Success 8, Houston 7

Cleaning up my study, getting it ready for a flat generic coat of white semi-gloss for the used house seller. That maroon color looked nice 10 years ago. Taking stuff down off the walls. A memento from my biker daze long ago. Hah!

It looks like the Alamo Challenge (Houston to San Antonio) is no more. When I rode it the ride was very disorganized (they didn't even have lunch set up), and I didn't much care for sleeping on the floor of the gym at the Gonzales High School. It's kind of a shame. The first day on that ride was about 130 miles, and it was mostly on Highway 90. Nice country, pretty little South Texas towns like Shiner and Hallettsville. A very fast ride, gently-rolling hills, wide shoulders and very few automobiles. The Alamo Challenge should have been a great fall bookend to the MS150.

The Katy Flatland is still around. The only time I have ever experienced symptoms of genuine heat stroke was one year on this ride. For those not familiar with the area, Katy is as flat as a pancake. West of the city are rice farms. You're talking 20 and 30-mile stretches of perfectly straight, perfectly flat roads with no trees to provide shade, and in July it's common for the temps to be between 95 and 100, with high humidity to boot. This one year I remember getting into Katy proper and collapsing at a rest stop. The people there had to pour water on me.

The Sealy Crossroad Classic appears to be no more. That was a great ride. Nice rolling hills, beautiful countryside. I still want to live in Cat Spring. The Hotter 'N Hell ride up in Wichita Falls is still around, and it is still big. It was one year at the HnH (1993?) that made me quit this hobby/obsession and pick up mountain biking. I remember the exact moment. I was about 50 miles into the ride, somewhere near Burkburnett, just miles from the Oklahoma border. Four years in a row I had driven almost 400 miles from Houston to Wichita Falls for this ride, camping at the high school stadium the night before. I was approaching Burkburnett, admiring the hideous Martian landscape and enjoying the 105 degree temperature, when it suddenly dawned on me: Why the hell am I doing this?

Something else I took down off the wall. I don't remember when I bought this. I do remember that the guy who sold it to me at some street fair in Montrose said it was taken in Missouri.
In case you are wondering, yes, I am replacing the carpeting. A large (sadly deceased) black dog and two kids tend to be rough on light gray carpets.