s240 part 2 Bastrop to Austin

"Woke up" Sunday morning around 7. I used quotes around woke up because I don't think I slept at all--thermarest had a leak & I was experiencing Christmas morning syndrome. I looked at the clock & decided to sleep in until 8, rolled over then I relalized it wasn't raining & I better get up & get going before the rain sets in. Got up, grabbed clothes & phone charger & went to the restroom to change. Let the phone charge while I packed up (not many people in the camp, so I figured it was safe.) I was on the road before 7:45, stopped at the Ranger station, didn't see anything I 'needed', so now to search  for breakfast tacos. I ended up at Taco Cabana, could have been worse.

Now to travel. I took the lane on 304, cars had no issues with passing me.  I always wave at the drivers who properly pass me, so I was waving lots on this adventure.

Made a right turn on Shilo & I was greeted by a friendly water tower.

Then for the rest of Shilo I had several dogs want to race me to the end of the fence, I let them win & was ready to grab the pepper spray if necessary, but it wasn't necessary thankfully.

Everything was so green! I'm sure if I had made the trip last year, I would have said, "everything is brown!" But it's nice seeing green in Texas at the end of the summer.

On Highway 21, I had a nice wide and smooth shoulder! I was cruising along at 17-18 mph, pretty happy with that.

 

Took a quick break at a gas station and ate a muffin, I should have been patient and waited for the next gas station, the one down the road was more colorful.

Right turn on a farm to market road and I was looking at dark skys.. oh uh.

Of course  I had to stop for a geocache at Eloise Woods a very interesting concept. About 3-4 miles past Eloise Woods, the rain started. I was soon singing "raindrops keep falling on my head" but I didn't get very far, so I changed to "raindrops on roses..." which led to "doe a deer." I eventually pulled into the gas station at Ross, there was another guy waiting out the rain on his bike, but he was dry, I told him he was smarter than I was. Posted in fb "Raindrops keep falling on my head" and within a minute received a text from Diane, it said" Doe a deer" brought a big smile to my face and lots of memories of the annoying song ride.

Back on the bike I passed under 130. It was during this stop that I realized it was really raining. Even w my showers pass jacket on, but since I put it on after I was already soaked it didn't do much good. to 'keep' me dry. Note to self, next time it starts to rain, stop, pull over & put on your jacket.

<<130 pic="pic">>

Then the mental questioning starts...do I call for a rescue, why would I do that? am I just wanting to be rescued or are you giving up? Or what? I put off the decision a couple more miles.

Then I stopped to watch the planes land. I think at that point I called Marilyn. She might as well put the bike rack to use that I gave her. I told her I would meet at Burleson & Ben White. Back on the bike, I saw a group of guys ride past on Burleson.

oh no! it's going straight for my head!

 

 

Right on Burleson, I was soon passed by 2 girls on road bikes, they were impressed,  I think there comment was "You go girl." I also noticed how deep the water was  and  Iwas glad I had called Marilyn, any minute now a truck was sure to drive by and send a wall of water my direction, thankfully that never happened.

 

I realized I gave Marilyn the wrong intersection, tried to text her the correct location, but the phone had water between the screen and protector screen, not even the auto correct would work.  After a weird conversation, I think she understood where  I was going.

 

I was soon at the Jack in the Crack at Montropolis & Ben White & I was able to get a correct text off to Marilyn.

So I waited. At least I was smart enough to take all my gear off & set it under the eve where it was dry. Then I remembered I had dry shoes with me! Soon Marilyn was backing up into the parking space near me.

 

 

 

I put the bike on, she grabbed my stuff & put it in the back. By now I was shivering. Marilyn being the true rescuer had 2 beach towels for me and a sweatshirt to change into. It was cold removing the wet jersey, but the sweatshirt was warm. And then I found the seat warmers.

 

 

 

I wasn't upset that I didn't make it all the way home. I know I could have and would have made it if necessary. I made it within the city limits, 10 of the miles in the pouring rain. Besides going out to eat w Marilyn was a lot more fun, even if I was sitting in Pei Wei with a beach towel wrapped around me!

 

s240 part 1 to Bastrop

When I was younger, I think I wrote out plans for my friend Jeff & I to ride horses all the way to my grandfather's land in Missouri, I'm pretty sure I made a packing list, don't know if I figured out the route or not. I do know there were plan to include our younger siblings. This must have been in 4th or 5th grade, my family had made the trip to Missouri and I thought the cabin my grandfather temporarily lived in was awesome! Plus I had been reading all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and could see my self traveling by a means other than car. I would have made a good pioneer (except for the dresses they wore!)
So this urge to tour by bicycle has been a life long dream. I realized, if I was going to wait for someone to start these adventures, I could be waiting forever & missing out on something I have the potential to enjoy. So, I conquered my fear of traveling & camping alone & went for it. The first time I made the reservation, I had to cancel it within 3 hours (forgot to check that Sunday's calendar) so I made a new reservation & knew I would be going come hell or high water, just something I had to do!


