Cycling Ellen

71.5 miles today
1721 total

There was excitement in the air on the ride yesterday for several of the women.  With today being a rest day in Navasota, there were a few spouses and other visitors expected to meet up with us.  Not long after we arrived here, Chuck, Genie’s husband who lives in Texas, came in after meeting Genie on his bicycle in Independence.  He brought with him some wine and beer, real glasses and an incredible spread of food for us all to share.  The chairs came out of the trailer as people gathered for a motel-side party.  We met the other Jeannie’s husband who was here to celebrate their 25th anniversary, some of Clark’s friends, Sandra’s son who lives in Africa and surprised her with a visit (and the rest of us with 15 pounds of fudge at the sag stop!).  Arda’s husband and friend, Tom, we’ve seen before at a few stops but they were also on hand for the celebration.  With the warm, humid air of Eastern Texas, it felt like a summer party.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is April!

Indeed, the humidity levels and daytime temperatures have definitely shifted in the last couple of days.  The dryness of the desert is gone and what I remember of the south’s humidity has taken its place.  We can’t count on our clothes to dry overnight.  We also don’t need to lug around our extra long sleeve shirts or fleece ear warmers so there will be a lot of activity at the post office today as the bags lighten up.  I went down early this morning to mail a few things home as well as my prescription cycling sunglasses that developed a crack back in California and now extends through the whole lens.  I hope I get them back soon!  In the meantime, I’ll try to find a pair of polarized lens I can wear.

If I had to choose which of our day’s rides was a favorite, it would be a real challenge as they are all so different.  Yesterday’s ride was one of the most beautiful with rolling hills of farmland and incredible blankets of wildflowers.  Whole fields took on a purple color with bluebonnets or mixtures of pink and orange and yellow.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I must say my perceptions of Texas with its flat stretches must have been in some other part.  We have yet to see flat and we have seen everything from mountains and hills to this rolling countryside.  It almost looks like New England but with more of a vista.

Early in the day, we rode through Warrenton which was a sea of huge white tents.  Apparently, there was a five-day antique sale there that ended just a couple of days ago.  Although there are several shoppers in our group, I’m so glad we missed it, as the traffic would have been hazardous.  At it was, there wasn’t a shoulder and there seemed to be huge numbers of trucks along the route.  We were all happy to get on the scenic route 390 where there still wasn’t a shoulder but the traffic was much less.  We wound through Round Top, Gayhill and Independence where there was an old general store with delicious root beer.  Pat, Jane, Mary and I stopped at the state park called Washington-on-the-Bravos, which was a seat of government of Texas for a while.

This morning the scale came out of the trailer (that was used to weigh our luggage back in San Diego).  Several women were happy to discover they have lost significant amounts of weight.  (Mine’s down a little bit.)  Now it’s time for me to clean my bike, find some sunglasses and stretch and write.  It was great to finally catch up with Emily yesterday by phone who is settling into her new place in Boston.  As we get closer to Florida, there are more thoughts about heading home.  There are many long stretches of roads ahead to explore in the meantime.  Crawfish, anyone?

50.2 miles today
1649 total

The word of the day was green. Most of the first 15 miles we rode through Bastrop and Buesher State Parks. What a treat! In contrast to yesterday, there was almost no traffic and we were in forests of tall pines and oaks. It was shady and cool and very beautiful. Of course, no ride is without its challenges and this ride certainly had them as well. We were challenged by some of the steepest pitches we’ve ridden up so far – 16% grades! They weren’t long but they would come out of nowhere. There were also some wonderful rides down long hills weaving through the trees. What a great way to start the day!

Eventually, we headed out on to a state road 153 to Winchester past fields of cattle and more of the gorgeous Texas wildflowers. The area was filled with orange, pink, yellow, and red flowers which are impossible (at least for me) to catch adequately in a photograph. The road wound through lots of green fields, a few houses and glimpses of streams along the way.

