This is a bittersweet day, as we are saying farewell to our Stage 4 crew of Dan Fishwick, Charles Breer, Sam Lombardo and Michael Novak. They have been energetic and good hearted companions. Next week will seem strange with only two riders. Gentlemen, we have grown accustomed to your faces, and we shall miss you.
At least we are ending this week on a high note. Last night’s time at the historic Swiss Alp Dance Hall was the highlight of the trip thus far. We were transported back in time, as the ancient hall filled with Texas couples in jeans, boots and Stetsons who two stepped their way through the spirited fiddling of the three Quebe sisters – the Texas swing version of the Dixie Chicks. Man, were they good. Age 24, 22 and 20, cute as bluebonnets, they have already been performing for 10 years, the past three full time. They had the old hall rocking with their three fiddles and three part harmonies. Check them out at www.quebesistersband.com
The last ride for this week was through the most scenic Texas landscapes yet. To me, the Texas hill country is reminiscent of western New South Wales in Australia. Semi arid pastureland, studded with stately live oaks, with frequent rivers lined with ancient cypress and willows. Cattle abound: we have seen Long Horns, Black Angus and the exotic Brahmins, with their camel like humps. Numerous goat ranches are in the steeper areas, and for some reason mules seem to be as common as horses. One mule took a particular liking to me; you might call it love at first sight. My companions were much amused.
The historical markers indicate that we are in an important area Texas history. We lunched at a park which is on the grounds of the original Baylor University. In nearby Independence we pedaled past the homestead of Sam Houston. Other markers commemorate the home sites for some of the “Old 300”, a term used for the families Stephen Austin recruited to settle Texas while it was still a part of Mexico. The Old 300 weren’t dumb. They took the choicest plots that Texas has to offer.
To those cyclists amongst our fans, a comment on what it is like to ride six (or even seven) days a week for four straight weeks. In some ways I am disappointed that I can’t step off my bicycle after cranking out 75 miles and feel fresh as a daisy. My legs are still tired at the end of the day, my posterior a bit raw, and my feet a bit numb. I am tired at night, falling into bed about 10 PM, and needing a solid eight hours if I am going to saddle up again. I really thought by now that my body would be so used to the daily routine that it wouldn’t even notice.
On the other hand, we are riding faster and faster without even trying. We used to finish our rides around 4 PM, now we are finishing around 2:30. A 14 mph average is now 16 or even 17 mph. In addition, the legs and other body parts recover more overnight. Our bodies are definitely ready for each new day. For middle aged road warriors, maybe that is the best we can hope for.
We are spending the weekend in Navasota Texas. After depositing our friends in Houston, we will pick up Curt Johnson, our driver for weeks five and six. May the good times continue to roll.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
CONTRAST tsartnoc
A day of contrast. 2 days ago we finished with temperatures in the 90’s. Now we have moved eastward out of Hill Country and started our day in the 40’s with a slight headwind. Our ride was about 72 miles, half of which was with single lane roads, lots of traffic and road construction. Although our net elevation didn’t change much from Lockhart to La Grange, we did plenty of climbing and sliding down short and long hills. The other half of the ride was the complete opposite – zero traffic, quiet winding roads through parks and gentle countryside and little wind.
Our route took us through 2 Texas State Parks which reduced the tension of riding alongside trucks. Once we paid our entry fee to the Park, we began a roller coaster ride through a tunnel created by a thick forest of Pine trees, which blocked the northeast wind. The first Park, Bastrop State Park, was connected to the second, Buescher, by a long windy road with multiple 10 to 20% grade hills both up and down so speeds ranged from 5 to 40. This stretched out our team of 5, which till now had been together since the day’s start. Now each of us was on our own with only the crudest directions, but somehow, we all were able to find Dan with Vanna waiting in another superb setting for lunch. Once again, Dan found a perfect spot with great shade overlooking the large lake in Buescher Park. Today’s lunch included a new staple- salmon- thanks to Scott from last weeks trip. There are several salmon eaters now making a variety of sandwiches.
