I need to go back to yesterday - the rest day. After I posted, a group of ladies got together and played cards; it was Sue, Maggie, Gayle, Janet, Queenie and I. We didn’t wager any money but used rocks. Yep, rocks. When you ran out of rocks, you were out of the game. Sue from Florida taught the group “99” and “Golf.” I played 99 when I was younger; it brought back good memories of playing cards with my family. Yesterday playing the card games was my idea of a great rest day.
This morning started out with fog, and it felt so much colder than the weather app’s reading of 51 degrees. The fog made the start of the ride slow going. It was so thick that condensation built up on my sunglasses and water dripped from my helmet. The few pictures we stopped to take did not do justice to how thick the fog really was. The fog lasted until just about the first SAG stop that was at mile 19, just after we climbed what seemed like straight up for two miles. It was a well-deserved SAG stop. We were in the thick of hill country too. Linda (aka Queenie) is from Texas and had biked these hills many times. She told Janet and I that our route avoided the worst of the hills (one stretch called the three sisters). I was beyond grateful to avoid those hills. The rolling hills on TX-39 reminded me of day 3 of the DALMAC ride in Michigan. We also went past the Guadalupe River several times today. Many riders commented that today was their favorite day of riding. I liked the ride, but some of my favorite moments have been in the mountains and desert where the scenery is just so majestic. Don’t get me wrong, a reminder of Northern Michigan is a good thing too; Doug, Jill and Adam and I pedaled many a mile in Northern Michigan.
Along the way today, we crossed our mileage half way point in the ride. It was right by a boot fence (a fence covered in boots). The mileage point on our cue sheets was 49.2 miles. There were arrows in the road, and everyone stopped to commemorate the spot. Tonight, for dinner we are having surf and turf to celebrate. We are now closer to St. Augustine than San Diego! I would like to encourage those of you reading to post a comment. I would love to hear from you!
Stats from the day:
Start city: Concan, TX
End city: Kerrville, TX
Miles: 72.37
Total miles to date: 1474.96
Pedaling time: 5 hours, 34 minutes
Avg. speed: 13.0
Feet climbed: 2,710
Fatigue factor: 7 out of 10 (10 is the worst);
Wind: start: N1 mph; end NW 10 mph
Road condition: 3 out of 5 (1 is the worst) with some spots better
Temperature extremes: 51 at ride start, 82 at ride finish
Playing cards and wagering rocks!
The foggy road ahead.
The 1/2 way point of the trip!!!
L to R: Linda (Queenie), me and Janet
The boot fence
