Thursday April 4, 2013 49 miles and two big hills
After my van day to rest, I set out from Vanderpool Foxfire
Cabins to ride to Kerrville, a town of 20,000 people which is gigantic compared
to the places we’ve been staying. After a cloudy cool start, the sun came out,
the clouds wandered away, and it was a blue sky day in the 60s which was perfect.
The West Texas hills are a miniature mountain environment with the green trees
opening leaves, the rounded hilltops in the distance, and enough dramatic views
from the tops to make it exciting. I’d been warned at the map meeting that
there were two extremely steep hills, and sure enough after some rolling ups
and downs I found the steep steep climb ahead. I generally pedal until I’m
doing about 3 miles an hour which is as fast as I can walk wheeling my bike,
and then I get off and walk and wheel. For me it’s a lot easier than struggling
to pedal as I’ve learned.
Of course the great
benefit of a truly challenging hill is that afterwards you have a superbly
wonderful ride down the hill which is the other side and feels like flying
through the air. Beautiful and makes the up totally worthwhile.
The lunch break stop today was at Medina, a cute small town
that was not Utopia because that was 11 miles further on as the signpost
promised. However, Medina had a wonderful Apple Center where they grow organic
apples and use bats to kill insects and make home-made apple pie and turnovers
and tarts and anything else you can think of putting an apple into or on as
well as selling apple jam and apple honey and apple cards and apple photos and
apple trees. I was really hungry and decided to go for a BLT sandwich to give
me enough energy for the next 24 miles. And coffee. Our two guides, who know the
place well, stocked up on jam and preserves and other apple-y delight for the
van, and asked about gluten free crusts in the future.
The woman behind the counter had lived in Denver before
moving to Medina and said you could always find good health foods there and
gluten free things to eat, and she hoped to move back there some time. She
loved Boulder – yay – but really enjoyed working the Apple Center. She also
loved bicycling so I wrote down the web address for Womantours.com and waved
goodbye.
The afternoon was warmer, in the 70s, so I stripped off two
layers and pedaled on till the next giant hill, which was a serpentine snaking
up a steep hillside, with hairpin bends up and not much room on the side. I did
about five minutes and then walked, as did a couple of others, till finally we
got to a flat place to breathe. I biked on another half mile and there at the
very top was Pat Rush with the sag wagon- what a welcome sight. We all stopped
for water and were relieved to hear there were no more giant hills to exhaust
us on the way up. Of course those Super Duper Riders find them exciting and
challenging. Me, I’m waiting for the flatlands where there will only be the gentle
ups and downs along the waterfronts….
I rode in to Kerrville with Carla – we seem to end up
together at the same time and the same energy level – and rode to the elegant
YO Ranch Hotel, built to be a truly modern elegant place and not part of a
chain. I have a lovely big room, king size bed, two basins in the bathroom, and
it’s quiet. For dinner we were treated to a four-star dining room in the hotel,
The Branding Iron, where I had a salmon steak with roasted potatoes, and
home-made cherry cobbler with whipped cream for dessert. Four of us shared a
bottle of wine and clinked and congratulated ourselves on another riding day
completed and achieved. We are more than halfway to Florida – amazing. Friday
is our day off – and we are all ready for it.
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