For the fifth annual race all of these groups gathered around this course as if attending a family reunion, a giant picnic where the main course is pedaling — lots and lots of pedaling. Add to that lots of food and drink, hotter temperatures, some steady winds, and a deceptively difficult 20-mile loop, and you have the spicy stew that is The Texas Time Trials.

To add to the mixture, the TTTT stew involves four events, which have staggered starts so that most racers finish on Saturday afternoon. The races are the Tejas 500-mile RAAM Qualifier (which has three different time limits: 48, 42 and 36 hours), the Texas 24-hour Time Trial, the UMCA 200-Mile North American Championship (which has a 16-hour and 13-hour limit) and the UMCA 100-Mile North American Championship (with an 8-hour time limit). The racing was even hotter because the Tejas 500 was one of the final races of the season to earn Ultracup points (a critical event actually for Paul Carpenter, Larry Ide and Dick Rupp).

Dru Dixon qualified for RAAM on an artificial hip!

The start/finish line for all of the events stands in front of the New Hope Baptist church, to anoint riders with a minor victory after completing each lap, indeed renewing their hopes for success.

For those in the longer events, the final laps are not so minor. One common question to most of the division winners was, "When did you feel the worse? Was there any point you felt so bad you wanted to quit?" Most responded that about two-thirds or more of the way through, something like that happened.

The winner of the 500-mile men's event, Paul Carpenter, said it was after 400 miles and 24 hours, realizing he still had 100 more miles to go, five tough laps as the sun and wind and heat rose in opposition to his victory. At age 48 he is still considering solo RAAM, but not in 2008; maybe later, he said, when his job would allow it.

When it came to obstacles, some riders had more than the course conditions. One of the top finishers in the 500-mile race, Dru Dixon came to Texas with an artificial hip courtesy of Smith and Nephew, one of the sponsors of this event. Another hip replacement recipient, Corey Foulk, had finished many Ultraman Hawaii triathlons and was trying his first 500-miler on a bike, finding it more difficult than he thought.

Congratulations to the 11 RAAM Qualified riders (and note that three of them are women!):
Sharon Stevens, TX
Rhonda Womack, TX
Raynelle Shelley, TX
Paul Carpenter, IL
Larry Ide, IL
Dru Dixon, MO
Travis DeSousa, TX
Dex Tooke, TX
Richard Rupp, IN
Ross Muecke, WA
Chris Michaels, TX

In addition to technology inside the body, some rode upon the newer, faster breed of recumbents, including John Schlitter, who beat the conventional solo riders by covering 500 miles in just over 29 hours.

Many division winners were newcomers to ultradistance racing. Sharon Stevens won the women's solo 500-miler in her first race of that distance. Even after all that time on the bike, she retained her bright smile and radiant energy. Jim Ryan, from Washington state, enjoyed the Texas hospitality and won the 24-hour with 360 miles. Pauline Lundgren, age 60+ from Nebraska, raced the 12-hour last year. This year she stepped up to the 24-hour; the only woman racing, she won with 220 miles.

Karen Hunnicut spends most of her sporting life coaching soccer players, but in her first 200-mile ride finished only 18 minutes behind the male division winner, Todd Kalchbrenner.

In the relatively short 100-mile division, there was only one contender after the first ten miles, pro triathlete Patrick Evoe from Austin, TX, whose blistering pace of almost 24 miles per hour blew everyone away. Like some of the relay riders, he was using a power meter, but in his case it was taped over so he wouldn't think about it during the ride. The data would be useful later in preparing for Ironman Florida in November, where he'll still have to run 26.2 miles after his 112-mile bike. His average power of 246 watts may not seem like much, until you consider that he only weights 141 pounds, giving him a huge power-to-weight ratio. Another 500-mile four-man relay rider rode at 275 watts per lap, but appeared to weigh over 190 pounds.

Patrick Evoe hammered through the century in 4:13.

The technology of speed is definitely finding its way into ultracycling now, with disc wheels, aero helmets, integrated aero/handlebars and other paraphernalia showing up in all the divisions. But that did not stop some from winning their divisions on conventional road bikes.

In addition to the persistent pedaling of riders, there were the ever-ready support crews that ranged from a large crew with a fully-stocked RV, to the one-boy (no, one-man) operation of a 13-year-old supporting his dad, all the way down to no crew at all. That's right, Paul Carpenter won the men's solo 500-miler without any crew, simply fetching his own food and drink after each lap. One reason folks travel to this Texas race is its 20-mile-loop doesn't require the vehicle and crew commitments other ultra venues like the Furnace Creek 508.

The demeanor of the race staff seems at first informal, but that did not subtract from their professional management of this race. Most of the staff are ultracyclists who've ridden together for years and work like they would in a peloton through a dark night of riding. They have completely forgotten the difference between work and play.

Add to that a good deal of help from local bike shops and other supporters, and you end up with a with a challenging potion of sweat and tears that keep people coming back year after year.

Course Records
Tejas 500 RAAM Qualifier
Solo Female - Sharon Stevens, TX	41:32:00
Solo Male Recumbent - John Schlitter, FL	29:01:00
Two-Person Male Team - Mark Jansen and John Stewart, TX/NY	27:38
Four-Person Male Team - Roadworxli: Jon Jahant, Daniel Medina, Mark Pattinson & Will Peninio, TX/NY/TN	24:24:00
Four-Person Male Recumbent Team - Reclining Flyers: Bud Baker, Paul Brown, Greg Gross & Steve Petty, TX	25:30:00
Four-Person Mixed Team: Brenda Barnell, Jay Easley and Steve Flores, NY	31:02:00
UMCA 200-Mile North American Championship
Solo Female - Karen Hunnicutt, TX	11:58:00
Solo Male - Todd Kalchbrener, TX	11:40:00
Solo Male Recumbent - Joseph March, TN	11:10:07
Two-Person Mixed Tandem - Denise and Rick Neptune, TX	10:22:00
Two-Person Mixed Team - SMU Cycling: Caryn & Scot Montague, TX	11:30:07
UMCA 100-Mile North American Championship
Solo Female - Karen Robertson, TX	5:26:00
Solo Male - Patrick Evoe, TX	4:13:00
Solo Female Recumbent - Peggy Petty, TX	6:39:41
Two Person Mixed Tandem - Michele Kurtz and George Phillips, TX	4:55
UMCA 200-Mile North American Championship
Solo Female - Karen Hunnicutt, TX	11:58:00
Solo Male - Todd Kalchbrenner, TX	11:40:00
Solo Male Recumbent - Joseph Marsh, TN	11:10:07
Two-person Mixed Tandem - Denise & Rick Neptune, TX	10:22:00
Two-person Mixed Team - SMU Cycling: Caryn & Scot Montague, TX	11:30:07
UMCA 100-Mile North American Championship
Solo Female - Karen Robertson, TX	5:26:00
Solo Male - Patrick Evoe, TX	4:13:00
Solo Female Recumbent - Peggy Petty	6:39:41
Two-Person Mixed Tandem - Michele Kurtz & Greg Phillips, TX	4:55

After recovering from surgery on my cervical vertebrae this year, your humble narrator certainly hopes to be back here racing in 2008!

Tom Rodgers coaches ultracyclists and triathletes at http://Endurathon.com and is the author of The Perfect Distance: Training for Long-Course Triathlon, available from Velo Press. Tuula Rodgers shoots for national magazines and covers events stretching from Hawaii to England.

For more information: http://tt24tt.com