Real Ale Ride Report

For a first year ride the Real Ale Ride in Blanco held tons of promise. Nice hills, nice sponsor, good charity. Did it live up to its name?

My wife and I decided to stay the night in Blanco to avoid the 45 minute drive Saturday morning before the ride. It was my intention on meeting up with a group of friends at the start line before the ride. I left the hotel (less than a mile from the start) at about 8:10 to catch the start, meet up with everyone, etc. Once I got there I was told it was delayed, so I went back to the hotel to keep warm. I also never saw my friends, I guess they were huddling in their cars for warmth. At around 9:15, I started to head back to the start area and noticed tons of folks leaving with their bikes on their cars. But also saw a big group riding out of the start area so caught on with them only to learn that the ride had been cancelled due to high winds (sustained gusts of 30 mph). I rode with them for about 8 miles until my cell phone started ringing. This is where the true comedy of errors starts...

Cell phone dies mid convo, lose the pack since I pulled over to talk with my wife and give her the heads up, try to get phone working again only to have it die one more time, miss the next smaller pack of stragglers messing with the phone. Needless to say I did not want to tackle that route in the wind unsupported and solo so I turned back. I got a total of 15 miles in but that was all.

Room in Blanco - $70
Ride entry fee - $35
Dog Kennelling - $20
Still getting the chance to drink beer at the Real Ale Brewery at 10:30 AM - priceless

So it will be one more year until I know if the Real Ale Ride will live up to its billing.