East Texas Showdown 2026

where the wins totally outweighed the fail

despite only making it to mile 221 of 275 at the East Texas Showdown Series, lots of lessons were learned and some big wins: 1) was able to casually stay with the guy that finished P10 until my hard stop at mile 160 for sleep (Grapeland). 2) my back was not a limiting factor despite the fractured L2 and herniated discs suffered in 2023.

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the back win is such a blessing.. I had basically given up on pushing it for an event like this.. it pays to keep at it and trying different things so don't give up on the things you really love. if you're not pursuing these things, what are you really doing? as far as this video goes, the gopro only worked 20% of the time, i made the most of it.. i wanted to get more video of the great people i met along the way, but its still a decent impression of this ride. highly recommend this event.. they have a team of volunteers that will pick you up if you get really stuck and have to abandon. can't ask for a better safety net than that.. bikepacking is definately a vibe.

posted links to the cue sheet below.. it worked great.. recommend printing it out. i was glad to have something physical to look at instead of tapping around on my phone as it was less mentally taxing.

if you're a cat 4-5, you can probably do this route w/o sleep. save yourself the hassle of packing the sleep system and all the added weight. of course this year there was no rain and no mud, so take that into consideration.

like i said before, my right knee wasn't happy and i'm happy with the way i ended up doing this route. with that said

SOME THINGS I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY:

leave the sleep system. It was about 10lbs and added a bunk of bulk. It made it hard to mount/dismount during the sandy sections as well as threw off the handling with all the weight up high
for some reason i didn't fill up my hydration pack before leaving grapeland. i ended up knocking on a door with someone who works for the sheriff's office and they let me fill up. same goes for food.
bring a better sleeping pad for the truck. i though a yoga mat would be enough, but it was terrible and i slept poorly
not decide to do this race 1 week out. it was very stressful trying to get everything i thought i needed along with plan the route. i basically took off of work 3-4 days to pull it off.
i ran 40/40 psi in the 47mm thunderos. i think 38/38 would be more appropriate.

NOTES FOR THE NEXT TIME IF THERE IS ONE:

it pays to go out with the lead pack, you can't draft, but there are some circumstances in which you can (if you have to ride single file due to a narrow road. so its there and you'll miss out on it.
bring a very minimal sleep system. a bivy to keep the bugs off of you maybe all you need, but maybe a mat if you can swing it.
prepare youself mentally of alot of walking in the 10 miles leading into grapeland
i think its better to somehow pack your sleep system into your framebag, but then you have the problem of not having any bottles. if you could get away with running triathlon style bottles that sit behind the seat, that might be the ticket, but i'm not sure how they would do with the bumpy gravel roads at speed.
run a long top tube bag that fills the whole top tube and use it for fuel.
get the bike fit and knee sorted!!

resupply cue sheet with every stop, store hours, phone numbers, and what's available at each town

modified route file that includes course point alerts at key resupply stops and routes you directly into Salmon Lake Park for camping--no guessing where to turn off / Course point alerts fire at:• Ratcliff (mi 67) — reminder to call ahead to Lakeside Deli• Ratcliff (mi 75) — last resupply• 4Js south of Palestine (mi 132) — closes 8pm Saturday• Grapeland / Salmon Lake (mi 161) — camp stop• Riverside (mi 249) — last resupply before the finish

Details of my rig can be found using the link below.. you'll need to scroll down some.