Blanco to Bastrop (93 miles) Sunday, April 4th

The weather for Blanco was predicted that there was a 20% chance of rain.  As it turned out, they did not account for the constant mist and drizzle that followed us for most of the day.  Fortunately, it was not cold, but it was an element we had not had to deal with much on this trip,  We have been very fortunate that way.  The worst part of riding a bicycle in the wet is the mess it makes of the bikes!

It is difficult to take pictures when it is so wet, so there were not any taken in the morning.

The other element is mental.  Looking forward to 93 miles, including hills, can be daunting.  There were few shoulders, but there was little heavy duty truck traffic to deal with.

At one of our Sag stops, two riders rolled in and introduced themselves as Barbara McNary's son and daughter-in-law!  They were riding twenty miles out and then turned back to Blanco where they parked their car.

At our 62 mile mark we rode through the town of Lockhart.  It reminded me of many of the Iowa towns of Ragbrai.  The court house is in the middle of the square with the shops around it.  The architecture was amazing.  The memorial in front was a reminder that we were, indeed, in the South!

We had 30 miles to go, and although the mist/drizzle/rain had ended, but there was some road surfacing we had to deal with.  The sign stated, "Caution  Textured pavement ahead."

They weren't kidding.  It lasted only a few miles, on and off, but it was very difficult to ride on!  Later, we learned later that Pam had fallen on this surface, and got a terrible road rash on her left arm, fingers and shoulder!  She rode in to Bastrop those last 15 miles anyway.  Since it was Easter Sunday, of course there were no clinics open, so Carol had to drive her to the nearest E.R. to get the rocks and sand cleaned out of it.  (e-e-e-w-w!)  Pam has been a trooper through all this, never missing a mile (or a smile) yet!  Looks like Pam will be our only E.F.I. (every fricken inch) rider!

A sister of a friend of Mike Sandifur came by with champagne to make a celebration for us that evening.  She thought the 93 miles was pretty amazing!  And who are we to turn down champaign!  Lynn Kalifeiz helped by popping the corks high across the parking lot!

Tomorrow we head out from Bastrop to La Grange, TX.  It is only 41 miles, but by now we become suspicious of those short days...they are usually challenging!  We shall see!