The best days are when you wake up and all of your things are wet. Wait, no never mind...I had that completely wrong. I did however learn three things today:
1. Never try to make pancakes with a camping stove. You will only be disappointed.
2. Drafting behind someone with gigantic panniers is quite possibly the greatest thing ever.
3. Huge tracker trailers do in fact travel on quite farm roads.
Waking up less than dry (thanks to TJ's hilariously small tent that we somehow managed to both fit in) and muddy (thanks to Blanco State Park that was probably flooded hours before our arrival), we thought we were in for a pretty gloomy day. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a wonderful day for a bike ride.
More highlights from Hill Country:
Unfortunately for TJ, his enjoyment of the hills was rudely interrupted by two flat tires. It's all right, you can laugh at him - I did too. Apparently Texas is plagued by these tiny thorns that rip right through your tires and make for a pretty terrible day. Luckily I'm rocking Stan's in my tubes, so I've been flat free so far. Cross your fingers...
This place was called Hillbillyz. It was in the middle of nowhere...we opted not to go in:
We stopped for an ice cream snack at a super cheap country store in Sisterdale, where TJ made friends with a cat:
Guadalupe River, which we zigzagged across for the last few miles today:
The great thing about touring with someone is that you don't have to bug strangers to take pictures of you. So enjoy these shots of me, courtesy of TJ:
Evidence of #2 above...like riding behind a semi:
The open land in Texas is filled with ranches, some of which seem to be pretty elaborate. This is the entrance to one of them:
Boston has nothing on these gas prices:
We've heard rumors that hill country is behind us, but don't get too excited. It seems only that we're entering the land of larger hills, which is sure to be a pretty fun time. Tonight we're staying with Fred and Janice, who we met through Warm Showers. They were awesome enough to cook us a delicious dinner, let us use their computers, and sleep in their guest room. Thanks so much for the hospitality!
Stay tuned for some more adventures as we inch closer to our first destination - Big Bend National Park.
Miles Crushed: 69
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Day 1: Austin, TX to Blanco, TX
What better way to kick off a bike tour than flash floods, lightning storms, and torrential rain? Yeah, check this out.
We woke up in the morning to a car in a ditch along the highway, pretty significant rainfall, and the news stations rambling about flash floods. So we did what any sensible person would do - we left.
Departing from Chris and Alicia's house - thanks again for everything!
10 miles into the trip, we ran into the first sign of the rain that took place the night before:
Can't go that way...after a quick re-route, we were back on track. Anti-climatically, we actually got pretty lucky with the weather. Apart from the 100% humidity, there was barely any rain to contend with.
There were hills, however. So many hills. Remember the Ozarks? This landscape was all too familiar. A constant series of steep climbs and unsatisfying descents, all while combating humidity that rivals New England's worst days.
Head the warning: This Is Hill Country:
After 40 miles of riding we stopped in the quaint town of Wimberly for some lunch. We also found a store that had tons of samples of delicious local foods, so we picked up a jar of jelly and made some tasty peanut butter / jelly / banana sandwiches.
Wimberly:
We made our way to Blanco State Park, where we set up camp for the night. Wet, tired, and muddy, we made a delicious pasta dinner and fell asleep listening to the tantalizing sounds of Texas.
Some more views from the road:
More signs of flooding:
The town of Blanco, in all it's glory:
And as always, be sure to check out TJ's blog here:
Miles Crushed: 65
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