Cycling Ellen

91 miles today
1599 total

The challenge for today was the shoulder of the road or I should say, the lack of a shoulder on the road.  For Jeannie on her tricycle and Barbara M. on her recumbent, it was even more challenging and they weren’t able to ride many of the miles.  The drivers seemed especially close today (someone speculated that they were in a hurry to get to church every half hour or so) and it was my first time that I’ve been yelled at out a car window.  There really isn’t anywhere to go when you see a car (or it seemed like mostly pickup trucks) in your rearview mirror, so you hang on, stay as far to the right as you can and hope for the best.  Texas has a reputation for unfriendly drivers which I really hadn’t encountered until today.  Yesterday, Kathy was run off the road but fortunately was unhurt.

The good news about the shoulder was that many of them were loaded with wildflowers in full bloom.  Again, there were bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush and what looked to me like pink poppies.  It was a good distraction to enjoy the beauty next to me and ignore the drivers as much as I could.

We started out on a beautiful, not quite as cold, morning to Wimberley. There were lots of people in town (was that part of the traffic?) and many little shops and restaurants.  I made a quick stop at a drive up donut shop on the edge of town.  There I had the most delicious apple fritter which provided good fuel for much of the ride.  I rode on through Kyle which seemed like it was all new housing developments with signs advertising their virtues.

For a while, I road through some fields where it looked like little corn plants were just coming up.  This was the first agricultural land I’ve seen for a long time, other than animal farms and ranches.  Again, there were cattle, the largest bull I’ve ever seen, and fields with sheep and goats.  Today was full of rollers again but not as steep as yesterday’s ride.

As I was coming out of little shortcut called the Old Spanish Trail, I spied 3 cyclists up ahead.  Knowing I was ahead of most everyone, I was confused as to their identity.  When I got closer I could see the same sort of safety triangles that we wear on our backs.  One even said Woman Tours!  It turns out these were 3 people doing an Adventure Cycling tour through the Texas Hill Country and one of them, Marilyn, did the Southern Tier in 2003 and will be on the Underground Railroad trip in May!  Our routes didn’t overlap for long but it was fun to meet her.

Shortly thereafter, a few Model T cars passed me.  It was a surrealistic moment.

In Lockhart, I caught up with Mary (who happens to be my roommate tonight) and we ate our lunch at a Dairy Queen.  I snuck in my PB & J and had my recovery milkshake early (at mile 63).  Carol and Clark joined us at our table outside in the picnic area.

The cue sheet was a little off so it was a nice surprise to finish here in Bastrop at mile 90 instead of mile 94.  A few of us just beat the van into the parking lot so we got to unload all the luggage from the trailer.  I don’t think those suitcases are getting any lighter as we go along.  Once we are guaranteed warmer weather (think Louisiana) I think a lot of winter weight clothing will be heading home early.

It’s great to feel fine after 90 miles of riding in the sunshine.  Practice makes progress as we say in kindergarten!