Tour De Gap - Buffalo Gap, TX

July 23, 2005

This was one of the best rides that I have been on this year. It is held in Buffalo Gap, Texas just a few miles south of Abilene and has been growing in size each year. The ride is to Benefit the Food Bank of West Central Texas so it is for a good cause. The ride starts at an old Indian campground in the center of town. The registration was quick and very well organized. Due to the unexpected number of riders I believe that they ran out of T-Shirts for the ride. They had a 100K race for both individual and teams including prize money. They had the usual lesser distances for the other riders. I saw people from the DFW area, Midland-Odessa, Wichita Falls and from all over Texas. It is nice to see that the word is getting out about the ride. One cyclist that I talked to just found out about it last night on a website and decided to attend. Many people were using the ride for a tune-up for the Hotter 'n Hell 100 in August. The roads were well maintained, some chip seal but for the most part wide shoulders and the traffic was quite low. This hills were awesome (at least the downhill part!) and provided some challenge to the ride. Even the wind cooperated this year and was not the usual gale force winds that we are used to out in West Texas. The SAG support was EXCELLENT! When I stopped for a break at the top of a hill, in less than 3 minutes I had two vehicles check to see if everything was alright. Even the local mailman stopped to pick up a cyclist and brought him back to town! BikeTown (a local bike shop) provided mechanical support for the ride and were helping several cyclists even before the ride began. I had a great time, met a lot of nice people and am looking forward to attending the ride next year.

This was a fun ride. It wasn't large (~400) but it was handled very professionally. The start was smooth and the route was marked well. The views were great with some real panoramic vistas through the gap (some tough hills, too). SAG was well-organized and very evident. The volunteers at the rest stops were helpful and dedicated. It was worth the long drive.

August 2, 2003

Great day for a great ride thru the hills near Buffalo Gap. Registration went very well with no problems at all and lots of friendly people to assist. I did the 100K Tour and did not race. I saw riders from the DFW area and Midland who came for the race this year. The organization, rest stops and the ride all seem improved this year compared to last. The attendance also seemed to be up this year and that is wonderful as the ride was to support the Food Bank of Abilene. Met a lot of very nice people along the way and the food at the end of the ride was appreciated. I will plan on attending the ride next year as I had a great time. Hope to see even more people here next year.

Well here's a great ride for the adventurous! We went to Abilene ( Three hour drive ) on Friday and stayed at a motel 9 miles from the Start at the rustic Buffalo gap historic park in Buffalo Gap TX. The ride only had a little over 200 participants...but it should have a thousand. It was a "race" for all of those so inclined with men and women's age groups thru 60's and up. ( I won 3rd place for the 60's and up males). Or you could just stroke along enjoying the scenery...which was very rustic Texas. The ride has awesome straight-aways stretching to the horizon, sweeping curves, roller coaster hills and two very serious 10% grades for the hill monkeys. Oh yes...did I mention heart stopping downhill's? Serious, serious downhill's with all but the fearless and brain dead riding the breaks. The roads were "Old" chip seal...so fairly fast and in good shape ...traffic was non-existent...road markings great (absolutely impossible to get lost)...and rest stops abundant. The people were super friendly. This ride has no negatives.
After the ride, under huge, spreading shade trees, there were hot dogs, hamburgers, water melon, corn on the cob, chicken, etc! A real pig feast.!!! I saw riders from all over the state..some from Dallas. Ride cost $20.00...plus motel...which is cheap in Abilene. Hey guys...this may be the best kept secret ride in the state. A real fun, fun experience with a little, or a lot, of everything for everyone. I'm going back next year.
If this ride doesn't slap your donkey nothing will.
Norm Weatherby...Dallas

Ok... three weeks until hotter than hell and they cancel Keller!! We decided that if we wanted to do well in wichita falls that we needed to make the 3 hour trip to buffalo gap!!
We are sure glad we did. It turned out to be great training for hhh. Very nice people, almost NO traffic, and a course that really had elements for everyone. Some hills at first, followed by a very long flat stretch in the 18 mph head wind (ahh,, there is the hhh training !), then monster hills with thrilling downhill runs.. We broke a new speed record for our tandem at 48 mph!! (that's with touching the breaks a couple of times). Just to let you know how big the hills were; at the bottom of the 48 mph hill we only made it up 2/3's of the way up the other side with an ending speed of about 5 mph !!!! yikes ! I guess that this is the reason that we were the only tandem on the 100 k route. My wife did win 1st place for women 40 + cool,,, We were really just glad to finish it at all !! We will make the trip again next year... west Texas AIN'T flat you-all !!!

The Tour de Buffalo Gap was one of the best rides I've ridden this year. Registration was quick and easy, although they did run out of T-shirts. Said they weren't expecting that many riders (which is good). The rest stops were at 5 miles, 15 miles, 25 miles, and 35 miles. (I did the 25 mile route). The roads were really good with very few rough shoulders with little or no traffic. It was a good overall ride. Mostly uphill (gradual with a few steeper hills) for the first 15 miles, but the last 10 was downhill all the way and it was a blast. All the personnel were very friendly and helpful. Will definately try to ride this one again next year. It was GREAT!