Tour de Trails, Winnsboro, TX

October 11, 2008

A note to the person that was so disappointed in the Tour de’ Trails bike ride. We are truly sorry there were no more participants than there were and that you were disappointed in the ride. Every attempt will be made to improve the route next year. As for not finding anyone who had done the ride before, we have several that return every year and some remarked that they liked this route very much and that it was very scenic. In fact a group of two came in 2007 and this year they had a group of ten.
There were a lot of signs. We tried a new sign system this year and they evidently were not as easy to detect as our old method. There will be a lot of changes in the signs next year. Sag wagons were behind the bikers on all rides with signs on the back of all Sag vehicles warning motorists that bike riders were ahead. As you noted, some people think they are the only ones on the road. We thank God that no one was injured. Again, we will make changes next year and hope you will give us another chance.
The mileage on the different routes has been checked in several different automobiles and it varies with each one. Perhaps we can get one of our local bikers to ride the route and give us a more accurate mileage for the benefit of the bike riders.
An apology is in order to the riders and the restaurants concerning the coupon for “any restaurant listed as a sponsor on the back of the T-shirt”. This was not taken care of properly as I failed to notify the restaurants and wrongly assumed that would remember from past rides that we had handled the coupons this way. I talked to the owner of Subway this morning and she was surprised that an employee had refused to honor the coupon. If you will email your name and address to jldavis@peoplescom.net Subway will send you a card that you will be able to use at any Subway in your area.
Imogene Davis
Pilot Club of Winnsboro

Let me start by saying I love the small town rides. They always seem to try so hard, are so friendly and go above and beyond. I don’t even mind the chip-seal roads – where I live we are surrounded by them! I looked forward to this one all week. I was really disappointed. Total of about 45 riders in all distances, and I didn’t find anyone who had done this ride before today (that should have been my first clue). I missed two turns, for a total of 6 miles, and went slowly for many more miles because I was afraid I had missed another. There were virtually no signs at all, no sag or mechanical support in evidence. I never even saw a ride vehicle except at the rest areas. Every rider I met asked if we were on the right road.
You know those rides where you have to go down some scary state highway to connect with the next part of the route? That describes about 70% of this ride. No shoulder at all for most of it, and obviously no warning to drivers. One guy pulling a boat laid down on his horn until we all got off the road and into the grass for him to pass. Three more right behind him were doing at least 80 mph. That’s when I realized the problem: these people can’t even share the road with each other!
So I cut it short and took the turnoff for “40 miles” (others said it was actually 47). Instead of a post-ride meal, they gave us this little $5.00 off coupon for “any restaurant listed as a sponsor on the back of the shirt”. Cool, right? From the finish, I spied one of them. It was a Subway about 100 yards from the finish. I ordered, and the cashier – then the manager – told me they didn’t know anything about it and wouldn’t honor it!
On the plus side, all 5 volunteers that I saw were friendly, and the landscape is beautiful. But if I were you, I would pass on this one. Maybe the Pilot Club could sponsor a monster truck rally instead. Seems they would have a lot of entrants and fans just on the bike route.

I have to agree with the previous reviewer. It's been a few years since I've ridden this rally, and as in the past the route was not well marked. My teammate and I followed the leader right through the first stop light where the one and only police car blocked traffic and thus missed the very first turn on the 20 (actually 25) mile route, so we ended up riding the entire route backwards. Luckily for me my bud read the directions and at least had us on the right roads, but we got split from the leader when we missed the first rest stop. We continued onwards and more than halfway in we saw the first "sag" vehicle, the driver of which helpfully informed us we were going the wrong way! Well, we weren't going to turn around so we just kept going. The lost leader rejoined us for the last five miles. Any hope for a sprint finish between the three of us, who'd worked so hard to get there, was dashed by the inane/insane fact that we had to go through three red lights (with no flaggers, no cops) and then cross five lanes of traffic to make a left turn on All Star Road, and then again to make a left turn on Hwy. 11. When we got back to the depot, there was no finishing line!! Instead, a lady came out and said, "Oh, you're early!" (It was nice to get the money, though the promised trophies were nowhere in evidence.)
As in the past I think this has the potential to be a very nice ride but there is NO on-road support. The last five miles were absolutely dangerous, especially if you're racing. (If they offer money, they gotta expect competition, even from a few dozen riders. A P1 showed up and won the 60 mile race.) For an organization dedicated to safety, the Pilot Club needs to step up and make this ride safer. The simplest solution would be to have the finish out near the city limit on 515, before you get to the intersection with 37. That way riders can slow down after the finish, make one left turn and then pedal a few blocks straight away back to the depot.

