day26- a ride in the van to Camp Wood

Today, I made a tough decision, I rode in the van. This was precipitated by a lot of chafing from the road, and a desired to have a couple of pleasant days before our rest day in Kerrville. I reminded myself that before I started, I had decided that if I rode, it would be for roads I thought were unsafe or if there were some other good reason.....past experience on this trip gave me the good reason.

So I saw the trip from the van, got to go with out guide to Wal-mart for a few odds and ends and am finding that I am hour by hour more and more comfortable and ready to ride the hills to Vanderpool tomorrow. Not much else to write. Camp Wood is a nice. There is a great little quilt shop and the folks are very friendly. Our motel is spotless.

Mileage today....need to check the an odometer...so we won't count it...

Day 25-a little schlep to Brackettville

I slept well, and awoke groggy and sore, and wondering just why I am doing this trip. Oh...I have wanted to do this since high school. Yes, it is worth it and yes it is SO WORTH IT. Because of the long day yesterday, this day is a short one, just forty two miles. We had a relatively late start and headed from Del Rio to Brackettville. The first ten or so miles were in town...civilizatiton...well at least a Wal-mart and fast food. Hmmm...nothing against civilization, but I am really enjoying the small towns and being off the beaten path. Before starting this trip, I had expected most of our miles to be country roads, and many are, but some where there is so little in the west, have to be the major roads.

After leaving Del Rio, we followed ninety into Brackettville. The road surface was the only difficult thing, and quit frankly it was taking its toll on me with chafing, in spite of lots of special concoctions one can buy to prevent this.

En route we had moved from the arrid hills with scrub plants with a greener area with trees just leafing out. It is good to see the verdant vegetation again, although I have really enjoyed the desert with its subtle and sometimes vibrant beauty.

We stayed in Fort Clark Springs, which was a fort that was founded prior to the civil war. It was subsequently a garrison for Confederate troops. Most of the barracks were constructed in the early 1870's and could house over 20 officers and men. The building are of stone and the site is very picturesque. It was actively used through WWII. It served as the home for the 5th Cavalry Regiment from 1920 to 1941. Colonel George S Ptton, Jr served there in 1938 as the regimental commander. It was inactivated in 1946. It was a great opportunity to get to stay in a place so full of history.

Our dinner was a a chicken enchilada pie with rice and beans and a huge salad. Once again, Yummy!

day 24-The longest day

Everyone was up early, and was nervous about our 111 mile day. Many of us had never done a century and this was 11 miles more than that!!!! We got going at the crack of dawn, and headed down Route 90. The first twenty miles were wonderful. The birds were singing and the wind was mild. The sun came up and the world was perfect. We made great time. After the first SAG stop, the wind began to pick up. It pressed against us, but was still tolerable, but the ride was getting harder. We had another SAG stop at mile forty, and then had a lunch stop, where Linda, our chef would be waiting with good nutritious and filling food for us. Those next twenty miles consisted of the same rolling hills we had had the first forty miles, but the wind continued to pick up. It was now shoving us back, slowing us down. The road was cut through some of the hills and there was a swirling and whirling around us. As we moved onto the open road, we got a cross gust from the east an the the west.

The road surface of the shoulder was rough chip seal. The traffic was usually considerate, but occasionally heedless, and so most of us stayed on the shoulder. As we moved forward the wind whistled and howled so that communication was impossible, and you couldn't even hear trucks from behind. Of course being on the shoulder, which was very wide, kept us safe. I ended up singing songs to myself to keep my cadence and spirits up. In spite of the wind, I liked the scenery, when I braved looking around. I finally came to lunch. The food was great, but the thought of 51 more miles into the wind was intimidating. Now, you may ask just how strong the wind was, and I can only guess. One of the women, who routinely rides in twenty mph winds was estimating that it was thirty with stronger gusts. I can tell you that on the downhills we had, you had to continue to pedal hard to keep moving. Uphill, in the lee ofthe wind was actually almost easier. The next eighty miles went by, pedal stroke, by pedal stroke. It seemed endless. Hands vibrating, howling wind, feet vibrating, seat jostling in the road surface. Hill after hill, climbing pedaling down to keep going, then up again, cross winds pushing you one way then the other and toward the road.

After eighty the SAG was there every five miles. A lot of the women called it quits at sixty, and believe me they had already had a very, very hard ride. I was with a group determined to complete the ride, but my personal goal was to get to a century...my first.

We kept going those last twenty miles. I realized, that in spite of drinking lots and lots of water (well over eighty ounces) plus a waterbottle of gatorade, I was very dry. I was unbelievably tired.

Finally, I hit the hundred mile point. I cheered the others on and collapsed into the SAG wagon, exhausted. My first century at half a century old, was a tough one. Later at dinner, several seasoned cyclist told me that that would be the hardest century I would ever do....and it was more like one and a half or two centuries. I don't know about that, but it was an accomplishment that I am proud of. I wish I had had the fortitude to continue...I was SO proud of those who did all 111 miles. Six of the twenty one women made that distance.

