It was another 6:30 alarm morning today.  With a hotel stay, there's less packing to do and we were ready to find breakfast by 7:00.  Now it's still too dark to be properly on the road at that hour, so we put on headlights, and set all of our rear blinkers on, and headed the quarter mile to the nearest local breakfast spot.  That happened to be a tiny breakfast nook in what looked to be an old gas station.  But breakfast tacos and pastries were advertised, so we ventured in.

The place was a one woman show.  The grandmother behind the counter took our orders for 2 tacos each and then turned to the small home-style kitchen to prepare our breakfast from scratch.   Other customers who arrived while she was cooking waited patiently for her to return to the counter to take their orders.  You had to expect that with such a patient customer base the food had to be good, and we weren't disappointed.

One of the waiting customers noticed the Des Moines Register logo printed on my RAGBRAI jersey and asked if we were from Iowa.  Turns out as a child,  she went to school in Corwith/Wesley  IA where Barb's husband Ron had been superintendent for a four years.  Small world.

We got on the road about 8 under cloudy skies with moderate temperatures and the flags flying favorably. We actually risked jinxing the favorable flags by taking a photo of them.  There are a few hard core doubters out there who have ridden with me, and we decided proof positive might be worth the chance that taking a photo would change our good fortune.  We'd like to provide evidence,  but tonight we are again in a Verizon dead  zone and alas the photo is on Barb's phone, unavailable.  You'll just have to take my word for it, again.

We rode 32 service less miles into Del Rio, and then found lunch at Rudy's BBQ.  It may have just been coincidental that shortly after we arrived, no fewer than five Border Patrol agents showed up.   But we prefer to believe that were just checking on us.

This afternoon the skies cleared and the 30 miles of steady climbing through the Amistad National Recreation area  to Comstock following US 90 were warm ones.  We drank water constantly from our packs, and occasionally stopped to provide relief for hands and feet.

We cruised through the Border Patrol check station a few miles outside Comstock with just a cursory affirmation that we were American citizens, knowing that the officers already knew who we were and had been expecting us.

It was well into the 90's when we arrived in Comstock,  so we've chosen to stay at the motel in town, which happens to be next to a Border Patrol headquarters.   We are trying to cooperate.

Supper was burgers and fries at the J and P Bar and Grill,  where we spent an hour doing one of the most rewarding activities on our adventure,  talking with locals.

We have a short day planned for tomorrow into Langtry to visit Judge Roy Bean's haunts, then onto Sanderson on Wednesday, all following US 90.

Today started with a very relaxed breakfast in the company and the gracious hospitality of our warmshowers host, Alice Rogers.  As the sun is rising later each morning, Barb and I had agreed we could delay our waking alarm by 30 minutes to 6:30.

By the time we emerged, dressed and packed, Alice was already up with coffee brewing and breakfast preparations underway.  We chatted genially while sipping good coffee as Alice fried bacon, delicious homemade Axis deer sausage, and a dressed-up batch of scrambled eggs.   Over breakfast we heard about some of her adventures canoeing the Rio Grande in the Big Bend wilderness,  discussed birds at her feeders, hunting doves in Texas,  and just generally having fun.  Alice is wonderful and entertaining,  and with 40 service-less miles ahead of us, we weren't in any hurry to leave the comfort and warmth of her home.

I think it was about 8:30 when thanked her and she wished us well in our adventure, but frankly we weren't watching the time.  The sun  was up, the temperatures cool and were were entranced with the beauty of the  sunshine on the west Texas hills.

The morning turned into a nature ride.  Alice had said that the countryside would always show us something, if we were simply observant.  There were small purple and red wildflowers blossoming in the grass along the road.  Birds seemed to be every where.  We spotted American kestrels, caracaras, scissor-tailed flycatchers, a Bewick's wren, and immature golden eagles in the span of an hour.

Traffic was light, and our only hindrance was the rough surface of the road.  Many of the west Texas roads have been surface treated with a tar and half-inch rock coating that is probably advantageous for the varied weather here, but is less than ideal for a riding surface.  We typically take breaks to relieve numb hands and tired butts about every 5-10 miles.

