Huntsville, TX - Sat 3/24

A fairly easy ride through Sam Houston National Forest.  There were a lot of bicyclists and motorcyclists out enjoying the beautiful day.  Saw two deer.

Miles: 51  Average: 10.7

Navasota, TX - Fri 3/23

I just did the math.  We've traveled 1818 miles and have 1240 miles to go, according to the maps.  The rest of our ride is supposed to be much flatter according to a rider we met today going the other way, so we're looking forward to that.

This morning we stayed in bed awhile, debating how long we should pamper our aching muscles.  By the time we got packed up and had breakfast at Subway and a donut shop it was 9:45.  We set off through the beautiful green Texas hill country.  The countryside was peppered with large ranches or estates with fancy houses.  Some even had livestock.  Flowers everywhere.

In Warrenton there was a miles long antique fair.  Then we came across the world 's smallest active Catholic church.  Next, we toured Round Top, an amazingly cute little town with a population of the 90.

We met three cyclists riding much faster than we are to raise money for the needy in Burundi.  Their website is www.bikeforburundi.com .  They ride over 100 miles per day but they have a motorhome carrying their gear.  Really nice guys riding for a good cause.

We also met the Belgian couple and a New Jersey man riding across the country the other direction at the diner where we stopped for lunch.  We finished our ride about 6PM tired and sore and got terrific hamburgers at the local hamburger stand.

Miles: 72.5  Average: 11.1

Photos:
World 's smallest Catholic church.
Plaza in Round Top.
Jeff with Jeff, John (the driver), Simon and Craig - bikers for Burundi.

The truth from Ruth:  It's so much fun to be with my best friend every day.  Today he had me laughing so hard I could hardly pedal.  We stopped to read a historical marker.  It was about a college where the students were "very loyal to their neighbors, and sometimes missed days of school pursuing Indians."  We joked about this for miles, trying to figure out why loyalty to neighbors would cause these students to chase Indians.  Jeff made up some new words to "Bein' Neighborly" from Company B - "Just bein' neighborly, that's what a neighbor's for,
Out pursuin' Indians for the man next door,
Shootin' and a-fightin' till everybody's dead,
At least that's what I told the department head."
If it's not funny, maybe you had to be there, but I couldn't stop laughing.
Most of the time today we were in a German area of Texas.  The towns and streets had German names, and the cafe we had lunch in was German.  I knew there were lots of German immigrants, and it was fun to see the proof.

La Grange, TX - Thur 3/22

Before we left Lockhart we rode downtown to see the inside of the historic library.  And off through the countryside and the rolling hills of east Texas.  The spring wildflowers were abundant.  We chatted with a few horses and a lot of cows.  There was even a herd of strange looking goats with huge horns.  We passed the swamp and saw a lot of dead turtles on the shoulder of the highway.

We had lunch in Bastrop, "the most historic small town in Texas," but we didn't stick around to figure out why it's called that.  All the small historic towns in Texas are starting to look alike.  But the ride was good.

Miles: 69.9  Average: 11.6

The truth from Ruth:  I wish I could have a collection of all the beautiful old libraries in the country, and go into them any time I wanted to.  The one we went into today was beautiful.  It had three stained-glass windows and a little balcony with a narrow, winding staircase going up to it.
I was a little disappointed in the ride today.  Our map led us through the middle of two state parks.  But at the entrance to the first, the official told us that the road going through was closed due to storm damage.  So we had to go back to the regular 4-lane highway.  It was still a pretty ride though.  I love the wildflowers growing everywhere.

Lockhart, TX - Wed 3/21

Happy spring, from "The Barbecue Capital of Texas!"

The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, the gentle wind was with us, the hills were small, and our legs were rested.  So, after a breakfast at the donut shop, we cruised through San Antonio, feeling good, and out to San Marcos where we planned to stop.  But it was still early, so we continued on to Lockhart 20 miles farther.

Miles: 78.2  Average: 13.6

Since Lockhart is the barbecue capital of Texas we had dinner at Chisholm Trail Barbecue.  Delicious.  Then we walked 2 or 3 miles exploring the town.  We saw the oldest continually operating library in Texas (since 1899) and a beautiful old courthouse.

Photos:
Barbecue Capital of Texas sign.
Dr. Eugene Clark Library (Oldest continually operating library in Texas).
Caldwell County Courthouse (1894).
Texas countryside on a beautiful day.

The truth from Ruth:  My new favorite riding day.  The three days rest really helped me feel great on the bike.  In the middle of the ride, as we left San Antonio, we rode through a couple of really cute small towns on a country road.  There were trees lining the road on both sides, and it was so pretty.  Today is why I came on this bike trip.

San Antonio Missions - Tue 3/20

Another rest day.  The thunderstorms gave us a good show last night setting off alarms in the parking lot all night.  Somebody told me that a tornado destroyed a bunch of homes just north of here.  But we haven't been caught in the rain yet.

We rode buses and toured the San Jose Mission (photos one and two) and the Concepcion Mission (photo three).  The San Jose Mission has been restored as a wonderful example of what mission life really was like.  The walls enclosed 5 acres and included housing for about 300 people.  I can see why so many Indians wanted to join the church and live there.

The truth from Ruth:  It's been fun relaxing and being tourists for a few days.  Back to riding tomorrow.

Touring San Antonio - Mon 3/19

No biking today.  We spent most of the day walking around San Antonio.

Dan and Donna Gonzales from San Diego picked us up in their motorhome and we had breakfast together.  Then they kindly dropped us off downtown at the Alamo.

The Alamo is much different than I expected.  Now there are modern buildings and roads where the walls originally stood.  Only the chapel and long barracks remain.  Most of the defenders were killed in hand-to-hand combat in the long barracks, which was built by Indians 300 years ago.  The only real military benefit of the last stand at the Alamo was in creating martyrs and a rallying cry.

Next we rode a tour boat down the Riverwalk and toured  the Institute of Texan Culture.  We rode the bus back to our motel, arriving shortly before the thunderstorms, pouring rain and tornado warnings.

Photos:
Breakfast with the Gonzaleses at IHOP.
Chapel at the Alamo.
Long barracks at the Alamo.
The Riverwalk.
Casa Rio on the Riverwalk.

The truth from Ruth:  I enjoyed the Institute of Texan Culture quite a lot.  There were so many ethnic groups that came to Texas!  Lebanese, Japanese, Polish, Czech, and Italian were some I didn't know about.  There were great exhibits for each group.  Texas is a very diverse place!
I loved the River Walk.  It reminded me of rapid transit in other large cities, where you can't see the stations from the city streets, but you go down the stairs and there it is.  Except instead of being a train station, it's a beautiful river with paths going to each store, hotel or restaurant.  Amazing!

Helotes, TX - Sun 3/18

Sunday, our rest day, here at last.  We checked out of our hotel, left our luggage in the lobby, and biked to church.  The meetings were great and the people friendly.  We met Lisa and Eric Clark, who have a son serving a mission in San Diego.  They have a big truck and were heading our direction so they give us a ride to our next hotel, in Helotes.  Big thank you to them, especially since it was starting to rain.

Later, we went to the Hansens (see photo) and picked up our replacement credit card.

Miles: 14.6  Average:10.5