So for the first time in weeks, there is a good chance of rain on Saturday & Sunday, I decided if it was still raining by 11:00AM on Saturday, that I wouldn't go, at 8:30 AM, so I'm out the door at 9 to go eat at MiV. Still a good chance of rain Saturday night & Sunday morning, but I decided to take my chances, I could always call for help.

Here goes nothing.

First stop MiV, our new nickname for MiVictoria which shows up as La Victoria on FB, but the sign out front says Mi Victoria. Plus LaV doesn't sound as good as MiV. Place was a little bit more busy than usual and since I wasn't getting the food to go, I had a chance to sit & look around at the festive decor for diez y seis and then I discovered baby Jesus.

the festive decor

Baby Jesus?

I've been reading a bike touring book by Willie Weir "Spoke Songs" and he always talks about the people he meets, so I was wondering who I would meet. At the light at North Loop and Lamar, I had my first 'stranger'
guy on a motocycle at Lamar & North loop commented that I "sure was carrying a lot on my bike" and asked where I was going, so I told him & he said to "have fun" Within 1/2 a mile I was past by a  cyclist who asked where I was coming from & where was I going, this could be fun.

I past through I-35, over 183,  I came to a big hill that back in 2009 would kick my butt as I road the road bike up it. I'm sure I was in the granny of all gears, well, with my loaded down bike & less gears, I made it up the incline! It's always good to see progress being made. After the hill, I was breating so hard, I decided I would take a break every 10 miles, I had a choice between a Chevron on the right or Double M Grocery on the left, I chose left and enjoyed looking around. I also decided to buy a lottery ticket and eat something I normally don't: a full butterfinger bar.

Stopped to search for a geocache at the Hornsby Bend marker, crossed under 130, then saw a sign pointing to EMP!  A new way to EMP since Blake Manor road is off limits to bikes, too bad no one is playing soccer. I did find a geocache on the road to EMP. About at mile 20 at this point.

Next stop was Webberville grocery, bought another lottery ticket & an ice cream sandwich. Very colorful people at the grocery store, especially loved the man w missing teeth telling me to be careful especially if it rained because the roads would get very slick.
After the grocery store, went to find the next geocache which took me to a very cool cemetery and church. I was a "good looker, poor finder' at this cache, but enjoyed the old fence around the cemetery.

Almost made it to Bastrop County, but my front tire decided to go flat. Changing a flat w/ all the panniers is a pain, you have to take off all your bags. It looked like I was having a yard sale! Of course I'm on a driveway and the owner comes home, was kinda shocked she didn't say anything, but the next 2 people made up for it. Melinda who was searching for her chocolate lab 'Girlfriend' stopped to ask me to keep my eyes open for her, then another guy stopped to help me w his air compressor, note to self, find a presta to schrader adapter for this bike.

Sitting just outside of Bastrop County, mile 24, first flat.

After the flat stop, it was smooth riding. Stopped at the  Colorado river crossing for another geocache.  There were several markers indicating the high water mark for December 1991 (it's at the top of the orange marker next to my head)

I started messing around trying to take pics of me riding. Will definitely need to use the big camera & timer for that in Missouri.

 

 

Seeing a longhorn on game day is always a good thing.

Then the flats hit. I could tell my left tire was low, so I added air, road 1/4 of a mile, added more air, kept this up until I saw a safer place to hold my yard sale, then I walked. Changed the rear tire, even got the tire on the rim w/out using the tools. Put it on the bike, added air & it went flat. darn it. took it off, saw that I had someow pinched the tube, patched it, etc, got the bike ready to roll, rolled across the street & it went flat again.

By that time I was so angry, all  I could do was walk. I had probably spent 1 hour changing those flats. I was 4 miles from the park and HUNGRY, so I knew I needed food, so I  kept walking. I had missed my turn to get me to the underpass to cross 71, so I walked back. I probably would have taken a ride if someone had asked, but alas no one did. I did get some stares from horses.

Around the corner & through a parking lot, I was in civilization, but no bike shop or sporting goods shop, so under 71 I went & I saw a Taco Cabana, I could recharge the phone there so I could search for a Walmart & I could recharge myself w food. Mission accomplished and I was off to walk to Walmart.
Bought 4 tubes and a 15 pack of CO2, figured that should get me home.
I set up to change the tire under a tree in the parking lot, think I had 3 people offer to lend me their tools, very sweet of them, I just smiled & said thank you, I have everything I needed, which if you think about it is pretty amazing all you need to change a flat is 2 tire pry bars.

Then I'm off to the Park!. maybe only 2 miles away. By the time I get there, the office is closed, so I self check in, finally find the Deer Park area. Set up the tent, which amazingly set up, thought I might have to take others up on their offer to crash at their place.

Went to dinner w Tricia & Doug, It was great catching up with them, always good stories. Once back at the camsite it was time to sit in the restroom & charge the batteries. While waiting 2 little girls came in that were camping next  to me. I started talking to one & found out she was from Mexico & they were in Bastrop because they had Monday off from school. Her English was excellent, I didn't even try my Spanish. I don't think I slept at all that night, I looked at the clock at 7 & thought I'd sleep in  til 8, then I realized it wasn't raining & I better get going...

