Peddle Pusher

As before every race, I like to stock up on carbs the night before the big day. I used a recipe for chicken parmesan we cooked before the Hogeye Marathon Relay to prepare my body's energy supply before the Tour de Muleshoe - my first organized cycling experience. Notice I didn't call it a race. I prepared this lovely meal at my weekend accommodations in Sudan, which is only about 15 minutes from Muleshoe. Thanks Bryan, your kitchen worked wonderfully.


The Tour de Muleshoe is a ride put together each year by the Muleshoe Heritage Center, or something like that. You can either ride 10 miles, 40 miles or a 100K, which is like 60-some odd miles. I opted for the 40-mile ride.


They lined everyone up inside a large building and we took off through the main drag in Muleshoe before heading east on Hwy. 70 toward Earth.



Since I was a little late getting into the take-off building, I was toward the back of the pack going through Muleshoe. My number hadn't been pinned on my back very well, and a nice cycler next to me informed me it was already starting to come off. You have to have your race number in order to take advantage of the rest stops. So, I had to pull over after only going about 500 yards to fix my number. Real slick, huh?



I've finally gotten used to the clip-in shoes. It took a while to adjust to finding the right spot to put my foot to clip into the little pedals. Once I finally adjusted to that, I have found they are quite nice for longer rides. Plus, it makes me look like I really know what I'm doing.


This was the first rest stop on the journey. It was at this point that the 40-mile route headed south toward Sudan. I loaded up on Powerade and rested for about 5 minutes before jumping back on my bike.


Oh, and I also enjoyed half of a Cliff Bar - my favorite energy bar. It kind of looks like a chocolate granola bar, and it actually tastes like a chocolate granola bar. It's loaded with calories (energy), so it's not exactly something you could sit and enjoy four or five of while sitting stationary at the office.


This is the West Texas version of a "hill." I think this was probably the only resemblance of a "climb" on the whole ride. The wind hit as we turned south, but was only about 12 mph at the most - a nice change from the usual 30 mph. The breeze helped out as the temperatures started rising toward the 98 degree mark.

The leg to Sudan was probably the toughest part of the race due to the head wind and the "hills" along the route. But even at that, it would have been worse. The weather was perfect for my first long ride.



Just outside of Sudan, I fell in with some other more experience riders who were also riding Felt bikes. I stayed with them until we got to the last rest stop. One of the guys was an older gentlemen that was the most bow-legged person I'd ever seen. He was really more of the type you'd expect to see on a horse, but this guy was a cycler - and after talking to him, I learned he had been doing it for 24 years. Is that what's going to happen to me if I keep doing this?


Highway 84 between Sudan and Muleshoe has several feedlots and dairies, as well as a few grain elevators. I had a nice tailwind on that leg of the ride and was able to maintain a nice speed of around 19 mph for most of the way back. I really made up some time I'd lost on the trip south that was into the wind.


I finished the 44 total miles in 3 hours and 8 minutes. I did 40 miles in under 2 hours, which was way ahead of my original goal, so I was pleased with the day's work.