Day 29 - Blanco, TX to Lockhart, TX

62.8 miles today
1,591.5 total trip miles
14.6 mph average
2,116’ climbing
FF - 5
MP - My St Frances Cabrini Parish family in West Bend, WI.  When we moved to West Bend in 1991, we chose Cabrini because we felt the Spirit of God in the community.  Today I remember current & past members of this parish that has been important to me - educating my children, developing my faith & inspiring me to love as Jesus loved.

Today included just about everything possible for a bike ride - tough uphills, sharp downhills & flat land, rough roads with no shoulder & traffic,  smooth roads with nice shoulders & no traffic, headwinds, cross winds & tail winds.  A nice day to be on a bike.  Our 62.8 miles is even quite close to the 65 miles average for the entire trip.  I included a picture of Texas Hill Country the other day, but I have an even more accurate example.  The hill in the distance was one of the harder of the day & if you look close you can see bikers ahead of me taking it on.

I had an interesting surprise when I reached our lunch stop today at the Texas Pie Company in Kyle, TX.  Early bikers coming out said, “There’s someone looking for you inside”.  When I got in, I met Bob & Leah from Wisconsin.  Leah did the C2C in 2014 & they both have done a bunch of different rides.  They found my blog & have been following me along the way.  They were staying somewhere nearby & knew the route for today, so they left their car at the park we are camping at tonight, biked the 20 miles to Kyle, had lunch & then biked back to the park.  Here is a picture of the 3 of us.

When we arrived in Lockhart, the route took us past the courthouse & it is pretty impressive for a small Texas community.  Put my bike out front & got this picture.

Well, the weather is turning cold & windy for us again, so everyone is holing up inside their tents for the night & it isn’t even dark yet.  They all think that being from Wisconsin I am used to this stuff.  Little do they know that I’m the one that puts my long underwear on in October & wears it until May. Fortunately I brought enough layers to stay reasonably warm overnight, but there is no way for me to enjoy getting up in the morning in a tent when it is 40 degrees.  

WDYLT - ILT having a tailwind of 20 mph on a smooth, straight, level road means biking 20 mph requires very little effort.  Nice! 

Day 28 - Kerrville, TX to Blanco, TX

59.0 miles today
1,528.7 total trip miles
12.8 mph average
2,824’ climbing
FF - 7
MP - sister-in-law Cathy Majkowski & family.  She connects with people so well that everywhere she goes, there seems to be someone she knows.  I’m expecting to run into someone on this journey that knows her.  She also believes in the importance of family & works hard to stay connected with everyone.  Hi Cathy!

Today was a hard day.  Lots of climbing & a couple of steep inclines that tested me, but I made it.  Not as much mileage, but more work.  Really into ranch country & saw my 1st Texas Longhorn.  May see better specimens along the way, but here is the first.

I’ve also been noticing a wide variety of wooden fence styles along the road. 

Most every ranch also has a big entrance gate.  Sometimes with stone pillars and large swinging gates.  Sometimes more simple, but every place seems to be saying “You Are Here”.  I liked this one the best today.

Part of what is causing all the up & down of the terrain are creek beds that apparently flood regularly.  The road is built right down to within a foot or two of the creek, which are almost always dry.  They probably don’t flood long enough to make it worth building bridges.  That would level out the road for us bicyclists, but probably isn't enough motivation for taxpayers.  I don't blame them.  It is interesting that almost every creek bed has a flood gauge that looks like this.

My guess is that the locals use this to decide whether to drive through during flood season & that probably depends on how tall your vehicle is.  Not sure why they need to have the gauge read up as high as 5’.  Don’t know what vehicle could go through that!

WDYLT - ILT in Comfort, TX there is a farm that was settled by a German immigrant in the early 1900’s.  He found the armadillo, which is unique to this area & tried to figure out what to do with them.  Came up with an “armadillo basket”, which became a big business.  Google it for more information.

Day 27 - Concan, TX to Kerrville, TX

71.7 miles today
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.  

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.

Day 25 - Bracketville, TX to Concan, TX

74 miles today
1,398 total trip miles
11.8 mph average
2,431’ climbing
FF - 5
MP - my in-laws Don (RIP) & Marie Prom.  He was always easy to talk to - calm & thoughtful. Helped feed my interest in becoming a business owner & especially exposed me to working at trade shows (one of my joys in business).  She has always had more energy than any 3 other people - raised 9 children & helped run multiple businesses they were involved in.

The headwinds return!  The day started out overcast, which was fine, but a persistent 15+ mph headwind caused most riders trouble.  I was again passing folks that I usually get passed by.  After lunch we turned north, so the wind was less of an issue, but we entered Texas Hill Country, so most of our climbing happened then.  Some riders thought today was the hardest day of the trip so far, but it seemed average to me.  We are out of the desert, but we are in farm country, with lots of fields already growing grain.  We also are seeing more flowers along the road.

I have noticed something interesting in the last week or so regarding biking styles of different riders. Some sit up straight on their seat & pedal at a consistent slow pace.  Some actually sit crooked on their seat, almost like they are leaning to one side.  One rider wobbles back & forth with every pedal stroke. The really strong riders have their head down with a fast & consistent cadence (I only see them from behind after they pass me).  It also seems like the same riders leave camp early.  They are often the strong riders who I rarely see on the road.  There are some couples who pretty much stay together all day, with the faster rider hanging back & waiting for the slower one.  There is one couple riding a tandem.

