When Johnnies come marching home

Today's blog is authored by Sam Lombardo.

Tuesday 6:00 am Sabinal River Lodge
Michael and I began to share enthusiastically about the day ahead of us and at 6:03 we heard loud pounding on the wall next to us, I suggested to Michael it was someone on our team just making sure we were up. He said no Sam, the knock was telling us to shut up so they could get more shut eye.

7:00 am Lost Maple Diner
Peter asked Kathy if he could have a banana with his oatmeal and she said yeah right. She said it with a sense of humor and we immediately realized Utopia is a very special place indeed. Charles ordered one Pancake instead of two. Good thing the pancake was about 1.5 inches thick and hung over the side of the 12 inch plate. On our walk back to the lodge we met Bill, Utopia’s Justice of the Peace. We told Dave Cook, who was so encouraged that we met him. Bill is originally from Utopia and has been the town’s spiritual leader for many years.

8:1 5am Golf at The Links of Utopia
As Charles and I drove around in a golf cart taking pictures, David Cook led the rest in playing nine holes at the Links of Utopia. I must say the stories, the friendship, visiting Waresville Cemetery, meeting Robert the General Manager and hearing him tell the about Golf’s Sacred Journey, hitting with Hickory sticks coupled with the breath taking scenery made all of us feel like we were dreaming.

2:00 pm Up the Vanderpool Cut
When we were leaving, David was a bit apologetic that his dad, a dynamite salesman, did not use more dynamite in order to make the Vanderpool climb less severe. He then went on to inform us that this hill is the steepest hill in Texas. I thought it would be nice to see my family again this side of heaven, which is why I chose to keep Dan company as we rode up the Vanderpool Cut in Vanna. As I sat on top of Vanderpool Mountain and was just starting to write my blog as Danny played the fiddle, I thought I had at least two hours before anyone made it to the top. I think maybe 20 minutes went by and Charles rides up over to us and goes: “How you doing, it sure is nice up here”. My jaw hit the floor!! I was shocked because I did not know how I could have missed the helicopter that must have transported him up. Minutes later Carl shows up, then Peter, then Michael. I thought to myself, who are these people? They are like middle aged Green Berets. The remainder of this ride was brutal. Did I say brutal? This is the heart of Texas hill country.

6:00 pm Hunter House In
After check in, Carl and I went to the bike shop. We returned an hour and a half later, finally sitting down to dinner about 8:00. Let’s just say the majority of our conversation at dinner was unbloggable. We laughed hard and had a ball. I think we were all semi delirious from the strenuous ride after the bliss of Utopia. We then stopped at WalMart to replenish our supplies. It is now 10:45pm and I am in the room typing this blog. What is so amazing is the incredible stamina everyone has. Everyone works together as a team and cannot do enough for each other well into the evening.

Everybody here this week has been such an encouragement to me. My fear was that I would hold them back or just frustrate these seasoned veterans with all the headaches that come from a first time cyclist. These fears have proven groundless; nonetheless I must stop now because I am about to collapse.