The afternoon included a nice 20 mile stretch on a rarely used country road and gave us hope that as we move east, the hills are starting to disappear. That connected to a busier artery and we have noticed that as we approached the Austin area from the south and Houston area from the west, traffic and commercial activity has definitely picked up. We are definitely in the middle of Texas now and it should be even busier as we move east.
La Grange Texas. We had hoped for a Friday night football game here but the local team is playing Navasota tonight in Navasota – our destination tomorrow. The town has a population of about 5000 and sits along the Colorado River. It is the County seat and like most of these small Texas towns, the square is built around the courthouse – which is incredible. Built in the 1800’s and recently restored, and has a 5 story Atrium over a beautiful fountain. The place was a beehive with elections coming up and lots of people voting early. Outside the courthouse, which is in the middle of the square, There was another amazing site. The four streets surrounding are line with stores and restaurants but today, the Friday before Halloween, was the annual trick or treat. We got here just in time to see hundreds if t=not thousands of young ones walking around to all the local vendors for treats. I have never seen so many kids in one place in costume (and parents as well). Interestingly, there is a strong German and Czech heritage here and some influence by the Swiss. In fact tonight, without a football game, we are going to the Swiss Alps Dance Hall down the road to hear a Texas Swing band that is staying in our Hotel tonight – The Quebe Sisters. Dan caught a quick fiddle lesson from their arranger before we beat the trail for dinner and music. You simply couldn’t find this stuff if you were looking for it – you have to stumble into – and we did.
Map to date:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/san%20diego/119128839074344788
Thanks for Following - Carl
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Warts Wind and all
Today's Blogger is Dan Fishwick.
I’m not sure there has been a time in my life that I have spent two straight weeks in a state other than Ohio, with a different town each night and others through the day. Three out of Peter and Carl’s seven weeks will have been spent in Texas. Now it’s hard to believe that my own part in this trek is nearly over.
Bicycling seems like such a simple sport/form of transportation. Get on a bike and go. But listen in to our conversations and you will hear about complexities and nuances you never dreamed of. Bike-shoes- and-pedals is one of those things. The better riders wear clip-on shoes with special pedals to clip onto. These take a little getting used to, but everyone who has tried them swear they’re the only way to go because you apply energy both on the downward motion and the pull-up motion of your legs. Sam and I have been using toe-straps and tennis shoes, not so efficient, but when we get off in town we don’t click around the cafes like lost tap or ice dancers. Then there’s the plain flat pedal.
We’ve met up with another Adventure Cycling group the last few days. One of their lead cyclists is a man of about hundred years in age, always in sleeveless cotton shirts, probably getting a little vacation before he returns to the North Pole to prepare for the holidays. Anyway, he’s a flat pedal guy in Birkenstock sandals. Thinks all the rest of us are wooses, I’m sure.
Other issues are about the kind of bike you ride, best alloys, gearing ratios, maintenance, fixing flats, etc., and proper nutrition and supplements you need to carry on and on and on. No need to go on. During the day most of our conversations at stops has to do with the deadly or heavenly variables: temperature, rain, wind, traffic, road conditions, and hills. Today the temperature, dry air, and general road conditions were the heavenly part. That simply means nobody mentioned them.
Ah, but the wind. A front is coming in from the north today and blowing hard, whistling even through the walls of the motel room in Lockhart where I write. On a windless road (no such thing in Texas, so let’s say crosswind), you can average maybe 16 mph. Get a wind to your back and you can cruise in the low twenties. But when you turn into a nasty headwind you’re slogging along at 8 to 10. Same effort if you’re geared right, just takes you twice as long to get there. We had a serious study of all kinds of wind today.
We came out of the Texas hill country this morning, leaving Blanco and its surrounding ranches of what one might guess to be the retreats of the more well-heeled San Antonio crowd. These were marked by sliding gates, the name of the ranch in ornate metal works, and tasteful landscaping along a massive stone wall. The towns of Wimberly and Kyle began to have a more suburban feel—beautiful town squares whose old general stores now housed art boutiques of bronze sculptures of the Wild West, or real estate agents, or yoga centers.
