Kerrville to Blanco, TX (65 miles) Saturday, April 3, 2010

Dave rode with us from Kerrville to Blanco.  (above)  The first twenty miles were great.  The road was smooth, the scenery was wooded, and the hills were few.  On the way we saw many fields of Blue Bonnets, the Texas state flower, as well as Long Horn cattle, Cypress trees in a river, and creative ranch gates. 

Then Dave experienced the combination of hills and chip/seal road surface!  He also discovered the meaning of Texas Hill Country!

 It wasn't long before he had a mirror that shook off, and developed some interesting rattles in his frame! Then the handle of his front brake shook loose!

We stopped in Waring, a tiny town with an old convenience store.  The gas pumps had not been used in years because the prices read 22 cents for a gallon!   We also saw Mike, Alayne, Sue, and her visiting boyfriend, Bob.
 

The entry below is from Dave's point of view.  He wrote it himself!

The day came with a little apprehension. I am about to ride a bicycle with my wife for a day. This has been done many times before so what is the big deal? It is only a 64 mile day so, not a problem. We have done much longer rides and Rita already has 1500 miles over the past month on this journey so it should be a walk in the park. So off we go!!

During a short climb on fresh legs the road seams a "little bumpy". Soon I look down at my mirror to see what I hear behind us and the mirror has all but fallen off from the vibration! So I spin it around a few times and get it tightened up only to have it loose again in a half mile. Welcome to "chip seal" road resurfacing. I stop, remove the mirror, then push hard up the remainder of this hill to catch up to "the girls".

As we settle into a nice rhythm with Mike leading the way, the weather is 45 degrees with light clouds and sunny. After a fast 20 miles I am wondering what all the fuss about how bad the road surfaces are and how steep grades make the hills difficult? True my fingers are a little numb from vibration at times, but as it turned out this was the nicest road surfaces we would have and the best the gals have had since entering Texas.

The rest of the ride became more demanding with long up-grade climbs that did not look daunting but were very taxing your stamina. Some of the road was fairly smooth, but a lot of it was very coarse and the vibration was not pleasant.

We stopped at an old gas station that is now just a refreshment stop, and then a Winery for a break. At this point I was definitely feeling my out of shape winter legs. The next stage of the trip was a lot of long up-grade climbs again. I began grinding these slower and slower as the wind had also picked up a bit. The temperature was now pushing closer to 80 but did not seem to be a factor in my fatigue. In my head things were ok but my legs had other ideas.

Rita had backed off Mike's pace to "stay with me", and the rest had also slowly disappeared over a hill at some point. At about 52 miles in the middle of another up-grade my legs said "no mas" and I called out to Rita I was stopping. It was frustrating because my quads did not hurt, they just had no energy left! It was about now I was wishing I had the extra set of tiny gears for hill climbs.

My Sweetheart walked with me to the top of the hill then we rode to a spot of shade and took a break. That was the "last worst" climb, and I managed to ride the rest without major incident.

Thank you Dear, for slacking back with me the last 15 miles :) Boy what a reality check! Anyone who thinks there is any exaggeration as to the reported riding conditions I am telling you first hand that is NOT the case! My hat is off to all the riders on this trip. And I must take a humble position as the Second Best Rider in my family to the Love of My Life, Rita.

Dave

Along the way we also stopped in Sisterdale, where there is a winery.  We went in, had a sip or two, and bought some wine (the Sag was there to carry them).  These were birthday presents for our daughter-in-law, Jen.

 Along the route, we rode under this old bridge.  Later, the van came through with the riders who were sagging and their bikes.  You can see below the problems they had getting through with all the bikes on top!

We arrived in Blanco, TX around 3:30.  We were able to go to "Bungalo on 9th", a part of the motel across a side street from where the rest of the group was staying. 

After showers, we joined the group for one of Linda's delicious dinners.  Alayne Evens' sister, Karen, came to visit her, and Carol Wilder had her friend, Lang, from their Navy days stop by, too.

Amy Derwinski was visited by her aunt and uncle, too.  The Kerrville/Blanco stops were our half-way stops in the entire trip.

 

Tomorrow will be a 93 mile ride to Bastrop, TX.