cross country ride Blanco to Bastrop TX, April 5

a pithy church saying along the way

Amessage in front of the minister's house next to the church. This fits right in with the Christian (motor) bikers association but I am hoping it applies to us as well.

the city hall/courthouse in the Lockhart town square

Today was another opportunity to do a century for the really motivated riders. I was tossing around the idea until I went out to breakfast and discovered that the wind was already strong and steady and gusting stronger still. I didn’t totally veto the idea for myself but opted to see how my legs felt later on in the ride.

The route was a bit more complicated than it has been, we are passing through a lot of small farming communities and towns all interconnected by small country and farm roads, and or the interstate highways full of big rigs, so whenever possible we are routed off onto the side roads. It means that following the cue sheet becomes a major focus, in addition to riding.

Michelle, the guide from Woman Tours who scouted this route has a penchant for Dairy Queen drive through so those are all carefully noted as well. In addition to the DQ notations, notable food options in the small towns are noted so we all decided that the Maui Waui coffee shop at mile 26 would make a good stop for a break.

On a long day like today, the riders get very stretched out and start fixating very early about making it to the motel before dark. Janet and I took a normal start but really pushed for the first 20 miles, so we opted for a stop at the coffee shop, not only because it was still only 9:00 AM, but because we figured we could use the facilities, have a cup of coffee to fuel us to the 40 mile SAG stop, and get ice and water for our bottles. Plus we were tired of fighting the wind which by this time was gusting from the side and quartering from the front at about 20 miles per hour.

While we were sitting drinking our coffee and chatting with the owner, a gentleman/rancher came in and joined the conversation. When I asked him what there was to do in town he replied “get out of town as soon as possible.” When I asked him why he replied “because they hate bicyclers around here and would as soon run you over as pass you by” and then went on to tell a couple of horror stories about driving down the road with a load of livestock and coming up over a hill to encounter bikers, having to slam on his brakes and injuring stock as a result. I refrained from pointing out to him that I had yet to see any of the assorted farm vehicles and trucks that had been whizzing by, pulling any stock trailers. I also refrained from commenting that if he was indeed pulling stock in a trailer, he probably shouldn’t have been going that fast to begin with. We used the facilities, finished our coffees, got water and ice and “got out of town as soon as possible.”

Although we were fighting nasty side winds and headwinds as well as riding on country two lanes with no shoulder on a Sunday ( “Texas where the Sunday religion is driving fast and drinking beer”), the ride itself was very interesting. We rode over rollers through every possible type of terrain and type of tree from the entire trip so far. We even ended up riding through a bunch of new housing developments, result of Austin’s urban sprawl, which Janet commented looked so uniform and mediocre that they might have well as been military housing, Although we saw lots of new types of trees, the wild flowers are still sparse and far between. As we climbed up over yet another ridge we began to see numerous small oil pumps, some quite normal looking and some looking very home made and jury rigged.

The last 20 miles became a long slow slog of fighting the side winds and dodging traffic. God bless the Texas whahoos who can pull up alongside a bike rider and let off a big, black cloud of smoke in their faces, I always say. As it happened repeatedly. About the fourth time it happened, it occurred to me that this was no coincidence and it just put a slightly sour note onto what had been mostly an enjoyable although somewhat challenging day.

The most ironic part of the day was when we reached to main highway into Bastrop and turned right which theoretically should have put the wind at our backs, it was still blowing from the left and quartering front. I know it wasn’t just me because several other riders asked me what was up with the wind constantly blowing into their faces no matter what direction they were riding.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the Comfort Inn, Robin decided that she wanted to ride the extra 10 miles to make a century and asked at the desk where it was safe to ride. For the next hour and a half she circled the Wal-Mart parking lot. She was roundly applauded for both her century and her determination to do it in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I decided that if I won’t enter a Wal-Mart on principle, then it would be hypocritical of me to ride 10 miles in the parking lot.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Today’s stats

Mileage 89.58

Ride time 6:49

Mph 13.1