There’s a Cheer Over Bourbon Street Tonight!

The day started with a super bowl of frosted wheat, and ended with a Super Bowl. Yes, it’s that time of year again, and we were most excited thinking that at the end of our ride today, we would be watching our new team, the N’Awlins Saints, play the first Super Bowl in their history. But that’s getting a little ahead of ourselves.

The riding day actually started with a super-killer hill. Over 4 miles of relentless climbing, we ascended around 700ft into the clouds, winding round switchbacks, and found ourselves at just under 2,500 ft. It brought back memories of the night before, as we were finishing our bottle of wine in the Frio Canyon Lodge and chatting to the owners. Without a hint of a smile, they said “you’ll regret that bottle of wine in the morning”. Well, they were almost right. We can’t pretend that the climb wasn’t tough, but it could have been a lot worse. Once we had cracked it, we had pretty much finished our serious climbing for the day. The road turned into a mini roller-coaster and we were up and down and up and down. Yee-ha. And then, before we knew it, we were in Camp Wood, the only point of civilisation on our route today, enjoying a French Vanilla coffee, before setting off again to complete the remaining 50 miles of our ride.

A word about the road surface today: the word is Boneshaker. For the short stretches where we either crossed a bridge, or some roadworks had led to a small stretch of re-tarmaccing, anyone within earshot would have heard us let out a loud contented sigh The rest of the time, poor old Trusty and Steed were shaken to within an inch of their lives. However, we can’t really complain. Although Evil Edwin made more than a cameo appearance, perhaps closer to a supporting actor’s role, for most of the ride, we had a fair side wind and even a tail wind at times. Also, after the big climb, it was nearly all downhill. Even allowing for Audrey and Margaret taking us to completely the wrong end of town, and giving a few minutes for Anthony to save a goat that had got its head stuck in a fence…yes, you did read that right … we completed our 71 miles by mid-afternoon. Plenty of time to get showered, pick up a couple of chicken burgers, and settle down to the Super Bowl.

No internet access tonight so, by the time we post this tomorrow, we’ll know the score. All we can say for now is, WHODAT?

Us x

P.S. GO SAINTS!!!!! Super Bowl XLIV winners.

Lazing in Leakey

“Stop the Press” A rest day without doing laundry? We’re not complaining. Yesterday was sooo gut-bustingly difficult we just had to chill all day today. How those Tour de France guys do what they do is just unbelievable. And before any of you purists start mumbling under your breath in mockery of our comparison to the Gods of Cycling, you may want to know that yesterday’s cycling route was often used by the one and only Louis no sorry Neil no we mean Lance Armstrong for training and is still commonly used by USA Pro cyclists…so there.

Waking up at 11am (well it is the weekend) to more sunny and warm Texas weather, we promptly went back to sleep. We did, however, manage to do some productive things purely for the benefit of our loyal Followers! When you click on the Epic Journey map, you will now find a new and improved Photo Gallery. No longer will you have to scroll through lots of previously seen photos to view the latest additions, but now simply click the map and then select the state that interests you most… and enjoy.

Before we sign off… big thanks to the owners of Frio Canyon Lodge, Leakey, TX for making our stay great.

Us x

Kings of Hill

It’s 9:30pm, we’ve just polished off some well earned fried chicken for dinner and are now relaxing in our room ready to ‘turn in’ for the day. And what a day today has been; a ‘real deal’ of a workout. It all started with our usual best efforts to make the ride ahead as difficult as possible by getting on the road 1hr and 15mins behind schedule after visiting the bike shop to pick up our spare tyres. On most days, an 11:15am start would not be a major problem, but today we were heading North West for 68+ miles against a WNW 10mph wind. Throw in several “Category 2” hill climbs reaching over 2383ft (that’s pedalling uphill for 3518ft in total), bringing our average speed down to sub 12mph…do the math. The harsh reality was that we were going to arrive at our destination after 6pm.

Faced with the prospect of endless hills, relentless head winds and cycling into the early evening, we focused on the positive stuff… the sun was bright, it wasn’t raining and it was warm. Better still, as we got into the hills and valleys of Kerr, Bandera and Real Counties, the scenery was breathtakingly stunning (check out photos). And, of course, after each killer ascent in a series of rolling hills, there will be a ‘flies stuck in your teeth’ descent; and at precisely 5hrs and 17mins into the ride we broke our maximum speed record, reaching and maintaining 44.4mph for all of 7 seconds…yee-ha! travelling at high speed on a bicycle without protective clothing can be dangerous and should not be condoned.

Despite the very tough day, we had a great time and are now ready to make the most of tomorrow’s rest day.

Us x

It's Raining Again...

We woke this morning in the cosiest room you can think of. The Meyer B&B in Comfort, TX certainly lived up to what you might expect of a B&B in a town with this name… The breakfast, cooked by Simone, and served in a large, airy, stylish yet traditional-looking room overlooking Cypress Creek was also truly divine. So it was a real shame when we had to get on our bikes and hit the road…especially as the forecast “light showers” turned into full-on torrential downpour about 45 minutes into the ride. Soggy indeed.