The last part of our ride into La Grange was on US 77 with gentle rollers and a rumble strip like we haven’t seen since Arizona. Our hotel is on the near side of town so a bunch of us kept going into La Grange for lunch. We had heard about Frank’s Place for delicious burgers and onion rings. We wound our way around the downtown square with the courthouse dominating the middle and were disappointed to find that Frank’s closed for good last month. We asked a man nearby for a lunch recommendation and he sent us across the Colorado River to a place called the Riverview Café. There we were lucky to find homemade onion rings and delicious burgers.

Since there was a major downhill into town, we tried to get creative finding our way back to the hotel. Instead, we found lots of ways not to get back! Between a freeway and the Colorado River, we were forced to retreat back the way we came. That’s ok. It was an early day and we had time to spare. There is a long line for the one washing machine here so I may wait until tomorrow. Michelle worked on my derailleur so shifting should be smooth again on our next ride into Navasota. The sun is shining. No complaints here.

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!

66.8 miles today
1508 total

The first 50 miles of today’s ride had all the elements of a perfect bike ride. It was a bit chilly to start but the day warmed up into a beautiful, full blue-sky day. Temps didn’t get into the 80’s until the middle of the afternoon. Wind wasn’t much of an issue. Even the roads during the first part were quite smooth (for Texas).

So what makes a perfect day besides the weather? First, we were on backroads winding along the Guadaloupe River. We passed small farms, baby goats and an old cemetery (it actually felt a lot like the River Road ride from Greenfield). The first stop was in Comfort where there was a bakery with too many good choices. I shared a perfect apple puff pastry with Jane and bought a couple of cookies to enjoy later in the day. The town was picturesque with lots of old buildings and little shops. There was also a book sale put on by the library. I did look but keeping in mind the carrying problem refrained from buying anything (really, Janie!).

After Comfort, we paralleled the interstate briefly where we could see the beginning of Indian paintbrush, in a gorgeous pink, and bluebonnets. I suspect these flowers are part of the Lady Bird Johnson highway beautification project I learned about in elementary school. We turned onto more side roads for another stop in Waring where there was an old general store. The fudge advertised on the cue sheet wasn’t available but I had a fruity ice cream pop that hit the spot and made it to the little post office before they closed. I also got the last seven post card stamps in town.

On we went past fields of sheep and goats and cattle winding along more back roads. The next stop was a winery (see what I mean about a perfect day!) with free samples and a self-guided tour. Several of us did the tasting at the Sisters Creek Vineyard (appropriately in Sisterdale). There was an award-winning Chardonnay and a delicious Merlot. Since carrying again was a problem and they won’t ship out of state, we had to move on down the road empty handed.

After the sag stop on RD 473, we knew we were still in hill country. The rollers were quite big here; great fun on the downhills, over little creeks (usually dry) and then up and up over the bumpy roads. I’m not really complaining but the hills were much more numerous than I would have allowed on a perfect day, especially after a visit to the vineyard.

We have taken over the two motels in Blanco. When I arrived, I heard that the BBQ place here was outstanding so Jane and I headed back into town to split a brisket sandwich. Add to the perfection list – it was delicious and they had devilled eggs too!

Rumor has it that we may be able to access the internet outside the local library down the road. If this is posted on time today, I was successful!

This morning as I walked to breakfast at a restaurant across the road, I was especially glad that it’s a rest day and we didn’t have to ride.  There was a big storm in the night and it was still cold and damp with a pretty stiff wind blowing.  Actually, we heard that after we left Vanderpool yesterday there were golf ball size hailstones coming down.  We got out just in the nick of time!  We have been lucky with the weather this trip.  There have been storms all around us but we seem to have been in pockets of decent weather.  May that continue through the second half!

It’s been great to have a rest day with cell phone coverage and internet access.  It’s a good time to check up on people in the “outside” world.  I cleaned my bike, caught up with post cards and will spend some time sitting outside reading and listening to music.  Unlike my vacations, I’m not as motivated to seek out the usual tourist or shopping opportunities.  I guess my day is so full when I’m riding that just hanging out feels really good.