Shortly after one such break, a US Border Patrol vehicle approached from before us and slowed to a stop to chat.  How were we doing? Fine.  Need water? No, we have plenty.  Where are you heading?  Brackettville next, San Diego eventually.  Where are you staying?  Hotels, RV parks and camping sites, some homes.  Are you packing heat?  No, just trying to be observant and stay safe.  Well, please don't just camp beside the road here in between towns, and please don't camp under the bridges. No, sir.  We'll only stay in established sites.   OK, have a great trip.  Then he was off on patrol.  We're pretty sure that border patrol agents for the next hundred miles have been alerted of our presence on the road, and will be there trying to assures us safe passage.  We appreciate their inquiries and concern, and will do everything we can to make everyone's  life easy.

We arrived in Brackettville about 12:30, and by the time we picked up more gatorade and supplies, and had eaten lunch at a local restaurant it was almost 2 pm.  We have 32 no-service miles ahead of us and decided to call it a day.

So tonight we're staying at the Fort Clark hotel, in what we're sure are remodeled historic barracks of a fort established in 1852.

Tomorrow we'll be up and heading west on US 90.  We plan on being at an RV park just west of Comstock tomorrow.

They don't call it an adventure for nothing.

The theme for today seemed to be Texas hospitality.   I've refrained from 'messing' with Texas and today the state and its inhabitants showed how gracious they can be.

First, we woke up to delightfully cool temperatures.  The folks at Lala's Mexican restaurant,  where we were directed to have breakfast, said the overnight low was 49F.  Barb even pulled on her long sleeves to start the day.  We were treated to a beautiful sunrise over the hills that were so challenging to climb yesterday.

The folks at Lala's served up a great breakfast with multiple refills on coffee.  They serve traditional Mexican fare,  but the folks at the Hog Pen had highly recommended the pancakes, so we each had a pancake with two eggs and a side of ham or sausage.  It was delicious.

Leaving Leakey, the road rose only very gradually, letting us warm up our legs before the real climb started.  When climbing in earnest began it was at a slightly lower grade than yesterday's climbs, and while we stopped occasionally for photos and to catch our breath, we never felt the need to dismount and begin push the bikes.  The grade gradually increased, but whether it as Lala's pancakes, the cool temps, the easy warm up, or just a combined effect, we summitted without ever having to push the bikes.  I went back this afternoon and checkeded grades and we were actually pedaling up sections with a 14% grade. So we're proud of ourselves tonight and feeling satisfied.

After such a climb,  the following downhill is often a steep descent that has you squeezing the break levers to maintain control of your speed.  But today after a short steep section, the downhill grade lessened and we were treated to a long gradual descent that brought us close to Camp Wood.

At Camp Wood we decided to stop for a brief bite to eat,  since we had told Alice Rogers,  our warmshowers host in Montell that we'd probably arrive about 2 pm.  So we stopped in a local Mexican restaurant and ordered a light lunch.  While we were eating, a party of a couple with their young child and another gentleman sat down to eat at the adjacent table.  They had obviously seen touring cyclists before and struck up a conversation asking the standard questions.   Where are you going? Where did you start? Where do you stay at night?  Which is where things got interesting.   We told them that we were staying with a warmshowers host in Montell.  The older gentleman asked who, and when we said Alice Rogers, the man said to tell her hello from Dennis Berry.  Turns out that they are old acquaintances, though Dennis has spent many years in the Galveston area. Then he wanted to know how many calories we'd burned coming over the day's climb.  As we fumbled for a reasonable answer, he insisted on buying us lunch.   Texas hospitality in fine form.

We said goodbye, and were wished safe travels and started down the road.  We'd gotten only a few miles out of town,  when Jake, the young cyclist we'd last seen the day before we arrived in Austin caught up to us.  He was doing well, and had spent time with his cousin in Austin. He was looking fit, well, and happy.  He relaxed and spent the next 6 miles riding with us until we reached Montell.  His goal was to reach Del Rio today, and had 50 or more miles to cover.  We bid him well, and while we headed for Alice Rogers home, Jake headed down the road.

Alice lives in a lovely remodeled home that her mother had lived in.  You can tell as you pull in the drive that she loves to entertain and have fun with friends.  A patio, shaded by a group of live oaks, occupies much the entry way.  She invited us to sit down and brought us water while we introduced ourselves.  Alice is a registered nurse, serving a local hospital as a Clinical Information Specialist.   But she is fully occupied enjoying life with her many friends.  She gave us a quick tour of her home,  including supper that was leftover beef bourguignon from a dinner party last night.  There are flowers in vases around the kitchen that say Happy Birthday, so we suspect that she interrupted her birthday party to respond to our warmshowers request.  Alice explained that she had plans with friends this afternoon, so she insisted that we make ourselves at home.  Soon her friends arrived and she bid us to enjoy our stay and that she would see us later this evening or tomorrow morning.

