FINAL THOUGHTS AND GEEK STATS FROM THE TOUR

PARK REVIEWS:

We stayed at multiple different Texas State Parks this trip, and one LCRA park. Texas generally does a good job with the state parks and the facilities are clean and well maintained. I had never stayed at an LCRA park before and so wasn't quite sure what to expect from it.

When I was planning the trip, I wasn't too worried about getting campsites during the weeknights because kids are still in school and it generally isn't busy during the week. When I made reservations, I was surprised to find that almost all the sites in the various state parks were reserved. All reservations are made online and you pay when you reserve your site. At a couple of parks I was lucky to get one of the last couple of sites not reserved. However, when we were actually there, we saw many open sites with the "Reserved" placard on them that were empty. This was true for every state park we stayed at. And it wasn't just one or two sites. It seems that people are reserving them "just in case" and not cancelling when they know they won't be there. This makes it almost impossible for anyone to be able to show up and hope to get a campsite, even when they aren't full.

Bastrop State Park was very pretty, but unfortunately the camping area is close to Hwy 71 and there is constant road noise. While I can sleep with noise, some people that are more sensitive to it need to pack earplugs if they will be camping in a tent. Other than that it was a very nice park. 

McKinney Falls State Park was just as pretty as I remembered. The swimming hole under the Upper Falls was great after a warm afternoon on the bikes!

Lockhart State Park was new to me and was a nice surprise. They have a swimming pool (not open until Memorial Day) and the camping area was small and quiet. There are only 20 sites and some of them sit along a nice creek.

Buescher State Park was also very nice and although it was also close to Hwy 71, the camping area was far enough away that we didn't have any of the road noise.

Oak Thicket LCRA park was also a nice surprise. Lake Fayette was pretty and the campground was small and quiet. They had the best bathrooms of all the parks we stayed at with bathroom and shower stalls that were roomy and everything was very clean. 

GEAR AND BIKE WEIGHTS:

One of the things I rarely talk about in my blogs nowadays is the gear I take and how much that weighs. When I first started touring I looked at this information closely every time I went on a tour, but as I became more comfortable with touring it fell by the wayside. Or, maybe I just don't want to think about how much weight I am going to have to drag up whatever hills I come across! And some of it is because I usually don't think about it until I'm on the bike and gone.

We all had a standard setup of 4 panniers and and handlebar bag, with some gear strapped on the back rack. None of the weights below include full water bottles, but do include the weight of beginning food taken (freeze-dried meals, oatmeal, coffee, snacks). The empty bike weight includes all racks, mounts, fenders, and kick-stands.

Laura

Bike weight - 30 lbs.

Gear weight - 46 lbs.

Total weight - 76 lbs.

Dave

Bike weight - 41 lbs.

Gear weight - 58 lbs.

Total weight - 99 lbs.

Reba

Bike weight - 30 lbs.

Gear weight - 45 lbs.

Total weight - 75 lbs.

CLIMBING STATS - WHO TO BELIEVE?

Similarly, I generally don't track the climbing feet each day with a cumulative running total. Both Dave and Reba were looking at their Garmin computers and calculating the total climbing during the week. For those of you that live where there are even moderate hills that you ride regularly, the climbing stats we have for the week will seem like nothing. However, for people that come from sea-level and have almost no hills (not even moderate ones), the amount of climbing represents quite a bit of climbing for us day after day.

Interestingly, each one of our Garmin computers had a different climbing total each day. They are all different models and different ages. I'm not sure how that affects it but maybe the newer models have more precise technology and algorithms to calculate the climbing. I also uploaded each day's ride to my RidewithGPS account, which is what I used to create the route and maps. Probably to no one's surprise, the RWGPS also gave a different climbing total. I don't know which one is the most accurate but some days were really close and others not so close, with RWGPS generally showing higher numbers than my Garmin. Below are the numbers from my Garmin and RWGPS.

Garmin

Day 1 - 1,650 ft

Day 2 - 1,065 ft

Day 3 - 1,030 ft

Day 4 - 1,485 ft

Day 5 - 1,396 ft

Day 6 -    883 ft

Total  -  7,509 ft

RWGPS

Day 1 - 1,604 ft

Day 2 - 1,217 ft

Day 3 - 1,154 ft

Day 4 - 1,623 ft

Day 5 - 1,566 ft

Day 6 -    970 ft

Total  -  8,124 ft

That's enough of the geek stats and reviews.