The ubiquitous pick-up trucks of West Texas have given way to people driving SUVs, living near the interstate (I-35) and commuting to Austin. Several in the group remarked that these folks took up more than their share of the road, drove fast, and often blasted their horns as they passed. One guy went by me as I was hugging the thin white line on the edge of the road with maybe six inches between me and a deep ditch. He honked and I saw him pointing as he went by to indicate, I suppose, that I should have been cycling in the ditch. My theory is that most of these commuters are not from here (Texas), but they have come to (mis)understand the slogan “Don’t Mess with Texas” (actually begun as an anti-littering campaign) to mean “Don’t mess with me.”
The ride to Lockhart has taken us back into a lower, flatter land of agriculture. The sides of the road have a coating of cotton, blown from fields. There are surprising housing developments sprung from old farms, reminding me of the aerials I’ve seen of Medina (Ohio) with it’s beautiful downtown and the subdivisions mixed in with cornfields. As we turned right in old and charming Lockhart to get to our motel a couple miles south, we biked on a wide highway flanked by all of America’s well-known franchises. At one intersection, a red light that was maybe too long, Charles (Breer) perused the landscape and said something like “How did it get like this?”
It’s a wide and beautiful country, warts, wind and all. And this is the way to see it. I’ve enjoyed this group and our travels together. Stay safe.
I’m not sure there has been a time in my life that I have spent two straight weeks in a state other than Ohio, with a different town each night and others through the day. Three out of Peter and Carl’s seven weeks will have been spent in Texas. Now it’s hard to believe that my own part in this trek is nearly over.
Bicycling seems like such a simple sport/form of transportation. Get on a bike and go. But listen in to our conversations and you will hear about complexities and nuances you never dreamed of. Bike-shoes- and-pedals is one of those things. The better riders wear clip-on shoes with special pedals to clip onto. These take a little getting used to, but everyone who has tried them swear they’re the only way to go because you apply energy both on the downward motion and the pull-up motion of your legs. Sam and I have been using toe-straps and tennis shoes, not so efficient, but when we get off in town we don’t click around the cafes like lost tap or ice dancers. Then there’s the plain flat pedal.
We’ve met up with another Adventure Cycling group the last few days. One of their lead cyclists is a man of about hundred years in age, always in sleeveless cotton shirts, probably getting a little vacation before he returns to the North Pole to prepare for the holidays. Anyway, he’s a flat pedal guy in Birkenstock sandals. Thinks all the rest of us are wooses, I’m sure.
Other issues are about the kind of bike you ride, best alloys, gearing ratios, maintenance, fixing flats, etc., and proper nutrition and supplements you need to carry on and on and on. No need to go on. During the day most of our conversations at stops has to do with the deadly or heavenly variables: temperature, rain, wind, traffic, road conditions, and hills. Today the temperature, dry air, and general road conditions were the heavenly part. That simply means nobody mentioned them.
Ah, but the wind. A front is coming in from the north today and blowing hard, whistling even through the walls of the motel room in Lockhart where I write. On a windless road (no such thing in Texas, so let’s say crosswind), you can average maybe 16 mph. Get a wind to your back and you can cruise in the low twenties. But when you turn into a nasty headwind you’re slogging along at 8 to 10. Same effort if you’re geared right, just takes you twice as long to get there. We had a serious study of all kinds of wind today.
We came out of the Texas hill country this morning, leaving Blanco and its surrounding ranches of what one might guess to be the retreats of the more well-heeled San Antonio crowd. These were marked by sliding gates, the name of the ranch in ornate metal works, and tasteful landscaping along a massive stone wall. The towns of Wimberly and Kyle began to have a more suburban feel—beautiful town squares whose old general stores now housed art boutiques of bronze sculptures of the Wild West, or real estate agents, or yoga centers.