Mileage:100 miles.

day 23 quick trip to Sanderson

I have not had internet connections, and so today Tues, March 31, I will be trying to catch up for the last few days. Saturday we left the spa-like Gage hotel and headed to Sanderson. Our mileage was 54 miles, with the wind at out back. Needless to say, this makes for fun easy rides...it felt like a quick ride around the block. Sanderson, Texas is a small town. We found the cafe just down the road from our motel. I share a BBQ plate with Carol...not bad for a tiny little town. We headed back to the motel, which was simple and clean. Dinner was great! We were all a little nervous about about the next day....the 111 mile one. Our day was really more like a rest day, which was good, considering what was to come.

Miles:54

Day 22 into Marathon

Today started very cold, with predictions of high winds. So, lacking experience in these things I ate my breakfast and was off, with four layers on top and tights over my shorts as my lobster claw gloves. Y'all must be tired of hearing this, but riding out was beautiful...and cold. We rode through Fort Davis, and a few miles out of town I glanced to my right and saw a small herd of Pronghorn antelope. There were just standing there looking at me as if they were wanting me to take a picture...so I did.

The ride had a lot of great Texas scenery and even more wind. Our sort of tail wind, became a cross wind when we turned east on Rte 90. We had a pit stop at a gas station and were talking with a state trooper. He said that he had been in El Paso and had seen us on the highway a couple of days ago. He was pretty pleased when we told him that Texas highways were the leanest thus far.

The thirty one miles into Marathon were uneventful. I learned that using a high gear and a moderate pace with a cross wind is easier than going slowly and being in a low gear. I also learned that plodding on when you are hungry does get you there faster.

When Marci and I arrived we checked in at the Gage Hotel. This hotel is worth a visit if you are anywhere nearby. My friend Penny Angelo got in from Midland shortly after we arrived, and we went to a shop next door and got burgers. All the tables were filled, so our server, suggested we sit with a little lady who was alone at a table, Julie. Julie is a regular and knows everyone there. She was more than happy to accommadate us and we had a very good burger (with Jalapeno's) and lots of iced tea.

My afternoon was relaxing, and dinner was perfect pea soup with salad and corn bread, to warm us on a cold evening. We even got to eat inside a little house...just perfect!!!!

Day 21 Indian Lodge the Observatory and Ft Davis

Well, welcome to beautiful west Texas. It really is a great place. The folks are friendly, Ft Davis is a great little town, with a couple of fun shops, and a really nice library. I went down in the morning and wandered around. I went to the library to look up some ideas for words of the day...I got several fun ones.

After getting back to the lodge, I cleaned my bike and then got ready to go to the observatory.

The observatory has a nice cafe (had to include food right?), and the tour was interesting as well...Since I was so tired last night, I really couldn't even tilt my head back to look at the stars. Tonight however, I spent more time gazing up and revelling in the night sky. It was a great rest day.
Mileage: 0:)

Day 20 Long and Hard to Ft Davis

Well, my title may make this day sound bad, but really it had some fantastic parts. Our first forty miles were along the interstate 10. The good part of this, is that there really isn't much traffic, and the scenery is fine and the shoulder is wide and smooth. Enough said.

After those forty with good tail wind, we headed down route 117 toward Fort Davis. Now it is a funny thing, after clipping along on good pavement with a tailwind, you start to think that you are very capable of maintaining a 20+mph pace. We turned, and saw the mileage to Ft Davis as 51 miles and I thought, OK...I am feeling good, this should be fine. Suddenly the tail wind turned into a cross wind, we started uphill and the pavement became that good ole chip seal....After and in terminal three miles we saw our van and trailer which meant lunch (we have lunch provided when there is NOWHERE to get food). As always the food was great with sandwiches, bean salad, cookies. The problem was that we had to get back on our bikes, and start back on the pavement with the wind and hills.....for twenty more miles...twenty long, slow arduous miles...these define SLOGGING. We had another SAG stop and I really thought about just climbing into the van and getting a ride, but I didn't and therefore got to climb for 15 miles. Now I have to admit that the wind died down, the pavement improved, and the views were great...but climbing after sixty miles, the last twenty or so which were very tough, was not easy. Some of the inclines were very steep, at least ten percent. Toward the end of the climb, I heard something clatter and realized it was my odometer....I retrieved it, but no luck...the bracket it sits on was destroyed...so for here on until the next bike shop, I will rely on others for mileage. I can tell you that once we got through that portion, we only had twelve and a half more miles and they were mostly downhill....mostly. Actually at the transition to mostly downhill, was McDonald Observatory...now that was cool. It actually sits about two miles off route 117. The downhill was good, and the few rolling uphills were tough, mostly mentally for me. The good news is that the Indian Lodge at Davis Mountain Park was a perfect place. The rooms are large and nicely decorated with plenty of gathering areas. Our dinner was a buffet and everyone was so exhausted and hungry we just sat and shovelled food in as fast as we could.
Mileage 90 miles