Recap: Lost Pines Gravel

[russd...@gmail.com]

It was HCR's dear pleasure to host a big-for-us group of 11 on Saturday in windy, cold conditions, and everyone finished in style!

We had 3 new members (THANK YOU!) join and complete their longest rides ever. They all look cut out for this and hope they will make some big rando goals and come back to ride with us soon.

We had 2 father-sons in attendance which was especially cool to see:

-Mark and Collin Wooldridge have done a lot on the bike. Mark completed '99 PBP, with some qualifiers with HCR, and Collin is a former racer who has great strength on the bike. They plan on 2027 PBP together and we hope they will join us for some training and qualifying.

-Olaf is a new member and seemed to be thriving in the ride format. He is a lover of motorcycle maintenance and touring. His son, a college student at A&M, rode out to Lexington on motorcycle to meet us for lunch. That was the highlight of the ride for me!

We also had Kyle and Jon join us as new members:

-Kyle is very active in the local cycling clubs and making me realize we have some crossover opportunities with the Austin Coffee Ride. I hope we can attract some of those riders who are longing for bike travel and touring.

-Jon was nearly too fast for the group but we have plenty of room for fast folks too. He is a gravel racer and I hope he found this gravel event to be fun and exciting enough. It's ok, Luke gave him some company at the pointy end of the ride. RUSA has a place for you too! As you might travel for a 1200k, you will see many fast riders from all over the globe.

Luke came out strong, with the second-baby after burners and gave us a model for riding a gusty 200k without hesitation.

Walker, Nick, Wayne and Dan: you guys give the club definition and I'm so grateful you came out to this gravel crossover event. I hope you enjoyed it.

Check out some photos from the ride, https://photos.app.goo.gl/RhfemwE7xA1iyf1w6. Please add your photos here as well, if you wish.

If the upcoming rides are daunting, please see the nearly 500 permanents routes in Texas which are often closer to 100km long and may be of interest to you, https://rusa.org/perm-maps/.

Please follow the strava group if you aren't already, https://www.strava.com/clubs/hillcountryrando.

Bon route!

Russ Dorobek