Terry and Royce's Grand Adventures

Dripping Springs TX to Cedar Creek TX May 10, 2015 50 miles It would have been easy to wake up this morning in Austin,  take today off and ride to Cedar Creek on Monday. I wanted to get through Austin on a nice quiet Sunday morning. Waiting for a day would have put me in Monday traffic and Severe Thunderstorms were forecasted for Monday. We got up early drove to Dripping Springs where Royce dropped me and I started pedaling. Royce  headed for Cedar Creek, where he would get on his bike and ride toward me.It was a nice morning and the traffic was light. The wind was shifting between my side and back. I like that kind of wind. Before I knew it, I was on the outskirts of Austin. My route took me through several housing developments. People were out jogging,cycling and walking their dogs. I waved to everyone as I went by, acting like a local Texan. This is another advantage of touring supported. I do not stand out as the touring cyclist and I can move a little faster if I want...

Kerrville TX to Dripping Springs TX May 9 ,2015 75 miles The maneuvering of routes and lodging actually ended up putting us closer to our rest day city of Austin. Since we could not camp at Pedernales State Park as we had planned, we decided to ride to Dripping Springs TX. The only problem was, Dripping Springs had very limited lodging and none available for this day. Dripping Springs is only about 30 miles from Austin. Royce suggested that we just pick up in Dripping Springs, drive to Austin and then come back the next day to ride from Dripping Springs to Cedar Creek (below Austin). It all sound kinda crazy, but for various reasons this is what we were having to do. I wanted to ride into Austin, which would be 105 mile ride. My ability to make that ride would be dependent on the weather, on this day the wind would be the deciding factor. I rode on Hwy 290 for the entire route. This was not necessarily the most scenic route, but we were having to resort to efficiency at this point....

Camp Wood TX to Kerrville TX May 8, 2015 62 miles We had liked our BBQ dinner last night that we decided Royce would wait until they open at 11 am and get some ribs for lunch, dinner, snacking or whatever. The BBQ spot only had certain meats available on certain days. Last night we could get chicken, but no ribs. On Friday you can get ribs but no chicken. Royce started out riding with me in the morning in the drizzly rain. He turned back at the top of the summit on our way to Leaky. He would catch up to me later with ribs for lunch. The ride into Leaky was wet, but pretty. I had altered my original route due to the weather we had been experiencing. I used google maps which was not the routing I had been using. I had been using Adventure Cycling's standard Southern Tier Route. This route at times takes some out and about routes that assume you make like the road or scenery better. One thing about their routes is they are tried and true. Google maps are not so much tried and true...

Taking our second day off since the start of our ride. Raining really hard here in Austin so we are lucky we are not riding. Terry is doing a fantastic job. I have been getting quite a bit of bike riding in between moving the car and all of the other jobs that come with this adventure. We are having a great time. This is a huge state with lots of raw open country. Today I want to thank my feet for all of the support they give me. They are the most under rated and under appreciated part of our anatomy. They just keep on ticking and take a huge licking. What incredible structures they are and will serve us well if we tend to them periodically. Lots of errands to be handled today before we trek out tomorrow. Funny how little things keep adding up that need to be handled. We both really appreciate all of the support we get from our family and friends. Thanks!!!! Rainy Rest Day As Royce as stated, there are many things to be done daily just to keep our wheels turning. We are ...

May 7, 2015 80 miles We have spent the last three days carefully monitoring weather for our projected destinations. We had planned on camping a lot through Texas. Now with Severe Lightning Storms and Tornadoes forecast we  had to alter our plans to staying in motels. This meant altering our routes as lodging can be sparse along our route. Texas has a lot of ranches. The waitress in Sanderson had told us that when the subsidies for raising cattle went away, most of the cattle ranchers could not make a living anymore. Yummy BBQ Texas has Prong's on their Rivers, most states have Forks??  Their solution was to take their lands and turn them into private game hunting reserves. I started seeing these on this ride. It is amazing the see   how many ranches are out there. Of course there is a whole lot of land in Texas. Riding in the rain has just become a part of the program and those bumpy roads have not gone away...yet. We did find a really good BBQ.

Langtry to Del Rio May 6, 2015 66 miles We left our little safe haven in Sanderson early in the morning so that Royce could drop me off near Langtry. It seems kind of silly to have to do the driving that we did. The constant storm track that was over the area had left us no other choice than to alter our original plans. These options were all things we had calculated into our trip planning. I was hoping the wind would not greet me so early in the morning. I knew that my friend the bumpy pavement would be there and there was my friend the wind already blowing with vigor at 7 am. Oh well off  I pedaled. I was looking forward to Seminole Canyon and Amistad Lake. There was a drizzling fog over the area that made it difficult to a lot of the sights, but I did get to see plenty of nice sights. I thought it was interesting that I was riding to Del Rio in the fog. It reminded me of my bike rides on the North Coast of California to a community there called Rio Dell. I never really thoug...

Sanderson TX to some where near Langtry TX May 5, 2015 52 miles Lightning storms, some severe have been predicted for the next several days. We are fortunate to be doing a supported ride, having the car to bail us out if needed. Yesterday we decided to stay two nights in Sanderson, as the next Motel was 90 miles and with the weather we felt it could be difficult to make before bad weather hit again. Not wanting to waste the day, we decided to take a little bite out of the next day. I rode 52 miles, just short of the town of Langtry. I was happy to have the short ride as the wind was still strong. Additionally the road surface I had ridden on for the last 8 miles of the ride was very rough. It was a new surface that looks like tar with 3/4 inch rock thrown on top. Texas Road Surface...Not biker friendly Langtry is not really much of a town, it might have a population of 50 people. It did have a really nice museum. It was the Judge Roy Bean Museum and it also had a cactus g...