Power Rally  - Denton, TX

October 2006

Overall this is a good ride that does need some serious changes. FM 428 needs to be eliminated from all routes. The road is very rough and extremely busy with traffic passing at 60 - 70 mph. One cyclists was hit by a vehicle on 428 approaching Denton and was taken away in an ambulance.
Rest stops are fine except they were all on the wrong side of the road except for one. Rest stops should be on the right hand side of the road so that cyclists do not have to cross against oncoming traffic.
I saw no police an any of the major road crossings after the ride start.
I'm not sure what happened with the t-shirt situation. During registration they were telling us all they only had size small t-shirts left, but were handing out larges. I know that doesn't make sense but that is what happened.
Overall this is a good ride that needs some serious tweaking. I'm afraid I won't be back unless the route is fixed and made safer.

What a nice li'l rally! My first time there, recommended by several riders. I didn't register until that morning, and T-shirt sizes were limited to Small and XXL, then soon, just Small (good for me...got enough "nightshirts"!) Route was pretty pleasant (32 mile). NO MECHANICAL SUPPORT available...I encourage the organizers to have maybe a local shop to set up at the start, at least. Nice pizza and Subway sandwich lunch afterward, and pleasant volunteers throughout! Consider attending this ride next year.....

Our (me + wife) first time to do this rally. We did the 32 miles as a recovery ride for the HHH (has it been that long?). Stopped at each rest stop, and each was well stocked. Nice to have PowerAde in bottles instead of getting who-knows-what-strength out of a cooler. It was much faster to distribute that way, too (other ride organizers please take note). Good routes, beautiful scenery. Doesn't take long to get out in the country. Wind was somewhat brutal coming back in, it was chilly and overcast all day but never rained. They even had a registration table set up in the overflow parking lot-what a great convenience and nice detailed touch. Very indicative of the rest of the event's planning as well. Saw very few SAG wagons but lots of Denton Electric trucks-no big deal as we never needed one. We will definitely look forward to this one again next year.

What a fantastic ride! This was my first time and I really enjoyed the event. The weather and scenery was really beautiful. I could not have asked for a better stocked, staffed, organized, or planned event. We got great little goodie bags and the signage was really helpful throughout. There were so many smiling faces at the rest stops and a lot of nice people on the ride. I'm surprised more people don't show up! I went with a co-worker and we had a really enjoyable time on the 57 mile. I will for sure be doing this one again next year! (Oh, and the free lunch was quite welcome!) -- Eliot Landrum < eliot@landrum.cx>

Overall I give this ride C. The registration process was fairly smooth. They attempted a stagger start but they had the shorter distances up front with the longer distances at the back. It was a good attempt but it did not work out very well - your more experience riders will ride the longer distance, now they have to make there way through all of the slower riders. Also those at the back of the start line could not hear the pre-ride instructions - please ensure your speaker system can be heard in the staging area, the people in the back (57 milers) could not hear anything. The plus side the roads were well marked and it did cover some really nice scenery. Some of the roads did have traffic and the shoulders were wide, but the rednecks in there pickup trucks pulling horse trailers did not give an inch to the cyclist. They would blow by you doing 60+ and if you were riding in the middle or close to the shoulder line (less debris), they would almost knock you over. Plenty of rest stops and good support. We did have to navigate our way through several intersections, I do not consider that a big deal, but police support at some of the intersections with major roads would have been nice. The day was cool and cloudy and the wind kicked up at the end. It is a nice ride and has the potential to be a great ride. Start looking for new route - stay off some of the major roads, the start needs some work. The riding season is coming to an end, so I am getting in as much as I can. Despite the C grade, I will back next year.

Overall this was a good ride and I will be back next year, but there are some kinks that need to be worked out. The registration was easy, the goody bag was great, the rest stops were well stocked with food and friendly people, plus there was food before and after the ride. The route was fine except for one section of horrible road, but that was managable and short. Mostly the 32 mile route was on country roads or was on larger roads with huge, smooth shoulders. The route was fairly flat. I do wholeheartedly agree about the rest stops being on the wrong side of the road. I saw the rider that got hit by a car at the first rest stop and I got hit by another cyclist while I was waiting to cross traffic for the second rest stop. The rider that hit me would have both seen and heard me if she had not had headphones in her ears and had been looking where she was going rather than having her head tucked against the wind. My accident wasn't the ride organizers' fault, but could have been prevented by better rest stop placement. Can't say that I enjoyed being thrown onto the pavement and sliding into the ditch, and that is why even when it is difficult to find space on the right side of the road it is worth the effort. If they get the rest stop placement worked out, it will be a little gem of a ride. Unfortunately, this year was a little dangerous.

October 8, 2005

This was my first time doing the Power Rally and I came away with a positive impression of the ride. The goodie bag for pre-registered riders was excellent with a great design on the t-shirt. I did the 32 miles and it was a fairly flat fast ride. Didn't stop at any of the rest stops so I can't comment on those. I understand, lunch was provided afterwards but since I didn't want to hang around an hour and a half for it to start, I can't comment on that either. I do question the early 8 am start, especially at this time of year. The signage was excellent except for some confusion at the first rest stop. Some of the roads were not good. How about a second rally where the proceeds go to road maintenance? 

