1,469.7 total trip miles
13.1 mph average
2,214’ climbing
FF - 5
MP - Bishop Jeff Haines - he was my pastor at St Frances Cabrini Parish at a time when I was very involved in youth ministry & as Trustee-Treasurer of the Parish. He also encouraged me to get involved with Southeast Wisconsin Common Ground. A great spiritual leader who has helped enrich my relationship with God.
After our much appreciated day off, we got up to a foggy, misty morning, but at least there was a tailwind for part of the day. We are now in Texas Hill Country, which is beautiful & much greener than the desert we had been in. There are many game ranches here with 8’ high fences to keep the prey within their boundaries. Hunters apparently pay big money to come to the ranch for a hunt. I personally didn’t see anything but a steer & I doubt anyone wants to hunt him. The roads are full of rolling hills.
This picture gives you an idea, but many hills are even steeper. The nice thing is that if there is a downhill before the uphill, I can sometimes get enough momentum to climb without a lot of effort. There were a couple of surprise steep uphills without an advance downhill that made me work harder than normal, but I pedaled them all.
I keep getting lots of questions at the end of a day about how my recumbent is handling the terrain. I have a real advantage downhill, but it is harder for me to climb. Today I was playing leap frog with another rider. He would pass me going up a hill & I would glide past him on the downhill. This went on for half an hour. In the end when discussing why I ride the recumbent with other riders, I emphasize that the main thing for me is comfort. I don't experience pain in the back, neck, wrists or butt that many upright riders do.
I keep getting lots of questions at the end of a day about how my recumbent is handling the terrain. I have a real advantage downhill, but it is harder for me to climb. Today I was playing leap frog with another rider. He would pass me going up a hill & I would glide past him on the downhill. This went on for half an hour. In the end when discussing why I ride the recumbent with other riders, I emphasize that the main thing for me is comfort. I don't experience pain in the back, neck, wrists or butt that many upright riders do.
We did reach an important milestone today - 1/2 way across America. The designated spot is at something called the boot fence. You can see boots hanging on the posts in the background. The halfway point is marked with pink arrows on the road.
This achievement was celebrated at dinner tonight with steak & lobster!
I did have the 1st casualty among my possessions. My favorite blue soft suitcase with lots of pockets all around got me back & forth to Ghana, Mexico & Switzerland, but couldn’t make it across the USA. Fortunately Amazon offers 2 day shipping if you are a Prime member & lots of my kids are. So I started calling them late last week & Laurie was the 1st to answer. I had a replacement shipped to our rest day location. Lots of miles on this old one, but it was time to move on.
WDYLT - ILT Kerrville, TX has a really nice paved bike trail along the Guadalupe River that we rode for about 5 miles today. Similar to the trails in Tucson, but smoother & less confusing. Didn’t get lost even once.