The ubiquitous pick-up trucks of West Texas have given way to people driving SUVs, living near the interstate (I-35) and commuting to Austin. Several in the group remarked that these folks took up more than their share of the road, drove fast, and often blasted their horns as they passed. One guy went by me as I was hugging the thin white line on the edge of the road with maybe six inches between me and a deep ditch. He honked and I saw him pointing as he went by to indicate, I suppose, that I should have been cycling in the ditch. My theory is that most of these commuters are not from here (Texas), but they have come to (mis)understand the slogan “Don’t Mess with Texas” (actually begun as an anti-littering campaign) to mean “Don’t mess with me.”
The ride to Lockhart has taken us back into a lower, flatter land of agriculture. The sides of the road have a coating of cotton, blown from fields. There are surprising housing developments sprung from old farms, reminding me of the aerials I’ve seen of Medina (Ohio) with it’s beautiful downtown and the subdivisions mixed in with cornfields. As we turned right in old and charming Lockhart to get to our motel a couple miles south, we biked on a wide highway flanked by all of America’s well-known franchises. At one intersection, a red light that was maybe too long, Charles (Breer) perused the landscape and said something like “How did it get like this?”
It’s a wide and beautiful country, warts, wind and all. And this is the way to see it. I’ve enjoyed this group and our travels together. Stay safe.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A "Comfort" able ride to Blanco, Texas
Charles Breer here guest blogging on Week 4 of the Fill This HouseTranscontinental ride of Peter Conway and Carl Tippit. I’m Peter’s cousin and just thrilled to be able to join him during part of his long-time dream to ride across the country.
What a day we had today! We managed to successfully navigate about 30 turns on our winding route through the heart of the Texas Hill Country in our 68-mile ride from Ingram to Blanco. (By contrast, yesterday we had only one turn.) Carl informs me that he and Peter crossed the halfway point today in terms of both mileage and number of days and they are looking just great.
The first 44 miles to our lunch stop in Sisterdale was truly delightful. The route was a gradual downhill, we had a tailwind and, for a while, a light mist, as we wandered across the countryside on the smoothest roads yet in Texas. Fellow rider Sam Lombardo came into his own on this stretch, feeling reinvigorated after his gears got a thorough tune-up, courtesy of the Hill Country Bicycle Works in Kerrville. Everything seemed to come together for Sam and it was rewarding to see him having such a good time on the bike.
The Hill Country has exceeded all of our expectations in just about every way. The roads are quiet, the drivers are friendly and the scenery is very nice – not what I would have imagined in Texas. There’s plenty of the typical dry scrub ranch land, but this part of Texas has many more trees and scenic river valleys than we saw further west. Also, this area clearly has more people, which means that the towns and villages are closer together and they have been charming and historic. We especially enjoyed the town of Comfort, which had a classic main street and many historic markers.
Today’s highlight on the road had to have been the historic marker commemorating the site of an armadillo farm, just outside Comfort. The innovation in this case was that the family became famous and prosperous making baskets from armadillo shells. Peter religiously stops at all historical markers and he rated this the best of the trip so far.
Our accommodations in Blanco tonight are a 3-bedroom cottage, owned by the Blanco County Inn and it’s been great to have a real house to stay in. It is fully furnished, with a nice living and dining room, so we elected to have dinner at “home”. Our driver, Dan Fishwick, along with fellow guest rider Michael Novak took charge of the dinner preparations, which resulted in pasta with special sauce, salad, garlic bread, avocado halves and ice cream for dessert. Nice to not be in a restaurant for dinner tonight. We were even able to do several loads of laundry for free! Now the guys are all watching the first game of the World Series together in our communal living room.
The town of Blanco isn’t large, but it is arranged around an old courthouse building, with a classic wild west-type square, complete with post office, pharmacy, bank, BBQ joint and several antique shops. Really charming!
Although I’m just joining for a week, I am reminded how wonderful it is to ride across the country at bicycle speed, taking in the nature, the culture, the smells and the sights. Best of all is being able to share these experiences with my cousin Peter and his great friends and fellow riders. We are all lucky to be here.
Want to see the ride so far? Here is the link:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/san diego/949128821425827364
What a day we had today! We managed to successfully navigate about 30 turns on our winding route through the heart of the Texas Hill Country in our 68-mile ride from Ingram to Blanco. (By contrast, yesterday we had only one turn.) Carl informs me that he and Peter crossed the halfway point today in terms of both mileage and number of days and they are looking just great.