Great ride, smooth roads. The route was well marked with signs and arrows painted on the pavement. The route was also marked with sighs all along the route. I rode 20 in light rain and didn't see one sag wagon but when I really needed one three showed up.

The Denton Power Rally is still near the top of my list of great rides, even though Mother Nature tried getting her revenge for all those beautiful mornings we've had to ride this last season. I do wish to point out something that should be addressed - the signage over all was good, but the turns should be marked a little earlier. When you're head down & into the wind you could easily overlook a turn. Hopefully, the race organizers can make these adjustments so that nobody ends up lost in Oklahoma on TX/OU weekend. (Not a good thing!!) Overall though, great ride and great season. See ya next year!

This was, as last year, an enjoyable ride. Registration was simple and quick. The course (57 miles) was pretty well marked though, if you didn’t pay attention it was easy to peddle off on your own (a couple of the folks that I rode with managed to do so). The roads were in pretty good shape (in fact, I don’t recall a bit of the dreaded chip-seal) and the rest stops were easy to find. Added to this that the weather was little short of perfect and you have the makings of a really good ride. The only small bit of criticism that I might offer up is that the one lane bridge early in the course is a bit of a rough patch and a sign warning of that would be nice.

October 9, 2004

This was my first Denton Power Rally, and I'd have to put it in the "best kept secret" category. Compared with other rallies I've ridden this year, this was a nice course with a lot of smooth pavement, enough climbs to keep things interesting and a not-terrifying level of traffic. Most of the heavily-traveled sections of the 30-mile route I rode had wide shoulders without too many puncture hazards lying around. Aside from the one driver of a custom pickup truck who wanted to play chicken with the pair of  riders ahead of me, most seemed perfectly willing to Share the Road. I could  have done without having to stop at a couple of traffic lights as we came  back into Denton, but unlike one flinty-eyed roadie who looked both ways and  then blew through the red light I'm not in such a hurry to finish that I'm willing to risk being dragged beneath the wheels of a Ram 1500. As noted by others, the goodie bags are the best I've seen (A gym bag and a water bottle with a compartment for keys?? That's even better than socks!), and I wondered how the organizers can afford such cool stuff *and* door prizes after the ride. The only thing I can figure is that they keep the attendance down by not doing much promotion. Once a friend mentioned  the
ride, I had a really difficult time tracking down a flyer for the ride, which is kind of a shame when the goal is to raise money to the benefit of low-income families. The rest stops were very well stocked, thus addressing one of the  knocks from a previous year's review. The one complaint I heard was from a rider whose pedal had come unscrewed from his crank, and he was upset that  the sag folks didn't have a 6mm hex wrench for him. I carry all the tools and spares I need for my own bike, so I guess I wouldn't have noted this lack. The folks manning/womanning the stops were friendly even on one of the chillier, gloomier mornings of the fall season, and those back at the park after the race were almost effervescent as they checked raffle tickets and handed out pizza. This was one of the best rides I've done all year--especially given its relatively small scale--and I'll look forward to going back again next  year. Regarding the question of the route markings, I can understand not wanting to spray paint the road surface. If everyone who felt like it started spraying their markings on the roads, we'd have a real mess on our hands. That said, there were at least two instances during this ride in which  I didn't see any signage would have missed a turn if not for the color-coded arrows sprayed on the pavement. Vandals will always find amusement in stealing or changing signage, but they can't steal sprayed-on pavement markings. I suppose a compromise would be to station volunteers at critical turnings (good luck stealing a person holding a sign), as the Cross-Timbers Classic does, but that's an additional manpower requirement--and possibly*the* most boring assignment ever.

This is my second year doing this ride, a few rough roads but I have had alot worse. The routes were well marked and the two rest stops I stopped at were well stocked. I heard alot of bitching at the end of the ride but my only complaint was the 57miles instead of 62 or 63.I will be back as long as they will have me. Olson/ Bennigans

This ride caps the season and I really can't think of much they could do to improve it. Teensy bit better parking and a mid-distance course would be nice. They could also start lunch a little sooner; I was long gone by the time it was scheduled. But otherwise it's nearly perfect. It has the finest packet around. The route is nearly perfect, challenging but not excessively so.

This was my first time in this ride, and I found it to be one of the best. The roads were very well marked, both with signs on the side and painted arrows on the roads. There were also volunteers in the road at several critical points - once for a steep downhill right after a turn and again before a railroad crossing. I am still a beginning rider, and the 30-mile ride was the perfect length with just enough hills to add some challenge. The goody bags were the best I have ever seen, and the meal after the ride was an added bonus. I will definitely plan to attend again next year.

