This will be a hard one for me to write about. This day is a big part of why I quit writing this blog during the trip. I understand now that my inability to vocalize and share my emotions led to some of the problems of the day. The day started out well. The weather was ideal.

Leaving JJ and Van’s house

We shipped some stuff home and started on our way.

We decided to take 290 out of Austin rather than follow the map route. It was a much more direct route to follow 290. There was a bike path that that followed 290 for quite a long time so that was nice.

Once that ended things went poorly for me.

We stopped to discuss if we should go back to a cross road and parallel the highway for a bit because it didn’t appear there was much of a shoulder ahead. We took 290. I ended up third in line. Nick swerved but didn’t point out a large rock and since I was squarely on his wheel I hit it full force with my front wheel. I managed to not wreck but did end up swerving at least one lane over to my left into traffic. Nick heard it and asked if I was ok to which I replied I was since I didn’t wreck but should have told him I was really shaken up. I quickly realized I’d pretty badly dented another rim. We rode on for another 10ish miles. When we stopped I was really mad that I’d ruined another rim and that Nick hadn’t pointed out the rock. Thinking back I don’t think I articulated how scared I had been after hitting the rock and swerving into traffic.

We got something to eat and continued on 290. Not long down the road construction started and all 4 lanes, 2 each direction, were directed onto one side of the highway with no shoulder on our side. So now we were in the highway traffic lane with what I would guess was a 55mph speed limit.

Once we got to a cross road I demanded we stopped and said I wasn’t taking 290 any further. We couldn’t see and more construction but I didn’t want to risk running into any more. We did ask a woman if there was more construction down the road and she confirmed that there was a lot. I still don’t understand how they were ok with continuing on the highway and didn’t see it as dangerous. I was already mad from earlier but still think I would have made the same decision for safety reasons with a level head.

I figured out how to get back on the map route and we continued on our way to bastrop.

Once in bastrop the map had us cutting through Bastrop state park and Buescher state park. The road the maps had us taking was washed out and we couldn’t get by. I was very frustrated with the day and since I had forced us off the highway neither Nick nor Chris wanted to make any decisions on how to proceed. This made me quite frankly mad. I eventually figured out how to get around the washed out road. The state parks were really hilly with steep pitches.

After we made it out of the state parks we were really close to another highway that paralleled the map route. I could see that Chris was physically struggling after the state parks so I made the call to take the shoulder of that highway to La Grange. Luckily that portion of the day was uneventful.

Van, one of our hosts, had the day off and graciously offered to drive us to a laundromat. We went record shopping. I got this 7”:

He also took us to a rei and we restocked on some gear.

We hadn’t been in a car for quite some time.

We also spread our gear out on their lawn to make sure it was dry after the deluge we dealt with the day before. Chris got some holes in his front panniers so everything in those bags got wet for him.

JJ let me borrow his clippers and I got to cut my hair for the first time since leaving. That was the longest my hair had been in a long time, probably since high school.

JJ, Van, and their kitties Wednesday and Pugsley were great hosts and it was really nice to have a rest day not in a hotel. I personally felt very comfortable and I think Chris and Nick did too.

Ps people from the lower class brats used to live in their house.

Fredericksburg to Austin

When chris and myself woke up it was starting to rain. We started packing up and moved our stuff into a pavilion. Nick was not getting up as quickly. Chris and myself got all of our stuff into the pavilion and helped nick get his stuff together.

We ate breakfast in the pavilion and repacked our bags better. It was raining quite hard at this point.

We started out on our way to Austin in full rain gear. We had decided the night before to take 290 rather than the map route. 290 would cut out some miles and paralleled the map route.

290 was not the best road between Fredericksburg and Johnson city. The shoulder was very narrow and it was a 4 lane highway. Nick unfortunately wiped out on the paint of the highway lines. His light broke and his rain poncho got a little messed up. He was unharmed luckily. With the rain coming down so hard drafting was hard so we started going at our own paces. I decided to push hard because I wanted to get this shitty road done with.

Once I got to Johnson city I stopped outside a convenience store to take off my water proof socks that had completely filled with water. The top seam does not keep water out.