As always, I had fabulous companions for this tour with Dave and Reba. We had plenty of laughs, some hard climbs, and some great views while riding. That's about all I need from a tour. I'll have to start getting creative for my next tour and find some more new roads to explore. Until next time....

DAY 6 - FAYETTEVILLE, TX TO WARDA, TX

Mileage - 27.8; Total Mileage - 217.1 miles

What a great day of riding and a great finish to another tour! The day started humid but slightly cooler than it had been. The skies were overcast and hazy again. We were headed mostly north and west today to get back to Warda. This time of year, the wind is mostly out of the south/southeast so it seemed we might have favorable winds as well. 

That would be in a perfect world! But instead we had winds out of the north/northwest so that sweet tailwind I was dreaming of last night turned into a headwind and crosswind! But at least the wind was a little cooler and so it was a good riding temperature. 

Lake Fayette this morning before leaving for the day. 

We stopped in Fayetteville for 2nd breakfast at Orsak's Cafe. We all had a starter breakfast in camp but were ready for more food after 6 miles!

Saw this pretty old building beside the Fayetteville ISD buildings heading into town. 

With only about 27 miles back to the cars, we weren't in a hurry today. The roads were quiet and pretty, with more wildflowers. The flowers were mostly Indian Blanket again lining the roadsides. And there were plenty of rolling hills again to keep us company. The grades of the hills were more moderate than previous days, which was good since all of us had tired legs. 

Dave found some wild blackberries on the side of the road during a quick stop and so we took a little time to pick some and enjoy them. 

The view of one of the quiet roads from today, and the scenery from the top of one of the climbs. 

We only took a few short breaks by the roadside today. All of us were starting to smell the barn! And before we knew it, we were back at Bluff Creek Ranch to pick up our cars. 

It felt good to get off the bikes and sit for a few minutes. Celebratory beers and a large serving of margarita were shared to end another great tour. We were just sad that Elie wasn't able to join this time. The good news is, there will be another time!

DAY 5 - SMITHVILLE, TX TO FAYETTEVILLE, TX

Mileage - 39.8; Total Mileage - 189.3 miles

We had about 1 1/2 miles from camp before our big climb of the day. That first hill took everything out of my legs. The last 1/4 mile cranked up and I just walked it. It was too hard on cold legs, and it wasn't worth blowing my wad for the day! 

The first 10 miles today traveled some of the same roads we were on the first day. We went back through Winchester again. The Depot was open so we stopped in for a quick break and snacks before pushing on. The rest of the morning was spent on mostly quiet backroads to La Grange. 

Somewhere before La Grange we came down a hill and there was a large turtle in the middle of the road. Dave turned around to move him over to the side of the road so he didn't get squished. Reba and I rode forward a little and found a wild turkey just standing on the yellow line. Reba had to get off her bike and walk towards it to get him to move. Then he started running for the field. Not sure what he was thinking!

We ate lunch in La Grange at the Back Porch BBQ. It was a nice break but was about 2pm by the time we left. It was time to get ro camp at Oak Thicket Park on Lake Fayette. 

The going was slow because the clouds cleared and it was a hot afternoon. At one point my phone said it was 89 degrees with a "feels like" of 95. Not sure what the official high was today but it was mich warmer than we have been used to this spring. 

The campground is a lake that was built for a large power plant. It is run by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). It only has 20 sites but it has been nice and quiet. Which is good, because all of us are tired and will enjoy a quiet night. 

Here are some pictures from today:

The lake at Buescher State Park is very low. They don't allow swimming now but the canoes were ready!

The day started out cloudy and fairly cool. Dave and Reba riding strong. 

Huge oak tree in a field of Indian Blankets. 

Fayette County courthouse in La Grange. Texas county seats have some beautiful courthouses!

We saw a bighorn sheep in a pasture this afternoon hanging out with his donkey buddy. 

Beautiful blue sky this afternoon when it got hot. 

Tomorrow is the last day for this tour and I'm already thinking about the next trip. It will be a short day of about 30 miles so we should beat the worst of the heat tomorrow if we get lucky!