Excellent again this year. They always have a 2XL shirt for me. Small town rides in my opinion are the best. Great roads with not a lot of traffic, beautiful scenery and the most friendly girls putting it on. This ride is definitely one of my top 5 favorites. Nice shin dig with Bar B Que after at the park with a tractor show. Keep up the good work girls and I will definitely see you again next year. One of the hidden treasure rides. Thanks very much.

October, 2007

They have a new location for registering which I think is much nicer than last years location. The route have been changed this year and the roads were much better. This ride had the most hills in 47 miles that I have ever ridden. The senery is fantastic. The route went to the east and turned south off of Hwy 11 toward Perryville. The hills were fairly steep and from 1/2 to 1 mile long which caused me have aching thighs. I believe that I was the only recumbent on the ride. At least I did not seen any others. The rest stops were operated by a very nice group of ladies, which alway makes an old man feel better. They need to list the exact millage for each ride as the 40 mile ride turned out to be 47 miles, and the 60 mile ride was reported to 62.+ miles.. All in all it was a much better ride than last year.

Fantastic ride as always. Cannot beat the friendliness and the scenery. This ride is definitely a treasure each and every year. I have ridden this one for the last 6 years and will make sure to ride this one no matter what comes up. I always have the best feeling after doing this one, one that I don’t get very often from other rides. Thanks for the excellent work and time you put in to this ride. I definitely shows. No complaints at all in the 6 years I have done this ride. It gets better and better. I am fired up and looking forward to 2008.

October 2006

The weather was great, cool to start but it warmed up as the ride went along. I choose the 40 mile route. The first 10 miles along 515 went great to Coke. then turning north on Fm 69 the ride was fairly good except for a couple of place where Dogs got alittle excited. Como to Picton on Hwy 11 left a little to be desired. The shoulders had very large slopes and almost drop offs in places and the chip and seal was fairly rough. Picton south on 269 to a farm road turn east was fine and the farm road into Winnsboro was in fairly good condition for bicycles. As I came into Winnsboro I came on the railroad track angling about 30 degrees to the road with a pick up right behind me getting ready to pass and the approximatley 6 inch gap between the rail and the concrete grabed my front wheel and I went down. A 15 dollar front wheel straighting job and I am back in business and the skin will grow back. The ladies at the two rest stops were very nice. My complaint was there were no porta potties at the rest stops. At 71 years old the porta potties are needed.

The weather started a little cool, but warmed up. All the distances started in one group this year. I started at the back of the starting pack. A couple of professional riders set the beginning pace and dropped a lot of us in the first 4-12 miles. As a middle aged heart patient, I opted for the 20 mile race this year, rather than the 40, especially not knowing the route and having formerly experienced some challenging hills in the Winnsboro area. The support was limited, but the ladies are nice. I didn't stop at the rest stops, but the refreshments at the beginning and end were good. Although there were more this year than last year, too few riders make this ride, which makes it more challenging than it ought to be. The route was not as scenic as the 32 mile ride last year and Coke Road is not wide enough to handle traffic, cattle trailers, and bicycles all together without some anxieties. I will likely ride this one again in 2007 and hope for a different route.

October 8, 2005

Turn out for this ride was very low! There were 2 distances to choose from - 32 and 62 miles. I did the 32 mile route. There were only about 10 other riders doing that route. I don't think there were more than 40 people signed up for both routes combined.
I didn't care for the route. Heading east out of Winnsboro was fairly heavy traffic and little to no shoulder. There was no traffic control either, and we did make a couple highway crossings. Since the turn out was so low, all the riders separated quickly. I felt like I was alone for the majority of the ride. Once we turned off that main highway, traffic was a little better. It was hilly and scenic, but I still felt like I was paying more attention to moving over to let cars pass.
The volunteers were very nice, they did have 2 rest stops on the shorter route and they served bbq after. But I will probably skip this ride next year because I felt unsafe on the route.

This was my first east Texas rally. I have been riding an average of 2,000 miles per year for about 15 years and this was my first rally since heart bypass surgery in November 2003. I had prepared for the ride by riding lots of 6-20 mile rides and an occasional 25-30 mile ride. I rode with the lead group in the 32 mile ride for most of the first 24 miles, but then got dropped by the lead three riders.
The ride was not well-publicized or supported. Several miles of the highway were really rough-surfaced. Because there were only 14-15 riders in each distance, it could easily feel like a solo ride, but most of my rides are solo rides anyway. I ride routes like this often, and after over 30,000 miles of bicycling, am cautious of vehicles, but tolerate traffic well. The dogs were only a bother once, but we had to wait for sheep to cross the road. The organizing group could do better to support, organize, publicize, and cooperate with others and this would be a much better ride. I will probably ride this one again, but not expect good roads for much of the ride, feel the traffic whiz by for about 5-6 miles without shoulder on a major state highway, and enjoy the friendly ladies and good food at the end.

