The second day began with a wake-up at 5:00, to be ready to eat and get on the road by 7:00. I got everything packed up, had a breakfast burrito, and staged my bike near the start so I could get going sooner. Even so, it wasn't until close to 7:30 that I got on the road, and the pace at the start was slow, as the majority of the riders took the Bechtel Challenge route. I had heard from a couple of people that it had some hills, so I was planning on going significantly slower. The first section was rolling, but my legs were feeling fine so it went fairly fast. I stopped briefly, maybe in Bellville, to take my jacket off and switch gloves. Then I latched onto a long pace line and rode with them all the way to the entrance to the park, around mile 30. I stopped at the break point near here, had some food, and went to the bathroom. Just before the entrance to the park, there is a significant downhill, but it was straight and everybody behaved. The ride through the park was lots of ups and downs, some a little longer but none significant. There was a nice downhill near the park exit, then we linked back up with the main group of riders just outside Bastrop. There was an accident at the bottom of the hill, so we were stopped and walking our bikes for several stretches, which was mildly frustrating. I skipped the lunch stop and made decent time, eventually linking up with another fast-moving pace line that I rode with all the way to the turnoff to get to a rest stop in a park in Webberville around mile 55. I called Ann here, took a bio-break, and had some food for the last push. Not too long after starting back up, I caught on with a pace line that was moving a little slower than I had been but offered more chances to catch my breath than riding solo. For the last 10 or more miles, they had the bike lane separated by cones, which made it difficult to pass on the left without hitting them. We basically stayed together until about 4 miles to go, when I passed them and went solo for the remainder. The route was all blocked off, so we didn't have to stop much at all. I finished a little before noon, and it was thrilling to have such a large crowd of people cheering me at the end. Ann and Laura were there with a sign right before the finish line, and I heard Ann yell out my name. Again, I was the second rider to the HP tent, might have been the first, but I met up with the ladies and we had trouble finding the tent. I had a sandwich and a beer, picked up my luggage, and we headed out. I felt fine at the end, just a sore neck from being bent over for so long. During the course of the second day, I saw two fiddlers, guys playing bagpipes, people dancing to YMCA, and rode through several clouds of soap bubbles. It was a much more festive day. In the park, I stopped to help out a guy who had a low-speed spill but was just a little shaken up. All of the training miles really paid off in giving me the stamina to ride through both days and feel good at the end.
Total mileage = 73.1 mi. Avg speed = 19.5 mph
Avg heartrate = 136 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2210'