I just received updates from the two organizations that are receiving my fundraising money.  So far, the total is just over $7600.  Many, many thanks to those of you who have contributed.  I don’t get addresses from the NBCCF due to privacy laws so if you haven’t received an official thank you from me, that’s why.  Please accept this substitute for now and I’ll try to connect with you when I get home.

To those of you who read this and haven’t contributed, please consider doing so.  I have been hoping to raise $25,000 and am now wondering if that is an unrealistic goal.  Please feel free to prove me wrong!  Knowing I’m helping others really adds another dimension to this ride.  All contributions are tax-deductible and you will receive an official letter for tax purposes from the organizations.  You can donate online or by mail – whichever is easier for you.  As I’ve said before, imagine a world with more music and less breast cancer!

50.8 miles
1441 total

The weather didn’t look very cooperative this morning when we started out.  The skies were grey, threatening rain and the wind was blowing hard.  The van started to fill up with people with bikes on top.  With a second day of climbing ahead, several people decided that they had had enough of that yesterday.  Then, there are those of us who actually like climbing days and since the cue sheet said the grades would be 6-10%, we figured it couldn’t be any harder than yesterday’s climbs.

The folly of that thinking proved itself out quickly.  We headed toward Medina on 337 on yet another chip seal road.  By mile 7, we knew we were in for some serious climbing as there was a wall of road ahead of us going (what looked like) straight up.  I chose a song for the climb, shifted into my lowest gear, and headed up.  It was just shy of a mile and half and somewhere near the top I could hear the sound of a bicycle approaching from behind me.  That’s not a sound I expected to hear and within a couple of moments, two must-have-been professional cyclists went by.  We talked briefly (I could still talk!) as they blew by me.  It turns out it was a 15% grade which the pros use for training (remember this is Lance Armstrong country).  Rumor has it that the Olympic team is training here.  I saw a couple of riders on the descent climbing the other side, one wearing a polka dot jersey (which is the climbing winner on the Tour).  I didn’t break any records but I was pleased to make it to the top feeling like I had worked hard but still felt strong.

From the top, we had some great rollers up and down.  At the bottom, it was a fast ride through rolling ranch country (goats and sheep and a few cattle), to our rest stop in Medina.  There, we had the best apple strudel ever (Hannah from Germany pronounced it as good as those in Germany).  They also sold apple trees and gifts.  Ann’s husband and Micki’s dad surprised them by being there.

Well fortified, Jane and I headed off for the next climb with random drops of rain.  The second big climb felt steeper than the first in some places as it twisted and turned with really tight turns to the top.  Micki had set up a sag stop at the top where we celebrated our second ascent of the day.  The descent was as twisty and steep as anything I’ve ever ridden in a car or bike.  Once we hit bottom though, it was a fast ride through more rolling countryside.  I saw my first longhorns, a family group on the side of the road.

As we approached Kerrville, a town of about 20,000 people, the traffic picked up.  I was with a bunch of riders going up more and more climbs into town.  We all stopped at the local bike shop, a particularly well-stocked one.  With half of our journey behind us, several people have developed bike problems and the mechanics here have a reputation for knowing what they are doing.  Yesterday, when descending, I had heard a scary noise on my bike that I had Michelle look at this morning.  Good thing I did, as my headset (think handlebars) was loose from all the rough roads.  I was very lucky I got down the hills safely yesterday.

At the shop, I splurged on a Hill Country Texas jersey (heck, more of this trip is in Texas than any other state!) and got an extra pair of cleats for down the road.  A bunch of us stopped at the health food store next door for a healthy lunch before finding our way to the hotel.

I lucked out with Candice as my roommate for these two days here.  She already had my luggage in the room waiting for me when I arrived.  Tonight we’ll eat in the steakhouse restaurant here at the hotel.

We are now officially half way through our trip.  Time does fly when you’re having fun!

