This was my first tour. I had a good time. I started much closer to the front than the back. It was nice that it was down hill to start, did well moving in out around all the bike traffic. It started to open up a little after about 3 miles. There were lots of beautiful houses down Swiss avenue. Started to get a calf cramp at about mile 12 (bad form). Focused on pedal technique for a little while and all was well.

Loop around White Rock was nice - it was my first time to ride there. Nice area. The short hill as we joined back with the twenty milers was a bit of a suprise, this area could have been organized better, as some of the rookies were stopping in the middle of the road. I couldn't quite get my gearing switched fast enough and ended up mashing a big gear up the hill.

Trip back to downtown was nice. I fell in with a small group that was hitting 20 to 22 mph for a mile or two until I ran in to a another little hill that dropped me off the back like a bad habit. (Apparently I need to do more hill repeats. That and lose some more lbs...) Tried to hit it hard to the finish from about the Crescent on it. Unfortunately I got stopped at several traffic lights. Uphill finish - it was anti-climatic crossing the finish line.

Hats off to Dallas' finest, the were generally very attentive and let you know about road hazards such as gravel and wet pavement.

Work on hills. There are several around - attack them during weekly rides!

Ate a piece of pizza. Walked around a bit.


Lack of training.


Finish line was anti-climatic. There were some vendors around, but I liked the cheering crowds at tri's as you come down the home stretch much better. Overall, the post activities were a little disorganized and there was not a lot to do.