January 31, 2019 - Austin, Texas

Day 31 Cross Country Bike Trip – REST DAY!!

Tobey, Marcia, and I took an UBER to downtown Austin to do some sightseeing and left Phil behind to rest since he is still not feeling 100%. It was cool and overcast so we bundled up.

Our first stop was the on the south shore of Town Lake, along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail. Tobey enjoys his music. Texas-born blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died at 35 when his post-concert rock star helicopter crashed in Wisconsin enroute to Chicago August 26, 1990.

We continued across the pedestrian bridge over Town Lake which is part of the Colorado River on our way to the capitol building.Some of the architecture was a bit unusual. The building on the left reminded us of the game, Jenga!I don’t think I would want to buy a condo in this building. I would be worried about the stability with those columns holding up the top part!We stopped at the Driskill Hotel which was built in 1886 as the showplace of a cattle baron. It was beautiful and they have an interesting timeline of its history on their website. https://driskillhotel.com/about/timeline/Continuing on, we made a stop at the Saint Mary’s Cathedral. Lunch was at Stubb’s BBQ before getting to the Capitol for a tour. It wasn’t fancy, but the food was good. They have a bar and stage in the basement with live music. Another time!On our walk up to the building we stopped to read several of the informative signs explaining the history of Texas beginning in 1519. Four signs talked about the Tejanos who are descended from the Spanish explorers and colonizers who settled Texas. We arrived five minutes before the next tour was starting – talk about good timing!

Elizabeth, our guide, did a great job relaying information about Texas history, the history of Texas politics, and the capitol building itself. The “Goddess of Liberty” is a statue on the top of the Capitol’s dome. While the Texas Capitol building isn’t the tallest of all the states, they do like to boast that it is 15 feet taller than the US Capitol!

On our way back toward the river, we spotted lots of fun art. Austin has a large music scene and lots of music festivals, unfortunately for us, not while we are here!Our last little sign for the day is Dean’s One Trick Pony, for our friend, Dean in Colorado. I took the picture, then had to look it up to find out what it was! Apparently it is a pretty well-rated burger/bar. Maybe on our next trip we will get a chance to try it.The weather held out and we made it back to the RV park before a light rain started. I walked to the grocery store a couple blocks away and got a little wet on the way back, but I didn’t melt. It was a good rest day and we had a chance to explore a bit of Austin.

January 30, 2019 - Pedernales Falls State Park to Austin, Texas

Day 30 Cross Country Bike Trip

It was another cold morning, but the guys were off and riding about 9 this morning heading east from the state park. Yard art is always interesting and we spotted this soon after we got started. I have heard that everything is bigger in Texas and this armadillo just proves it! The guys at the Pedernales Trading Post warned us that not far down the road the guys would encounter water over the road, and they were right! The two other bicyclers we saw yesterday were about 5 minutes ahead of our guys and they rode through it – then had to walk their bikes up the hill!

We waited for Tobey and Phil to arrive and loaded their bikes for a short distance across since the water was 6-8” deep and neither of them wanted to get soaked.Marcia and Phil went ahead of us.They unloaded their bikes just up at the clearing and were off and pedaling again. They continued along ranch roads until we were about 15 miles outside of Austin. After a short lunch break, it was time to tackle the last part of the ride. The other two bicyclers were about 20 minutes ahead of us, stopped at the same place for lunch!Tobey and Phil were on their own until they reached the Austin Lone Star RV Resort. Marcia and I went on Hwy 290 and made our way across town. It was HORRIBLE! We made a gas stop and then battled the traffic, road construction, and narrow lanes. We only arrived about 30 minutes before the guys!

Phil isn’t feeling well, unfortunately, so we are glad that tomorrow is a scheduled rest day. This is a nice RV park with laundry facilities, nice shower house, and even a pool – too bad it is too cold to use!