40 miles today
1390 total

Last night at dinner, we were surprised by a margarita party.  “We are half way across Texas!”.  “April Fool!”  We weren’t quite halfway but to celebrate Genie’s birthday (and April Fool’s Day) we had a little celebration complete with the Beaver Song for Genie.  Everyone’s getting really good at it!

At map meeting, we heard about today’s climbs and there were several people who were quite psyched out by the hill country.  Michelle said there were three major climbs at miles 12, 28 and 33.  They averaged about 10 percent grade and were a mile or so long.  This morning we were all surprised when we started heading up and up and up and it was only mile 8!  Did this mean this one didn’t count or was it the mile 12 climb coming early?  The road curved and curved and around each curve we could see it going up and up.  Fortunately, most people surprised themselves by how much stronger we are now and that it wasn’t as challenging as they expected.  The sag was at the top where we all determined that must have been a real climb!  The view was gorgeous of hills covered with trees rolling off into the distance.  There were also some great rollers, down and up – such fun.

We continued on RD 337 into Leakey.  There we found out there was road construction ahead for the next several miles.  The chip seal was just practice for riding through construction!  We bounced over the rough road until we finally arrived at mile 28 where the construction ended and the next big climb began.  I think we were all so glad to be off the road, it didn’t matter that we were climbing again.  We had a nice downhill and then up again we went at mile 33.  This climb was a bit longer but still doable.  The sky was still gray and at the top, Clark and I noticed that there seemed to be a few drops of rain starting to spit.  It was time to get off the mountain.  It was pretty much straight down at a steeper grade than we had been climbing (or at least that was my perception).  We stopped at the bottom at a little store where Jane and I shared an ice cream sandwich and watched a huge number of  hummingbirds at a feeder.  I could hear a couple of people speaking German on the phone who, it turns out, are visitors from England.

Now, I’m hunkered down in the main house of the Foxfire Cabins, here in Vanderpool, TX, population 20.  I have the futon in the living room while Dawn, Barbara M. and our leaders have the bedrooms.  It started raining not long after I arrived but it doesn’t matter.  There is a free washing machine off the kitchen, Linda’s cooking dinner, there are a bunch of people playing a dice game and Jane and I are catching up on our blogs.  Life is good.  There’s a swimming hole right outside but right now, I can’t imagine jumping in.  Ray Charles is on the CD player (You Don’t Know Me) and people keep stopping by to check out the house and hang out for awhile.  This morning as I left Camp Wood I could see the teachers in the elementary school getting ready in their classrooms.  How far away from that life I feel today.

50 miles today
1350 total

This morning it was a pleasure to leave US 90 and find some new roads.  Unfortunately, they were still all made of chip seal but it didn’t feel as bad today until the last few miles when we were hot and more tired.  The word for the morning as we rode on RD 334 out of town was wet.  It was so damp that the glasses needed windshield wipers and the moisture was dripping off our helmets.  “It was a very fine drizzle. I love to say drizzle”, said Pat.  We wound our way up and down some gentle rollers through ranch country.  We saw sheep, goats, horses, llamas and some signs for exotic animal hunting (but the animals were hiding). We had been warned that last year water was running over the road along this stretch.   The Nueces River actually crosses the road – no bridge! – but today, it was all dried out.

Several times on the road today, we could smell the stench of rotting carcasses.  We must have seen over a dozen deer in various degrees of deterioration on the side of the road.  I also saw my first dead armadillo, pretty well picked clean by the buzzards that we often see circling.

By the time we got to our turn onto SR 55 at the second sag stop, the sun had come out and we suddenly felt the 90 degree heat.  Fortunately, up the road a mere 19 miles was a place marked on our cue sheet – “If it is hot when you cross the Nueces River at mile 45, jump in!”  This time, the River was full of water with a dam on one side of the highway bridge and a great swimming spot on the other side. Ann, Micki, Jane, Judy and I headed into the water.  Like yesterday’s pool, this was so refreshing after a day of biking.  We were only a few miles from our night’s lodging so we could get a little wet.  We had also heard that the library (with internet access) and the only restaurant in town closed at 2, so a bit reluctantly we headed into town.

