After I scouted the Central Texas Showdown route by car it was time to ride the damn thing. Last time I did an ITT of the ETS route my editor, Ben Crannel, joined me, but aside from the start and finish, we never saw each other. That experience taught me how much different an ITT is vs a group start.
I still wanted to do an ITT of the CTS, but this time I wanted to invite some people. Invitations went out, but my friend Ariel was the only person to accept. I’m not surprised, texas, like much of the country, has been under a heat wave, with much of the state experiencing 100 x 100º days of heat.
The heat was a big concern for us too and at one point we were considering starting in the evening and riding through the night. But about 7-10 days before the ITT the weather started to cool down slightly and the weather was calling for highs in the upper 80’s / lower 90’s, which is still hot, but seemed manageable compared to the 110º+ days we’d been getting. So we decided to chance it and roll out at 9am on Thursday morning, with the plan of riding through the day and night, and then getting a hotel on Friday during the hottest part of the day
Training for this one was difficult due to the heat leading up to it, so a lot of my training was done in the gym. About a month before the ITT I road through the night to my girlfriends house, about 100 miles away, and after the weekend I road 100 miles back home through the night. Then about 2 weeks before Natalie and I did the 120 Ozark Rando. I felt really good, strong, and fit during and after each of those rides, so I went into the CTS feeling somewhat confident in my training and fitness. Ariels longest ride prior to this was 145 miles and he was off the bike for the month leading up to this trip while he was on vacation.
Our loose plan was to try and ride somewhat together, staying within 5-10 miles or so of each other, mostly for safety reasons and for the mental boost of knowing someone else is out there.
Ultimately, Ariel and I did not complete the showdown route. The reasons why are partially the subject of today’s episode.
This weekend is the inaugural Central Texas Showdown and we are welcoming 100 riders from around the US to take on the 3 new routes. Follow Texas Showdown Series to follow along.
All photography courtesy of Jessica Alexander
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