the end of the ride for the riders. After all that's were the reward should be. Riders eat to ride and ride to eat. If you want to have a successful ride, remember that.

The Peach Pedal 2007 had a great turn out, the weather was perfect but the roads in areas were awful. These areas need to be marked, saw alot of flats along the way in these areas. Better marked SAG vehicles would be nice. The route could be a little better marked on the roadway, the 100K had few arrows on the road prior to the turn but when you turned by chance you saw the arrow pointing forward. I missed the turn for the 2nd part of the 100K, some riders said police were pointing you thru the neighbour hood but a few other riders said that they never saw anyone pointing them thru that area and you ended up finishing your ride short. Again better marking of the route would eliminate this. I know that the Peach Festival is also competing with us but we could use a few more portapotties out at the rest stops. At the end of the ride we headed out to the Peach Festival for something to drink, what a mistake, it was a zoo down there with lineups very long for lemonade, ice tea, snow cones etc. So we decided to head home and stop on our way. Getting out of town after with the traffic was a mess. On the plus side I would like to thank everyone who volunteered, without you there would be not ride!!!! The registration went very well, liked the group sign up rates!!! Volunteers were very friendly. Not sure if we'll come back next year due to poor roads, marked routes and traffic.

The weather was beautiful. Unfortunately I enjoyed very little of it. The rest stops were evenly and adequately spaced however they were not well stocked. When I reached a couple of the stops I heard "We just ran out of..." more often then not.
I went on the 27 mile ride and the first half of the route was beautiful. The second half was spent climbing almost nothing but hills next to the freeway. In the last 5 miles when we were brought back in to town again.. nothing but hills and non-existent downhills. I lost count of the number of people who had to be picked up or were walking
the last leg of this ride.
Did the riders insult the route planners in some way? I was really looking forward to this ride based on everything I had heard about it. However when talking with other riders they said the route was changed completely and not in a positive way.
I seriously question if I will return to do this ride next year, and from what I heard I am not alone. The routes need some serious work.

I drove in from Mineral Wells and it was foggy and cool the whole way. A really enjoyable drive. I got to Weatherford about 6:50. No parking. I drove all the way down to Longhorn St and parked on the road. Registration was chaotic and took 30 minutes. Many did not preregister, waiting until the last minute to see what the weather would do, me included. I rushed to a table grabbed, a form, filled it in and back to stand in line for 10 minutes. Many standing in line found that they had not grabbed a form and had to go back. I felt smug, I had my form. Got to the registration table an presented my form…it was for the Tour de Paris. Duh. Back to the forms, fill it, back to the line for another 15 minutes. Ok registered, but now they were out of shirts. They said they would mail it. I have faith. We all started moving our bikes toward the start line. There were 2 potties in that area, could easily have used four. The ride started in stages and we got off without incident. The air was very cool and it was overcast. Good riding weather. The first segment of the 40 mile ride made me have to work harder than I wanted to. For the intermediate to slow riders this is a hilly ride. Some will absolutely work you out. There were many nice rollers where you could scream down the hill and coast almost all the way up the next one. That was fun. Rest stops were so, so, need more potties as always and some banannas. Hey guys, nanners are very important! I take a diuretic so extra potassium is important to me. The first rest stop had a fun atmosphere and many enthusiastic helpers and the peaches were great. The ride got progressively more difficult but I made it to the finish in one piece. There were many sag wagons and a sag motorcycle, yes. The road had some gravel places and bad gravely turns, really need someone there to wave and yell. The sun came out about mid way, but I did not fry. Allow extra time to get out of town. DO NOT go down 51 to get to 30. It took me most of an hour to get on the highway. For the second year, it was for me an enjoyable ride and I will come back.

I rode the 40 mile ride (which was actually 43 miles). I agree with the last person that the weather was awesome and some of the roads were flat out awful. The water stations were well stocked (great peaches!!) and the volunteers were very polite and cheerful. Stop #2 was awesome with indoor restrooms!! I thought the intersections were well monitored. Each intersection was manned by at least one police officer. I only had to stop once and that was at a VERY busy intersection. I enjoyed the ride. My suggestions would be to change the route so that we do not have to ride on the poor roads. It was very uncomfortable and very hard on the tires! Also, I know there were sag wagons but I did not know where they were or who they were. I didn't need one but if I had I wouldn't have known who to flag down. You might want to mark their vehicles. I did see one lady with a flat and a van pulled over and a man was telling her to sit for a minute while he repaired her bike so I know they were there! I didn't get a t-shirt because they had run out. They said they will mail it so I hope I receive it. Overall it was a great ride though!! I will definitely plan to attend again next year! Oh and. . .for anyone planning to attend next year. . .the parking situation is awful! Plan to get there very early unless you want to walk for blocks just to get to the starting line!

This was my families first ride. We loved it. It was great. Rest stop at Beulah Baptist was the best...friendliest and most prepared. One of us had a flat tire...slow leak....and a Good Samaritan stopped and filled it was his own CO2 . Wow! That was so great...was a matter of finishing the race or having to walk it in. Hurrah! The shower at the school was absolutely great! We loved that too. We plan on doing the race again next year and think we might ride the 40 mile. Also the festival ran out of peaches...so we went to Farmers Market...came home and cooked a great peach cobbler. What a great finished to a great start at the Peach Pedal. We would love to encourage more riders...all ages...all sizes...all levels of fitness...it's something for everyone...just need a bike and the desire to ride ...come on..it's fun!

A very scenic route on the 40 mile distance. The hills proved to be a challenge for some riders. I saw folks walking their bikes up some of the steeper hills in the latter part of the ride. I'm glad I loaded up my pockets with the gels I brought along because the rest stops had plenty of fruit, water, and gatorade, but nothing more substantial. They really need more portable toilets at the registration area. The line in the morning was ridiculously long. Parking was a crazy free for all with folks parking in lots, along residential streets, and on a grass field. Need to get there a lot earlier in the future because it was a long hike to get from our parking spot to registration and then back.

