Biscuits & Gravy Rotary Ride For Hunger, San Angelo, TX
August 2007
This ride is held on Sunday, no doubt to give riders from other parts of Texas a chance to get to the ride. It is about a four hour drive from the metroplex, so had it been held on Saturday we would not have been able to participate. As it was, we took a road trip to San Angelo and stayed the night there. We had dinner at Zentner's Daughter Steak House, which I highly recommend.
Registration: This could be done online through active, or through the mail using the PDF form provided. The ride cost $30 early and $35 the day of the ride. I have learned it is cheaper to register through the mail than pay Active’s fee, so this was what I did. There was no discount for tandems or small T-shirts available. Early packet pickup was held at the local bike shop on Saturday afternoon and was very quick. The packet had some useful items; A tourists guide to San Angelo (handy for finding a restaurant later on) a box of toothpicks and a wooden ruler. Junk mail was minimum. I give registration a 3/5.
Ride Location, Parking and Traffic: If you knew where you were going, it was not hard to find the ride. It was held at the north shore entrance to San Angelo State Park, about 15 miles north of the city. The entrance was marked with a large sign. There were not a lot of riders on this ride, so parking was more than adequate and traffic was at a minimum. There was only one portajohn, but again this was more than adequate because of the small amount of riders (I would say about 200).
Route: Comments pertain to the 35 mile route. The 25 mile was the same, except it didn’t have the northern loop. The 35 mile was two loops. The traffic on the northernmost loop was minimal on Sunday morning. Then the ride went on US 87 for a few miles. One rider came to grief here, crashing on the warning bumps when he tried to ride abreast of his buddies on the shoulder. Luckily, I didn’t see the accident. Moving off of 87 you came to the crown jewel of the route, a run along the top of the OC Fisher lake dam. The surface seemed to be rough like chip seal, but you were at least 50 feet above the surrounding countryside and had a spectacular view. There was a stiff headwind from the south and it was a challenging workout I am sure for even the skinniest butted rider. There were no guard rails, so if you didn’t pay attention and rode off the road you would crash on the rocks and boulders below and probably end up a paraplegic or dead. Still, I saw one family with small children riding in the opposite direction.
After at least five miles on the dam you reach the end and ride around the south shore of the lake, then join up to FM 2288 for the ride back to the start. There were a few grueling hills at the start, but then it was mostly a mild downhill grade, and with the wind at our backs we were really able to end up fast. In all an enjoyable route which gets 4/5.
Rest Stops: There was only one rest stop on this route, and they were damned proud of it. It was fully stocked with pickles, pretzels, cookies, fruit and PowerAde, and was placed at the end of the dam run where it was needed the most. There was an earlier stop with only water at the junction of 2288 and 87. In my opinion this rest stop should be moved to a nice picnic area on 87 about half way through the ride, there are tables and an awning there and it is a perfect place for a rest stop, don’t know why it wasn’t used. It should also be turned into a full blown rest stop with snacks. Despite the fact that there were only two rest stops that was all that was really needed, so rest stops get 4/5.
Mechanical SAG was provided by Mad Duck and consisted of their mechanics riding their bikes and bringing up the rear, so they could help anyone who had problems.
Post Ride: This is where I would score the ride low. In order to take a shower, you had to drive 10 miles south to the southern entrance to the State Park, and there was only one shower there. Luckily I was the only one seemingly who wanted to shower. We then drove back 10 miles to enjoy the biscuits and gravy and some leftover steak from the huge portion we got from Zentner's Daughter Steak House the night before. Next year I am going to bring a sun shower so I don’t have to leave the ride area just to take a shower, or I would suggest the ride start at the south entrance to the park if possible. Post ride activity gets 3/5.
In conclusion, this was an enjoyable ride and we will probably be back.
Having never been to San Angelo, I didn’t realize they had hills like these and this ride was a pleasant challenge. I found this ride to have some of the friendliest volunteers around. They were eager to please, even though you could tell they were not cyclists they sure tried hard. The ride had an interesting set up of water stops that had only water and some basic food, then the rest stops which would also include one port-a-potty. Running out of water was not a problem, finding a toilet could be. My husband and I did the century option and were only joined by 12 others (per the ride officials). The route was almost completely free of cars, although I would pass on the dam with crosswinds and chip seal if I could. We stayed at one of the recommended hotels; they had breakfast on 15 minutes earlier than posted and gave us a 4:00 check out. It was nice to take a shower before driving back to Austin. The main thing I think could be improved is the quality of map (although the route was well marked), have medical at the rest stops and there could be more toilets at the start. The organizers welcomed feedback via email and I have a feeling they will take suggestions to heart. Every one that stayed at the finish line (I think all the volunteers we there) thanked us for coming to their ride. That was just a small thing that makes you feel good when you are tired from 100 miles in the saddle. We will return next summer for this ride.