I flagged down Chris and Nick as they rolled into town. We found a subway and ate there. The guy working told us 290 got worse than the portion we had been on so we went back to the map route. He said the map route took us on good roads.

The rain had subsided and we changed out our socks in the parking lot outside subway. Chris unfortunately got a flat.

We continued on what did prove to be nicer roads to ride. Not much traffic on most of the roads. It was very hilly though. We came upon a creek crossing and I unfortunately didn’t allow enough space between myself and Nick. I had more speed going through the water and rather than run into the back of him I turned and my front wheel slid out on the pavement covered in algae. I did clear the creek at least before I hit the pavement.

The traffic did increase a lot as we approached Austin. Tensions were running high as it was a long 87 mile day and we were all wet. We had to climb up some really steep kickers but eventually made it to JJ and Vans house. My tire was losing air for the last few miles but I managed to limp it all the way without changing it. Nick is friends with JJ and secured us a place to stay.

Gainesville to st. Augustine

Figured I’d write this while it was fresh. I plan to go back and write about the rest of the trip too.

Started out from our warm showers place where we stayed in Gainesville. There was a very nice cat there!

Rolled to Taco Bell and had breakfast. Left town on what proved to be some of the best bike lane/ shoulders we’ve had on the trip. After about an hour it started pouring on us. We continued for another hour or two until lightning started to strike really close. At that point we stopped and had some lunch. I asked the worker at the gas station if this was a normal storm and he informed me it was much bigger than normal.

This seemed about right considering the fact that we had mostly headwinds all trip and had several big storms roll through areas we were in. Also was fitting that we started and ended the trip in the rain. We are from Pittsburgh after all.

We started out from the gas station and rolled the last 40 miles to st. Augustine.

We went straight to the beach where the attendant told us beaches were the places where you are most likely to be hit by lightning. We told her we had ridden 80 miles to get there and she just told us to be safe. We rolled up to the beach and left our bikes on the path way to the beach. We took off our shoes and all went into the ocean. It started raining harder once we got in the water. We spent just long enough to get in the water all the way and left.

Photo credit Chris

It has definitely been a big adventure. I’m glad we all made it. There was definitely points when everyone had there own issues to deal with.

Photo credits Nick

My rear wheel is still giving me problems and breaking spokes. I just have a bunch with me and am replacing as they do.

Tomorrow I’ll start off on my own to ride back to Pittsburgh.

Leakey to Fredericksburg (Lady Bird Park)

While getting ready to leave in the morning nick noticed something strange in his black water bottle. He put a white hand towel in it to clean it out and it came out brown and black. His bottle had been full of mold for who knows how long?

He went and bought a long brush to scrub his bottle well.

This was probably why he wasn’t feeling good the day before.

We started using the route the motel owner had told us about. The route headed north rather than east and the climbing was less steep. About an hour in it started pouring on us. We all stopped to put rain jackets on. It continued to rain on and off all day. The roads were rolling for the next 20 or 30 miles. Since it was raining I didn’t take any pictures. We saw a herd of zebras in a wild life sanctuary.

We rolled into hunt and had a really good meal of lasagna at “the store”.

The area definitely seemed to be very affluent and then it was confirmed when the Ferrari club pulled in.

We continued rolling to Lady Bird Johnson park where we camped for the night. An owl flew into a tree over nicks tent while he was trying to go to sleep and a father took his young children over to investigate. Which was insanely inconsiderate in my mind to be shining lights and tromping around someone’s tent at 11 pm. It was a good overall night though.

I haven’t been great on keeping this blog updated. I’m currently in Florida. If you want to know where I am with more regularity you can check here.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/elundgren

No real descriptions but I will upload these files more regularly.

Fort Clark to Leakey

Officially into Texas hill country. The roads got considerably more picturesque. There was a bit of climbing early but nothing bad.

Lots of dead deer and vultures.

We stopped in camp wood and had really good bbq at kings bbq for lunch.

After lunch climbing got really intense. We had the steepest climb of the tour so far I’d say. The road was really narrow too. Luckily traffic was pretty low expect for motorcycles which were very respectful. Apparently the road we were on is part of a big motorcycle route. Even after we got to the top there were some short steep climbs. The descent was really windy and fun. We rolled into leakey.