As many have mentioned, great goodie bags and a beautiful course and part of North Texas to ride. A few things to consider are SAG support and signage. I had several mechanical problems in the first 10 miles of the course and the SAG wagon was parked at one of the break areas which is a bit defeating, and when I had hobbled back to the break area the SAG car had no tools, tubes, or stock of anything.transportation only. So maybe a little brush-up is needed there for next year.
There were several intersections with conflicting signage. Road paint for the 57 mile course pointed left and the paper signage pointed straight at two locations. At one point just after the Ray Roberts park the course took a fairly major turn off the main road to the right heading into horse stable country (the best part of the course). There was only one street paint arrow pointing right with no paper signage. On each of these sections, packs of riders ahead of me continued the apparent wrong way. At the end of the course, the signage overlapped the 10 mile course, so it was unclear the correct track back to finish the 57 mile circuit. Needless to say my ride was 64 miles not 57. 
All that said, what a great area to ride and we were able to squeeze it in just before the rain. The volunteers did a great job and were very much appreciated.

October 11, 2003

Rode in the Denton Power Rally yesterday. Was a little late getting there and miss the start. Rode the 30 mile route and thought it was very nice route. The rest stops had very friendly people supporting them. With that said, this was the first rally I had ever gone to that had no T-shirts, no water bottle, no nothing if you had not pre registered. Very disappointing! To me T-shirts are free advertisement for them for the next years rally. The sack lunch provided at the end was very good! All and all enjoyed the rally just hope they have more T-shirts next year!

I rode in the 10/11/03 Power Rally in Denton, my second Power Rally, having ridden the inaugural event last year. Your entry fee goes a long way toward getting some well stocked goody bags. This year our wives participated. We chose to ride the 30 mile course, which was laid out pretty nicely. Every preregistered rider was provided a laminated map of their course route in their goody bag. Starting out there were a few rough spots in the roads, some of which were marked with red paint, but it was a fairly good course with a nice mixture of flats and a few moderate hills. The route was generally on a farm market road or an asphalt road with no traffic. We stopped in Sanger at the first rest stop, which looked to be slightly under stocked with refreshments, and after a brief stop we continued on a farm market road to Green Valley for a good rest stop in the shade of some oaks. This road had no shoulders, but was minimally traveled, and the the few cars and pickups there were slowed down and seemed cautious around the riders. We traveled on the last leg via FM 428 north into Denton, riding the 8' wide shoulder of the road. This was good road, and we rode leisurely into town and back to North Lakes Park. Don't laugh to long, but it was 11:20 when we arrived back at the start. We did spend a little extra time talking and lingering at the rest stops, and the weather was wonderful, so everyone in our group was pleased. I believe I might have heard a complaint or two about a sore posterior, but everyone said the ride was great. If you're looking for some good people, and some relaxed riders, this ride has some of that. Come join us.

Rode the 60 mile (actually about 57) and found it to be a nice ride with some very beautiful sections and roads. Traffic was light on roads with no shoulder. Volunteers were very friendly and helpful. Police and volunteers did seem to cover the route as well. Overall a good event for which I will participate again.

Participated in the 30 mile route. It was a nice route, and the rest stops were staffed with super friendly volunteers. Good selection of goodies at the rest stops (fruit, cereal bars, cookies, etc), and a great sack lunch at the end. Signage was very good as well. The only thing I would recommend is adding a 45 mile route. 30 is too short, but the 60 is a little too long (for me, anyway). A 45 would be j-u-s-t r-i-g-h-t.

I rode this ride for the second time - 30 miles- , it was a great course, well marked and for the most part not too many cars. Missed the second rest stop though, apparently it was off the road near a church according to a friend. The only thing to complain about, I don't mind the $25.00 fee, but what do you get for it? Answer: Nothing this year. Even if you pre-registered, only the first 100 received t-shirts and whatever else there was handed out. I think the organizers need to re-evaluate. There are lots of riders out there willing to participate and handover their money but to get nothing.....come on......sack lunch?????
Organized rides are fun, however are charities seeing these simply as cash cows to be milked dry and give nothing or virtually nothing???????

This is the second year that I have rode this ride. I ride these rides all over the state of Texas and the Power Rally had the best goodie bags that I have seen in 10 years! It had a duffle bag, air gauge, towel, sports bottle, and many other little neat things in the bag. It even had the maps laminated so you could attach them to your bikes or in your pockets and they would last the entire ride. I don't know what the rider was talking about regarding us not getting anything for our money. My friend registered the day of the rally and got a small goodie bag (only the pre-reg got the duffle bag and was guaranteed a t-shirt) and the coordinator told us to call on Monday and if they had any t-shirts left she would send him one. We called and she sent us one that same day, which was one a rider did not pick up or want. That was way above and beyond. Thanks a bunch.
The rest stops were well stocked and the people very friendly. The lunch was also a nice touch. The bad spots in the road were well marked. Signage was excellent, with paint on the road and professionally signs posted. The police helped all the riders get out of town safely and the there were a number of cops that drove the route the entire time. There was also good coverage with the SAG Wagons. I saw at least four or five different ones throughout the ride..
My friend and I definitely plan on riding next year and we would highly recommend this ride to anyone.
Good job electric company.