Ride with the Eagles - Mt. Pleasant, TX

April 26, 2008

This is a much better ride than it was two years ago. The ride did not go onto Hwy 271 this year and I understand that due to the construction on 271 it was not part of last years ride. Parts of the roads used were rough but not as rough as in the past. There was a definite lack of riders because Mount Vernons Tour de Cypress was also this week end and less than 20 miles away. This year a local Ham radio club sagged the event and kept track of were the riders were. As usual most of the rest stops were manned by a some very pretty young ladies. The strong east wind was a problem in all direction but west.

April 21, 2007

What a beautiful day for a ride! The weather was perfect, the flowers were beautiful, and the support was superb! This is one of the prettiest rides of the year. Had a chance to meet Heidi, the race director, and some of her team. Their dedication and interest is very visible. The route this year stayed away from Highway 271 so it was nearly exclusively on small country roads. The hamburger and drinks at the end of the ride were a welcome relief as were the goodies at the rest stops. Attendance seemed to suffer this year because of the multitude of other rides scheduled the same day. If you didn’t attend this year, you missed a good one.

The route was head and heels above the previous years, more challenging than expected. Scenic and low traffic. Only draw back was SAG support and lack of law enforcement on a couple of major intersections. I know they will volunteer to help, if asked. Fix that and the draw will increase.

My riding partner and I rode the 65 mile Ride with Eagles in Mt Pleasant and had a great time. The scenery is beautiful and support very adequate. I don't know why there doesn't seem to be more apparent community support of why there are so few riders. I will be back next year. Heidi Coburn did a excellent job organizing the ride. Bill

April 22, 2006

This year was a very lightly attended ride. I don't know what the problem is for sure. I know Heide Coburn works very hard to get this ride to be a success.
Community support seems to be very lacking.
There was not any law enforment personel visable while I was riding and only a couple of intersection had people there. There was plenty of water, juice, bananas and cookies at the frequent rest stops that were man by some very pretty young ladies.
The state roads were nice and easy to ride on. The several miles of Titus County Oil dirt roads are always rough unless the y have just been reconditioned, then they are very soft and hard to ride. I have invited my precent road commisioner to use one of my bikes and We take a tour of some of his roads. Guess what He declined!
The State is in the process of improving several of their roads, and The ride should have new an better routes in the near future. Hiway 49 to Dangerfield, is going to have 10 ft or larger shoulders and Hiway 11 from Daingerfield to Pittsburg aready has these shoulders eccept for bridges. I feel this could be a great ride with a little support.

This ride has a huge upside but it seems there is not the right support or thought to actual rider input. Last year many riders complained about being jettisoned onto highway 271 in Pittsburg with no shoulder or law enforcement monitoring traffic to warn riders or vehicles. I actually witnessed no LEO support. This year was no different. While on 271 with no shoulder on several parts you are competing with big rigs, cars, while dodging the usual hazards of trash on the road. Points of 271 with no shoulder have you in a traffic lane with set speed of 70 mph. There is so much to see of this area other than 271 that there has to be a better route. Show what there is to offer in the countryside other than the highway. Give riders a reason to put this on the calendar.

I hadn’t done this ride before, but I wanted to because of the location and because of the many nice folks I’d met from that area on other rides. I did the 65 mile route, and I was a bit disappointed. As mentioned in previous reviews, the leg from Pittsburg back to Mt. Pleasant on 271 was scary to say the least. I would not have knowingly ridden on this highway. Then, once off 271, we were put on several old, deteriorated, single lane country roads. They weren’t awful, but they took a lot of maneuvering to find some semblance of a smooth line. And then there were the dogs. I had a total of eight separate dog incidents with a total accumulation of 12 dogs. I haven’t had that many dog incidents in over 5 years of riding rallies. It was a beautiful day, and it was a beautiful route -- mostly flat roads with some hills on the back side. I only stopped briefly at one stop to fill water bottles, and the volunteers were friendly and helpful. The burger at the end was quite tasty. This could be a good rally, but 271 is a definite buzz kill. I think next year I’ll try the Granbury ride.

April 23, 2005

This was a fun ride. It started off cool with a brisk north wind that kept blowing all day. It was a little tough riding into the wind, especially the stretch along highway 271. I was glad to make that wonderful right turn on to the back roads. From this point on, it was a special trip....great roads and fantastic views! The wildflowers gave it an added touch. Had to watch out for Cujo, though.
The support was enthusiastic. The cheering section in the golf cart in Pittsburgh was a nice touch. All of the rest stops were well-staffed and stocked (love those pretzels). The signage was terrific and some of it was very original (like the Cujo note). I'll be back next year.

This was my first time for this ride. I rode the 22 mile route. It was a bit chilly, and very windy! The volunteers at the rest stops were very
friendly. I liked taking a swing at the donkey piñata at the second stop - Loved getting bubble gum and tootsie rolls. We crossed intersections at our own risk. There were flaggers at a couple of the major intersections to warn the cars. The route was scenic, and once we got onto the back roads, the wildflowers smelled great! The food afterwards was ready about an hour later than I had anticipated. There was about 1 1/2 hr wait until the "world famous" hamburgers were ready. Also, the organizers should have put up more signs leading into the college, where to park, where to register and where to eat. Overall,  it was a very nice ride and I would like to do it again next year.

This was my first ever road rally. I loved the ride with the exception of hwy 271. Before and after that it was fantastic. There were a few bad roads but I didn't expect them to be perfect. The refreshments along the way were great. I was surprised to not find any more support from the hosts as in no directions to the signup table, or to the food. I seen no SAG wagons and the goody bag was a joke. The ride itself though was great!!!!!!!!!! I'll be back next year hopefully with a little more support from the college.