What a ride! Definitely one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done on a fixed gear. Had a good time. Was feeling pretty good heading south. The weather wasn’t what I was expecting but glad it stayed cool all day. It sprinkled on us for a minute but that was a scare because I did not pack any rain gear. The section between Brownsville and Harrisburg is deceptively hilly. Kept seeing a group of four guys who passed me when I was pumping up and then eventually changing my tube with a slow leak. Ken, the dude that invited me to the flèche in two weeks, we have a fixed gear team, Slev, John Mark, and another Ken! All cool dudes with advice and stories to help me defeat the headwinds heading north after Harrisburg. We spent most of the ride after that point together. It was nice having homies. Once we got to Independence I stopped in at Subway and dad met me there as this was an open control. Ate half the sandwich and headed out. So lucky to have someone as supportive as my dad in my corner. I figured I wouldn’t see the dudes again and just kept spinning. Head winds were gone and I was feeling stronger after a rest and food. It was getting dark and eventually the lights come on. I kept noticing a bright light behind me and thought that it could the dudes but there was only one lamp shining bright. It was Ken from the team and he caught me. He was really cooking, 17-18mph, so I tried to keep up with him and we eventually got to Dayton! Then the rest of the crew rolls up a few minutes later. Had a good stop. A good chat and rest. We were roughly 42 miles away at this point and set out to finish it off in about 3 more hours. As we continued on I eventually dropped everyone. We were tired and I just kept going at the only speed I know how and eventually hit up Bell Rd., Leander, and a couple other climbs that put some distance between us. I was cooked. My average speed dropped and I walked up one hill, I’ve rode up it before but had nothing in the tank to climb anything steeper than 9%. A lot of familiar territory and eventually I made the Starbucks and the finish! It was about 2:30 am and I was ready for a shower, bed, rest, and Burrito cuddles. Good night. Forever. 😂 💤 😴