I'm fairly certain that the course was longer than the advertised 41 miles. My cycling computer clocked it somewhere around 44.5, and the map got it at 42.5ish. Considering that we think there's a possibility of us making one wrong turn near the end (the course wasn't as well marked on the return roads), I think it was probably around 44.5 or 45? Either way, there's no way we would have been happy doing the 64 - that would have been miserable for us. The short route would have been too short, and the long route would have been very painful, so the middle route was a good choice for us.

We managed to stay with a pack of cyclist/triathletes for a while around miles 15-25, and that was fun, but they were terribly inconsistent. They'd hammer up some hills (not even all hills) and then cruise and drop pace. All the while, they didn't let anyone else lead/pull but complained that no one was taking turns. My boyfriend tried to nudge up and take a turn, but they blocked him out. Odd. Whatever. At the 41/64 split, the group somewhat disintegrated, and those who kept on the 41 course turned it up a notch. I hate to say it, but I was silently scorning the girls who were on their tri bikes and seemed to be the "pack leaders". They were the queens of inconsistency and (maybe it was my imagination) seemed to carry themselves like they thought they were the only triathletes in the world.

I noticed A LOT of tri bikes at this thing. I kind of thought that was a no-no for rally rides? It seems incredibly dangerous to bring a tri bike to one of these events unless you're truly out for a solo training ride. But I saw plenty of triathletes riding with packs in aero. I'm still somewhat uncomfortable in group riding situations because of the unpredictable factor of other riders, so having tri bikes in the mix doesn't help my fears at all. Aside from the speed gain, I was more comfortable when Thomas and I lost the pack and were riding by ourselves.

Overall, I was very happy with this (my first!) rally. Thomas and I both enjoyed ourselves and had a very good experience.

I think I need to do a lot more of these rally rides to work on many things - 1. cycling endurance 2. bike handling skills (especially around groups) 3. hills training! 4. nutrition/hydration practice.... shoot, just overall riding experience period!

Yet another event that I follow with drinking. This time, some friends had a housewarming party in Addison that transitioned to Taste Addison. Lots of beer, food, and fun were had by all.


Overall cycling fitness (or lack thereof).