Scott Davis Anderson

Day Thirty-Three

This morning, Bill took us back to the route and we thanked him again for showing us Austin and extending his home to us for the past two days.  We met Jana, and two of her friends that are currently living in Austin, Jules and Kelsey at our starting point, where we headed down the street to get some breakfast.  We ate some really good breakfast burritos, but they paled in comparison to the feast Jules and Kelsey cooked up for us yesterday at dinner.  After breakfast, Jules and Kelsey waved us off as Carl, Jana, and I headed east with fresh legs and full stomachs.  

The ride was gorgeous, and it seemed to glide by pretty easily after our two days of rest.  We rode through The Lost Pines and ended up setting up our campsite at Buescher State Park Campgrounds in Smithville, TX.  The park was gorgeous, but in preparation for the next morning, we are all going to bed early.  We will have another short day tomorrow, so we should have time to go out tomorrow night if we find ourselves close to a town.  Good night from Smithville.

Starting point: Austin, TX
Ending point: Buescher State Park in Smithville, TX
Total miles on this day: 56.53
Total miles to date: 1696.55
Average MPH: 12.2
Max MPH: 35.0
Saddle time on this day: 4:37:06
Saddle time to date: 162:27:01

Day Thirty-One and Thirty-Two

Upon saying our goodbyes to Alan, we were immediately greeted by Bill, an old childhood friend of Carl’s, whom Carl had not seen in 40 years.  Bill invited us into his home and allowed us to make it base camp for our next 2 days off.  We were introduced to the family, Pat, Bill’s wife, and three of their five children, Liz, Jack, and Grant.  Liz is a talented track runner, who was competing in the Texas Relays when we arrived in town.  Jack, is a gifted Monopoly player, who showed interest in my Clif Bar recipe, so I hope he gets a chance to try it out.  Grant, is a fifth grade Haiku prodigy, although he never shared with me his creations.

Pat and Bill took us out for dinner to Chuy’s, a wonderful Tex Mex resteruant, and made us feel at home during our entire restful visit.  I listened to Carl and Bill reminice and also spent time catching up on some sleep.  Bill took us on a tour of the State Capitol building, where I walked around the Congress and the Senate wings of the largest capitol building in the country.  We took a drive down to 6th street, where we found a wake boarding competition and some live music.  We also took a drive to Lake Travis, where we were surrounded by giant houses and lots of room to grow.

Carl and I picked up his daughter, Jana at the airport the evening of our second day off.  She flew in to Austin and will be riding east with us for the next couple of days as she takes her spring break.  Jana teaches autistic children at a middle school in Oakland, CA. and has done her fair share of bicycle touring.  I am excited to have someone young to ride with for a little while.

Starting point: Buda, TX
Ending point: Austin, TX
Total miles on this day: 0
Total miles to date: 1640.02
Average MPH: 0
Max MPH: 0
Saddle time on this day: 0
Saddle time to date: 157:49:55

Day Thirty

Today I awoke to the sounds of hundreds of goats playing in the field next to the community center. They were so cute running around, and had no fear of me as I approached. Instead, they looked back at me inquisitively, beckoning me to jump the fence and play with them. I thought better of it. Instead, we rode from Kendalia, TX to Buda, TX.  We are only a few miles from Austin and excited to take the next couple of days off, but it is a little bitter sweet, because Alan will be leaving us in the morning.  He must head back to Anchorage for work, so he is going to push onto Houston, so he can catch a train back to San Diego for his return flight.  We plan on eating well tonight for his send off.  It has been an absolute pleasure biking with Alan, and I wish him safe travels on his return trip back to Alaska.  If I ever go on The Amazing Race, I want Alan to be my partner!  It feels like my days off have already started.

Starting point:Kendalia, TX
Ending point: Buda, TX
Total miles on this day: 66.08
Total miles to date: 1640.02
Average MPH: 12.8
Max MPH: 38.1
Saddle time on this day: 5:09:30
Saddle time to date: 157:49:55

Day Twenty-Nine

Today was another day in the Texas Hills.  We are grinding away as we approach Austin, TX and a couple of much needed days off.  We rode from Ingram, TX to Kendalia, TX where we are spending the night next to the community center and local library.  The landscape has gotten much greener and I have begun to sense the humidity.  Good night from the Hills.

Starting point: Ingram, TX
Ending point: Kendalia, TX
Total miles on this day: 55.77
Total miles to date: 1573.94
Average MPH: 11.0
Max MPH: 39.8
Saddle time on this day: 5:03:18
Saddle time to date: 152:40:25

Day Twenty-Eight

Today didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped.  Soon after heading east from Leakey, I was confronted with a steep hill.  I geared down into the highest RPM gear I had available, and heard a loud POP!  I continued riding up the hill until I was able to get to the top and was pleased to see Carl and Alan waiting for me to catch up. I jumped off my bike and looked down at my tire and noticed that it was flat. I walked the bike over to where my friends waited and began the process of changing my tire. It wasn’t until I remounted the tire that I noticed that the tire was way out of true. I also noticed that a spoke was missing, which explained the loud pop I heard. I was able to deduce that the rear derailleur had rubbed against my spoke when I switched gears, causing the spoke to break and hit the stem valve on my tube. My tire was so far out of true, that I was unable to get the tire to roll through the rear braking mechanism. I was forced to release the tension on the brakes in order to continue biking on. This rendered my rear brakes useless.  I continued riding albeit at a much slower pace until we arrived at an RV park in Ingram, TX.  We are about 6 miles shy of Kerrville, where there is a bicycle shop that has received high praise from riders I have met that are headed west bound.  The bike shop opens at 10:00 AM, so I plan on sleeping in a little longer than usual.  I am hoping the bike shop will have time to fix me up, as I suspect the Woman’s Tour may be in need of some tune-ups as well.  I am hearing through the grape-vine that they arrived in Kerrville today, and will be taking a day off in town tomorrow.  It will be nice to see them again.

Starting point: RV Park in Leakey, TX
Ending point: RV Park in Ingram, TX
Total miles on this day: 63.68
Total miles to date: 1518.17
Average MPH: 9.3
Max MPH: 40.3
Saddle time on this day: 6:49:11
Saddle time to date: 147:37:07

Day Twenty-Seven

We pushed a little further today, as we headed into the Texas Hill Country.  We arrived in Leakey, TX before sundown and were given permission to camp at an RV Park/Pecan farm beside one of the log cabins on the property.  We were joined by a rider named Joe, who is headed West on his adventure.  We enjoyed a meal at a local BBQ joint, and shared stories into the night.  We plan on pushing on in the morning, with our sites on another 70+ mile day.  I want to thank Joe for giving me his spare tire, my tire had a gauged sidewall and would have given me trouble until I could get to a bike shop. I plan on getting a new tire as soon as I arrive in Kerrville, hopefully tomorrow. Good night from the Texas Hill Country.

Starting point: Hotel at Fort Clark Springs in Bracketville, TX
Ending point: RV Park in Leakey, TX
Total miles on this day: 74.05
Total miles to date: 1454.49
Average MPH: 10.9
Max MPH: 36.3
Saddle time on this day: 6:46:13
Saddle time to date: 140:47:56