Like Moses ... (April 16, 2015)

After what seemed like an eternity of traveling through Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas, I have finally emerged from the desert.  Not being remotely close to being a Biblical scholar, I am hoping that reference is correct ... I had initially thought "40 days and 40 nights", but I think that is Noah's story.

Upon leaving Del Rio (former home of Wolfman Jack and the 500,000 watt AM radio broadcasts heard as far north as Chicago and far reaching both east and west back in the late 1950's ... rock 'n' roll!!!), the desert was left behind.  What had been brown and hot turned to green and over-cast cool.  Had a short ride (34 miles) to Brackettville/Fort Clark and ended up camping at the Fort Clark RV/Tent area.  Much to my joy, there were three other touring cyclist sharing the tent area.   Nick and Greg are long-time friends who are from Colorado, and Ian, who is from Las Vegas, is riding solo.  Nick is riding coast-to-coast, and Greg drove down for twelve days of riding (he would drive to the next over-night town, then ride his bike back and join Nick).  It was a true joy to share the campground with these three fellow cyclist.

The next three days included riding to Uvalde (42 miles), Hondo (43 miles) and Kerrville (56 miles).  The first two days of this leg were on fairly straight and flat roads ... and just enough of a headwind to remind one that one did not have a tailwind.  The ride up to Kerrville was the entry into the Hill Country that dominates the areas around Austin.  The adjacent picture gives an idea of the beauty of this area ... the riding has been a delight since leaving Hondo for Kerrville.

A word about the term "Hill Country" ... when phrases such as this are used to describe terrain one can deduce what one is getting into.  Example:  if you are heading to a town by the name of "Mountain Top", you can put all your cash into a bet that you are probably going to be climbing for a while.  Same with "Hill Country" (actually should be called "Hills Country") ... lots of short/steep climbs followed by exhilarating short/steep descents.  Beautiful country with a wonderful palette of yellow, blue and rust-colored wildflowers against the green grasslands.  I have been repeatedly told I have arrived at a time of flowers and green grasslands ... I am indeed a lucky traveler.

I met up with Nick and Greg in Kerrville, and was fortunate in that they invited me to join them for dinner.  Most often when this occurs when touring, one is limited as to distance to eateries.  In this case, we piled into Greg's truck and drove a great distance to a nice restaurant overlooking a beautiful river.  Good (new) friends, good views, so-so food and good beer made for a most excellent evening (not to mention riding in a vehicle with wide/soft seats!!).  Good time.

The next day I rode the 54 miles to the home town of LBJ ... oddly enough the town goes by the name of Johnson City.  Another beautiful ride.  The high-point of getting to Johnson City was greeting a smiling Kim, who had spent the day riding out from Austin.  I met Kim three summers ago on the cross-country ride from Oregon to Maryland.  The following year we then met in Minneapolis, and rode up into Canada and back to Bar Harbor, Maine.

We spent the evening enjoying a surprisingly good dinner and a not-so-surprising very enjoyable conversation.  There is a lot to be said for sharing time with (old) friends.

The next day (yesterday), we rode the 44 miles to Austin on some incredibly beautiful back roads, which, as it turns out, are also incredibly steep.  Painful as it was for me, it was a joy to be riding with Kim again.  Today I am enjoying a rest day at Kim's house, and have received a tour of Austin.  Impressive city.

On a side note, Kim is leaving next week to hike the Camino de Santiago 450 mile trail in Spain.  She had asked me to join her and her sister for this trek ... but, frankly, I ain't that crazy!

So tomorrow I head on toward Florida  and should be getting to the Atlantic Ocean around May 20 ... but unlike Moses, I don't think I will attempt to part the sea.