Concerning the 2007 Peach Pedal. The ride is challenging, and it has good roads. Rest stops were well staffed and had adequate food. However, the registration was slow, and not well organized. The start, and the first two rest stops did not have adequate Rest Room facilities, long waits, and very frustrating.

My first Peach Pedal and I LOVED IT! I rode the 100K
in just under 3hrs and it was a pleasure from start to
finish!
My Grades
Organization 9/10
Roads 9/10 GREAT ROADS
Route 9/10 GREAT 100K Route and good markings...except
last left hand turn!
T-Shirts and Goodies 8/10
Bathrooms 6/10 (Need more at start/registration area)
Rest Stops 9/10 I didn't stop but they all looked very
entertaining and I didn't hear a SINGLE complaint!
Volunteers 10/10 ALL GREAT! Police did a GREAT job at
all intersections
Overall 8/10
A Very Good Ride that I will put on the schedule every
year!

THANKS VOLUNTEERS AND ORGANIZERS; GREAT RIDE; 1st 100k; Hills seemed tough to me(I figure that means I’ve got to train harder. Beautiful countryside. Read other comments about road conditions; they seemed fine to me. Headwinds were a bummer(disheartening slowing down while going downhill). I also didn’t get a shirt and have faith I’ll find one in the mail soon. Will be back next year.

I rode the 100K route as a friend recommended the route as a good test and it was. Most roads were isolated with little traffic except as one got closer to Weatherford. North on Bowie from I-20 was frightening and a little bit hairy with a left-hander across traffic, there was a flagger thankfully. If SAG was out there, it was not readily observable; I only saw people repairing their own bikes or cyclists helping another. A couple of uncontrolled intersections are a disaster waiting to happen. One was as the route crossed under I-20 near Brock. Saw no flagman or signage warning of bikes on roadway and a driver seemed startled to see a couple bikes coming across the access road. There was also a poorly marked left-hander where the 100K and 40m diverge after stop#5. Unless you were looking for arrows on the road, you would never see it. Not sure if I'll do it again as the traffic afterwards really is a drag if you don't want to go to the Peach festival. I left the ride at 11:50 and did not get out of Weatherford until nearly 1pm.

The 2007 Peach Pedal in Weatherford was awesome. I did the 63 mile. Wish there were more restrooms at registration and start, and possibly indoor facilities open there. Second rest stop was awesome (indoor restrooms) and all were loads of fun. Part of route was changed because of construction. Second-to-last leg had heavy traffic, but that may have been only because of the peach festival. I hope to do this ride again next year!

This was my fifth Peach Pedal, and every year, I swear I will not make the 90-mile trek out to Weatherford again for this ride. But I really do enjoy the course with challenging hills, good scenery, great volunteers, and peaches, of course. But I will not sit in traffic after the ride for an hour again trying to get to I20. I would encourage the organizers to consider moving this ride to the Saturday before the festival. Non-riding family members are not going to hang out in Weatherford during the rally so to attend the festival afterward. I personally have never been to the Peach Festival for this reason. The fact that it falls the same day as the rally is only an annoyance to riders trying to get out of Weatherford and perhaps festival goers trying to get in.

This was my first year and I rode with my family. What a wonderful community of riders! All types and ages - definitely kept me smiling. Although the recent rains made the roads very interesting, the scenery was just lovely. One could not ask for better weather which added to the great ambience. I loved the course which had varying degrees of difficulty. The rest stops did seem to have a shortage of goodies and pottys. There were points in the course where cars did not seem to care they were caught in the middle of a bicycle event and would not share the road. Bicycles should be treated as another vehicle. In Austin, there are signs placed along race courses well in advance of an event so that drivers are given plenty of notice. Banners are even hung in places in the area. I really appreciated the use of the showers at the middle school, however, there were only 3 showers. I'm sure the young ladies who use those showers on a daily basis know what a pain it is to wait in a sweaty line. Pre-registration was so convenient and easy. These low points are relatively minor and I still enjoyed participating with my family. We had a great time. Thanks for the T-shirt and looking forward to next year's ride.

I rode the 40 mile which was really 43 miles. Hills, hills, and more hills. The roads were aweful! I have ridden this pedal ride before. I won't ride it again. Terrible roads! I have been riding for 10 years and never seen such horible rodes with the exception of Waxahachie.

Good idea to change 40 mile route to avoid the killer hills between miles 30 & 40, but still challenging (!). Although the volunteers are still super nice and enthusiastic, this ride is getting a bit sloppy, supply-wise. Nothing more than bare-bones at the rest stops, and forget about anything at the end (how about some bananas and oranges!). Would have been nice if the availability of shower facilities were advertised; I like attending the festival afterward without smelling too "gamey".

This was the first year my fiancée and I participated in this ride. It was one of the best rides we have done. It was very well supported and the people were the friendliest we have seen on any of the rides in Texas; and we do most of them (e.g., MS 150, HHH, Collin County Classic, Hot Rocks, Jack Rabbit Stampede, etc...). The 100K route was amazing with a couple of challenging hills and a number of rolling hills, as well as roads that were well-maintained. The landscape was quite a treat as well. We heard rumors about odors from the dairy farms, but there was only one tiny stretch of road where we noticed anything and it wasn't bad. There were rest stops every 8 or 9 miles (the Dublin Dr. Pepper rest stop was a nice surprise) or so, and the 100K route was actually 100K and not 105K. The only minor complaint was at the very end of the ride as we came back in to town. There was one intersection that had a police officer manning it, but he did not get out of his car to direct traffic and we had to wait a few minutes. Other than that, it was a great ride.

Absolutely great! I just started riding (have completed one year, now) and this was my 3rd organized bike ride. I rode the 100K, and not only was the weather exceptional, the bike route and overall organization was the best I have seen, yet! I thought the folks in Weatherford did an outstanding job of putting together this ride! It is without question the best I have seen. I have read some of the other reviews, and I personally feel that the support, rest stops ( My first rest stop was at 23 miles), and routing was planned very well. This is a ride that I will definitely make a priority for next year. Thank you Weatherford, and Parker County Peach Festival!!!