Today’s ride was an easy one for Tobey – only 37.3 miles. (Over 1550 miles so far!!!) This is the link to today’s ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/31315349

This is a link that will show all of Tobey’s route so far. https://ridewithgps.com/events/71165-tobey-s-coast-to-coast-ride-2018-2019

On the left side of the map, it shows day by day stop and start points so you can look at each day’s route.

OR you can scroll to the bottom of the day-to-day and there is a box that says “Show all on Map”. If you click that, it will change the map view to show all days traveled so far (but be prepared for a short pause as takes a while for the file to load).

January 29, 2019 - Fredericksburg to Pedernales Falls State Park, Texas

Day 29 Cross Country Bike Trip

It was cold this morning. 35 degrees. Yes, that’s cold. When the guys were getting ready to ride, Phil looked at Tobey and said, “this is stupid,” and off they rode anyway! They were bundled in their heavy coats, gloves, and headed off into the 35 degrees and headwinds leaving Fredericksburg.The route took them on Ranch Road 1320 north and east this morning. It was pretty narrow and more traffic than they liked for the first 10 miles or so. Phil and Tobey split up about 12 miles into the ride with Tobey continuing on the ranch roads and Phil heading south to catch Hwy 290.  Both roads had their advantages. Shortly after they split, Tobey’s route had much less traffic, but was 10 miles longer. We passed more of the exotic game ranches and miles of prickly pear cactus.Phil’s route took him to Hwy 290 which is 4-lane with more traffic, but had a wider shoulder and was shorter. We came back together in Johnson City where Tobey passed the 1,500 mile mark! Thank you Phil for being his inspiration for this ride!!!We again separated – this time Tobey, Phil, and Marcia continuing on the bike route while I went back to visit Lyndon B. Johnson’s boyhood home.  When I arrived, there was a couple sitting on the porch and I found out that there would be a tour in about five minutes. How is that for timing?! The house was built in 1901 and LBJ’s parents purchased the home and 1-3/4 acres in 1913 for $2,925. They moved from the family’s farm about 14 miles away when Johnson was five years old. They Boyhood Home was given to the National Park Service around 1970 and in 1973, after restoration, was opened to the public. The National Parks ranger who conducted the tour was informative. I visited with her for a few minutes after the tour and could tell she loved her job. After the tour, I went to catch up with my group. I saw two bicyclists stopped working on their bikes and slowed down, wondering why Tobey wasn’t wearing his bright yellow safety vest. It wasn’t until I was almost next to them that I realized it wasn’t Tobey and Phil! These young men were riding unsupported and had large panniers on their bikes to carry all their gear. I asked if they needed any help and when they assured me they were okay, I continued on my way.

 
We stopped at the Pedernales Trading Post for a soft drink and visited with some of the guys in the bar. Nice people (and dog friendly)! We are camped near Pedernales Falls State Park tonight and will continue to Austin tomorrow.Tobey’s ride was 47.7 miles today, putting him at 1515.7 so far – half way!!
This is the link to today’s ride:https://ridewithgps.com/trips/31296175

January 28, 2019 - 16 miles E on Hwy 39 to Fredericksburg, Texas

Day 28 Cross Country Bike Ride

The guys got a pretty early start from our little camping spot on Highway 39 this morning. The sun was shining and they had very little traffic to start their day.One of the first things we spotted which was unusual for us was the “Boot Hill” fence. There were boots on the fence posts on both sides of the road for about a half mile! The house on the left did have a sign on their gate that said Boot Hill. Highway 39 follows the Guadalupe River for miles and is a narrow, winding road. We went for a few miles in and out of the canopy of trees. I can imagine when they are covered in leaves what an even more amazing drive it would be!The bluffs overlooking the river were pretty, too.We stopped in Ingram to see Stonehenge II since we have seen the original in England. When we visited Stonehenge in England, it was cold and rainy. This was much more pleasant!As a bonus, we got a taste of Easter Island while we were there!After going through Kerrville, our routes took us on ranch roads which wound their way north and east to Fredericksburg. What a great afternoon!

