Today’s route was as pretty as you can make one. It
reminded me of riding in Richland County, OH (Mansfield/Ashland). The rain, the
rolling hills and the Guadalupe River were Sara’s companions today. I took the
day off riding in the sag wagon. I needed a day off the bike. The prudent thing
for me to do at this time was to take the day off considering we are just over
half way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Sitting in the passenger seat of the van, I was a
proud observer of a great cyclist. She handled the 2500 feet of uphill with
lots of grace. There were two major climbs and countless rolling ups and downs.
Ultimately, she tamed the route with a light rain pelting her for 60% of the
ride.
Last evening I decided to sit out the ride. It was not
a good option to spend a second night in Camp Wood, mainly because of the
services: hotels and restaurants. Sara did not want to consider any other
options except to ride the planned route. It was a long route with lots of
climbing. She was going to do it alone. We went to bed with that being the
plan.
We woke to a dripping rain as we walked across the
road to Casa Falcon for a 6:30 breakfast. Since promptness is not a central
consideration around these parts, the place finally opened for business at
6:50. Each of us ordered an egg meal and the service was quick. We discussed
the day as we finished up with breakfast. Sara was on the road at 7:45 for a
bell ringer of a ride. The road moved upward slowly until about mile 9 when it
erupted into a full-blown cliff. Sara rode smoothly up the first major climb as
we followed. At the top, the route followed the ridgeline moving up and down,
sometimes substantially. It was on this leg that we saw what appeared to be a
group of Javelinas cross the road. For the next 8 miles it went mostly down,
but once in a while it reminded Sara that she was on the Texas Hill Country
Trail. The Trail travels through West Texas on several differently numbered
highways. It is a very scenic route and as we moved along I thought about these
roads as being training grounds for Lance Armstrong. We are not far from
Austin, TX.
At mile 20 Sara made a turn onto US 83 that ran down
but mostly up for 18 miles to the Junction with SR 39. On this leg was the
second major climb. Sara, again, moved smoothly along, shifting into a higher
gear as the hill subsided into a series of rollers. SR 39 was a bermless road
with a 70 mile per hour speed limit. Susan was worried; I was worried. Sara
rode without much thought. The traffic was very light, but picked up as Sara
reached the town of Hunt. As we approached this sleepy suburb of Kerrville, the
hovels of Camp Wood gave way to Stone buildings. Some of these homes were built
high on the bluffs of the Guadalupe River; many along its banks.
From Hunt it was a short hop to Kerrville where we are
spending the night. Tomorrow it is off to Dripping Springs. Stay tuned.
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| Controlled burns on US 83 |
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| Boot-adorned fence along SR 39 just before Hunt |
I am ever so much amazed that Sara can and is doing this ride without previous training. Bravo!!
ReplyDeleteShe is remarkable. A few years ago she participated in an Ironman competition. Because of her intense work schedule, her training regiment consisted of 6 hours of training per week. In spite of minimal time training, she finished in 14 hours and 10 minutes.
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