DAY 29 REST DAY IN KERRVILLE, TEXAS

We are on a rest day in Kerrville, Texas.  Cher and I went shopping and bought cowboy hats (crushable to fit in our luggage) and COWBOY BOOTS. 

We spent Wednesday night in Vanderpool at the Foxfire Cabins.  They are a small group of cabins next to the Sabine River.  We are in the Texas Hill country which is green and lovely.  Spring is just coming and the trees are starting to bloom.  I didn't ride Wednesday which was cold, rainy and hilly.  I am still recovering from whatever plagued me.
Thursday I rode half the ride from Vanderpool to Kerrville.  It was for me the most beautiful ride so far.  It was through the hill country on windy, steep roads.  The weather was about 65 degrees and no wind.  One mile long hill was reportedly 14% grade.  I took one look and promptly dismounted the bike and walked.  The views were stunning and I enjoyed the even slower pace of walking.
I got into Kerrville early and had my bike tuned up at a wonderful bike shop, Hill Country Bicycle Works.  They were expecting our large group and had lots of people to work on bikes.  The owner (who spent 3 years bike touring the world with his wife) replaced my chained, trued my wheel and adjusted my brakes.  She is now running very smoothly.
We are staying at the YO Ranch Resort which apparently has a game ranch associated with the hotel.

 Texas hill country

 Longhorn cattle

 Top of a roughly 10% downhill
Below: Lucy and I at the Apple Store in Medina, TX

DAY 25 AND DAY 26

 Javelina in Fort Davis, TX

 Moira helping Barb with water at our SAG stop

 Riding buddy Cher

 Off the interstate!

 Hiking at Fort Davis (MacDonald Observatory in the distance)

 Chip seal, a most lovely riding surface

 Indian Lodge at Fort Davis

 My room at Gage Hotel

Lunch stop on Easter Sunday, great little place with stone tables
We were in Fort Clark yesterday.  An old historic fort that has been renovated into housing and a motel.  It also has a natural spring fed swimming pool which felt great on a hot day.  I took a rest day to recover and had a nice swim.
The Fort has lovely limestone houses built in the 1870's
We also were invited to an ice cream social with Bubba's Pampered Tours.  Great outfit.  They have helped several of our riders.  They camp but have 24 riders and 11 support staff! Check out their website.
I rode today, 30 miles of the 43 mile trip to Camp Wood.
Lovely ranch country.  We saw sheep but no houses, just the entrance gates to the ranches.
I am feeling better but the ride was tough.
Being called to dinner.

DAYS 22, 23, 24

I am a bit mixed up on our days.  Sometimes they seem to run together, especially in west Texas which has all been along Route 90.  This route running from El Paso to San Antonio is a very old route used by Native Americans, Spanish explorers and the Mexican Military.  Most of the towns along here are mostly abandoned due to the Interstate.

After we left the Indian Lodge we had a wonderful downhill and a relatively easy ride of 60 miles to Marathon, Texas where we stayed at the historic Gage Hotel.  I was in the old part which was full of old west memorabilia.  The new part is beautiful adobe section with very nice plantings.

We passed through Alpine where I had John, the Bikeman, tighten up my breaks.  Things have working loose on the chip seal roads.
The brake cables had also stretched.  

Saturday we went from Marathon to Sanderson,  Texas.  This 56 mile has not one store or town so we have to rely on our SAG vehicle for water and snacks.

I had planned to attend the Easter sunrise service in Sanderson and then bump 60 miles to lunch as this was 111 mile day.  Unfortunately I was up all night vomiting so I spent the day in the van.  Again it was another long stretch of Route 90 but a good day for riding.  I may have to take tomorrow off to recover.  Hydrating and fueling on this trip are real challenges.

DAY 18 AND 19 VAN HORN TO FORT DAVIS AND A REST DAY

Our internet service is a bit slow so no photos today.  We are at the Indian Lodge in Davis State Park.  It is lovely.  It is an old adobe inn by the Conservation Corps in the 1930's.  I took a 2 mile hike up and down a long ridge with beautiful views of the mountains and MacDonald Observatory.  I wanted to visit the Observatory but we couldn't find any transportation.  Our van was taking people to Fort Davis to do laundry and run errands.

