At 7 a.m. this morning I headed out of Fredericksburg on this road. The day began with 21 miles of beautiful farming countryside; peach orchards, grape vineyards, hay fields, cattle ranches and pickup trucks pulling livestock trailers to the nearest auction, which turned out to be a huge newly constructed yard along the highway.One community I passed through celebrated their cattle ranching with all of these painted cattle along the road. There were many of them and were fun to view.
Once I reached Johnson City, home of LBJ, it was a return to the up and down draws with rough shoulders to ride on until reaching Austin. We had lunch at Dripping Springs which is a fast growing community. I did manage to get in about 50 miles of riding before the wind picked up. Each community has their own unique water towers. Libby has taken pictures of many of them.
As I rode through the countryside, I was impressed with the many grand entrances of the area ranches. Each was unique and displayed varied craftsmanship using native rock, metalwork and carved signage.
Upon reaching Austin, an attempt was made to negotiate the many on and off ramps of converging freeways. I decided that life was more precious than trying to ride through the metropolitan area, thus a call was made and my SAG wagon picked me up and we drove through the city and landed in Manor, Texas (just on the outskirts of Austin).
Since spending three days in the Texas Hill Country, I certainly have a better understanding why Lance Armstrong has such strong abilities to climb mountains. However, I am looking forward to the time when the terrain flattens out.
Miles Traveled Today = 82
Total Miles Traveled = 1,470
Trivia = Saw my first albino skunk
Crossed 17 creek beds with no water in any of them.
1 comment:
I've just done a 'marathon reading' of all your blogs, which are SO interesting. (Had 6 college friends as guests for a week, & just catching up on emails) What a great way to "see" the southern U.S., although it's a TOUGH way to do it. My, you've had the experiences! Keep 'truckin', cousin (Libby), as you've done a fantastic job of assisting! I worried about you when the hurricanes were heading that way. Hopefully you won't be in the path of any the rest of the way, or get the extra 'winds' from them. I'll add my congrats on your anniversary! So enjoyed being at your 40th, and the you made it to that one, Leroy!
Love & prayers from Suzie
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