Here, I found out the motel was overbooked and I was actually staying at a house east of town with our leaders, Phyllis and Clark.  Jane and Cheryl are in the Sunshine Cottage next door.  Apparently, we are going to have dinner at “our place” tonight so I’ll be all set once I get back there.  I got a delicious burger at the restaurant and am camped out in Pat and Jane I.’s room to use the internet before I head home.  We can see the hills of the hill country around us.  Tomorrow we head up again.

44 miles today
1,300 total

In my fatigue of last night, I forgot to mention an incident that happened yesterday with the Border Patrol.  We were next to the border in El Paso, and some before that as well, and now we are right at the border again in Del Rio.  Along the side of the road, there are border patrol roads made of light colored gravel.  Each day they drag big tires along the roads and inspect them in the morning.  That way they can see if anyone crossed during the night.  Yesterday, the Patrol found a place where 10 people had crossed.  They were sending out for the helicopters to look for them.  It’s a 7-day walk across the desert to get to I-10, their apparent destination.  A couple people talked with the Patrol where they learned that the Mexicans mix puddle water with lemons to make it potable and carry Pediolyte (an electrolyte solution like the Gatorade we drink) to survive the heat.  I have a new respect for the danger and the motivation that would make people attempt to cross into the U.S. illegally.

In the 100 plus miles that we traveled yesterday, we have crossed from dry desert into humid ranch country.  The mornings of being cold and wrapped up in layers for the first hour or so are now an attempt to get through a lot of riding before the heat and humidity of the day sets in.  There is a lot more green in the landscape, mostly bush-size, and we’re seeing goats, sheep and cattle occasionally along the side of the road.  The ranches are fenced in for miles and we see different kinds of gates at their entrances.  (Again there is no internet access so you’ll have to wait for the pictures.)

I stopped off at the Amistad Recreation Area visitor center first thing this morning after leaving the hotel.  There were displays of prehistoric arrowheads and early baskets there as well as information about the wildlife in this area.  The Amistad is a huge dam and reservoir fed by three rivers that provides the water for lots of crop irrigation in this area.  Yesterday, even knowing it was coming, it was such a shock to see a huge reservoir.  We haven’t seen so much water since we left the Pacific Ocean and at the end of the day, it was like seeing a mirage!  The reservoir is known for its huge bass and the models there made me wonder how you could ever catch a fish with such a big mouth.  This area is also part of the monarch migration route to Mexico.

Our route stayed on US 90 again but this time with a few turns as we went through Del Rio, a town of about 30,000 people.  Many of our group stopped to shop.  I stopped at a pharmacy for cough suppressant with Arda, but then headed off to the first sag stop at mile 20.  Just before that, I found myself a length of clothesline on the side of the road.  Mine has gone missing for weeks and I knew I had laundry to hand wash today.  Score!  Carol had set up the sag right outside Laughlin Air Force Base.  She’s retired Navy herself but you wouldn’t know it with her new cowgirl hat on.

Not long after, Jane and I headed out and encountered the dreaded chip seal again.  It felt worse today.  Was that because it was newer and not as worn down or was it just our worn down bodies?  It’s so frustrating that you can’t even coast on the downhills!

We arrived here at Fort Clark Springs in time to look around.  This is a “real” fort, now decommissioned and on the historical register.  We’re staying in the original barracks, now comfortable motel rooms.  We’re not allowed to hang our laundry from the balconies (thus the clothesline in the room) or keep the cooking trailer in sight.  We are able to take advantage of the huge spring fed pool.  Jane, Phyllis and I jumped into the refreshingly cool water shortly after our arrival here.  It has to have been good for our tired muscles after the initial breath-taking shock.  I love swimming after a ride.

Yesterday we completed the 3rd of our Adventure Cycling maps out of seven sections.  We start climbing again tomorrow as we get into the Texas hill country where Lance Armstrong is from and trains.  Tonight, I think I’ll have a Shiner’s beer which Lance is rumored to drink.  It’s got to help on the hills, right?