The Collin Classic 2015

The 2015 Collin Classic

That's me on the left in the 7up jersey. Ken on the right of me joined me on this ride.

I have been riding regularly for the past few months in preparation for the Collin Classic Bicycle Rally, held annually in Mckinney, Texas. The Collin Classic has three route choices including a metric century of about 64 miles. Being that I had to head out of town almost immediately after the ride, I opted for the 46 mile distance. I averaged 18.5 miles an hour for the whole ride, finishing in 2:42 and so far it is the fastest average speed that I have logged for the distance that I rode. This year I bought a new road bike from Bikes Direct to try to set a personal record for average speed over long distances. The Motobecane Super Strada is proving to be a wonderful ride with the latest technology that I was able to purchase for an even 1k, including taxes. There will be a future review coming up on that bike. 

My friend Ken joined me and rode the same distance as well. It proved to be the longest ride he had ever done. Here are a few photos of the ride.

The early bird gets the worm! We were the first people to show up at the starting line.

No bicycle rally can be complete without a legit blue bear mascot.

Next up is the Hotter N' Hell. I'm still on the fence on whether or not I will be doing it this year. I want to continue to improve my fitness and hopefully meet my goal of a 20mph average.  We'll see what happens.

The 2014 Collin Classic Bike Rally

69 miles on the Woodrup, beautiful country ride.

Picture of the author. Photograph by Sugar & Spice Photography

On Saturday I finally got to participate in an event I had been spending a good part of the week preparing and training for. I put a hundred miles on my Woodrup bicycle on the days leading up to the Collin Classic Bike Rally, an event in Mckinney, Texas that benefits a children's charity called City House. I signed up for what had originally been a 64 mile bike route, but due to construction on some rural roads, detours had to be made and the route ended up being almost 70 miles. My goal was to make it through the ride in one piece and survive all 69 miles. Not only did I complete the ride, but I averaged 17.1 miles an hour, my fastest average speed yet for a distance that long. I took advantage of four out of eight rest stops they had on the ride to refuel on water, bananas, oranges and electrolytes. 

I have to say this is the most organized bicycle event that I have been to. The route was well marked and wound through some scenic country roads which made the ride that much more enjoyable. There was police presence directing traffic at all times through the route intervals and turns. The weather was beautiful considering this is Texas and temperatures can get to oven hot levels. The day was overcast enough to bear the high 80 degrees in Fahrenheit. 

Along the ride I met a 62 year old Chilean cyclist that was as enthusiastic about his vintage Peugeot as I was about my Woodrup. We rode the last nine miles of the ride together, and at 62 years young, I had to ask him to slow down and wait up for me a little bit as I was starting to cramp up on my back and unbeknown to me, had a rear wheel that had come off true and was rubbing on the brake pad.  He is in truly remarkable fitness for his age. I only hope I can do the things this guy does when I get to be his as old as him. 

This is the first time that I do a ride like this. I'm already pumped up about doing this ride next year, weather and all unforeseen occurrences permitting. I wish there were more spring and early summer rides like this were I live. While most of the country enjoys the July to September months, it gets dangerously hot here during that time. I can't ride during the middle of the day in the summertime, only in the early mornings or the evenings. Otherwise I put myself at risk for heat strokes and UV ray exposure. Therefore this will probably be the last event I see myself doing for the rest of the year. I really enjoyed it and it was a true test of my fitness level. However it did not leave me feeling defeated like some competitive events I had done in the past. 

Stay tuned for more updates from A Bicycle's Point Of View.