What about me?  I usually am one of the last to leave camp (mornings are not my best time of day). There is one friend that I play leap frog with many days.  He usually leaves a little sooner than me, but I ride faster, so I pass him.  When I get to a rest stop or lunch, I take my time.  He comes in after me, but usually leaves the stop before me.  When I do get back on the bike, I pass him again. Depending on the day, we usually arrive at the destination within minutes of each other.

The other thing I notice is that almost every rider starts & stops pedaling a lot.  Ruth taught me that it is more efficient to just keep pedaling, even if you have to move to a lower gear.  I’m surprised more bikers don’t do that.

WDYLT - ILT on our off day tomorrow, we have an opportunity to float down the river near our camp in an inner tube.  Weather looks good, so it should be fun.

Day 24 - Comstock, TX to Bracketville, TX

76 miles today
1,324 total trip miles
13.5 mph average
1,361’ climbing
FF - 4
MP - Ray Brill (RIP) - a good friend since we were in 1st grade together.  Usually the smartest person in the room, but he didn’t believe it.  Music connoisseur who helped form my taste in music.  I miss him a lot.

Today started out cloudy with a slight mist, but warm enought to not be uncomfortable.  A couple of long, shallow climbs that I don’t mind.  The historical marker tour continues.  Here is an example of what I see.

I also am attempting to take a picture of every sign at the entrance to a city.  My favorites are the little green ones like this.

I have to admit that I have missed a few where it wasn’t safe to stop & take a picture, but so far there are about 20 in my collection.  Think I’ll make a collage when the trip is over.

One more long day of riding before a rest day.  Everyone is ready for that.

WDYLT - ILT the British parliament has voted to take authority away from the Prime Minister regarding the Brexit process.  I find that whole situation very interesting.  Doesn’t seem to me that there is going to be a good ending for England.

Day 23 - Sanderson, TX to Comstock, TX

85 miles today
1,248 total trip miles
13.4 mph average
2,434’ climbing
FF - 6
MP - sister-in-law Cindy Nickels & family.  She is always interested in what is going on in your life & it makes me feel important when she asks about what I'm up to.

Today was Historical Marker day.  I try to stop at every one, read it & take a picture.  Texas has a bunch of them.  Sometimes they even have a sign saying “Historical Marker 1 mile”, but then there isn’t one.  Can’t explain that.  The ride was tougher than I expected today, not because of the mileage (even though it was one of our longest days), or because of the amount of climbing (which was one of the biggest number of feet).  For me it has to do with how steep the hills are.  A short steep one I can handle no problem, but long & steep wears me out.  Glad to say I pedaled them all today & there were some nice downhills to balance out the climbs.  The terrain has changed.  No more mountains in the background like we’ve had for the past week or two.  And more vegetation, so there must be better soil & water supply.  We crossed the Pecos River & there was a nice overlook I got a picture from.  If you look closely, you will see a couple of bikers on the bridge.

Looking the other direction from the bridge I could see how the river carved out its passage in the rock, so I put my bike in front of it & took this picture.

I had the most unusual experience of the trip so far, & I doubt that anything more unusual will happen.  I arrived in camp about 4 PM, emptied out the bag on the back of my bike, took a shower, had dinner & attended the daily rider meeting.  About 7 PM, I was back at my tent getting ready for the next day’s ride.  I opened my bike bag, which was closed but not zipped.  Look what I found.

A pretty completely formed bird's nest!

WDYLT - ILT the birds at Seminole Canyon State Park are very industrious!

Day 22 - Marathon, TX to Sanderson, TX

57.5 miles today
1,163 total miles
16.7 mph average
452’ climbing
FF - 2
MP - the Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative family - I am grateful for the staff, the Board of Directors & the membership of this organization that has been an important part of my life for the past 7 years.  We have succeeded in the face of many obstacles put before us & I have learned much through the experience.

Today was pretty much an ideal day for the 2019 C2C trip.  Sunshine, pleasant temperatures once the sun got working, lots of downhills, easy mileage.  We all felt we had earned this after many of our previous efforts.  The terrain continues to intrigue me.

Just a few miles earlier I had read a historical marker that discussed how the hills in this area were formed by earthquakes, but if this doesn’t look like a volcano, I don’t know what does.

I find it interesting that very few serious bikers use a kickstand.  I've noticed that on a couple of different trips I have done.  Here is a picture of one of our rest stops.  My bike is the only one upright. Everyone else just lays the bike down on the ground if there isn’t a building or fence post to lean it against.

Yesterday was an off day & we took a trip to Big Bend National Park.  We didn’t bike there so this really isn’t part of the actual bike trip, but I have to include this picture of a prickly pear cactus in full bloom.  I never imagined it could be so colorful!

WDYLT - ILT we have met probably 10 different bikers who are touring the country carrying all their gear with them.  Today we met 2 ER doctors from England who are trying to set a record for biking around the world in the least number of days.  Bubba always invites these bikers to eat & stay with us & they have great stories.