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Pedal Power Wildflower Ride was amazing
My legs are pooped today, the after effects of a one-two punch this weekend: The Pedal Power Wildflower Ride on Saturday and the Capitol 10,000 on Sunday.
But boy, was it fun.
My husband Chris and I have done the Pedal Power ride four or five times. It’s a great supported ride that benefits the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center. We do the 62-mile route, which starts and finishes at the LBJ Ranch. It winds through some of the most spectacular wildflower viewing areas in Central Texas, including the famous Willow City Loop.
Raj Randeri (who took some of these photos), Katie Ryan and Charlie McCabe joined me and Chris for the ride this year.
Highlights?
The flowers. This year’s show was the best ever, and I’m not just talking bluebonnets. Besides those rivers of blue, we saw white prickly poppies, Mexican blankets, winecups, Indian paintbrush, phlox, Mexican hats and more. Gorgeous!
That giant downhill. Yikes! I’m trying to train myself not to grip the brakes down that screaming downhill on Highway 16, but it’s tough. Anyway, the miles slide away like unspooling thread. Until…
That giant uphill. OK, we whine about it every mile of the way leading up to it, but there’s something about pedaling a bike up that enormous hill at about the midway point that makes me feel like Super Woman.
The cattle. At one point, we had to pedal around a gigantic brown and white steer standing in the middle of the road. Now that kind of traffic I don’t mind!
The wind. Not exactly a highlight, but I will remember this year’s ride for that stiff wind that built during the day. It’s like an unending hill that you can’t see. Ugh.
The rest stops. This ride has the best aid stations! Besides water and sports drinks, riders feast on beef jerky, fruit, sausage wraps, cookies, granola bars, crackers, cheese and more. Is it possible to finish a ride weighing more than when you started?
The homemade spaghetti lunch at the finish. No store-bought meal here. These folks gather the crockpots and cook up a mountain of pasta and sauce (including vegetarian!) for hungry riders.
Did you do the ride? What did you like/dislike? Other favorite rides or wildflower viewing spots?
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By Bob Brown
May 30, 2010 8:09 PM | Link to this
Pam,
A friend and I crashed during the 2010 Wildflower Ride, so I did not have as good a day as you. I have rode the ride about 7 time over the years and have normally loved it with passion. We are still trying to identified the rider that rode into us from behind. This ended up taking all three of us to the pavement and we suffered considerable bike damage. If you happen to know this individual, I would be interested in finding out his name. We failed to get it at the scene of the accident as we were focused on trying to repair the bikes and return to riding which I did for awhile until Raj convinced me to stop and give it up for the day. I know Raj from Team Tacodeli.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Best regards,
By Pam LeBlanc
June 1, 2010 2:25 PM | Link to this
Hi Bob, I’m so sorry to hear about what happened. Thank goodness nobody went down in the path of a truck or car! I hope your body has recovered, and if I hear any more details, I’ll let you know. Pam