August 6, 2006
While mine was cut short because of the tire failure, I really enjoyed the part that I was able to ride. The 62 mile route that I began had a good variety of terrain and scenery. The rest stops were appropriately spaced and well stocked with refreshments. The volunteers were helpful and friendly. I noticed the sag wagons were periodically checking for problems, which unfortunately, I became one, but I didn’t have to wait for more than 10 minutes or so before help arrived. In all, my ride was great – just short. Only suggestion I would make is that when I first arrived I was looking for a toilet (after drinking coffee from Eldorado to the park). Either I didn’t see one or didn’t take the time to ask for a location there at the start. The guy parked next to me also asked and later told me he found bush close by. I made it to a remote intersection off the route.
I hope your response has been satisfactory from other riders. Again, thanks for all yours and the clubs efforts. I know it’s a real challenge putting an event like that together. I enjoyed the chance to ride through some different country and appreciate the opportunity. I plan to be back next year.
I am writing this review to let you know about a recent ride I participated in, the Biscuits and Gravy Rotary Ride for Hunger in San Angelo, TX. This is one of the better rides I've been on, and this is the second year I've participated in it. It has a ride for just about any level, but for the longer rides it has the perfect mix of hills and flatlands. The support staff is unparalleled by any other ride I've been on. Just about the time you need a break - there's a place to stop with fruits and Gatorade and water. Thankfully, I did not need the Sag Wagon, but you always knew they were there; you'd see them running back and forth checking on everyone. I met people from all over, Austin, Lubbock, Dallas, as well as many locals. This is a great ride for a beginners, and even better for further distance riders - great preparation for the Hotter than Hell, or simply make this your century ride for the summer.
This year's route change made the ride much better. It was nice to get the hills early in the ride rather than later. This ride has a little of everything, hills, flats, country roads, and a 7 mile scenic ride across the dam. The painted arrows on the road made the route easy to follow. Thanks for a well organized ride. Keep up the good work.
I rode this ride in 2006. It starts in a park on the North side of San Angelo. I got there early and had an hard time finding the start. I finally found a local newspaper reporter and a volunteer parked at what they thought would be the starting area 30 minutes before the start, but no organizers. After further driving around, we finally found the starting area. This is a camping/picnic area with few amenities.
The ride itself is quite scenic, West Texas desert with rolling hills. The roads are good enough. The course is a loop but doubles back on itself in one spot to get the mileage up. You turn left, go down about a mile, and do a u-turn in the road to get a couple of extra miles. Odd. The stops are pretty bare bones; e.g. a pickup truck with water parked next to a porta potty.
When I got back to the finish after completing the 100k, I found a group of cyclists who had been in a bad accident. Apparently a local triathlete was riding on his aero bars in the front of a pace line and had lost control of his bike, taking down an entire group of riders. They were pretty roughed up. When I asked the rider who caused the accident why he was using his aero bars in a group, he became a bit surly. I emailed the organizer and asked her if she would be discouraging the use of aero bars in the future and have not received a response.
If I were to rate this ride on the scenery only, I'd give it an 8. But the relative high cost, $30-35., the bare bones amenities, the potential danger of triathletes, and the seeming unresponsiveness of the organizer make me want to look else where for pre-HHH warm ups.
August 7, 2005
The Biscuits & Gravy bicycle ride in San Angelo has finally come of age and it is clearly one of the best regional rides available. This ride has a distance to suit all riders, from the casual family excursion to the competitive century "hammerhead" who enjoys a real challenge. This ride benefits a Rotary Club hunger project and the Rotary Club has learned how to host a tremendous ride. For those of us who enjoy the Hotter N Hell ride in Wichita Falls---this is the penultimate training ride. For this rider, I am looking for to the Biscuits & Gravy ride in San Angelo this August 6, 2006.
This was our first out of town ride with our kids (7 & 3) and they loved the view from the top of the dam! State Park volunteers had a great rest stop and were thrilled to see families doing the ride. We made it a family weekend and came in on Friday evening. That gave us all day Saturday to see the Fort, the Nature Center, and do a little fishing at the lake. Our hotel gave us a 4 PM check-out time on Sunday so we could all go back and shower after the ride. That’s a nice touch I wish more rides would try.
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