Still, it was only a short hop today; 21 miles into Kerrville, TX. It was supposed to be a little further but, finding a large “Road Closed” sign at our first turn (more rivers running across the roads we suspect), we happily stuck to the main highway, which was premier cru smooth, with a gentle gradient and a LeBron shoulder. We almost didn’t notice that we had climbed to over 1745 ft!

The idea of our short day was to make plenty of time for a few organisational things we needed to get done before we head out towards the wilds of West Texas. We managed to get a couple of loads of laundry done, routes and accommodation sorted and most important of all, a trip to the Drs for Trusty and Steed…

We were relieved to find a wonderful bike shop in Kerrville: Hill Country Bicycle Works, run by Adam and Lisa Salladin who decided to open a bike shop in Kerrville after stopping there on the way back to San Francisco after completing a 3-year, 30,000 mile bike trip all around the world. Hmm..food for thought. Anyway, Adam soon sorted out Trusty and Steed, including fitting them both with new chains, and correcting a few other problems, which we hope, will mean a much smoother ride for a while. We enjoyed chatting with Adam, and Kat was thrilled to find two cats on the premises, one of which was happy to sit and have his head and chin scratched continuously for about an hour and a half…

Some major hills tomorrow, and a 68-mile trip North West (against a NW wind…typical) into the middle of nowhere, and then a rest day. We’re not sure if we’ll have internet access, so don’t miss us too much if you don’t get another blog until Sunday (or even Monday).

Us x

Many Rivers To Cross

Time was short again this morning. Woken by the sound of rain drops the size of golf balls hitting the roof of our B&B, we decided to try and ‘sleep out’ the storm… 2 hours later… it dawned on us that we had to complete 65+ miles of 2600ft hill climbing. So, rather than opt for the time consuming routine of having breakfast, we scoffed a few CLIFF and MOJO energy bars in our room for breakfast, covered ourselves from head to toe in wet weather gear and set out. The first stage of the ride was very wet. At one point we were confronted by a very fast and deep running river billowing over the road that was meant to deliver us safely to our next destination. Queuing (waiting in line) behind several cars as each driver considered whether it was worth the risk to go for it and potentially end up stranded in the river below the road, Kat was conferring with one of the motorists about alternative routes. When she looked up to consult Anthony, he was already half way across the flood with water up to his pedals… all the cars then followed suit realising it was safe to cross!

Arriving slowly into Blanco, cold and wet and having gone without a proper breakfast, we were ready to eat. Anxiously turning our heads from side to side scanning the High Street hoping to find a warm and friendly place to tuck into some hot and hearty home-cooked food, the pained looks on our faces were obvious as we passed Burger joints and Pizza Pasta parlours quickly becoming disheartened at the prospect of yet another additive packed fast food lunch. All of a sudden we heard: “Hey guys, come grab something to eat over here”, it was Bobby our saviour, “you’re gonna love this place, they serve the best lemon meringue pies in Texas” (no offence to Royers of Round Top). That’s all we needed to hear and promptly turned our bikes around and cycled toward the source of this welcome calling. We dismounted Trusty and Steed, parked them against the wall of Blanco Bowling Club and sat down at a table where we were immediately fed with Coffees, Tortilla soup and Carne Guisada… just what the doctor ordered. Did we forget to mentioned the LEMON MERINGUE PIE, check out the photo, it was amazing … sorry for not saving you any Susie Bean, we know it’s your favourite dessert.

The rain was still causing mini tsunamis to run down the streets of Blanco and Kendall county, but we still had 38 miles to go and 1000’s of ft to ascend, so with soggy wet helmets and freezing gloves back on, we said “adiós y’all” to Bobby and the Blanco Bowling Club and set off for Round 2 of ‘rain in ya face’ and ‘wind in ya rear’ (yes we finally had a tail wind today). And what a round it was! Killer hill climbs, many more flood rivers crossing the road ahead and fast descents into countless Creeks: Onion Creek, Curry Creek, Holiday Creek, Jacobs Creek and Mespokes Creek were some of the scariest.

There are several elements that make for the perfect cycling experience: wind, road surface, traffic, rain, elevation, lane width and temperature. It’s very rare that all the elements will balance to maximise cycling perfection (CP). More often than not the ‘God of Cycling’ will know when one element is in your favour and control the others to prevent CP. In our case, max’ing out at 1650ft of hill climbing whilst traversing across very scary flood rivers in the torrential rain, with no bike lane on a pretty rough road surface in the freezing cold somehow outweighed the tail wind and minimal traffic.

It was a tough ride today, but we made it, all 65 miles. Problem is we had Mexican food for dinner tonight as well as for lunch, so despite the fact that evil ‘Edwin’ is forecast to return tomorrow, it’s still likely we are going to have a tailwind.

