Some wind, some walking, some HILLS. Texas Hill Country

Day 3. 41 mi. 5:42 AIS 3244 elev gain. 3 BIG climbs 7.2 mph avg.

Camp Wood to Lost Maple Natural Area

Out of camp by 8am (usually we’re closer to 9). Expecting red flag winds today. 20mph with gusts to 40! And it sure felt like it right out of our camp. The first 8 mi were straight up right into the wind or complete sidewind. Fortunately the traffic was very, very light. Texans must be the most considerate drivers I’ve ever experienced. They slow down and go way around. (Of course there’s always an exception but not today.)

First big climb required some walking. It was steep and windy. Met a nice local man (Peter) who stopped while we were resting at a false summit. He was intrigued by Curt’s bike and our heavy bikes. He’s a triathlete so his rides and bikes are different but we were on his training route. He told us exactly what to expect. Once on top we had a nice plateau before a fast descent into Leakey (pronounced Lake-er).

Leakey is the home town of our friend from 2020 Pastor/Coach Ray Miller. He let us stay in his driveway patio are in Langtry, TX in 2020. We were hoping to look him up in Leakey but “Peter” told us he was in Langtry. Sorry to have missed him. See blog post Day 26 from 2020. There’s photo of Ray and our patio camp.

Since dinner tonite is at the campground. Freeze dried goodness, we decided to eat lunch at a cafe in Leakey. Delicious simple tacos.

Next we had 18 miles to the camp at the Natural Area. (Run by Texas State Parks). 2 more BIG hills to climb. Temps today were much cooler ( guessing high 70’s). Wind kept us cooler and we had plenty of water!! Both these climbs were “hike a bike” too!

So it was a long day with wind and walking but not as exhausting as the heat and dehydration yesterday. For those of you that think Texas is all flat, I can assure that this area is anything but flat. Very beautiful but also very dry this year. Wildflowers are not plentiful unfortunately.

On a side note. Not having any riding time in preseason there are a couple of important items one should never leave home without. It takes a few weeks to literally get calluses on your sits bones. Until then some kind of chamois butter makes everything “down there” happier. Don’t forget to reapply at lunchtime or often. And, alas if you get a “hot spot” there’s First Aid Liquid Bandage you can paint on the “affected” spot! Details, details…. keeps every rider going day in and day out.