July 8, 2006

From Brent Baker, Peach Pedal Ride Director:
I want to thank the more than 2,000 riders that made this year's event a success. As you can tell, we took several of last year's comments from this Web site to heart in our planning for 2006, and we'll do even more for 2007.
There's something special about cyclists...the energy, the enthusiasm and the optimism are contagious.
If you have specifics, please email me at bakerb@wc.edu. Thanks again, and hope to see you July 14, 2007!
--
Brent Baker
Weatherford College Institutional Advancement Office
817-598-6275

The Peach Pedal was much improved from last year. It seems that the ride directors took some of our comments to heart. There were signs directing everyone to the starting line, there were staggered starts which made the beginning of the ride infinitely safer and the 27/40/100k split was extremely well marked. Parking, however, was a free for all. I suggest you get to the ride early to get a decent spot. I enjoyed the new 40 mile route and I hope they keep it in the future. The rest stops were well stocked and just about all of the intersections where a turn was needed had someone there directing the way. With a few tweaks from last year, Peach Pedal has turned itself into a first class ride.

My wife and I rode the 40 mile loop. This was our first year and first ride. We are hooked. We had a great time as the weather was great. It was sunny and a little warm, but nothing that a few water bottles couldn’t make enjoyable. There was some tough hills, but also some good down hills to either catch a break or really get some speed. The signage was great. There were boy scouts and/or officers at every turn, as well as signs and paintings on the road. The rest stops were place just the right distances, and everyone seemed very friendly. We are definitely doing it again next year.

The 2006 Peach Pedal was a well organized and enjoyable ride. The route took us through very lightly traveled, smooth roads with some hills to keep it interesting. The people were friendly and the rest stops well supported. A post ride shower made it enjoyable to listen to the blue grass band and eat Parker County peaches under the tent. Nice job!

"All in all, this is a wonderful ride. The staggard start was a welcome change from previous years. My only complaint is that the rural road that ran next to the city landfill. The odor was awful to say the least. This was compounded by the fact that you were climbing a hill that ran along side of it. I lived in Brock for several years and there are other roads that can be used as an alternate route. Other than that, it was great."

Hard to believe that once again they had no t-shirts. At registration, the girls on the left as you walk up were talking about how funny it was that they had run out of shirts again. I don’t find that very funny as many others do not either. It was 6:35 in the morning, ride didn’t start till 7:30. I asked her would you mind mailing me a shirt. She said "Nope, you have to pre-registered to be guaranteed a shirt". Wow, how rude. Seems that the organizers didn’t address all issues, especially since there were fewer riders this year versus last year. Over all the ride was great, no complaints. But the lack of concern, couldn’t care less attitude, rudeness of the girls on the non preregistered side and the ride organizers seeming to be money hungry make a negative impact in my book. Its funny that all the organizers and helpers seem to have t-shirts but what about the riders? Aren’t the riders the actual sponsors of the event since we pay $25.00 for it?

My first Peach Pedal. I rode the 40 miler. All in all, a very nice ride. First the good. Route selection was good, road surface was smooth for the most part. Enjoyed the aid stations. Unfortunately, not a good year for the peaches as they were tart, but plenty of other goodies and very friendly folks manning the stations. As previously mentioned, the route was well marked. Ride was through very scenic country. A few hills made it a little bit tough, but not too bad. Now for the bad. Parking was disorganized. Need better directing to the start. End had no fanfare or indication that we’d finished. Will do this ride again next year.

This was my first Peach Pedal, and I enjoyed it. The hills were a little more than I bargained for. I wonder is there any way to reroute the 100K to have it climb out of the Brazos River Valley only once, instead of twice? The Boy Scouts or law enforcement personnel at every turn was great, there was absolutely no way to get lost. Maybe I missed them, but I rarely saw signage warning of an upcoming rest stops. The importance of those signs is not so much to give hope to the weary and thirsty, but to warn the riders who are planning on not stopping that there will be considerable bike and car/truck traffic up ahead, an important safey concern when stops are at blind corners. The showers at the finish were greatly appreciated.

The staggered start and the new 40-mile route were wonderful additions to the ride. The volunteers at the rest stops were friendly and very helpful. Using cadets from the police academy around town was helpful, too. Another great ride out of Weatherford. We will definitely be back.

What an enjoyable ride! It was my first time, so I have no idea what last year was like--but this year's edition was little short of fantastic. On-site registration was easy (I did get a T-shirt and, at the end of the ride felt that I had, for once, truly earned it) and the staggered start was nice. I did the 100k route and found it challenging but also a lot of fun. The roads chosen for the course were wonderful--smooth, very light traffic (did I mention hilly!) and often offered beautiful vistas of the surrounding countryside. I found a peleton of some fifty or so riders who were doing an average of about 21 mph (thanks for getting me through so much of the ride, guys!) and had a great time! The rest stops were well-stocked, both with refreshments and enthusiastic volunteers (in fact, I didn't want to leave the one at the 46 (or so) mile point). This ride was well-organized, well-run and challenging. Can you really ask for mo! re? I don't think so, and I'll be back for this one next year....

The 100k route was exceptional . . . I even managed a smile as I climbed the road by the landfill and recalled the voice at the registration tent talking about that clean country air !

First, the ride was a great in many respects. Well stocked rest stops at just the right intervals, helpful volunteers, and a good selection of refreshments. The scenery was great for the first 16 miles of the 27 mile ride. The ride along access road was a little less enjoyable but otherwise safe. All in all a good ride.
Some suggestions.
We are tandem riders and this was our first organized ride in many years. Even though my wife and I ride quite a few miles on a regular basis the start was especially trying. A staggered start is great but having the tandem riders start in the back with the slow and younger riders is very dangerous. Tandems do not start, maneuver, or stop as easily. Novice riders around tandems makes for an extremely hazardous situation. I would suggest that tandem riders be started either separately or ahead of the less experienced riders.
As mentioned by another reviewer a ride that anticipates 2000 riders should have T-Shirts available for late registrations not just for 1500 who pre-registered. $50 and no T-Shirt is a real let down.

