It was a gloomy day when we started but the news report was promising. We were heading west to conquor many hills!
We found ourselves on lovely back roads following the Guadalupe River. There were plenty of hills, of course, but there were also so many wonderful and unique views. I really got the sense that I was in the northeast during the late summer.
It looked as if some trees were trying to change colors and many have even lost their leaves. Also, I'm pretty sure I take more pictures of Brian than he takes of me.
The river was also incredibly beautiful.
Looking back East.
This part of the ride really reminded me of the Adirondacks. That big boulder must have been left by a mighty glacier.
There was a long stretch of fence that had a cowboy boot on each fence post.
Enter: hills.
We were really in hill country now. You couldn't go a mile without making a few climbs.
Luckily, we were taking our time because I think the hills could have killed the both of us.
There were still some spectacular views. I felt like all the land around us was for sale. We would see for sale signs quite frequently stating the enormous amount of acreage that was being sold - up to 2,000!
Karen, I hope you're reading this. Roar!
The day just looked wonderful, didn't it? I don't understand how Texas can have such bad weather for such extended periods of time. I thought it was always dry and hot down here.
If you can see here, there are a bunch of deer-like things running across the road. For about 15 miles, Brian and I were chasing down a pair of them, which I nearly caught later down the road. I clocked myself at 27 mph, and they still beat me.
Brian climbing one of the many hills.
I'm glad the iphone has a panoramic photo option, because this is what I live for.
A lovely view from atop a "hill."
And back to climbing. We were on some kind of hill-pass. Not quite a mountain pass, but almost.
Though, you would think you were looking at mountains in this picture, huh?
The downhills were my favorite part of the day, though I had to pedal to keep up with Brian. He is much more aerodynamic than me.
I got a nice video of this downhill while I was cutting through a mountain, but I can't figure out how to upload it to the blog without using youtube. You all will have to suffer knowing that there is a wonderful video that you can't watch quite yet.
At the bottom of our first big ascent, we found ourselves at Lost Maples State Park. Because it is still early in the season, the leaves haven't yet changed colors. We were very disappointed when we got there, especially after seeing what they look like in full foliage.
Broken-hearted, we decided to have lunch at the park.
And take a stroll through it to see what it had to offer.
Aside from some pretty views,
and a bit of water:
not much without the fall foliage.
So we pressed on to more hills and made a stop in Vanderpool where we encountered a group of cyclists being lead by an ACA guide. Brian didn't want to talk to them but I was all too excited because I haven't yet seen a guided tour - let alone many people touring at all!
The ride down to Vanderpool was pretty. We were surrounded by mountains.
It even looked like the sun was going to come out. What you see here was probably the worst climb we had. We slapped our bikes into the lowest gear, dropping it like it was hot, and slowly pedaled our way up these monsters.
The ascent begins.
The ascent continues.
The ascent ended with some incredible views of the surrounding hills.
We stopped in awe looking upon the valleys and hills we just rolled through.
Did you ever imagine Texas to be so lush?
I certainly didn't.
I wish this picture gave a better view of the valley below us, but it doesn't.
Here is the start of our descent.
And oh, what a descent it was!
I definitely felt like I had more pictures of the descents. They were absolutely dreamy. After this climb, we had another big climb and descent until we hit Leakey, TX. There, we encountered a woman at the local store who told us we could stay in her church as long as she got the OK from her Pastor. After purchasing the necessities: veggies, ice tea and oreos, we found our way to the church where we met Pastor Mark. Nicest guy ever. He not only gave us a roof over our head and a kitchen to use, but he gave us some towels to shower and even bought us dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. What a night! I call that a successful day. Chasing deer, climbing mountains, gazing upon scenic views and being bought dinner. What else can you ask for?
Don't forget about Brian's blog, because I probably forgot pieces of the day. He keeps a hand written journal to remind himself. I rely entirely on my pour memory.
Total Mileage: 68
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