October 9, 2004

I didn't do this ride last year, but I read the review. The day started out wet, but for most of the ride it was merely cool and overcast. I rode the 62 mile (actually 64) route. I would classify myself as an intermediate rider. For me this course was very hilly and challenging from beginning to end. It was very scenic. I would agree with the reviewer last year who said the rest stops were basic, but they were adequate and frequent. The people manning the stops were very helpful and friendly. They acted like were so happy to see you. So much so, that I almost felt obligated to stop at every one and I did (however briefly). There were only 17 or 18 riders doing the long route and even though I was among the last to finish, the rest stops were there. I don't know how many riders did the 32 mile route because it left in a different direction. I rode almost the entire way by myself which made me a little nervous (not knowing the course). The course was clearly marked with arrows painted on the road as you approached a turn and then immediately after it confirming the direction. There were also streamers attached to road signs. I didn't miss a single turn. They even had arrows painted where you were to go straight through an intersection just to make sure you didn't make a wrong turn. I have a couple of complaints about this ride. First, the route put us on roads that had no shoulder with traffic going by at 70 mph. I have done 15 rides this season and this is the most unsafe that I have felt. I think the worst leg was along highway 115. My second complaint is that I was chased by dogs on five different occasions. Most were harmless, but one seemed particularly vicious. I used some of the water in my bottle to ward off his attack. I know there's probably not anything that can be done about this one, but it's worth mentioning. Anyway, I doubt that I will be doing this ride again mainly because of what I consider unsafe conditions. 

Having never been to east texas this ride was a chance to see that part of Texas. I was not disappointed. Even with the misty rain and overcast skies this route was the most beautiful I have been on in the Texas area. If it had been sunny..I would have just been in heaven. We did not realize that there usually are less than 100 entrants for this ride. I am sorry than more riders don't give this a try. It was hilly and at parts windy.yes there was chip seal and dogs .but look at the big picture here.This is the country.in texas.every route has its imperfections.I felt very special at the end of the rally that the women came up to us and asked how we were, how we liked it and THANKED us for coming and hoping we came again. The ladies were so sweet. I liked the wild life farm ..with kangaroos and zebras and even a camel. This is a small ride.and one needs to keep that in mind. I will come back .maybe the sun will shine.as the ladies prayed for.and lets see some riders come and take the challenge now..what is a ride without hills..??? It is worth getting spoiled by the women who took the time to stand in the rain to serve us cookies and fruit..with a smile and welcoming words..of course I am just a novice.but I loved it.

October 11, 2003

This is a good case of a well meaning group putting on a bicycle tour from their perspective. The Pilot Club knew where the start was but failed to put up any signs to let the bicyclists know where Civic Center is located. The website map made it look easy to find the start but I had to follow other lost cyclists to get there. They knew the routes and thought they marked them well with 1)frilly thin gold, black or green ribbons on trees or signs 2)1' green arrows in the intersections 3)instructions to "just follow the map". Of course, from a bicyclists perspective that is not very practical when you are traveling along trying to enjoy the scenery & ride. The rest stops were present but looked basic. This is a small ride but has great scenery with lightly traveled roads. Chip rock roads were present but what ride in North Texas doesn't have them. After the ride there were cookies and PowerAde but you had to fight though the crowd in the Civic Center (festival was going on) to find it. These ladies had good intentions but not the polished event I had hoped would happen. Most of the cyclists seemed to enjoy the event despite some short comings. It was an ideal day to ride my bike. I talked to one of the ladies with the group and they are trying to get help from the Sulphur Springs ladies (Spring Fever in March) to do a better job.

October 12, 2002

A small turnout of about 50-60 riders showed up. The organizers are nice people, but really do not know how to put on a bike rally. Two rest stops for the entire 35 and 62 mile courses!!! No SAG seen. No porta potties along the entire route. Routes were rolling hills. Nice ride for the self sufficient rider, but one I will skip next year.

My first time for this ride and I will probably go next year to see if it improves. Routes were good and there were 3-1/2 rest stops for the long route. The first stop was a card table with a bottle of water, but other stops were okay. Porta Pots would be nice for the ladies. Change it from race to tour and spend the money on the ride.

So this was a small sample of what rallies/races are about. To give a rookies prospective, it was pretty cool because everyone is very helpful. The organizers did a decent job. Traffic control wasn't very good since I was caught at the traffic light with about 15 other riders. I guess the police felt the leaders were more important. The course was marked well and the scenery was nice (except for the smells from the cows and chickens). I think some of the riders got lost because I didn't see them at the finish line. Oh well. I will probably skip next year and do more a challenging race.