TRAIL ANGELS

There are people along the Appalachian Trail (AT) who help thru-hikers: bringing fresh fruit or cold drinks or cooking hot dogs and hamburgers at trail heads or driving people into town to shop. They are called Trail Angels and every hiker has one or several stories of being helped along their way by these wonderful folks. 

Bruce & Claudia were my Cycling Angel's. A days ride outside of Austin my phone rang, Bruce Porter, a volunteer with Adventure Cycling who lays out the cycling route in his area, attempts to meet cyclists doing the Southern Tier to get a sense of their ride and, I expect, to make them feel welcomed. Bruce and I went out for a drink in the evening and talked about cycling and life in general. He is a smart interesting guy and easy to talk with. Bruce invited me to stay with he and Claudia, his wife, when I got to Austin. I was working out how and when to leave my ride to get to Eugene and Seattle for a few of weeks and was uncertain of when to leave and return and how to travel. 

Over a dinner with good conversation and much laughter I met Bruce and Claudia's daughter, Melissa--who looks so young I actually thought she was the older sister of her teenage son Caden--and Lucie her young daughter. I'm certain Bruce & Claudia invited me to stay in their lovely home for one night, but I ended up staying five as I looked around Austin and figured out how to travel north. They could not have been more gracious and helpful: the very definition of Trail Angels. I am grateful for their kindness and their friendship. 

This is the coolest outhouse I have ever seen. It was along a bike trail in Austin. 

A PAUSE IN THE RIDE

I have stopped my ride until around the 2nd of Dec when I expect to resume from Austin to Saint Augustine. I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Mark 

MAP UPDATE

The map has been updated. -- Isaac

AUSTIN, DAY ONE: 11.14.17

A nice day riding my bike around parts of Austin without my bags.  Did some work, got my bike fixed, set up an interview with a builder I know from EOB. I rode seven miles into town and back out again,  enough to keep me limber while allowing my body to rest a bit too.  

I think this is a statue of Saint Frances, it is a small grotto along a bike path into town. 

The State Capital building,
the photo does not do it justice.
It is a beautiful building. 

Looking toward downtown Austin from the State Capital grounds. 

A very good bike shop in Austin. They figured out why my gears were skipping and replaced the rear brake pads. 

A clash of canoes sculpture on the U of Texas at Austin grounds.

INTO AUSTIN, 11.13.17

Since I was unable to get photos of deer I thought this would do instead. 

On the bike trail coming into Austin. 

The bike trail goes under a main bridge and this was my first few of downtown Austin. 

The name of the local Austin High School's team made me laugh.
What exactly is a 'mighty maroon'?  

FREDERICKBURG to JOHNSON CITY, 11.12.17

A good ride--around 37 miles--rolling hills, a light rain in the morning, gorgeous county with lots of animals: seven deer, a flock of huge turkeys, a couple of armadillos (I tried but could not get a photo of these guys), William the turtle (see below), squirrels, cattle, goats, lama, hawks, horses, and more horned exotic animals behind high fences. 

I'm trying to decide where to fly out of to get to Eugene/Seattle on the 21st or 22nd of Nov. I had planned on leaving from Austin but I will arrive there tomorrow, much faster than expected. I'm now thinking that I will spend a couple of days in Austin to rest and then keep going and fly out of Huston. We'll see, I still need to work out the details. 

It has been cloudy for six or seven days--although without much rain--but having intentionally traveled to sunny climates for several years now I am used to seeing the sun. I miss it.   

This is William, I met him while he was trying to cross the road.
He was not open and friendly but I helped him across anyway and
he walked off safely into the high grass. 

William's hat. 

Crossing the river that borders Johnson City, the home of Lyndon Johnson.

 

KERRVILLE TO FREDERICKSBURG, TX, a few photos

Someone took a photo of me and put it on a T-shirt! 

This and the following photo are of a room in a store in Fredericksburg with nothing but hot sauces.
I thought Isaac & Justine would like this room the best. 

This store makes hundreds of sauces, salsas, jams, and dips and they provide crackers and samples of each one.
I tried perhaps twenty of them and they were great! 

I have no idea what this means. 

Lousy photo, but these are the first long horns that I have seen. 

This was at someones gate. 

This cow stood just long enough for me to take the photo and then it ran away. 

TX HILL COUNTRY

Tough riding for the past few day, but beautiful country and great fun on the long down hills. I rode with Michael, or perhaps I should say tried to keep up with Michael, for three days. I walked up some of the hills because I simply could not cycle them. By the end of the day I could barely get up small hills, but I made it. 

One night Michael and I shared a hotel room in Camp Wood (apparently I still snore) and last night near Vanderpol we camped behind a general store. The only thing to recommend it was that it was that we could stop going up hills. Tonight, Friday, Michael stayed at a Warm Showers outside of Kerrville while I am at a hotel nearby I-10; I needed wifi and a warm bath. 

Not much to report although I do have some photos, in no particular order, along the Texas Hill Country Trail. This road reminds me of VT in the early fall or the Shenandoah Skyline Drive in VA.

  

There are even a few flowers along the way. 

This sign was at the beginning of
the trail, to remind you that
the road is narrow and you might die. 

This is Michael Lane (below), a bike messenger from London and my riding champion on and off for a couple of weeks. He is a  strong and relentless cyclist. Also, note his gear, there is not much of it. Michael has politely but repeatedly mentioned that I'm carrying too much weight on my bike. And he is right. I thought that my hiking experience would help in this area, it did not. So I'm trying to cut my gear weight. 

A few people have commented on my choice of a mountain bike for this ride--one might even say lightly ridiculed--but here's the thing, Michael and one other guy I met riding road bikes have each gotten over 20 flat tires: Michael in about a month and the other guy over a period of three months. I have not had a flat yet and I ride where I want. I'll take my bike any day, just with less weight. 

In honor of Michael, apparently, the town of Ingram put up a full scale
Stone Hedge reproduction at the local art center.  

Cowboy boots on every fence post on both sides of the road for half a mile or so. 

There are many "game reserves" along this trail. They are easy to pick
out because they have high fences and contain huge acreage--perhaps thousands
of acres each. I saw--but was not fast enough to photograph--many deer and a few of what
I can only describe as a small Ibex. One reserve had a small herd of them hanging out by the road.