1/2 Century Bike Rally - Mansfield, Texas

September 2004

I am by no means a seasoned rider but I really felt compelled to post a review of this ride because the organizers were very interested on how to improve the ride and attract more riders each year.  Here was the good in case the long review becomes tiresome...catered Spring Creek BBQ and pizza at the end of the ride that was included in the price of registration.  The Ride...the route was flat for the most part except for some tough hills in a residential area.  The rest stops were pretty well manned and stocked for a ride that had 300 or so riders.  One suggestion would be to color code the routes by painting arrows on the road....particularly at turning points.  This ride was marked ok but could have been clearer.  Should limit the number of distances....I think there were 6 different distances which only added to any route confusion and SAG vehicles were not identifiable.  The police were plentiful and helpful at intersections.  One suggestion would have been to have some supplies available at the start of the race.  There was no water, gatorade, energy snacks, etc...just coffee.  The ride organizers are sincerely interested in ideas on how to improve the ride so anyone else who was there should post their suggestions.  I sent them this web site so hopefully they will peruse this and other reviews to find the good, bad and ugly ways to put together a ride.  Also, attend other local rides to get possible ideas....

As with all bike rallies, there is some good and some bad associated with this ride...first the good. The organization and registration were excellent. Parking and package pickup were easy and we all had plenty of time prior to the start. The radio DJ from KSCS and the cheerleaders (cheering seemingly every occurrence!) were a welcome addition. The  course itself was on good roads and very few hills. Although I did not stop,  the rest stops appeared to be well manned and supplied. The quality/talent  of rider at this ride (no doubt we had some excellent Fort Worth and Dallas area riders) was surprising to me...I tried to keep up with the leaders and after about 5 miles from the start of the 50 miler, I looked at my  computer and noticed that I was going 30 mph and had averaged 28 mph so far. No wonder I was out of breath! Now the bad and these are major issues that  I think the ride director should address...first, the route markings going out were o.k., but the return was terrible. This course was far too complex to not have each distance marked separately...I missed a turn on the 50 mile return route and ended up back at the start line after only 31 miles! The only warning came from the afore mentioned DJ who tried to caution us at the start line on specific roads, but as I said to a gentleman standing beside me, that announcement meant nothing to me as I'm from out of  town and was not familiar with the roads. I know that maps were provided, but again these routes were too complex and I did not memorize the course. Please either paint the separate routes on the road or have a volunteer there to help us out-of-towners. And even though it was brilliant  scenery, the route over Joe Pool Lake was ridiculous! We had to stop and  dismount our bikes to walk it over a gate that was blocking the entrance to the road over the lake dam! I could not understand why the gate was closed. This has got to be fixed for the next ride! Also, the police and SAG support appeared to peter out at the end...I went through (2) fairly busy intersections that had police support at the beginning of the ride but  were no where to be found at the end. This ride was scenic and flat enough  to warrant a return trip next year, but the issues I listed above really  need to be fixed.

This was a very nice ride which deserves more prominence on the calendar. The volunteers were friendly and enthusiastic. The course was challenging, but not unreasonably so. And there were plenty of extras like non-white t-shirts and a full lunch at the end. The course could be a little more imaginative, since we basically went back and forth on Lake Ridge a couple times, but it was fine. It is always regrettable when two good rides are on the same weekend particularly since there are a couple vacant weekends in October.

Great weather and the wind was not too bad. Nice place to ride with light traffic most of the way, which was evident by the 50-75 other riders in the area just doing there normal Saturday ride. I only stopped at one rest stop and it seemed well stocked for the number of riders there. Great food at the end and a chance to sit down and meet new friends. Only a few minor problems. Signs for the routes. A lot of people missed one of the signs during the "hills" section of the ride and ended up ridding to the top and then turning around and going back down the same hill. It was also a little confusing at first because of the double backs to make the 50 miles. And it was a little strange to have to lift your bike over the gate to ride on the lake dam road. I'm not sure what the recunbennt bike people did there. This was my first time for this ride and I will be back next year.

September 13, 2003

It was only their second year, and they really did a great job! There were about 200 riders and the day was perfect - high 60's to low 70's and little or no wind! Packet pick up was easy and KSCS (96.3) and the Disney Radio stations were there with goodies and prize give aways! The Mansfield cheerleaders were there to give us a rousing send-off (after stretching exercises) and we started on time! The route was well marked and the rest stops were really good! They were well stocked with both refreshments (bottled water, bottled Gatorade, fruit and packaged snacks) and friendly helpful volunteers. It was really nice to have medical personnel @ the second rest stop (we had a slight mishap and needed a band-aid). Also, the sag wagon was seen frequently on the route, asking if you needed help and giving encouragement! And when you finished the ride there was Spring Creek Barbecue, Cici's Pizza and ice cream! This was one of the better rides we have done this year and we will definitely be back next year!