Finally getting around to posting some notes on the 2012 River Region Classic. This is the 2nd year in a row that I’ve made the trip out to the Leakey area to do this ride. I enjoyed the 52 mile route last year and this year I managed to convince Tony and Jim to join me as well. Jim’s got a friend that has a place to stay out there just north of Leakey. Very handy. Jim’s friend Pat joined us too.

If you linked through to last year’s post you’ll find a surprisingly similar photo of me. This year I was ready for the guy at txmotofoto.com and gave him a big smile and wave. The photo turned out pretty good I’d say.

No surprises on the route this year. Having done the same route last year I was more than aware of the big climbs in the latter half of the route. Tony and I have been riding a fair bit this year and made short order of the back to back climbs. The descents on these climbs and the scenery make the huffing and puffing worth the effort. Something Jim had eaten had him feeling pretty punk before we even started and he just wasn’t feeling well on the ride. We didn’t see much of him till the end. Pat did the 100 miler and took off fast. We never did see him again. He finished much later then we did and headed back to Austin as soon as he did.

Rest stops again this year were well stocked and nicely spaced. I don’t think the food at the end of the ride was as good though. This year there was some BBQ chicken but it was a tiny little squab. The potato salad was kinda runny and blah. I was starved though and gobbled up anything available. There was a keg of beer available too. I don’t know what kind it was but it wasn’t really hitting the spot either. All in all we took time out later and ate at a Mexican restaurant in Leakey.

This route is one that could be done on your own pretty easily without much support and that’s likely the way I’ll do it again in the future. There’s a general store at the start of the route where you can stock up and then you’ve got places in Utopia, Vanderpool and Leakey that you can restock. No doubt I’ll be back some time. The route is great for cycling.

Update: One last photo of Jim and me at the end of the ride, taken by Tony.