Note from john - Some rides have the tandems start in front. Makes sense. Starting tandems in the back makes no sense at all.

July 9, 2005

This was a pretty good ride overall. I had a good time, but am exhausted. This was only my second ride to ever try (I have been riding for over a year, mostly on the flats around my area), and the hills were a killer. The ride started out a little slowly as everyone was bunched up at the beginning as we headed through town, but it soon thinned out and everyone was up to speed. The roads were great in the beginning, and we were flying down flats and downhill. This lasted quite a while, and sooner or later we were going to have to come back up the hills to head back to town. Most of the hills were pretty manageable, even for a novice like me, but there were two that were really tough. One of them I had to switch to my lowest chainring and I still thought I was going to have to get off and walk. However, I made it up and was rewarded with a great view. Couple that with roads that were a little less than smooth, and we slowed down quite a bit. The rest stops were well spaced, but if I had to make a couple of suggestions, they would be to have a couple of more porta-potties to speed things up, and even though the peaches were wonderful, they need to be chilled down. It was really hot by the end of the ride. I think I can say that rest stop #6 was my favorite. Being a guy, the reason was obvious, and probably most guys will agree!

The Peach Pedal was certainly a mixed bag. I think they had way more riders than they expected as they ran out of several items (packets, water at rest stop five and at the finish). They had to modify the route to meet road construction and some of the roads on the 100K (actually 89 K which was advertised) were quite bad. The rest stop volunteers were great and I don't know if I've been on a ride with better intersection control (the police and boy scouts were great) I enjoyed the ride but we must do something to educate all riders of the rules of the road. There were way too many rides riding double file on two lane roads backing up traffic. One guy rode right down yellow line and refused to move over even when told by other riders. His attitude was I have just as much right to this road as the cars. I don't know how it can be done but jerks like that makes it more dangerous of the rest of us. With more and more riders at these events we simply must ride correctly or somebody sometime will restrict these rallies we all love.

What a challenging and fun ride! There were tough climbs which were tempered by some thrilling downhill runs. The event was organized superbly. The start was smooth and the signage was great! Traffic control was very helpful at all of the major intersections.
Given the number of riders (probably in the order of ~1500), everything ran smoothly. SAG was conspicuously present and the rest stops were entertaining. Love those fresh peaches and homemade cookies!
Especially refreshing was the concern of so many riders when I had to fix a flat when I was only 1.5 miles from the finish. I couldn't begin to count the offers of help I received. What a great bunch of folks. Don't miss this one next year.

Rode the Peach Pedal for the first time, the routes were well marked, plenty of food and drinks at each of the rest stops and all volunteers were friendly. The roads were good but occasionally had a couple of cars speeding around corners almost hitting riders, maybe put some warning signs of upcoming bicycles at some of these blind corners that you cannot see around. Lastly may I say how disappointed my group was when we arrived at the finished and didn't hear any music, no banner, and no food what's with that, kinda hard to stick around and vote on your favorite rest stop when there isn't anything to hold you there after, maybe something to think about.....

This was a great ride through beautiful country. Just two negative comments. First was way too few porta-potties and rest stop 6 was out of water/Gatorade as us mid pack 100 guys came through. It was way too hot by that time of day to ride the last 15 miles with not enough water. Other than that, it was great. We will be back next year.

This was a mixed bag for me this year. This is generally my second favorite ride of the year. It has a great route and some challenging hills. Registration was noticably improved from last year with more volunteers and the gym being open prior to the ride. Intersection control is really good, roads are well marked and the volunteers always seem to do a good job. Also, the smoothies at the finish were a nice touch. Showers at the end are always good. However, there are a few suggestions I would make. First, the start of the route really needs to be reworked so that there are not so many turns. They should also go to a staggered start by ride distance to space everyone out a little especially since they are now around 1,500 riders. 4 porta johns plus the inside restroom is not enough for that many riders at the start/finish. The rest stop at Dennis was out of water and almost out of gatorade and there were many many riders behind me. I also noticed they moved the porta johns at the rest stop at Dennis to right across from the rest stop. Bad move. The line was so backed up from the rest stop into the road and the line from the porta johns was into the road from the other side making it practically impassable for those that did not want to stop. Finally, I did not notice any sags. We left town to the west along the route of the 27 and 40 mile ride coming back into town. This was around noon and there were numerous riders still out on the route struggling. One gentlemen did not look good at all and was walking with about 2 mile to the finish. We turned around and offered him a ride in, which he took, and commented that there had been no sags at all and he had been looking for awhile. In summary, great ride that I look forward to every year and will definitely be back next year. 

This ride has many issues that need to be addressed. The mass start has got to go. If you are going to have that many riders and insist on winding them thru very narrow streets with many turns you need a staggered start. Until we got out of town, all riders were crammed into the streets and you had 100 K riders mixed in with children that were riding the lesser distances. This creates a very dangerous situation, especially for the kids. I saw NO Sag Wagons all day long. I think I saw one radio truck. Hopefully, there were not many riders in need of assistance. Volunteers at the rest stop were very apologetic but it is not their fault that there was no water. I know that you only promised so many shirts and that is fine but to run out over an hour before the ride is not good. Finally, on such a hot day and with so many riders, it is totally unacceptable to not have water at the final rest stop. The people that run this ride need to start putting in a little more money and effort to make this ride better. They are trying to just get by instead of making this ride worthy of the number of riders they had. I will probably not be back next year.

The Peach Pedal was a disappointment for my husband and myself. The route was challenging and that is part of why we do these rides, but that's not the whole of it. The rest stops were great and supplied with a lot of different items to keep us going and believe me, that is what helps keep us going. The start of the race was a nightmare. There were so many riders and many of them inexperienced, made for the first three miles a nail biter. I didn't clip into my pedals for those three miles which made the hills going out of town a challenge. We saw two people go down before the ride even started. Why start a race in the middle of a neighborhood, especially with that number of riders. The lack of any "thank you" for doing this ride was disappointing also. No T-shirt, no little trinkets at all to say we even did the ride. We always like to have some time type of memento to look back on and talk about the ride again. I came away with the impression that they just took our money and ran with it. Not sure I was even told thank you when they took my check. There was no structured start or finish. That's the fun of these rides to get to meet new people and see how everyone did. That was definitely lacking.

