Tour de Donut

I ride my bike sometimes for cross-training purposes or just for fun, but prior to this morning, I had never rode in an organized cycling event or race. But when I found out this event was coming up I decided to give it a try.

I managed to look like a newbie right away. Unlike almost everyone else that showed up, I arrived with my number pinned to the front of my shirt. I suppose cyclists are very proud of their gluteus muscles and want to give everyone an excuse to look around that area. ;)

The start/finish area was the mall parking lot in front of the Sun and Ski Sports store. With the amount of cars parked in the area, you would have guessed that single store was having an after-Thanksgiving sale or something! What really surprised me was how long it took to get started. Being a newbie, I lined up in the back, just like I did when I started running road races. After the starting horn blew, it took SEVENTEEN MINUTES for me to reach the starting line. While we were standing and waiting, a kid on a mountain bike to my right suddenly lost his front tire with a loud "BANG" -- I guess it was overinflated just a little! Luckily, his dad was able to bring the bike right into the store for immediate repair. Finally, I rolled across the starting mats with the timing chip on my left ankle down low. I heard the reassuring "BEEP," started my Garmin, then joined the stream of cyclists on their way out of the parking lot.

Mile 01: 11.1 mph
Mile 02: 11.6 mph
Mile 03: 14.8 mph
The first few miles were very congested. The shoulder of the road was narrow, there were a lot of slower cyclists, and it was difficult to find passing room.

Mile 04: 15.0 mph
Mile 05: 15.1 mph
Mile 06: 15.2 mph
Mile 07: 12.9 mph
Mile 08: 13.8 mph
Mile 09: 13.3 mph
Mile 10: 15.4 mph
After making the turn onto FM1093, the crowd loosened up a little more. There was still quite a bit of effort expended in passing people, though.

Mile 11: 4.4 mph
This mile looks slow because it includes the first rest stop: Riders pulled over in the parking lot of a BBQ restaurant in the small town of Fulshear. I took one look at the thirty-deep line for the port-a-potties and decided that I should have no trouble putting off bladder business until after the race.

The "gimmick" to this race is that the rest stops would be well stocked with donuts. Every donut taken would subtract five minutes off of a rider's finishing time. I walked over to the donut table, took three Shipley's glazed and a volunteer drew three marks on the pull tag at the bottom of my race number bib. After downing the first donuts with no trouble, I returned to the table for three more. Then it was back on the road. I was one hour into my ride at this point.

Mile 12: 14.0 mph
Mile 13: 15.3 mph
Mile 14: 15.4 mph
Mile 15: 14.7 mph
Mile 16: 16.6 mph
Mile 17: 14.7 mph
Mile 18: 13.9 mph
Heading north on FM359 back towards the Interstate, I had fairly good passing room and used it a lot.

Mile 19: 6.1 mph
Arriving in Brookshire, I was presented with the second and final rest stop. I scored two more donuts, then made the decision that I had gotten my fill for the day. After washing down the last donut with Gatorade (The salty formulation was especially important today!) from my bike bottle I returned to the road. I was an hour and a half into my ride.

Mile 20: 17.7 mph
Mile 21: 19.0 mph
Mile 22: 19.5 mph
Mile 23: 17.7 mph
Mile 24: 16.3 mph
Mile 25: 17.8 mph
Mile 26: 18.5 mph
Mile 27: 17.4 mph
Mile 28: 17.2 mph
Now heading east on Highway 90 through Brookshire back towards the mall, I had a wide shoulder to work with and I was feeling flush with energy. "It's time to deliver," I said to my legs. I started cranking the bike hard. I was passing obviously-tiring cyclists at will, dozens of them.

At one point, I was rapidly approaching a group that was riding three abreast on the shoulder. There was car traffic in the right lane of the highway, so passing on the left wasn't a viable option. So I yelled out "ON YOUR RIGHT," rolled my Schwinn Suburban Sport onto the grassy shoulder next to the road and passed them. I heard one of the ladies mutter "Oh. My. God." as I went by. The only thing that slowed me down on this last section was climbing the overpass that would take me to the other side of the freeway.

According to my Garmin Forerunner, I crossed the finish line about two hours and seven minutes after I started. I had a blast and would definitely consider doing this race again. But next time, I won't start at the back!

Event: Tour de Donut
Location: Katy Mills Mall, Katy TX (and the towns of Fulshear and Brookshire)
Gun Time: 2:25:07
Chip Time: 2:07:10
Overall Placing (bike only): 127 out of 329
Gender Placing (bike only): 95th male out of 196
Overall Placing (donut-adjusted): 53
Benefits: Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana