Real Ale Ride (Blanco, TX) 2019
Real Ale Ride – sponsored by Bicycle Sport Shop (my first bike shop job, wrenching during high school summers) and the Real Ale brewery (home of Firemans #4 beer, a tribute to Firemans Texas Cruzers). I’ve been doing this fun ride (or a fondo as we apparently now call them) for the last three years, and every year the weather does something crazy. Last year I started the 80 miler under dark skies, only to have the event cancelled mid-ride with hail, lightning, and heavy rains. This year the event was postponed from its usual May date to November, due once again to flooding.
I wasn’t originally going to do this ride, and when I decided I would it was too late for registration. A friend of a friend cancelled last minute and gave me his entry, so I donated some cash to his favorite charity Women’s Global Empowerment Fund and took the opportunity to do the event again.
Since I was still a bit tired from last week’s 24 solo race, instead of smashing it for 80 miles I decided to treat this as it’s meant to be – a fun ride – and rode with a group of folks loosely affiliated as the Sativa Rollers. They do the (very hilly!) event every year on singlespeed cruiser bikes, so of course my singlespeed Charge Grinduro was the bike of choice for me.
Andy and I left Austin around 6AM for the hour drive to Blanco, in unseasonably cold weather. The temp was 6C when we arrived in Blanco, forecast to go as high as 18C early afternoon. This left me a real clothing quandary – I hate cycling cold, but also know you should always start colder than you think. Arm warmers under a windbreaker and gloves it was, with just shorts (no leg warmers), and eventually we had all finished our bike faffing and clothing changes and were ready to roll。
I felt pretty good, but the cold dry air was really doing my throat in. By the first well-stocked rest stop I was feeling fairly warmed up, the sun was out, and I was enjoying it. A couple of riders turned off at this point for the 30 mile loop, but the rest of us continued on our planned 50 mile loop.
There was a real mix of bicycles on this ride – from a triple tandem to several recumbants, to one of those stand up elliptical-type bikes (I’ve subsequently learned it was an ElliptiGO). No unicycles this time – but I have seen them at this event!
Most of the riders were surprised to see a group of fools on singlespeeds, but the veterans knew who we were and there were several shouts of “Go Sativa Rollers!” or “Gruppo Relaxo!” (their other informal club name).
Riding and rest-stopping continued, at a nice relaxed pace. These rest stops are the shizness BTW – PBJ sandwiches, as many Cliff bars as you can snag, pickle juice, the works.
Of course the real draw is the finish – free beers (OK, paid for by your entry fee) and a choice of lunches. The beer tickets are for half pints, but you can (and should) double them into pints. As my wife’s father used to say – “Never trust a man who drinks half pints!”
As a proper Texan boy, there of course was only once choice for food. BBQ from the excellent Old 300 BBQ right here in Blanco!
Hung out for awhile at the Firemans Cruzers stand, and then went to say hi to Hill and his wife Laura from Bicycle Sport Shop. Then, back home to Austin in time for Andy’s 60th birthday party, with live music from the fantastic Jeff Hughes and Chaparral – but that’s a whole ‘nother story!