Days 18 - 22

Day Eighteen, April 9th: The 22 mile ride from Junction to state road 290 was extremely challenging. It was all strong headwinds from 25 to 35 miles an hour. The riding was not that difficult, but it took us over three hours to ride the 22 miles and the climb out of Junction was a little challenge. Lots of green grass and trees finally. Even saw our first hay field. Lots of road kills, with deer being number one, skunks number two, and armadillo coming in at third place. There were a lot of exotic big game ranches along the highway. The landscape reminded me of Africa for some reasons, but we didn’t get to see any of the exotic animals. We did ride in a drizzle for about an hour or so and even had to wear a jacket for a couple of hours. We also met up with a guy named Rick from Vermont that we had met way back in west Texas. We rode about 25 miles together into Fredericksburg. We did 66 miles today. The real excitement of today was the storm that night. The wind was blowing out of the southeast all day and into the night. It really picked up during the night. Our tent poles would hit us in the head as the wind blew so hard. Around 3:30 a.m. the wind direction changed 180 degrees followed by heavy rain. Jeremy ended up in the truck and the sleeping gear in both tents got very wet. It was a night we will not forget.

Day Nineteen, April 10, 2008: Finally a day without any complaints about the wind. The road from Fredericksburg to Dripping Springs was good with only a few hills. The winds were kind to us and even give us some tailwind at times. It was a nice day for riding with the temperatures in the 70’s, some cloud cover and mild winds, none of which were headwinds. We rode through Johnson City, the home of President Johnson. There with no shoulder. The only bad thing about today was we missed a turn and road an extra five miles we didn’t need to ride. We saw some newly planted corn fields today and more exotic game reserves. Most of the ranches we past were gated and quite nice. Armadillo’s took over second place for the number of road kills. Jeremy and I had some great BBQ in Dipping Springs and I had even better BBQ that evening in Lockhart. Joyce and Jeremy are staying in the yard at the Good Shepherd Ministries for the night and I’m staying with a friend.. We rode a total of 80.1 miles today.

Day twenty, April 11, 2008: This was a short ride from Buda to Bastrop. The ten miles to highway 71 was very narrow and a lot of traffic. The 24 miles on highway 71 to Bastrop had a very good shoulder, but lots of traffic. The worst part about today was a fairly strong north wind which made the ride to Bastrop a little tough. The armadillo took over top honors as #1 for the highest number of road kills for the day. It was a cooler day with temperatures in the mid 70’s. Saw lots of corn field that had been planted for over two weeks. We are staying at a state campground. The cost was $4 per person and a $12 camping fee. Total distance today was 42 miles. We hope to get to Brenham or Navasota or some where in between tomorrow.

Day Twenty-one, April 12th: We did make it to Navasota after 88 long miles. The winds were out of the north and fairly strong. They were a cross wind most of the time. We did pass the Blue Bell Creamery, but didn’t stop in for a tour. Lots of ranches and cows, but no corn fields today. Busy roads all day, but very little road kill.

Day Twenty-two, April 13th: We left Navasota around 8:30. The winds were calm, but out of the north. It was a very chilly morning and we wore jackets until 10:30. There were a few hills, but nothing challenging. From Conroe to Saratog, about 50 miles, I never changed gears, over 50 miles, once. We met a group of over 100 black motorcycle riders with a police escort just outside of Conroe. The landscape had little cleared land and we didn’t seen one field planted. There was a big resort area around Conroe and lots of traffic. The roads were good all day with only a few areas with rough shoulders. It was a very long day, but we did ride 106 miles. Our butts are very tired and sore. I was hoping we would make Louisiana tomorrow, but it’s not going to happen. We are most anxious to get out of Texas as it seems like we have been in this state forever.