Back to yesterday.  Yesterday was considered one of the hardest days of the trip.  It was a 90 mile day with the first 30 on Interstate 10.  That was the easy part, with only minor winds.  After leaving the interstate the ride turned south toward Fort Davis.  The van meet us at mile 48 with a picnic lunch.  Cher and I were late leaving (8:30) due to my breaking my valve stem and having to change a tire.  We could not leave earlier as we have just changed time zones and it would have been dark.
We biked to lunch and then were loaded onto the van with 11 others.  The next 40 miles was mostly up hill with the top being at MacDonald Observatory at about 6,500'.  11 of our group rode this piece.  I would have been in at midnight.  It was a beautiful road but 12% grade in places.
I am hoping to see Javelinas.  These are pig-like animals but really related to rhinos!  I love west Texas!

DAY 18 FORT HANCOCK TO VAN HORN, TX

HEADWINDS.... yesterday and today.  I only made it to the first SAG stop at about 22 miles.  The headwind was unrelenting and we had 50 more miles, mostly along the interstate (I-10).  Riding at 8-9 mph we might have made it for dinner plus we lost an hour as we switched from Mountain to Central time.
The van picked up four of us.
I have the utmost admiration for our riders that made it the whole way.
Tomorrow is a 90 mile day with climbing and possibly more headwinds.  Not sure what I will do.

According to our guides this has been a very difficult tour weather wise, hot, cold, wind, dust storm.  We are hoping it ends soon...

Day 16 Las Cruces to El Paso, Day 17 to Fort Hancock

We are actually in Texas.  Coming into El Paso was not the most pleasant ride but we made to the bike store where we were picked up by the van because the road to hotel was too difficult to bike.
(Some made it through before our guide decided it was unsafe).  Fine with me I was tired of the city riding and the traffic.  It has been 10 degrees cooler than normal so we have been starting out around 36 degrees.  Thank goodness for the warm clothes I packed.

The valley has been very flat.  There are groves of pecan trees, fields of alfalfa and onions.  We have also seen many horse farms.

After El Paso the countryside is not so lush.  We spent most of today on route 258 and route 20.  We had a head wind all day but had a short mileage (46) day so it was a pleasant ride.
We stopped at two missions and lunch in a little town called Tornillo and ate at Wencho's.  Great Mexican food.

 San Elizario Mission

 Bike sculpture

 Luc the Moose resting at 7-11 in Fabens, Texas

 Tornillo, Texas

Larry Varney and moi

We also stopped to talk with a group called Bubba's Pampered Tours (they actually camp most of the time).  I met Larry Varney who was riding an ICE trike.  He writes reviews for Recumbent and Tandem Magazine which I read so it was fun to talk to him.

DAY 14 AND 15 SILVER CITY TO KINGSTON TO LAS CRUCES

After our great rest day I decided to visit the Gila National Monument with Sally and Hilary.  My co-rider Cher joined us.  It was a fascinating place.  It is a small collection of cliff dwellings of the Mollogon people who only lived there for one generation.  Life was incredibly hard here and eventually they ran out of water and all died. The drive there is beautiful, through the mountains.  We then walked up to the cliffs and had a tour with George.

After our visit we drove to route 152 and went over Emery Pass.  It was very windy at the top but a lovely view down towards valley.

We stayed at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston.  A wonderful old stone building.  The owner, Kathryn, prepared a turkey dinner and a great breakfast.

Today, Saturday, we rode to Las Cruces, New Mexico.  The trip was 88 miles.  I made it 80 with Cher.  We had great tail winds and made good time until the wind and dust became so bad we called for the SAG (support and gear) car to pick us.  In the meantime a woman named Velma stopped in her white pickup to offer us a ride to the hotel.  A true bike angel.  We were not sure we could get the bikes on the subaru so the pickup was perfect.  She even showed us around La Mesilla, the old part of the Las Cruces.