The first 44 miles to our lunch stop in Sisterdale was truly delightful. The route was a gradual downhill, we had a tailwind and, for a while, a light mist, as we wandered across the countryside on the smoothest roads yet in Texas. Fellow rider Sam Lombardo came into his own on this stretch, feeling reinvigorated after his gears got a thorough tune-up, courtesy of the Hill Country Bicycle Works in Kerrville. Everything seemed to come together for Sam and it was rewarding to see him having such a good time on the bike.
The Hill Country has exceeded all of our expectations in just about every way. The roads are quiet, the drivers are friendly and the scenery is very nice – not what I would have imagined in Texas. There’s plenty of the typical dry scrub ranch land, but this part of Texas has many more trees and scenic river valleys than we saw further west. Also, this area clearly has more people, which means that the towns and villages are closer together and they have been charming and historic. We especially enjoyed the town of Comfort, which had a classic main street and many historic markers.
Today’s highlight on the road had to have been the historic marker commemorating the site of an armadillo farm, just outside Comfort. The innovation in this case was that the family became famous and prosperous making baskets from armadillo shells. Peter religiously stops at all historical markers and he rated this the best of the trip so far.
Our accommodations in Blanco tonight are a 3-bedroom cottage, owned by the Blanco County Inn and it’s been great to have a real house to stay in. It is fully furnished, with a nice living and dining room, so we elected to have dinner at “home”. Our driver, Dan Fishwick, along with fellow guest rider Michael Novak took charge of the dinner preparations, which resulted in pasta with special sauce, salad, garlic bread, avocado halves and ice cream for dessert. Nice to not be in a restaurant for dinner tonight. We were even able to do several loads of laundry for free! Now the guys are all watching the first game of the World Series together in our communal living room.
The town of Blanco isn’t large, but it is arranged around an old courthouse building, with a classic wild west-type square, complete with post office, pharmacy, bank, BBQ joint and several antique shops. Really charming!
Although I’m just joining for a week, I am reminded how wonderful it is to ride across the country at bicycle speed, taking in the nature, the culture, the smells and the sights. Best of all is being able to share these experiences with my cousin Peter and his great friends and fellow riders. We are all lucky to be here.
Want to see the ride so far? Here is the link:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/san diego/949128821425827364
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.
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.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Today's Guest Blogger is Michael Novak:
We started our day from Brackettville after riding 34 miles yesterday (from our original start in Del Rio). Yesterday De Rio hit a record high of 92 and today it was another record at 96. So much for a mild October in Texas. With the record heat and a long ride scheduled for today (82 miles), we planned appropriately to split up the day – even though it took away from the normal “day of rest” on Sunday. Our target was Utopia, Texas.
This week we have three and a half guest riders (Sam, Michael, Charles and Dan – one-half because Sam and Dan are taking turns riding as well as driving Vanna). We are a welcome addition to the odd couple of Peter and Carl. They are starting to finish each other’s sentences and bicker about the mapping of our routes. I guess three weeks together has had a marital effect on them.
My bike was finally delivered from FedEx, so I was able to join the rest of our loose peloton. My stock tip for today – go long on UPS and short FedEx. It was a great feeling to be on familiar equipment. Carl was kind enough to lend me his bike yesterday to ride, but my body was in desperate need of my long lost friend.
While the normal route planned for today would have taken us through a mountainous Camp Wood and Leakey, we re-routed to the south. Charles, who is our resident professional rider, went on the original route unsupported by Vanna. He is a machine, and is amazing to watch cycle. Even though the rest of us took off some elevation and miles on the new route, we now have a new appreciation (more like DE-preciation) for the term “chip and seal”. This is effectively tarring the road surface and throwing pebbles over the top. Our bikes and teeth rattled for many miles as we struggled to find a smooth path on state Route 90.