Good ride - very scenic. Great support from police and Boy Scouts at intersections. Last 10 miles of the 100k were hilly. Could have used more porta potties at the rest stops (especially for the women) - but the volunteers were great and very supportive. Nice event.

This is an excellent ride in which I have ridden many years. Roads were well chosen, marked and monitored with excellent traffic control. A fine cadre of volunteers were omnipresent. Road surfaces were generally superior with some surprisingly bad stretches every once in a while.
However I do feel they are slipping a bit. There is absolutely no excuse for running out of water at a rest stop as happened on the last rest stop on the road. The results can be lethal. I didn't stop on my chosen ride, the 54 miler, but I saw the consequences of no water. I had to share a water bottle with a man who was about to stroke out from the heat and lack of water. He had anticipated water at the last stop...but they had run out. He was weaving down the road after the dry stop almost ready to pass out. I pulled him over and let him finish one of my big 30 OZ bottles. From others I hear their attitude was very casual about the matter at that stop. Sort of strange when you are talking about such lethal consequences. When I arrived at the finish I thought I would stop off for some water...guess what...no cups and they ran out of water .They laughed and said some was coming. Luckily there was a fountain inside. Very strange.
One point about the course: The place where the 40 mile splits off the 54 mile needs to be marked better. People traveling in large groups (and there were many) didn't see the road markings right at the turn and many 40 milers went straight ahead and found themselves on the longer ride. This turn needs to be marked well in advance of the intersection...a large, tall road sign would be perfect. You might want to find another start location for this ride a bit more out in the country. Traffic with the Peach Festival is Ugly. You might want to even think about another weekend. Just a thought. - I would definitely ride this ride next year. -Norm Weatherby 

The Peach Pedal Classic in Weatherford this past Saturday was a really good, well-supported ride. The routes were well marked and rest stop volunteers were really hustling. There were pretty long lines for drinks and ice at the first 3 rest stops - maybe more tables/folks handling out water/ice/Gatorade would have helped. The traffic leaving town was awful - to the extent I'm not sure that I'd do this ride again because it's pretty far to drive to and then to sit in tons of traffic to get home was a delay as well. Registration was great. Would have been nice to have had something festive at the end.

Another excellent ride this year. Well stocked rest stops. Route markings were abundant with boy scouts at just about every intersection. Love the t-shirt! I do have concerns about the start of the ride: 1500+ bikers winding through residential streets is either very exhilarating or very terrifying depending on your point of view. Peach festival was great too!!

I've done this ride for several years now and I must say I was extremely delighted with the new and shorter 55 mile route - I liked it so much better than the old route! We arrived at 6:30 and barely got a T-shirt before they ran out, but the registration and all of the pre-ride hoopla went pretty well and the organizers are to be commended for keeping the pre-ride comments brief and to the point. Everything went very smoothly despite what appeared to be a record crowd of riders. The planners did an excellent job picking the new 55 mile route. I liked the new route because it is more scenic, has less traffic, has good quality road surface, has lots of rollers, and was a straight shot into town as one crosses over the Interstate. My only suggestion would be to include a rest stop somewhere between rest stop #5 and the finish line. We rode straight through on two bottles of sports drink and made it back ok, although we talked with several riders who cramped up the last five miles of the ride. The Peach Pedal has always been sort of an average ride but the new route really spiced it up and we consider it to be equally as challenging as the old route and certainly a lot more scenic. We'll be back next year with our Camelbaks and ready to KSB!

Mixed bag....good registration, good traffic control, nice routes, friendly volunteers. I registered about 6:45 (T-shirts were GONE by that time). The start location was not obvious and there were no signs. Cyclists were cruising both directions on the street in front of the school so that was no help. Finally figured out where to go....and then found that after a mass start we were packed on narrow streets, taking turns on gravel covered corners. The varied skill levels of the riders made for an "interesting" first few miles. Rest stops were a disappointment. Water, ice, and sport drink seemed to be in either in short supply or gone at all of the stops we stopped. The volunteers seemed overwhelmed and there weren't enough of them. The logistical problems of getting adequate supplies to all stops weren't solved and as a result, some riders suffered. I was REALLY glad that on this ride I had topped off my Camelbak - something I don't often do. Most of the rest stops needed more tables, more drink coolers, more supplies, more volunteers, more port-a-potties, more...of almost everything. Only one had anything but fruit - those homemade cookies were really good! - and the fruit would have benefited from being iced or cooled. Mushy, warm peach slices just didn't hit the spot! NEVER saw a sag vehicle, NEVER saw a radio truck, NEVER saw anyone getting help from anyone other than another cyclist. And then the heavy traffic once I finished and was ready to drive home...I know Weatherford would like us to stay for the Peach Festival but who is up for walking around the hot festival area after a long, sweaty, tiring bike ride? Maybe there would be a way to direct those of us from out of town to the Interstate thru some neighborhoods or something so we wouldn't have to fight the Festival traffic on the main roads. Not sure if I'll come back and do this one again.

The Peach Pedal was a good ride except the the one muddy rest stop. The fresh peaches make it a delicious event.

The Peach Pedal is a great local ride. The route was well marked and there was very little automobile traffic once you got out of town. The start is rather congested so a staggered start would be an easy improvement. The turns and intersections were all well managed by Scouts and Police which made the transitions easy to spot and safe to cross. With the exception of one relatively short section of road on the long routes after the #4 rest stop, the roads were fairly smooth - smoother than the two other local rides I've done so far this year. The two rest stops I visited were well stocked with peaches, bananas, water and sport drink, although one was low on ice. All in all a good time. For those of you that show up at the last minute and complain about not getting a T-Shirt - go buy one. Consider it a late fee for YOUR poor planning, not the ride planners/sponsors. Now if we could just get the City of Weatherford to do something about all that festival traffic...