I missed out on exploring the park thanks to all the flat tires, but I'll be back to check it all out again.

next blog will cover the way back....

*****************************************************
Total miles for this ride: 44.23
Total miles for the month of September: 226.53
Total miles for 2012: 2005.87
Miles to go: 6.13 miles til 2012
One way commutes in September so far: 4
Total one way commutes: 62 (I've reached my goal)
Odometer
Cross: 825.2

Avoid the Wind Ride

One of the famous Texas cold fronts arrived in Austin for when we were planning to ride. So, we mapped out our ride to avoid the wind as much as possible, this meant to stay in neighborhoods (houses & trees make great wind blocks) then ride on Spicewood Springs road to get further up north. Most of our route went northwest and the wind was coming out of the north. Spicewood Springs road isn't in a neighborhood, it's one of the old country roads that follows Bull Creek (it crosses the creek 7 times) there are small waterfalls, a few farms, a church and a cemetary. It really is a cool country oasis in the middle of the city, too bad more homes are being built out there.

The tree's leaves looked so cool with the wind blowing.

 

After Spicewood, we had to go up a pretty steep & long hill, it actually shows as a catagory 5 on MMR. Made it up it without stopping this time, both Kellie & I had to get off the bikes last time for a little hike w/ the bike.

Then through some more neighborhoods, addes a 2 mile circle with a few hills just for grins. Finally made it to 620 & we decided to continue on El Salido to go 3 more miles out so we would at least hit 40 for the day. Ended up in some subdivision in Cedar Park, once we turned around, we got lost! We were cracking up as we rolled through the streets. Eventually we did work our way back to the main road, but it wasn't the way we came in!

Time for a break! This guy's horn would not stop beeping!

The ride back into town was awesome! Took roads that were exposed to the wind so the wind would help us & boy did it, some points we were cruising at 24 mph with barely any effort!

Back in town, it took us a bit over 3 hours to go the 44 miles, last time we did the ride, it took us 2 hours 40 mins to go 10 miles less! Training is helping (as well as the wind!)


*****************************************************
Total miles for this ride: 43.77
Total miles for the month of September: 134.00
Total miles for 2012: 1913.34
Miles to go:  98.66  miles til 2012!!
One way commutes in September so far: 0
Total one way commutes: 58 (I've reached my goal)
Odometer
Road: 12991
Cross: 741

mile 1800 in a yucky ride

I hit mile 1800 for 2012 on Sunday while riding a yucky ride. Went out east of P-ville, where I know it is always windy, but trying to be optimistic, I figured it wouldn't be too bad...WRONG!

The first 5 miles were awesome! Talking to KPT & cruising at 16-17 mph, then we took a right  turn & were riding perpendicular to the wind. it wasn't too bad, but the next right might as well have been into a brick wall! Kelli & I started taking turns pulling each other at 2 min intervals, we caught up to Mercy, but by that time we lost the lead group. I was actually doing my job of floating & being a lead, it was just with people I knew.
We stopped in Rice's Crossing to make sure we knew where to go next. Found the turn & we received some relief from the wind, but i knew coming back on this road wouldn't be fun.
Despite al the complaining about the wind, the country side was extremely pretty today. Recently plowed fields, fields full of cotton ready to be picked, small ponds with water, last year none of thsat existed, so it was exciting to see no matter how windy!

We rested in Coupland, TX, last time I didn't see the cool sculptures & was soon annoyed I forgot the point & shoot camera & that I went w/ the flow & didn't stop to look. I'll learn, maybe.

On the way back, we came across a big tractor (another photo op...next time, at least it's in my brain). And went full on into the wind down Manda Carlson Road. We stopped at the community of Carlson to give the arms a break.

Jerry & Larry caught up w us & we decided to cut the ride short to 4 miles. Larry then said "I'm good at leading" and my reply was "I'm good at following, especially when its windy!"
We made it to the New Sweden Church Road, which meant a little bit less wind, but still some. At the end a couple of quick turns & we were soon on a road the was somewhat treed so less wind.

At the end, KPT & Victor found us...they did the 48 in the time we did 42, sucks to be old....

I was once again reminded of how riding in that direction sucks....hopefully I'll remember next time & change plans.

I did decide the order of suckage for conditions when riding a bike (1 being the worst 6 being the least). This is based off the condions I have riden in. I'm sure Snow would trump them all.
1. Wind
2. Rain
3. Hills
4. Chip Seal
5. Dirt/gravel
6. heat

Combine any of the above & its really bad, but as KPT & Victor reminded me in Coupland, "It's better than a hospital bed" --barely, yes I was really cranky!

*****************************************************
Total miles for this ride: 42.23
Total miles for the month of September: 53.69
Total miles for 2012: 1833.03
Miles to go: 166.97   miles til 2012
One way commutes in September so far: 0
Total one way commutes: 58 (I've reached my goal)
Odometer
Road: 12947