Terry and Royce's Grand Adventures

New Waverly TX to Kountze TX May 14, 2015 84.7 Miles Today was the first day in many days that we felt like we could ride with little concern of getting rained on. A chance of thunderstorms and rain was predicted, but the rainfall if any would be minimal. As such Royce got to start with me in the morning and rode with me for 25 miles out to Cold Springs. The change in the environment and humidity levels were a sure sign that we are getting closer to Louisiana. The areas we rode through had gotten significant amounts of rainfall from the storms over the last 7 days. It was apparent everywhere you looked creeks and rivers were running high. Roadsides had standing water that looked like small ponds. The closer I got to Kountze the lushier the vegetation became. Royce caught back up to me with the car at about the 65 mile mark. We had lunch and then he headed for Kountze to get our lodging taken care of. Unfortunately somewhere along the way the car had picked up a small screw in the ...

Brenham TX to New Waverly TX May 13, 2015 69.7 Miles This was a nice ride through the smaller communities of Navasota and Anderson. The crown jewel of the ride was going through the Sam Houston National Forest. Since riding in what is known as the "Hill Country" of Texas (mostly areas west of Austin) there has not been many trees or greenery. Today the vegetation became much more lush and green. Both the towns of Navasota and Anderson were small and had lots of charter. I really enjoyed riding through the forest. It was such a visual change from all the areas I have rode through. Royce and I have been watching the Tour of California Bicycle Race. We noticed that when a rider has a mechanical problem they are allowed to draft off of the team support car for some period of time. I thought that was really cool. Royce joked that we should do that on the ride. In the middle of Sam Houston National Forest with no one in sight Royce had passed me in the car, then he slowed down...

Cedar Creek TX to Brenham TX May 12,2015 66 miles Against all odds we set out for Brenham TX today. The forecast for rain was not promising, but we had decided that if it was not raining when we woke up, we would be gone. The ride  was rain free for 25 miles. At that point it started coming down. It wasted no time transitioning into a heavy steady rain. Royce did not ride today, because we knew at any moment he would need to provide me shelter. At 30 miles Royce picked me up before I became absolutely drenched. We went into  La Grange where we were hoping we might find a cafe for breakfast. We passed up what turned out to be the only cafe open for breakfast in hopes the downtown area would have plenty of options. Well, it did not. We did find a internet cafe that had great espresso. This worked just as well and was the first time Royce and I got to enjoy a cup of espresso together since the start of our adventure. LaGrange was a great little town. Not long after finishing ...

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 ...