Barb and I are now stuffed full of delicious food accompanied with a few glasses of wine and are ready to sleep.

It's been a wonderful day with Texas hospitality on full display.

Don't mess with Texas.   At least that's what the anti-littering signs say.  I didn't understand that it had wider meaning and consequences as well.  So as I stood at the junction of TX 39 and TX 187, I thought friends back home would appreciate seeing what qualified as a 70 mph speed limit road in Texas. TX 187 is a narrow two lane road with warning signs about possible water on the road way,  right next to the speed limit sign.  Nice.  So I snapped my photo to share.  That's when Texas decided to mess with me.  Psssssst flub flub flub.  The unmistakable sounds of a flat just as I remounted my bike.  There stuck in the rear tire was a nice sized sandbur.   We'd been warned, but had not had any trouble until I thought I'd poke a little fun at Texas. Texas has no sense of humor and ways to retaliate.

If you referred to my blog post a few day ago, you're probably aware that we had some big climbs today, besides doing a total of 46 miles.  If the climbs looked big on paper, trust me that they did not disappoint in fact, either.  The first big climb of the day began almost immediately as we left the River Inn resort.

It was blessedly cool this morning after the cold front passed last night.  We didn't get any storms where we were,  though Fredericksburg apparently had thunderstorms.

In the cool morning air, we made the first climb of the day with some effort, then spent the rest of the morning in rolling hills with generally less steep grades.

We stopped at the convenience store outside Vanderpool for lunch.  The girl at the counter just rolled her eyes when we did we were headed for Leakey.  She obviously knew what was waiting for us.

Not half a mile from the convenience store the road rose at a 10 % grade for about a mile.  We work hard enough on such a grade that we're reduced to stopping just to catch our breath and let our pulse return to merely high.  But you really know it's steep when you have difficulty getting started pedaling again.  Finally we had to simply get off and push our bikes up about half the steepest part of the climb.  Whew!

At the top, there was a picnic table under a shelter where we gladly sought some rest and a chance to chat with motorcyclists who favor the twisting roads for their entertainment.

These cyclists indicated that the next climb wasn't as steep as the one we'd just complete.  So we left on a downhill run tempered  with almost constant braking because of the unfamiliar roads.

The next climb started almost immediately on reaching the bottom of the downhill.  It was less steep initially, but we soon found ourselves on a grade similar to the first climb, with a similar pedestrian result.  We eschewed an offer of a ride to the top and did make it under our own power.

The downhill that followed was again taken cautiously until we were off the steepest part. It looked like a pretty clean slightly downhill run into Leakey from there, but we're challenged with one more short steep climb two miles from town.

When we finally arrived our legs were pretty much toast.

Last night Barb called and made arrangements to camp at a private place called The Hog Pen.  As Iowa natives, all we could think of was what kind of wallow we'd be camping in.  With all the motorcycles around, we should have known what to expect.  The Hog Pen is a favorite hangout for the touring motorcyclists.   Their motto "where BBQ, beer, and friends meet".

So we'very been with the other cycling crowd, enjoyed a few beers, and some fine BBQ.  We're now camped on a wooden deck behind the place.  Toilets are open all night and the place will close sometime after dark, and then presumably the loud speakers playing vintage rock will go silent.

We're well, tired and have one more big climb tomorrow.

We're well and in Leakey Tx, but without access to Verizon's network.  Putting up the message here for friends and family to know.  Will post today's events later.

Serendipity seems the theme of the day.

We left Fredericksburg fairly early this morning, as soon as we had finished the complimentary hotel breakfast.  There wasn't anything particularly special about this one until I opened the iron to make one of those 2 minute so-so waffles that are so common at chain hotels these days.   Instead of being the standard circular iron, this one made waffles in the shape of Texas.  I spread the peanut butter, bit off the panhandle and Amarillo, and then worked my way from east to west across the state, bitewise, much as we're doing on bikes.

The first 30 miles of the day were mostly on back roads from Fredericksburg to Kerrville.  It's beautiful countryside, that begins as rich pastureland populated with cattle and horses, then you come around a bend and spot a large herd of ibex.  This is definitely Texas. Gradually,  we moved into rocker terrain as the road again rose into the hills.

