Of course, you can never tell what pitfalls there are on the road. Twelve miles out there was a WALMART!! Half the group stopped to shop, knowing that Linda and Carol, who were grocery shopping for us, would be there to haul their purchases to our next night stop. I think we were all sore from yesterday’s century ride, but we only had 42 miles to ride today.
Thinking it would be a breeze, we soon realized that the chip/seal surface was going to be especially rough for the next 30 miles! The road was only a 2-lane with lots of traffic, and Carol’s reminder to “STAY ON THE SHOULDER,” and “SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!” we bounced our way toward Fort Clark.
We saw so many border patrol in their trucks! We could not go very far without seeing one! Our route has followed the Mexican/American border the entire route so far.
For those who don't know what chip seal is---it is really nasty material Texas uses for their roads. It is cheap and easy to lay. Essentially, it is made up of very large hunks of gravel pushed into tar, but only far enough so that it sticks. It makes a very, very rough surface. One feels like a jello jiggler after a day of riding on it. The good news is that you can hear traffic coming up behind you from a very far distance.
Then there was the wind. Lynn rolled in one day and said she needed poligrip on her behind just to say in the saddle--boy, did she hit the nail on the head. Even an easy day of riding is difficult with chip seal and wind. Both really create hard work--more effort for less result.
It wasn't long before the hills began on the route. Fortunately the hills weren’t too steep, but it really slowed us down in addition to all that chip/seal. We occasionally passed an entrance to a ranch, but the ranch houses are out of sight. Properties around here can be as large as ten to twenty sections in size. (One section is one square mile). The names can be creative, such as “BIG BUCK$ RANCH” with a dollar sign for the “S.”
Another was, “OI Ranch.” :)
Many of us stopped in Brackettville for lunch at “Julie’s Restaurant.”
(We loved the sign on their napkin holder…they knew there was a "u" in there some place!)
Karen Cooper came in, sporting a new hairdo, created by her helmet!
Sue Hersman stopped to talk to a girl at another table. The girl was in her early 30’s, a secondary teacher, who was riding self-contained, by herself, to study the organic farming around the country.
She has been riding in a circle route around the country, from farm to farm from August through June! She made the mistake of ordering the portabella burger, thinking it would be a big portabella mushroom in a bun, but, she did not take into account that we were in TEXAS! So being a vegetarian, all she could do was laugh! She ended up giving her lunch away to a group of men with cowboy hats, paid for it, and left to find another place to eat! (Good luck with that, dear, this is Texas!)
Fort Clark, where we are staying, is a real Army fort, and we checked into rooms that were part of the fort’s barracks.
Fort Clark was established in 1852 and inactivated in 1946. It has an interesting history. It helped guard the border with Mexico, as well as rid the Indian menace from SW Texas. Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts were used from 1872-1914. From 1920-1941, the fort was home to a cavalry unit. During WW II more than 12,000 troops were stationed here, along with a German POW camp. Many famous officers served here, including George C. Marshall and George Patton.There was a swimming pool that was created by damming up the flowing river. It flows in one side and out the other!
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