On a good days cycling there’s nowhere else you’ve rather be. Conversely on a bad day’s riding you’d rather be anywhere than in the saddle. Today was a good day. At one point, I was pedalling along a straight road, high in the Texas Hill Country, the light bright and a slight chill in the…
Texas Hill Country Riders…. Johnson to Kerrville
It was so cold when we woke up in our tents that we opted to stay wrapped in our sleeping bags for an extra half hour. We were still wearing all our cycling clothes from the previous day, but knew that as soon as we emerged from our cocoons we’d start to shiver. Besides which…
Up, up and Away…. Austin to Johnson
The Kraemers continued to astound us with their hospitality. We were awoken at 6am by the aroma of fresh coffee and outmeal porridge, home-made by David. It contained added fruit to fortify us for the Texan hills and was accompanied by a bevy of bagels to help us on our way. Such lovely people, with…
Doing our best to keep Austin Weird…. Austin, Texas
A zero (well only a handful of miles) day and boy were we ready for it. David treated us to a wonderful home cooked breakfast and then we all got on our bikes and followed him and Susan into the centre of Austin. There’s nothing like being shown around a city by people who actually…
Thoughts of Austin Powers us on…. Bastrop to Austin
We woke up on our little patch of land to the roar of passing traffic (it seemed to be coming from all directions) while it was still dark – and bitterly cold, dipping to just 8 degrees. On mornings such as this you get as much as possible packed inside the warmth of the tent…
Czeching out the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas…. La Grange to Bastrop
“I guess you’ll want to know all about the history of this place then?” We were sitting in the Riverside Cafe in La Grange tucking into our normal breakfast – omelette for Terry and eggs easy over, hash browns and sausage for me, when the owner came over. Having read about the town’s Czech Heritage…
Texas empties its ten gallon hat – and then some… Navasota to La Grange
“Looks like you’ve got some rain coming in,” warned David Kearnley, one of the fire-fighters at the Navasota Fire Department, as he scanned the weather app on his phone. It was a warning repeated to us a few minutes later as we sat down in a coffee shop eating breakfast bagels. It was clear today…
Cock-eyed Penguins and Giant Chickens on the road to hell…. Coldspring to Navasota
Desperate for fresh air we left the Coldspring Inn as soon as it was light. For the first five miles we mostly free-wheeled downhill on a broad shoulder convinced we were rapidly losing all the height we’d gained over the past three weeks. Then things went even further downhill. We arrived in Evergreen to find…
Armed and dangerous – and that’s just the locals…. Kountze to Coldspring
Today a chink appeared in Terry’s armour. I couldn’t believe it. In months spent riding with him and witnessing his super efficiency and meticulous preparations he astonished me by revealing he’d mislaid his Goretex jacket. We looked everywhere, but it was clear it was lost to the highway. Somewhere a rider would be following our…
Saddlin’ up in the Lone Star State…. Merryville to Kountze
After some initial confusion of what the time was (daylight saving had kicked in but we had no idea if that meant it was 6am or 7am) we awoke to find Merryville blanketed in thick fog which meant our arrival in Texas, just four miles down the road at the mist covered Sabine River, was…