Day 27: Camp Wood to Vanderpool, Texas

Day 27: Camp Wood to Vanderpool, Texas
Miles: 39.40------------ Total Mileage 1,516.59
Theme: Keep on Climbing... the reward comes at the end!

We had a lovely rainfall last night -- after we finished up doing the dishes! It was nice to hear the rain beat down, especially since we weren't on our bikes! Greta and I shared a room last night. I always enjoy staying with her. She is a very gentle person, cares about others, and very patient and kind. She has done lots of self supported bike touring over the years. She was a teacher before retiring, then went into the Peace Corp. I look forward to hearing more about her adventures the next time we room together or ride down the road together.

We woke around 7:00, packed up again, got ourselves ready for the day ahead. For me that meant doing my stretches! The stretching has really helped and I have had far fewer issues of my toe going numb. I will continue doing the stretches as long as it works!

We took off down the road - everyone basically saying take it easy, ride your ride... As we left the town of Camp Wood - there was a BBQ place called 2 Fat Boys. Never saw the guys, but at least they have a good sense of humor. We quickly got out town. After about 8 miles the first climb began. It was a noticeable climb but nothing terrible. Marge was driving the Sag today and the first time we were to meet her was at mile 15. Well as we reached the crest at around mlle 10.4, there was Marge. She decided that since it was so cold people might want an earlier sag in case they needed more before they headed downhill. It was great to see her. Many decided to put on more clothes - as it was chilly! We are definitely in Hill Country. In some ways it reminds of the some of the terrain going over San Marcos Pass just outside of Santa Barbara.

As always, one never knows what one will see when you go around the corner. Going up a hill, there was a pine tree with all sorts of Christmas ornaments - and then big packages underneath. Now I don't know why I didn't think about it until now - but heck I should have checked to see if one of the presents had my name on it. It was humorous and it made me stop and take a photo, even on an uphill!

On we rode - up and down, up and down, but continually climbing over all. We got to the town of Leakey (population, just over 400). We had decided that we would stop there as there isn't much else on our route today - and we all needed to warm up. And it just happened that there was a gift shop that had all sorts of things made by Texan woodworkers. I had to go in. There was a beautiful bench with inlaid turquoise. It was made of mesquite wood. If I were incredible wealthy - I would of considered getting it. Shipping it would have cost about $400. I guess I will have to settle with a photo of it! I went out and told some of the others about the beautiful woodwork inside. Let me say, the owners were happy with more coming in, especially when several people dropped some dollars. We spent a long time at that shop!

Finally we got back on the bikes and headed up the next set of hills. At one point I caught up to Victoria. She had stopped and was looking at her bike. Never a good sign. She said her bike was making a weird noise. When I got up and rode beside her for a bit, it sounded much like my bike did in Blythe. I think she might have a spoke issue. We checked to see if any were obviously loose - but we couldn't find any. I told Victoria that I would ride with her the rest of the way just to make sure she was okay. We were told there was a very steep downhill at the end --- needless to say she didn't fly down it. Even with hanging back and feathering the brakes, at the end I let loose and I flew. My odometer isn't working but I would guess I was doing at least 45. My fastest to this point was 43.5 but this felt much quicker. Ah the reward of the downhill, always worth the climb!

We got to our destination around 1:00ish. It is a rustic campground with cabins. I am sharing a cabin with Diane and Ruth. There are 2 private rooms and the living room with a separate bed. It is nice to have After grabbing some snacks to eat, I jumped in the shower. Ah - a nice hot shower at the end of a ride never gets old.

And now I sit on the porch of the office to the camp grounds. It's the only place that I can get an internet connection. When I walked up there were 4 of our group sitting staring into their computers, sending emails... As you can tell since you are reading this blog, the Internet is more and more available each year. You must all think that I am crying wolf about no internet connect. So far every time I have said I won't be able to post --- I have been able to. And so it has happened once again!

Tomorrow Kerrville - which means Kate will be here, bringing me all sorts of things I requested. It will be great to catch up with Kate for a a couple of days. We are officially 1/2 through our journey. Can't wait to see what the 2nd half brings!