Campwood to Vanderpool to Kerville

We had no Internet for a few days and already the days are getting fuzzy. In Vanderpool, TX, we stayed at Fox Fire Cabins nearby a river. Three people stayed in our little cabin. It felt cozy and home-like with printed sheets and homemade quilts on the bed. Chef Linda made pot roast, roasted vegetables, and heart shaped biscuits for dinner. We had s'mores outside over the charcoal. As there were no services for phone or Internet, some of us went for a walk down by the river and by a farm that had baby lambs, sheep and cows. When I got back there was a wild card party of Uno going on on the porch of our cabin. We had three tough one mile climbs at mile 8, 28, and 33! I felt so great rounded that last curvy incline to the Sag wagon and other riders at the top . Talk about improvement in strength and energy! I just put "Gertrude" in my granny gear and kept going and going, and going. I stopped once on the third hill climb because my legs were tired and I needed a drink, but then continued on.

Everyone had a good attitude, even though the climbs were tough. It has been a nice change of scenery. The flavors of green in the tree colors reminded me shades of asparagus fern, celery,and broccoli green. There were some rough roads and patches of smooth road, roller coaster hills, flats, as well as hard climbs.

One group of riders had the displeasure of having a truck zoom over onto the shoulder of the road in front of them and then a loud shot like a gun was heard. No one was hurt but they were shaken up a bit.

Yesterday the winds returned with a vengeance. It was gusty and kept blowing from different directions. We had a 1.3 mile hill climb about 7 miles out which was over 10% and things were OK at that point. In fact, a tailwind helped me up a little near the crest of the hill. When we got to the top of the hills, the wind really started to zip us around. This may be one time, where I was thankful to be on the heavier side. Three riders were blown over. One hit her head and got a concussion. Two others went off the shoulder, in the same gust. One fell in the grass and was OK, the other gal fell on a rock, and cut her knee and hurt her elbow.

Sue, Liz and I continued cautiously until we reached a stopping point in Medina at mile 24. There was a famous pie placed that had apple streudal, ice cream, and pies. At that point the leaders strongly suggested calling it a day so most of us did. It doesn't make sense to break a bone at this point in the trip and we were all blown from the middle of the road to the side of the road several times already and the winds usually pick up as the afternoon warms up.

The full van with 15 bikes and people scooted the next 25 miles to Kerville, where we spent a few hours at the bike store before heading to our hotel called the Y.O. Ranch Resort. I was expecting a dude ranch on the outside of town. It's on a main road with many other hotels. Every place we have been lately seems to be enamored with dead animals hanging on the wall. This place takes the cake. Its lobby boasts a plethora of exotic animal heads. Antlers are in every bedroom, hallway, and light fixture. When I was looking up the taxi number , there was a whole column of taxidermists!

Gotta go! Lots to do on our day off!
Love,
Robin