After one wrong turn from me, we ended our ride at the Sabinal River Lodge – probably the best place we will stay for the week. It is a lodge crafted out of Texas cedar and nestled along the Sabinal River (which we crossed twice during the day). Dan took a quick dip in the cool, clear water and emerged refreshed after his uphill climb. The rest of us relaxed over some cold Coronas on the back deck of the lodge. What a beautiful setting. We are now entering the “hill country” of Texas, and the landscape is changing from scrub and desert to cedar and pine trees.
The real news from today was not the ride itself (which was rough in the heat), but our dinner with David Cook at the Lost Maples Café. David is the author of the book “Golf’s Sacred Journey”. No only was this on Peter’s bucket list, but it has also been one of his dreams – to go to Utopia and live some of the book. On the last part of our ride, we rode past the Utopia golf course and the Waresville cemetery. At dinner, David entertained us with the background for the making of the book into a film, showed us the final trailer, and told stories of the characters in the film (like Robert Duvall). We won’t spoil the movie for you, but the story of how PGA professional golfer KJ Choi (who plays the antagonist role of TK Oh in the movie) met David and was chosen for a key film role is unreal. Ask any one of us for more details.
After stuffing our weakened bodies with famous Texas dishes like chicken fried steak and buttermilk pie, we all piled into David’s vintage Ford 250 and took a quick tour of Utopia and the parts of it that were in the film. We finished the day back on the deck at the lodge watching the first trailer (which was changed) and various scenes from the movie. It comes out in the spring of 2011 and will be well worth the wait.
Guest blogger note: please check out this movie at http://www.sevendaysinutopiablog.com/.
Many of us on the trip have been moved by David Cook and his incredible story and message. We feel that more of you will feel the same as we do. God bless.
To see all of the miles we have traveled to date, click on this link:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/san-diego/184128793598634354
We started our day from Brackettville after riding 34 miles yesterday (from our original start in Del Rio). Yesterday De Rio hit a record high of 92 and today it was another record at 96. So much for a mild October in Texas. With the record heat and a long ride scheduled for today (82 miles), we planned appropriately to split up the day – even though it took away from the normal “day of rest” on Sunday. Our target was Utopia, Texas.
This week we have three and a half guest riders (Sam, Michael, Charles and Dan – one-half because Sam and Dan are taking turns riding as well as driving Vanna). We are a welcome addition to the odd couple of Peter and Carl. They are starting to finish each other’s sentences and bicker about the mapping of our routes. I guess three weeks together has had a marital effect on them.
My bike was finally delivered from FedEx, so I was able to join the rest of our loose peloton. My stock tip for today – go long on UPS and short FedEx. It was a great feeling to be on familiar equipment. Carl was kind enough to lend me his bike yesterday to ride, but my body was in desperate need of my long lost friend.
While the normal route planned for today would have taken us through a mountainous Camp Wood and Leakey, we re-routed to the south. Charles, who is our resident professional rider, went on the original route unsupported by Vanna. He is a machine, and is amazing to watch cycle. Even though the rest of us took off some elevation and miles on the new route, we now have a new appreciation (more like DE-preciation) for the term “chip and seal”. This is effectively tarring the road surface and throwing pebbles over the top. Our bikes and teeth rattled for many miles as we struggled to find a smooth path on state Route 90.
After one wrong turn from me, we ended our ride at the Sabinal River Lodge – probably the best place we will stay for the week. It is a lodge crafted out of Texas cedar and nestled along the Sabinal River (which we crossed twice during the day). Dan took a quick dip in the cool, clear water and emerged refreshed after his uphill climb. The rest of us relaxed over some cold Coronas on the back deck of the lodge. What a beautiful setting. We are now entering the “hill country” of Texas, and the landscape is changing from scrub and desert to cedar and pine trees.
The real news from today was not the ride itself (which was rough in the heat), but our dinner with David Cook at the Lost Maples Café. David is the author of the book “Golf’s Sacred Journey”. No only was this on Peter’s bucket list, but it has also been one of his dreams – to go to Utopia and live some of the book. On the last part of our ride, we rode past the Utopia golf course and the Waresville cemetery. At dinner, David entertained us with the background for the making of the book into a film, showed us the final trailer, and told stories of the characters in the film (like Robert Duvall). We won’t spoil the movie for you, but the story of how PGA professional golfer KJ Choi (who plays the antagonist role of TK Oh in the movie) met David and was chosen for a key film role is unreal. Ask any one of us for more details.