Us x

We’re on our way to Wim-ber-ley…

…our legs have gone all trembly, la la la, lah… Apologies to our US followers to whom this will mean nothing. Suffice to say it’s a soccer chant.

Anyway…it was back to reality for us today…well, the type of reality to which we have become accustomed over the last 100 or so days. It was a real struggle to tear ourselves away from the amazing Driskill Hotel. So much so, that it was 12.45 pm by the time we rolled out of Austin for our 40-mile hop to Wimberley, TX. Hardly an Alpine start … but let us explain.

We decided last night we would order ourselves a healthy continental breakfast to be delivered to the room around 8.15am, by which time, we imagined, we would be showered and dressed, ready to eat and stretch before hitting the road. OK, so the knock on the door at 8.15am woke us up! Not quite as planned. However, we picked up the pace and by around 10.30am we were pretty much ready to go. Having been advised by the bike shop to “pick over our tyres” regularly for bits of glass etc that might cause punctures, we decided that we had better carry out this task before leaving the bike shop Mecca that is Austin. Rather like a couple of monkeys picking fleas off each other, we hovered over Trusty and Steed and marvelled at the number of bits and pieces we were finding stuck in the treads. Perhaps not surprisingly, as we pulled out a particularly large and sharp piece of stone, we heard that familiar hiss that all cyclists hate to hear. Yes, Steed had a puncture. Needless to say, it was around noon by the time we left the hotel and, by the time we had taken a couple of photos of the Capitol Building and run a couple of errands it was 12.45pm…oh well.

We felt good, though, as we pedalled off. Anthony looked rather splendid in his new WWF-style bib shorts (only Kat gets to see the bib bit), and Kat in her new “Sugar Pants” – long shorts that stop just below the knees…some might know these as “pedal-pushers” but that would just be a bit too accurate to sound cool. Kat was also ecstatic to be wearing a rather flash new pair of Oakleys. Having kicked her old pair around the parking lot and scuffed them against the wall as many times as possible in the last few days, she proudly presented them to Anthony and declared that they were “not the sort of thing a lady in her 40s should be required to wear”. Bingo…new shades.

It seemed like a ridiculously short ride, despite the fact that we climbed to over 1100 ft, probably because there was absolutely no wind at all. We suspect that it was also very beautiful, although it was so cloudy it was impossible to tell! So, tonight, we are staying at the lovely Wimberley Inn and are reliably informed that it will start raining overnight and not stop until Friday. Tomorrow will therefore be a soggy 65-mile day over the hills and far away!

Talking of which, we should give you the news that you have all been waiting for... what did Punxsutawney Phil, our cuddly Groundhog, have to say for himself at Gobbler's Knob this morning? Phil proclaimed "As the sky shines bright above me, my shadow I see beside me. So six more weeks of winter it will be." We'll see, Phil, we'll see...

Us x

Ground Hog Day III (Revenge of the Honey Badger)

Yesterday evening, or morning depending on where you are in the world, we left you safe in the knowledge that Anthony was just about to take Birthday Princess Kat out for a celebratory dinner at Uchi, a very chic restaurant aptly located in a refurbished old Austonian home… the Japanese word “Uchi” means house. Tyson Cole, the sushi master and executive chef, is a true genius whose preference to use a magic wand rather than the traditional Yanagiba became clear when our waiter presented us with what could only be described as “the best sushi ever… EVER”. Luxuriating in this culinary paradise, we gorged ourselves stupid and, to make sure each and every flavour and texture was savoured, we washed it all down with a bottle of the finest Sake… and of course followed it up with a divine dessert!

Needless to say, we had a late start this morning! With plenty of things to do but still not ready to let go of yesterday’s monumental celebrations, we chilled out for most of the morning recovering from last night’s eating extravaganza. Eventually removing ourselves from the comfort of bed, we set about our rest-day traditions of doing Laundry and stocking up with biking essentials. Speaking of traditions… did you know that according to German tradition, if the sun comes out on Candlemas (that’s today) the hedgehog or badger will see its shadow and six more weeks of winter will follow. When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they continued this tradition, using groundhogs instead of hedgehogs to predict the weather. The first official Groundhog Day was celebrated on February 2, 1886 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The legendary first Groundhog Day trip to Gobbler's Knob was made the following year by a group of spirited groundhog hunters who dubbed themselves "The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club”… pause… paaaaussse… pause… holy mother of Mary, who thought of the name “GOBBLERS KNOB?” Maybe it was the same people who thought of naming a place in Colorado, “CRIPPLE CREEK” (yes, we’ve been watching a bit of the pre-winter Olympics activity on the TV).

So, after our wonderful break at the Driskill Hotel (the crown jewel of Austin, built in 1886), we are back on the road tomorrow to complete another 200-mile stint until our next rest day. Oh, and the small matter of climbing up to 2,500ft. And we’ll be waiting with baited to breath to see what this year’s Groundhog has to tell us.

Us x