The Peach Pedal was a disappointment for me. There were so many riders and many of them inexperienced, made for the beginning a nail biter. I have been riding for close to fifteen (15) years and due to a mass start going through a residential area caused me to go down and break two ribs. I will try this ride one more time. If it has a mass start again it will be my last time. 

Did my second Peach Pedal this year and was somewhat disappointed. It all began with the start---no staggering and kids falling down everywhere taking other riders with them! Crowded, narrow streets that lead immediately to some hills where more kids fell off their bikes or swerved dangerously, were awful. The rest stops were great last year with my only complaint being that the porta johns were sitting in the sun. They were moved this year, but there still didn't seem to be enough of them--which made for some long lines at the rest stops. Boy scouts and others were very friendly and helpful at intersections. However, water and other stuff seemed to be in short supply, which can be deadly in the heat and humidity of July in Texas. Many people did not see any support vehicles, but I utilized them and saw them pretty often. The race is a big let down in the end. No one to cheer you, no festive atmosphere (unless you go to the peach festival), no food, no cold towels, no after race events. Maybe the route could change where we ended closer to the actual peach festival and where riders could be greeted by live music and the crowds. Although, one must admit that the traffic is almost not worth the effort. It took me nearly an hour just to get out of the little town and onto the crowded freeway. 

I loved the 89k route and wish that it would become a permanent route option. I had ridden the 100k the year before and found the shorter route more favorable. Nice to be able to ride in after the long rolling hills on Old Dennis Road, especially given how hot the Peach Pedal tends to be. Agree with other reviews that the start needs to become a staggered start. We started ahead of the neighborhoods b/c someone with our group was extremely uncomfortable with the mass start. I registered and picked up my packet early so I got a t-shirt but I do think they need to order more than 1200 since the ride has easily exceeded that number for the past two years. I look forward to this ride every year.

July 10, 2004

From Brent Baker, chairman of the Peach Pedal Bike Ride
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Peach Pedal this year. This was  my first time to chair the event, and I was blown away by the feeling of community amongst the cycling enthusiasts of the area. Thanks also for all of your comments and suggestions. We take them all  to heart, and we look forward to another great ride on July 9, 2005!

The organizers made some significant improvements to the riding aspects of the 2004 Peach Pedal, but dang it if they found a new way to confuse people on where the event is located, for example, when you go to the registration website and click on the map button this is the response; "We were unable to determine the exact location of this address on a map. This is a map of the general area. For exact directions please contact the location". LOL Anyway, we were very impressed with the turnout and with the many improvements this year. The roads were much cleaner, with almost no flats observed. The corners were much cleaner and relatively free of debris, almost all of the potholes were patched, and the road condition was very good. The biggest improvement was the marshalling of the intersections, particularly along the interstate and busy intersections, but also at most all of the intersections - thank you, thank you, thank you! We did the 10 0k route and it was extremely well marked. The only rest stop we visited was #6 and it was done as good as a rest stop can be done; lots of goodies, fruit, water, & sport drink and the volunteers were among the best observed at any of the 200 tours I've done. The finish line didn't have a banner and the post ride tent didn't have much in the way of food or drink, but all in all, this was a much improved ride. As they say in Australia, GOODONYA!

The organizers announced 1500 riders this year, about 400 more than expected. I am glad I pre-registered because the lines at the registration tables were the longest I think I have seen at any of these rides. I think many people were probably displeased with that, but that is what pre-registration is for, to help the organizers better plan and minimize associated surprises. From my perspective it was another great year for the Peach Pedal. I rode the 100K route (60 miles by my computer). The course was challenging (about 2000 feet of climbing by my computer), the road surfaces were good and were well marked. This ride is similar in difficulty to the Firecracker 100 in Stephenville. I love the rides out south and west of Fort Worth. The terrain is challenging and the countryside is pretty. I didn't stop at any rest stops this year but after the ride I enjoyed Parker County peaches available in the tent at the finish. This was my second year to do this ride and I hope to return next year

I've done the Peach Pedal for many years and it's a still a wonderful ride. We did the 40 miler and there were a few hills but nothing too bad. Decent roads, beautiful scenery, excellent signage, police support, good rest stops and helpful volunteers everywhere. Although, I don't recall seeing a sag wagon on the route. Perhaps they were unmarked??
Good t-shirt w water bottle in the packet. We also did the Peach Festival afterwords. I'll be back next year!
Special Kudos to Fort Worth Cycling for taking care of my squeaky brakes.
My only complaint has to do with other cyclists. "Car Back" means MOVE OVER. It's no wonder some drivers want bikes off the road. "Share the Road" goes both ways. Also, if you have a mechanical problem, move to the side of the road. It's just common sense.

Another great ride in Weatherford and Parker County. Can't complain about the hills, I knew they were there. Can't complain about the weather, wouldn't do any good. The rest stops were all stocked well, Ice ( a must) cold sports drink, lots of peaches and oranges. I have only two knocks for the ride directors. If you plan and promote a 7:30 A.M. start, hold to it. Don't penalize the riders who read the brochures and know when to get there by making them wait for the late comers. I know the delay is for traffic control, but why pre-register and get there early if we know you will hold the start. Next, try to find a better road to start on. With the amount of riders this ride brings in, winding through those streets at the first is not only slow its dangerous. (late-comers trying to get through to the front group?) We will be back next year. My complaints are minor. All in all it was a "Peach" of a ride.