After stuffing our weakened bodies with famous Texas dishes like chicken fried steak and buttermilk pie, we all piled into David’s vintage Ford 250 and took a quick tour of Utopia and the parts of it that were in the film. We finished the day back on the deck at the lodge watching the first trailer (which was changed) and various scenes from the movie. It comes out in the spring of 2011 and will be well worth the wait.
Guest blogger note: please check out this movie at http://www.sevendaysinutopiablog.com/.
Many of us on the trip have been moved by David Cook and his incredible story and message. We feel that more of you will feel the same as we do. God bless.
To see all of the miles we have traveled to date, click on this link:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/san-diego/184128793598634354
Sunday, October 24, 2010
On the Border
Saturday Oct. 23 – Our last day of Week 3 began with breakfast in the dark next to the frog pool at the Oasis Inn in Sanderson, TX. With supplies from the Stripes Truck Stop/Quicky mart across the street, we managed to get Vanna packed early for our shuttle to yesterday’s ride end. Although it was going to be our longest ride of the week, about 89 miles, it was supposed to be a bit easier with a gradual descent all day. And we have found that when we approach major cities, the road surface improves – but not in West Texas. It was a rough surface called chip n seal, we had a head wind the entire ride and there was almost as much climbing as there was free wheelin’ downhill. The landscape had also mellowed as we only went through one town, plus countless prairies and dried out rivers. We were getting sluggish. I even got a sting from a bee that flew into my helmet through the air slots (I was told that was blog-worthy).
But 60 miles into the ride, Charles Breer was smiling and waiting for us. Charles is one of Week 4’s riders and easily the most accomplished rider of our entire group. (He has already ridden over 12,000 miles this year). He had arrived early into Del Rio and rode out to greet us. His fresh legs and attitude inspired us all for the last 30 miles.
The final segment featured a ride across the bridge over the Amistad Reservoir, a beautiful span of water that straddles the US-Mexican border. The bridge was uneventful except for Scott, who managed to get his 3rd flat only 10 miles from the finish of a 444 mile ride. Scott noted that he used to think that hills were a significant factor in how tough a ride was, but he now puts road surface and wind ahead.
Del Rio, population about 37,000, is a relatively small Texas city but has all the makings of a big time town. The ride in featured a return to Wal-Mart, fast food, movie theaters and traffic. I have never seen so many pickup trucks, most with a trailer hitched to them.
We learned how different thing really were in Del Rio from 2 of Peter’s old friends from Cleveland, David and Julie Chalk. We met them at a great Steak restaurant called Cripple Creek where we all celebrated the successful and safe completion to Week 3 with our now traditional Margaritas. The Chalks have been here for 10 years now, leading one of the local churches and raising 2 kids. They are essentially a minority here where English is a second language. Many of the students in the schools come from wealthy Mexican families who transport their kids over the border every day. We told the Chalks about our constant contact with the Border Patrol since California and they opened our eyes to the reality of illegal crossings on a daily basis. Although the problem is much better than it used to be, thousands continue to get through each month, while thousands more get caught (usually for the 2nd or 3rd time) and released back to Mexico. It almost sounded like a game of capture the flag, but it is just an unfortunate part of daily life along the border. Luckily, Monday, we begin heading true east, away from the border.
So Week 3 ends with the departure of Scott Emerson who rode well through another rainless week despite 3 flats. His sense of humor was a break from Peter’s and my bad jokes and his tall frame was easy to see on the horizon when we got stretched out. Dan did a great job on his first week of support, logging nearly 100 miles of riding after hours. His fiddle playing at each rest stop added to the backdrop of the old west with mountain peaks, mesas and prairies surrounding. Next week, we will have Charles, Michael Novak and Sam Lombardo join us for our move to the middle of Texas and the heart of barbeque country.
Map to date:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/san%20diego/931128792219273332
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