Ride United Parker County Charity bike ride, Weatherford, Texas

September 23, 2011

  First time for this ride to be held. The organizers did an outstanding job. Great route, plenty scenic, some climbing required and the weather could not have been better. Rest stops were spaced well and stocked with plenty of stuff, toilets and friendly volunteers. Active law enforcement support was found at every necessary location, even those way out in the country. This was a great, close-by ride and I hope they continue with it next year. Subway sandwiches at the end were appreciated.
For me, I would like a little more distance, but I can live with it the way it was. In addition, I hope that that pack of 6 or 8 Great Danes is secured inside their yard next year. They were just curious, not aggressive, but that many big dogs running out into the road makes me real nervous!

They need to rename this the hills from hell ride! Talk about a challenge. The ride starts out innocent enough, and fairly fast. If you like country roads where the trees drape over the road, this is it. Just beautiful. If you are not careful with your pace, the seemingly small little hills start adding up. Most riders who I spoke with after the ride said they were not expecting the fatigue. They just start stacking up. Like the frog who gets boiled one degree at a time. Before you know it, it's too late. You're cooked!
But if they have this ride next, I'll be there! The rest stops were manned by friendly folks, and there were plenty of Subway sandwiches after the ride. Only a couple of places needed better markings on which way to go. But they somehow figured it out and had people there to direct us. For a first time event, it really went great. To all the folks who made it happen...............................THANK - YOU!
I'll be back.

Note to self: DEFINITELY REPEAT THIS RIDE NEXT YEAR!! Nothing but positive things to say about this ride. ***. SAFE RIDE: A telephone number for Ride Assistance was printed on the map (yeah!)
1. Low traffic and No high speed traffic -- Almost the entire ride is on low traffic, beautiful, back country, two lane roads. Ride start and ride end are on Hwy 180 (70mph) for a very short distance. These sections were both well coned and beginning was well coned and well patrolled.
2. Excellent Signage -- Very visible florescent arrows painted on the road before all turns. A plus: In some cases, arrows were painted after as well before the turns. Additionally, there were neat, easily visible, easy to interpret signs posted before turns. In some cases, there were written signs on BOTH sides of the road (in addition to the arrows). i.e., one could easily have done this ride without a cue sheet or map.
3. Excellent intersection control -- I only remember one crossing that was not patrolled by law enforcement.
4. Sag - Motorcycles and vehicles.
5. Excellent roads and MINIMAL chip seal -- the only sections of the ride that had chip seal were the Highway 180 sections at the very beginning (0.1 miles approx) and very end (2 miles approx). There were a few holes in the road that were not marked/circled; a problem for inattentive riders only.
6. Excellent Challenge (for me). If you need a hill repeat workout, this is it! This ride is hilly! Also, several false flats with a 3% grade (avg). Perfect prep ride for longer ride at Paluxy Pedal next weekend.
7. Excellent Rest Stop (at mile 30 - the only one I stopped at) Too many portapotties is so much better than not enough. Great selection of snacks and fruit. Friendly volunteers :-) Thank you, Volunteers!
8. Timing in regards to weather: Perfect time of year to be doing a challenging, hilly ride like this.
9. Subway sandwiches at ride end.
10. Great Parking -- plenty of space and lots of volunteers to keep it organized and flowing smoothly.
11. Ride started at 7:30am - loved that start time for an earlier finish.
12. Packet Pick-up at registration was quick and flowed smoothly. The ride packet contained the t-shirt, something to eat, a map, a pen, and NOT a multitude of contributions for my paper recycling bin (i.e., ads).
Other: There were three distances: 24, 34, 59. The distance that I participated in was the 59. My skill level: After taking almost a year off from cycling, I started riding outdoors again in April. This was my 5th 100K ride since April 17. Avgd 19.5 mph at August HHH 100K (flat ride). This ride took me 4 hours averaging 15.5mph, not counting the one, 15-minute stop at mile 30 to shed cool weather gear.

I did the 59 mile ride for Ride United. A new ride this year, usually when a new ride comes around I tend to expect some issues but I think the organizers did a great job for the first time hosting this ride. Signage, which is usually a problem, was excellent. Probably some of the best signs I've seen used. Large signs with large arrows that could be seen from a distance. They also marked the pavement as well. A nice touch, at some intersections they even market the pavement with the 'do not enter' symbol to make it clear not to turn there. The ride was primarily north of Weatherford and the roads were pretty decent, especially as we got away from the city. From about mile 4 through 48 there was minimal traffic, except where we had to connect via some secondary state roads, I couldn't have seen more than 10 to 15 cars coming or going. The course was filled with small hills with gradients from 1% to 2% overall. They had very good support from the local police at major intersections, even in some of the more remote locations. They actually stopped traffic on Hwy 180 until all the riders had left, which was interesting because of a semi staggered start. For those that care, they had a selection of sandwiches after and were handing out water bottles to riders as they came in. Cannot comment on the rest stops, but they all appeared to have a couple of porta potties. A few suggestions for improvement. This time of year a 7:30am start time is not needed, temps were probably in the upper 50's at the start of the ride. Also, I believe the earlier start time limits participants from further distances attending the ride. The ride map was good unless you needed to read the road name, since the markings went over the names. Using map myride.com or other service could fix this issue. The Sheriffs Posse parking for the ride was in grass but mostly dirt, so with morning dew, tires were covered with dirt at the start. The facilities were adequate for the amount of riders but get a bigger turn out parking and rest rooms will be an issue. Overall a very good ride and I will come back next year if they continue to put it on.

I rode the 59 mile route in Ride United Parker County. Everything was in place as expected for a great bicycle rally. There was signage and parking assistants. Registration was very easy on-line and at the event. The routes were well organized for safe cycling including good signage and traffic control at all major intersections. The attendance was low (175 riders) maybe competition with established rallies. Great workout course, there was no resting on any of the winding routes, the shorter routes got the same treatment as the longer routes - hills, wind, beautiful scenery. The routes are not overwhelming but there are several 6 to 11 percent climbs. The 59 mile was 57.7 miles and Garmin Connect logged the 34 route as 36. I would recommend combining the 57.7 mile with the 34 mile on the return route from RS1 to RS4 to give 61.6 miles. To attract more riders increase the route to 100K. I like the 7:30 start time.