We had originally planned to do around 80 miles but nick was having a rough day and it was getting late. Non of our phones worked at all. Apparently only one type of cellphone works in leakey.

We asked around and found a nice motel with individual cabins that was next to the cheapest place in town. It was a bit more than we would normally spend but they had a pool. The owner actually bought all three of us a beer each. She also mentioned that we should stop by later and ask her husband about alternative routes to what our maps had us take. The next 30 miles were supposed to have three climbs that were roughly as steep and long as the climb we had done earlier.

We bought a few beers to drink by the pool and went swimming. We then went to a restaurant the owner of the motel had suggested. Nick and chris got the brisket which was terrible. They thought it had probably been microwaved.

We walked back to the motel and I stopped by the bar they had. It was Friday and they had live music. Seemed to be the happening place in town. I found the owners husband and he told me that we could skip those hills via an alternate route which had less climbing. I talked to some of the two owners friends about our trip and they told me that they would watch out for cyclists more now that they had talked to me. I’ve heard these statements before but it always surprises me that people need to talk to someone face to face before they recognize cyclists as people and not just an annoyance.

Seminole state park to Fork Clark

Very dewy morning. Packed up our wet tents and got on the road.

Went through the amistad national recreation area.

Rolled into Del Rio and got a package that my girlfriend Sarah had mailed to me! I really needed a new pair of insoles for my shoes which she got for me. I also got new cloth bar tape, amazing how quickly my bar tape got gross.

She also sent me a note 🙂

We restocked some supplies at Walmart and then hit the Pizza Hut buffet.

After such a long break and too much pizza I felt really bad on the bike when we got going again. I suffered through my turn at the front and managed not to throw up. The heat and excess pizza got to chris though. We stopped in the shade for a bit and chris got to feeling better.

We arrived in brackettville and none of our phones worked at all so we couldn’t call campgrounds or motels. A man stopped and told us all phones were down in town. He gave us directions to the campground too.

The campground was in a strange little community Fort Clark. We didn’t piece it together right away but later realized it was so strange because it had previously been an army base.

There was a really nice cat meow at the campground that had just been left there and was now a permanent resident. She really loved my smelly jersey and nicks shoes.

Sanderson to Seminole state park

Rolled out of the church and by the RV park where we saw the guy who was headed the same direction as us. He was still in his tent.

There was more climbing than there had been for a while but just rolling hills. We also had a bit of a headwind.

Around 30 miles after Sanderson we passed two more cyclists headed our way.

We continued on passed a few canyons and eventually got to Langtry. Langtry has a population of 12. Luckily there was a store there. It was very sparsely stocked. When I asked the woman running the store if she knew everyone in town she replied she tried not to.

We also met a cyclist going the same direction as us. He was a day behind us in Caballo and must have passed us when we took the day off in alpine. He was in Sanderson the same day as us and saw us ride by from his hotel.

We rolled into the state park and set up our tents for the night. The winds were high so we were hoping chris’s tent would survive the night.

Alpine to Sanderson

We saw our second cyclist going the same direction as us as we pulled into marathon. We stopped for food though.

While we were waiting for our food a guy struck up a conversation. He asked us if we were going cross country then asked if we have ever done RAAM. Apparently he really wants to do it. He does 200 mile rides regularly I guess.

There was nothing between marathon and Sanderson which was 50 miles. Luckily the 50 miles weren’t too hard.

There was an ode to the Marfa Prada.

We got into Sanderson and stopped at a convenience store to call around town and see what was cheap. We found out that while there several options for lodging the convenience store was the only option for food. The pickings were slim but we loaded up on what canned goods and pre made sandwiches we could find. As we rolled to the local rv Park a woman driving the opposite way asked if we had a place to stay. She then told us about a church in town that would let us stay.

Mike, the pastor, and his wife Kelly were very gracious hosts. They let us shower, Kelly did our laundry, and made us dinner. It was really above and beyond what we expected.

They had an outdoor cat who was very friendly.