Day Thirty - Bastrop to La Grange

We only had 41 miles to ride today, so we all got to sleep in a little longer than usual. It doesn't take much to please us anymore. We are thrilled with any little extras we get. It's overcast, but we are again, happy, because the air is getting thicker with humidity as we inch our way east. An overcast morning means the sun won't come out to add too much heat to the humidity usually until after noon and with it comes the winds. We started our ride this morning by riding through Bastrop State Park. It was absolutely beautiful. We wound our way through the woods and up and down short but steep hills. With the humidity and the greenery, we of course got bugs. I guess I will finally have to learn to ride with my mouth closed. I was taking in way too much protein. By the time we got to the other side of the park, we all had bugs on our faces. (stuck to our sunscreen). We came out of the park onto roads filled with fields of flowers. I have never seen so many wildflowers. The colors were so vivid. It was hard not to stop and just take it all in. I hope my pictures do it justice.
I ran into Shelley just as I was approaching our hotel. We decided to ride into La Grange in search of the kolaches we had been hearing about. We located some at a little deli on the edge of town. They are a sweetbread that can be filled with anything from creamcheese, meat, figs, etc. Depending on who you talk to, they are English, German, or ??????? Anyway, they were very tasty. The perfect treat to wind up our ride.

Total elevation gain for today was 1807 feet.

26 days down and 24 days to go

Day Twenty-nine - Blanco to Bastrop

We woke up this morning and there was a light drizzle outside. We put on our rain coats and started out. We had heard that there was a good chance there would be thunder storms around 10:00am. The temperature was in the 60s, so it was only a few miles out that we decided it was better to be wet from the rain, then to be wet from the sweat created by the raincoats. We took them off. This was going to be a 93 miles day so we started early and at an easy pace. We didn't stop for too many pictures. I had decided to take some towards the end of the ride when we knew how much time we had to play with. We are really getting into some beautiful country. It just gets better everyday. We stopped at about mile 62 in the little town of Lockhart and had lunch at the Sunshine Cafe. Shortly after lunch we ran into several patches of road that were graded and very rutted. It was in the last one of these patches that I hit a rut and went down. I wasn't going very fast because of the road, so I wasn't hurt very bad. My left arm and the knuckles on my left hand got a good case of road rash, but that's about it. It was bleeding and looked ugly, so I got on my bike and hightailed it in that last 20 miles to our hotel. I got in the shower and thought I could wash it off. Dumb idea. As soon as the water hit it, I knew I needed something to kill the pain before washing it, so I had Carol take me to the ER. After four hours and a good cleaning, they sent me on my way. I attached a picture of the wrapping they sent me home with, and another one of the wrapping Shelley, the nurse, put on for me the next morning. I think they had kind of overdone it. This is my third injury and I do believe, my last. Anyway, the girls saved Carol and I some dinner and some Champagne. We ate, drank, and called it a night. Total elevation gain for the day was 2600.

Carol Wilder, the one in the picture with me, is one our guides for this trip. She is retired from the military and has been with Womantours for a several years. She is as good a bike mechanic as I've ever seen. She has taught us how to easily change tires, clean and lube our bikes, how to know when you are using the proper gears etc. I can't thank her enough for taking four hours out of her already busy day and missing happy hour to sit with me in the ER.

25 days down and 25 days to go.

Day Twenty-eight - Kerrville to Blanco

First of all, to all of you that did the Pardee ride today, I missed being there with you, and I hope you had a great ride. In honor of the Pardee ride, we rode 65 miles. Our total elevation gain was only 2713. Not quite what you did, but then, we're riding another 93 miles tomorrow. I think we will more than make up for it. Today's ride started nice and flat and then the rolling started. It went on for quite some time. I realize that we're in the Texas hill country, but come on, how long can it go on? I can say however, that the road surface is improving. We only had small patches of shakes today. The scenery is still very nice. I just can't believe the color of the water here. It's almost an aqua. We had a variety of choices of places to stop. We had a great bakery at about mile 22. I wasn't really in the mood, so I continued on. I know, hard to believe I'd pass up a bakery. Then there was a winery. I didn't want to drink while riding, and I couldn't carry any bottles with me, so I passed it up too. I know, hard to believe I'd pass up a winery. I did stop at the little country store in the pictures. It was set kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but when you went inside, there was this huge room filled with tables and chairs and a stage. It looked to me like they throw some great western dance parties here. There were pictures of different bands on the walls etc. I continued on and pulled into town about 1:15. I spotted a Dairy Queen and realized I hadn't had lunch yet, so I stopped and had a waffle cone sundae. My day is complete.
I got a great picture of Canada and Ohio this morning. I think I need to start showing more of my fellow cyclist, so I will start featuring two a day. Today, we have Shelley Hatch, , a nurse, 48, married with 2 daughters. She lives in Canada and she is one of our sag drivers. She has to drive the sag vehicle once every four days. (Amy sometimes has to draw directional arrows in the street to keep her from getting lost) We also have Mary Drennen, retired, 60, single, no children, she lives in Columbus, Ohio.

24 days down and 26 days to go.

Day Twenty-seven - Vanderpool to Kerrville

Today's ride was actually very similiar to yesterday's ride. It was 10 miles longer for a total of 49 miles and we had 2631 feet in elevation gain. There were a lot of rolling hills with two major climbs. The first one had a 14% grade and the second one had a 16% grade. Each one was only about a mile long, so up I went thinking all the way that the first thing I would do when I get home is to get my bucket list, run over it with the truck and then bury it about six feet deep. I reached the top and thought, OK, maybe I won't bury it, I'll just run over it. Amy said it was the first time she has seen Shelley and I break a sweat. It was overcast and drizzling or it would have been miserable. We stopped along the route in the little town of Medina to have a snack. It's sort of like Apple Hill. They have everything apple. I wasn't really hungry because Linda had made us a delicious baked french toast peach sort of thing for breakfast that I probably ate way too much of. We reached our hotel at about 12:30. It's called the YO Ranch Resort. As you can see in the pictures, they are really big on dead animals here. I was grateful to find that all that was in our room was a set of antlers. Tomorrow is a day off. Finally! The plan is to clean our bikes, get a pedicure, go see Crazy Heart, and then go to Paw Paw's for some good Texas barbeque.

We have officially reached the half way point. We have cycled 1551 miles!

25 days down and 27 to go.

Day Twenty-six - Camp Wood to Vanderpool

Well, today was indeed a climbing day. We climbed a total of 2870 feet in 39 miles. Now I know that doesn’t sound like much. I’ve done rides like that without much effort, but you put it on the end of 1500 miles in 23 days of riding and WOW, your legs are screaming for mercy. The saving grace was the fact that the landscape has become overwhelmingly beautiful. After a month of dry brown scenery, the colors have exploded. The mountain sides are scattered with different shades of green. I tried to capture it in my pictures, but they just don’t show how vivid the colors are. We’re staying at The Fox Fire Cabins on the Sabinal River. There are several little two bedroom cabins that surround the main house. It’s very peaceful and relaxing here. No TV, internet, cell service etc. I love it. I have to say that sometimes when it’s necessary, they have to put us up in cheap motels or chain hotels, but whenever there is a nicer option, they have not spared the expense of booking us in very unique and beautiful places. Places I would not have visited if it weren’t for this trip. I am a happy camper!

24 days down and 28 days to go.