Water, Water, Everywhere!
Saturday, March 4
I left Bastrop and passed a small-town high school with a very fancy football stadium. I can definitely tell that I'm in a state that takes its football very seriously.
Today I would be heading through Austin. I had been there a number of times on business, so I didn't feel the need to stop and explore as I would have otherwise. About 10am, it started to drizzle, so I pulled the poncho out.
In the heart of downtown I spotted a Trader Joe's. I couldn't pass up that opportunity, so I stopped in to pick up a couple of tins of their smoked trout (which I highly recommend). When I stepped out, the rain had really picked up. :-(
I then researched to see if there was an REI store nearby as the bite valve on my Camelbak was torn. As luck would have it, there was one .2 miles away. After REI, I thought I would grab some lunch and wait out the rain. The flagship Whole Foods was nearby, and the thought of some salad and a hot soup sounded appealing. The soup because I was cold, and a salad as I am not eating much fresh vegetables on this ride.
Unfortunately, the rain hadn't let up after lunch. It was too early to stop, and since SXSW (South by Southwest for those who don't know) was going on, all the downtown hotels were outrageously expensive. I pushed on, but had a lot of trouble following the map to get through central Austin.
Finally, by 3pm, I had had enough and used TripAdvisor to look for hotels. I found an Extended Stay America about 5 miles away. Google once again let me down. It directed me to a trail that was too rough to ride on. Also, because of the rain, my smartphone was almost impossible to operate, so it wasn't much help with directions.
I did finally arrive at the hotel almost an hour later (just for those 5 miles) and I was sure happy to get out of the rain! I ended up making do with my food supplies and didn't go out for dinner as it continued to rain heavily.
Day: 17
Time: 9 hours
Distance: 55 miles (Bastrop-Austin, TX)
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Sunday, March 5
The rain still hadn't stopped by the morning, but at least it was down to a light drizzle and was a little warmer.
I was a little disappointed with the hotel's idea of a "free breakfast" which turned out to consist of coffee and some granola bars. Luckily I had breakfast supplies of my own from the shopping expedition. The rain continued till about 10am before it finally stopped, but I still had to contend with wet roads and the spray from the front tire that would get in my face above certain speeds. Sigh.
A guy pulled up next to me as I was riding, and he yelled, "San Diego?" When I said yes, he gave me a thumbs up and said that it's that time of the year! He also gave me a warning about a section of road where the water would be running over and advised me to walk my bike across as it would be slick. As you can see by the picture at the top of this post, he wasn't kidding about the water! It's been a very wet two days...
I hit Johnson City (Lyndon B. Johnson's hometown) around noon and decided to stop for a proper meal, given the meager dinner and breakfast I had. When I saw a Pearl Harbor Memorial sign, I had to take a picture of it as my dad had been there during the attack and my family feels very close to anything Pearl Harbor-related.
Brunch was excellent, and I really enjoyed my fried chicken and waffles with pecan syrup. Apparently they grow a lot of pecans in Texas.
I left Johnson City around 1pm thinking I only had about 30 miles to go. I started to understand why they call this area "hill country." The hills were relentless! As soon as I crested a hill, it would either go back down again, or there would be another rise. It was literally like this the entire way from Austin. One big long roller coaster.
On the plus side, it was beautiful countryside, and it was cool to be able to see so many famed (Texas) longhorns.
I was pretty bummed to discover that I actually had 38 miles to go as there was a difference between the Google route and the bike route, but I did finally arrive a little after 5:30.
Fredericksburg turned out to be a touristy little town in "wine country" with antique shops, quite a lot of visitors, and over a hundred restaurants. I had another lovely meal, a juicy cheeseburger made with brisket. Yum!
Day: 18
Time: 10.5 hours
Distance: 79 miles (Austin-Fredericksburg, TX)
(post by Will)
Dude! Now your in my part of Texas. Yes, lot of pecans. I'm surprised by the rain, but am glad to see the rivers flowing so nicely. If you end up on 83 out of Leakey, stop at Concan and get a look at the Frio River. It is one of the best in the area. Garner State Park is a bit north of there (closer to Leakey) and also on the river should you decide to stay overnight at a campground. They are always packed in summer, but may have a cabin this time of year. If you end up going through Campwood, look out! That's where the "rednecks" live according to the rednecks in my hometown, which means they are redneck squared out there in Campwood. There is also a nice swim/camp spot there, but I can't remember what it's called. Something crossing, I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks Loretta. I ended up taking 183 south out of Vanderpool and stopped at the Lost Maples Cafe in Utopia for some breakfast and pie. Tonight I'm in your hometown of Uvalde! Anyone I should say hi to for you?
ReplyDeleteCool! I don't know where any one is these days. Have fun!
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