We did happen across another dead coral snake on the road today.  Barb snapped a photo so we could confirm that's what it was.  She's had her lucky horseshoe strapped on here rear rack, and is unlikely to encounter a live one.  I think that's as much due to an apparent Texan animosity towards snakes as it is to luck.  Pity the poor snake who's caught in the open on a road as a Texas native in a motor vehicle bears down on him.  Texan 1 Snake 0.  Just a little aside, there are 15 to 25 coral snake bites in the US each year.  The venom contains a neurotoxin that paralyzes muscles associated with breathing.  The only treatment is with antivenom which is in very limited supply.   According to Wikipedia, Pfizer the US manufacturer says it's unprofitable because of the limited cases each year.  Maybe the horseshoe is our best bet.

We did make it into Kerrville about noon, after having to dismount  bikes and push a quarter mile up a particularly steep dlope.  We were directed on back roads into town, and had just turn a corner when the delicious aroma of BBQ surrounded us.  The sign said Buzzie's BBQ and there were cars in the lot, so we pulled in for lunch.

We had just happened onto one of the best BBQ restaurants in the state of Texas.   Awards were displayed on every available wall space, including some from the televised BBQ contests you see on the Food Network. Buzzie's was there mixing with the locals and was happy to let us take a photo with him.  Oh, and the food was fantastic.  Brisket for me, and chicken for Barb.

While we eating award winning BBQ,  Barb started calling to check options for the night's lodging.  A cold front is due through the area sometime tonight, with the possibility of thunderstorms. There were two lodging options listed in our route maps.  One was asking $85 for the night, so we chose the other, the River Inn resort based solely on price.  What a pleasant surprise when we came rolling around the last corner of the days ride. The River Inn is one of those very nice old style resorts that was probably built in the late 40's or early 50's that families make a tradition of returning to year after year.  The resort has built a dam across the Guadalupe river that provides a swimming pool and areas for canoeing in calm water.  There are chairs and lounges on patios and decks that overlook the river.  There are enough smokers and grills around for everyone to cook their favorite summertime meals.  Our room is furnished with a full kitchen and has that comfy feel of a family cottage. In short, we're very at home here.

Lol. Things may not be as nice tomorrow as we're scheduled to camp at the Hog Pen campground in Leakey (pronounced Lakey with a long a for you non-Texans).  Stayed tuned for how that turns out.

Well and climbing every hill we encounter.

Tonight we are in a Day's Inn in Fredericksburg TX.

We left Johnson City this morning after riding with our lights on the half mile down to the Mexican restaurant to take advantage of the $3.49 breakfast tacos special.  Then stopped at a convenience store next door to get some things to eat in the 38 no-service miles into Fredericksburg.

The clouds were slow to dissipate this morning and we enjoyed cool temperatures until the sun finally broke through about noon.  There were still hills today,  but nothing as steep as the hills out of Austin yesterday.

We were riding through pastureland of mixed grass, wildflowers,  and scrub trees.   Cattle and horses were still around, but not in the numbers we'd seen earlier.  But there were many exotic animal reserves scattered along the way, generally there as hunting opportunities for wealthy Texans and their friends.   Still it's strange to be riding along the road and spot an ibex or springbok.

We took breaks about every 10 miles, more often as the day wore on.  Barb took this photo of our mounts, resting against a fence as we lounged briefly nearby.

We made pretty good time today and rolled into Fredericksburg about 12:30.  After stopping at a convenience store to replenish our liquid and sugar stores, we made our way through town to the motel.  Lunch was at a nearby Mexican restaurant. Then we returned to our room and cleaned up to attend to Barb's dental issue.

The dentist office was a 10 minute ride from the hotel.  We really didn't know what to expect, but filling out paperwork as a new patient took almost as much time as the dental work.  The dentist applied a temporary filling and polished it so that Barb says she can't feel that there is any missing tooth.  We were out of the dentist office by 4:20.

We'd eaten enough at lunch that we weren't particularly hungry, so supper was an order of nachos supreme and guacamole that we brought back to the room.

Barb thinks it would be a good idea to share the elevation profile we look at each morning as we scout the day's route.  Here's what Austin to Fredericksburg looks like.

And here's what the next few days have in store. We pray for strong legs, Lord.

Hoping to be west of Hunt by tomorrow afternoon,  and the hills around Leakey lurk a day or two further.

Getting our rest tonight.