This was my first time at this ride, in a word. "Fantastic". It was so well organized, the registration was easy and friendly, great T-shirt, overheard someone say there were about 1,500 riders, so a great turnout. The route for the 100km was well marked, easy to follow the green arrows on the road. The Boy Scouts did a great job of pointing the way at many of the different intersections. I thought the police did a wonderful job at the busy intersections, and allowing the riders to have the right-of-way. The peaches, were great, the other snacks were very tasty. The route was well planned with some challenging hills, and the scenery was lovely, in some areas there was shade, that was a relief. At Stop # 3, it was good to see how well prepared they were as a rider who has obviously fallen, received medical attention, for the cuts and scrapes. Well done organizers..I

WHAT A FAST START! The first four miles or so were shoulder to shoulder doing 21+ mph. Club rides are that way, but I wasn't expecting it on a rally. I liked it. I did the 40 mile route and found it to be a great ride on smooth roads. At most turns I noticed volunteers with brooms to sweep away gravel dirt; nice touch. The reststops were well staffed with a variety of goodies and drinks. People kept talking about hills and I didn't find any---until the last eight miles! One of them was a real puker. I could hear my hearbeat in my ears! Quite the rolling terrain during the final stretch and my average speed of course suffered, but the hills were a good challenge and provided enough variety to make this a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Didn't need it, but I never saw a Sag Wagon on the route. A great and highly recommended ride. JKyle

This was my second year riding the Peach Pedal and I had a great time! It's become one of my favorites because of the low traffic, good roads and excellent support. I rode the 40 mile route and never had any "road issues". Is it me or is most of the route going downhill riding out of Weatherford? If you want to make some time, push the beginning a bit. But, save some for the last 8 miles because it gets hilly. There's one particular long, gradual to medium climb on Dennis Rd as you get closer to the Interstate on the way back in. If you're riding the 27 miler, you get to climb a longer, steeper hill on the service road between FM1189 and Dennis Rd. The route maps are good and easy to read. They're especially helpful in that they show you the distance to each reststop. The 40 mile route is mostly flat to gently rolling with a few noticeable climbs. The only "negative" thing was that there was no rest stop #2 at the 10th mile as indicated on the map. Not that I needed it, but, did I miss it? Other than that, great job!!! Looking forward to next year's Peach Pedal.

I pre-registered for this ride and got there an hour before the start. They were already out of medium t-shirts. I brought my grown kids with me to ride (not pre-registered) and had to wait in line for 30 minutes only to miss out on t-shirts for them altogether. They did the 11 mile and enjoyed it. I did the 27 mile and got so sick we couldn't stick around for the Peach Festival. We were riding this event to celebrate my son's 19th birthday - he LOVES peaches. Unfortunately, those at the rest stops weren't even ripe. I'm going to try this event again next year just to see if I can replace this bad memory of the event with a good one. I'll be sure to pre-register everyone and get their even earlier. Also, the 27 miler had what seemed like mostly up hill during the last 10 miles which is bad enough (being at the end of the ride) and the scenery was largely the service road of the highway!

Great Job Peach Pedal!! The 100k route was in great shape this year, it looked like there were a few extra arrows painted on the pavement this year which helped a lot in some spots. Volunteers at the turns and rest stops did a great job; was one of the bikini clad cheerleaders at rest stop #3 a man? I had a flat tire with three miles to go, thanks to the guys who stopped and helped me out with it.

I pre-registered for this ride and got there an hour before the start. They were already out of medium t-shirts. I brought my grown kids with me to ride (not pre-registered) and had to wait in line for 30 minutes only to miss out on t-shirts for them altogether. They did the 11 mile and enjoyed it. I did the 27 mile and got so sick we couldn't stick around for the Peach Festival. We were riding this event to celebrate my son's 19th birthday - he LOVES peaches. Unfortunately, those at the rest stops weren't even ripe. I'm going to try this event again next year just to see if I can replace this bad memory of the event with a good one. I'll be sure to pre-register everyone and get their even earlier. Also, the 27 miler had what seemed like mostly up hill during the last 10 miles which is bad enough (being at the end of the ride) and the scenery was largely the service road of the highway!

This was the 3rd time to ride this event. Seems it gets larger every year! This year they ran out of shirts early in some sizes and completely out of all sizes with 40-60 people still in line to register. Coordinators from other cities could take a few pointers on how to put on a good rally. Every turn was marked or manned. Rest stops were frequent in the beginning, sparse in the middle and frequent at the end. People staffing the stations were extremely helpful and courteous. This is one of the most enjoyable events to ride all year. None of the routes are that difficult and the scenery is typical Texas farmland complete with sights, sounds and smells of active farms.ahhhh..yes.green acres indeed!
A few suggestions for riders: 1. When riding 2 or 3 abreast completely taking up one lane of traffic, when someone yells "car back" , MOVE TO THE RIGHT in single file.
Four different times riders forced cars to cross into oncoming traffic lanes in order to get by. Twice as I passed the pack I mentioned to the riders that the cars have the right of way.each time I got back a reply that included a few 4-Letter words.
2. When approaching a rider from behind to pass from either side, call out "on your left/right".
3. If you are come up on a rider who is already engaged in passing another rider or a group of riders, please avoid initiating your passing attempt until the first rider has completed his/her pass. Again, more unpleasant remarks exchanged as I passed a girl who was having a hard time keeping her bike moving up a hill, about ½ way into my pass another rider came up on my left and shouted at ME to watch where I was going as he tried to pass me. People, these are not races!
Still, all in all a very good event and a "must ride" every year.

July 12, 2003

This was the nicest 100k course I've been on this year. Most of the roads were low traffic, scenic country roads, with only a few rough spots. Traffic control was very good. There were some hills. Oh Yeah, there were some hills! In fact, I don't really remember many flat stretches at all. You were either going up or going down. A really good workout. Very good rest stops (especially #3 with the bikini clad helpers, sorry scouts, you are nice guys, but that is stiff competition) although one ran out of sports drink. The fresh peaches were great! The only complaint is that there were no showers available afterward. Most of the rides in the area this year had showers available. I would have gone to the festival and spent some money around the square, but I felt way too gross. Come on Superintendent of Weatherford schools, help the community out next year and open the doors to the locker room!