They had some hills, and lots of curves, and “loose livestock”! This steer was standing right next to the road. Tobey has been chased by dogs a few times on this trip and I was a little worried about him being chased by cattle, but he was safe!I was driving ahead of the guys and stopped when I saw a sign that said it was the end of the county maintenance, and the color of the pavement looked like gravel. I got out and walked it. Fortunately, it was just a whitish-yellow chip seal! The road meandered up and down, through farm gates, and past lots of grazing cattle (loose). There were a few times I felt like we were going to pull into someone’s driveway and hoped that if we did, they would invite us in for pie!As they guys approached where Marcia and I were waiting for them, another bicycler came zooming up behind them! He had pedaled from Fredericksburg to Ingram and was heading back. After visiting for a while, he zoomed off and left us to our meander!

In Fredericksburg and we went visited the historic district. The German heritage is alive and well here! In the town square, Marktplatz, there is a replica of a 19th century German church that once stood in the city. There were lots of tourist stores that reminded us of Estes Park, CO!

The National Museum of the Pacific is here, as well. If you remember your US history, Fredericksburg is the boyhood home of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Admiral Nimitz was the signing representative for the United States at the formal surrender of the Japanese on board the USS Missouri, on August 14, 1945.

We did do some shopping at Rustlin’ Rob’s. What a fun place with tasting samples of almost everything! We could have spent much longer there if it wasn’t near our dinner time!I think Tobey enjoyed today’s ride more than most days because of the quieter roads and beautiful scenery.

He went 58 miles. This is the link for today’s ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/31273616

This is a link that will show Tobey’s route. https://ridewithgps.com/events/71165-tobey-s-coast-to-coast-ride-2018-2019

On the left side of the map, it shows day by day stop and start points so you can look at each day’s route.

OR you can scroll to the bottom of the day-to-day and there is a box that says “Show all on Map”. If you click that, it will change the map view to show all days traveled so far.

January 27, 2019 - Campwood to 16 miles east of Highway 83 on Highway 39, Texas

Day 27 Cross Country Bike Trip

It started to rain about 7:00 this morning and we were a little worried about how the ride would go. Fortunately, it stopped by 7:30 and when the guys were ready to go about 8:30, the sky was blue and no wind!As they were heading out of town, a group of cyclists were coming into town. The other six riders had started in Leakey 21 miles away and turned around in Campwood and went back. The hills are crazy and difficult! Tobey and Phil talked to them for a few minutes as they were passing and the cycling group thought Tobey was crazy to ride cross country!

As we made our way across Texas Ranch Road 337, we passed the Rust in Peace graveyard on the Double Creek Ranch. We are definitely in the Texas Hill Country and the road was the horrible Texas chip seal. They climbed and climbed uphill and the auto speed limit was 15 to 20 mph!Then some downhill …Just before Leakey, Texas we stopped for lunch at the Bent Rim Grill. It was a nice break, in the heart of Texas Hill Country.From Leakey, they guys changed to Highway 83 north and believe it or not, there were more hills! And more traffic! They were thankful for the wider shoulder and slower traffic lanes for the 19 miles on which they rode.Because there are so many hills and so many rivers, we have seen these Flood Gauge signs all along our route. I can’t tell you how glad I am that it hasn’t been raining much!After turning onto Hwy 39, most of the traffic disappeared and the hills were much smaller. Tobey enjoyed the last 16 miles of his day the most – and even had a small tail wind!One of the other things we have seen across Texas are “sport game ranches”. I love seeing these animals and certainly would not want to hunt these beauties!We stopped about 16 miles east of Hwy 83 on the WIDE shoulder for the night. Just across the road is another game farm with lots of deer. They were pretty curious about us and came close to the fence to watch us. So naïve.Today’s ride was 54.4 miles. This is the link for today’s ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/31273606