What a day for a bike ride !!!! And what a place. The Peach Pedal has to be one of my favorite rallies. The Parker County peaches alone make this a "must do". They were sweet and tasty this year . And they threw in a bike rally as well. I'm glad I was preregistered. The registration line was way too long. I think a lot of riders showed up a little on the late-ish side, as I heard at the start line there were still a hundred or so people still at registration. Big turn out this year . The start made a swing through the square, which made for a nice touch, although the start line was several blocks away from registration. The traffic control was excellent. I saw only one blind intersection on the 100 Km route that would have been much safer had it been manned by someone. Hats off to the local law enforcement and the Boy Scouts for a job well done. Rest stops were great. I saw only one stop that had no bananas or peaches. We skipped about three of the rest stops. I am sorry to hear one of the ones we skipped was manned by bikini clad helpers. It just doesn't pay to skip rest stops!!!!! Some of the rest stops had themes...one was a "fifties" theme. Helpers braved the heat with their fifties style "poodle skirts". Good job by all the helpers and volunteers. Lots of hills here , and plenty of sunshine. The heat did not cause too much of a problem. All the rest stops I stopped at were more than willing to hand out ice. Did I mention the peaches? Great t-shirts too. I was too grungy to participate in Peachfest. Showers would have definitely helped. Then I could have stuck around and participated in the festivities. (and maybe bought some of those world famous peaches) The 2003 Peach Pedal lived up to its reputation as one of the best rides around. I will definitely be back next year. Roadkill.

The Peach Pedal is a top shelf tour. The rest stops were great and the fresh Parker County peaches were juicy and sweet. I found a place to hose off before heading down to Peach Festival on the square where we soaked up some atmosphere and enjoyed peach cobbler and peach ice cream and peach lemonade. I got several compliments on the t-shirt and the folks in Weatherford are nice and friendly. Thanks again, see ya next year. - Rooster

As in the past, the route to the ride had no signs and no volunteers to assist riders looking for the event location. We arrived at 6:30 and parking close to the registration area was almost non-existent, but we improvised and parked next to the gym. Registration was much quicker than in the past but the organizers still haven't got the restroom issue resolved; perhaps they've not yet experienced the "big-dump" pre-ride ritual. I wonder if the local cowboys/cowgirls partake of this ritual before they saddle up for the rodeo. Oh well, on to "the review"! Lots of riders this year and the weather was more cooperative than in past years (no rain), but the sun and low wind made for a warmish ride. We met lots of friends, including my old ride buddies from Wichita Falls, and made the 7:30 ride start with plenty of time to spare. The start went smoothly and for the most part riders were well behaved except for a few who managed to lose their water bottles the first 15 minutes of the ride. I noticed many people who either flatted or had mechanical problems, I think I saw more flats at this ride than almost any other I've done. The roads were marked exceptionally well and it would have been difficult for anybody to take a wrong turn on this tour; roads for the 100k route was in relatively good condition except for about 10 miles or so of freshly laid gravel, which made for a hand and butt numbing half hour until we got back to good roads. The only rest stop we did was the last one and the peaches were quite tasty and the volunteers did an excellent job despite a high rider usage of this particular stop; the sports drink was mixed slightly stronger than normal, which is how I like to drink it during the last 45 minutes of a hard, hot, hilly ride - I wish more tours would do it this way. The rest of the way to the finish line was uneventful and my girlfriend had a PB for just her 3rd 100k.
My main nit to pick is the police officer who was supposed to marshal the intersection of I-20 at the 50 mile mark of the 100k; cars were backed up in all directions because the office was sitting inside his air conditioned patrol car eating something that looked suspiciously like a donut. When we went through it was confusing and we were almost hit by a jeep as a result. The officer looked like he had no clue as to what he was doing, or supposed to do. This intersection should have two full-time marshals to keep traffic flowing smoothly AND safely.
Oh, the other thing on my wish list would be a better supply of peaches for the finish line tent. We made it over to the tent about 11:45 and there were no peaches left; I guess they have just enough for the riders who get back before 10:00.
We'll be back next year because the hills make for a challenging ride; this could be one of the best rides in the region if the organizers could make a few small improvements; I suggest you contact the organizers of the Mesquite Rodeo Ride, they have it figured out. See ya'll next year!!!

We went on to Weatherford this morning and enjoyed the ride. Boy, there were a lot of riders! The route was great, beautiful scenery, some very food stops with helpful, friendly servers, especially number 7

Surprisingly, no reviewers have yet mentioned the 3 miles of fresh chipseal that left piles of loose gravel spread across the road. I don't fault the organizers but having nearly found myself in the ditch no less than 4 times, I would have opted for a re-route or a more-thorough clean-up of that stretch of road. Otherwise course was good, people were friendly. Still one of the toughest finishes anywhere. Sadly, each year I see people walk those rollers near the end and that's a tough introduction for beginners whom we are trying to bring into our beloved sport. I'd really like to see them come up with a better finish for the shorter routes. Perhaps that's not possible in hilly Weatherford. Way too few porta-pots at the start but each time I do this ride it's the same so they might as well call it tradition now!

A map of the route(s) posted to the website prior to the ride would be helpful. Next year I'll be in Weatherford at least 45 minutes before the start. I'll add an hour to that if I'm doing late registration. We missed out on the tee-shirts (primarily because of the pressing need for a bathroom) and I've added extra safety pins to my ride bag. Bathrooms were VERY scarce. It was the first time in a long time that I've seen the men's line longer than the women's. A nice surprise for me but we'll stop at a gas station next time. Of course if more of us had pre-registered they might have lined up a few more porta-potties. Opening up the school's bathrooms/showers is a better idea. You can't clean up or change in a porta-potty and it would incline folks to stick around for the festival. I could have done without the freshly laid gravel but it was a beautiful day and a lovely rolling ride. The 100k riders merge with the slower folks a couple of times which can be a little startling if you're not expecting them. The Fifties rest stop around mile 30 had lots of everything and great music. The poodle skirted volunteers were hustling. I will be eternally grateful to the tandem rider who warned us that the last nine miles of the ride are uphill (He even had a map. Did I mention that you should pre-register?) Challenges like that require a little mental preparation.