DAY 4 - LOCKHART, TX TO SMITHVILLE, TX

Mileage - 43.9; Total Mileage - 149.5 miles

It was overcast all night but never rained. But when we first got out of the tents, there was a mess of trash spread around the campsite.

Coons were able to get the trash bag from the clothesline. Then, they managed to smell my packaged  gatorade powder, oatmeal, licorice, and gummy worms in my front pannier. Fortunately they didn't rip it open - they simply unzipped it and ate everything they wanted! It was a rookie mistake - i put some food in the tent but didnt bother with the packaged items.  

Today was our longest mileage day, along with the most climbing. I knew we would be tired tonight. And we are! 

There were lots of ups and downs that added up over the day. We only had a few really steep hills but we also had some hills that weren't necessarily steep but were long. Reba hasn't toured in 12 years but she is riding like a badass!

It's not a tour without at least one rest break at a Dollar General. 

We stopped for lunch at a wide spot in the road named Red Rock, TX. The El Borrego De Oro had a full parking lot of work trucks so we knew it would be good. The town of Red Rock was established in 1850, but there wasn't much left of the town except a General Store and a few other building on the main street. 

This was the funniest sign we saw today. Look closely for the non-existent "shoulder" that was closed. 

There were Indian Blanket wildflowers all along the roadsides today. Seemed like all we saw was orange and red. It was very pretty!

We only had a few miles into camp from our last stop in Smithville, TX. Smithville is where the 1998 Hope Floats movie starring Sandra Bullock was filmed. The restaurant where Dave and I picked up food to bring to camp had memorabilia from the movie on the walls. We found this pretty mural on a building in downtown Smithville. 

As you leave the Buescher State Park entrance station to head to the camping area you see this sign. The one key thing I know about scenic drives is that they are always hilly! And this one didn't dissappoint with two steep sections before we finally turned into our camping area!

All in all, another great day of riding. Looking forward to tomorrow! 

DAY 3 - AUSTIN, TX TO LOCKHART, TX

Mileage - 33.9; Total Mileage - 105.6 miles

Our good luck with weather over the last three tours has come to an end. As we were winding down last night, thunder and lightening started in the distance. The radar wasn't really showing anything but we prepared for some rain by covering bags or moving into tents. 

And then we had just a few bits of drizzle and it stopped. We thought we had missed the rain. Shortly after I crawled in the tent for bed, a small storm of wind and rain came through. It wasn't bad and we had everything covered. 

We left Austin this morning headed mostely southeast towards Lockhart. We weaved through the rolling hills of the new Eaton Park development. It was a very nice planned development with lots of parks and bike lanes on all the roads.

Because we're mostly headed south/southeast today, we're paying for the nice tailwinds we had the last two days. 

About halfway to Lockhart, we stopped for brunch at a truckstop that had an IHOP. We zll had a version of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. The blueberry pancakes really hit the spot!

It started to drizzle right before we finished eating. We sat a little longer hoping it would stop. The clouds were low and it was misting good, but it wasn't showing any sign of clearing so we decided to not wait and headed out in the misty drizzle. 

The rain wasn't bad and then it just stopped right before we got to Lockhart. There was a huge field full of bluebonnets that I tried to get a picture of but it was so cloudy and hazy the colors just didn't come out. Here is a small patch of bluebonnets from yesterday. 

With the haze and drizzle there weren't a lot of pictures from the last half of the day. 

The old Caldwell County Jail in Lockhart is now a museum. It was a pretty brick building and still had bars over the windows. 

We could see a grand building a couple blocks away and so headed over to see what it was and found the County Courthouse and town square. 

We started to head to camp but then decided we didn't want to make another 2 miles trip back into town for dinner. So we just got food to take to camp with us and headed out. Dave carried a 12-pack of Cayman Jack Margaritas to camp for us. They we some malt liquor drink with no tequila but they were cold and tasted good!

There's no picture of camp - I forgot it! We had a nice area and it was quiet. It doesn't get any better than that!

Here are pictures of some prickly pear cactus in bloom that we ran across outside of Bastrop on the first day. 

DAY 2 - BASTROP, TX TO AUSTIN, TX

Mileage - 36.0; Total Mileage - 71.7 miles

Today was a good day on the bikes! We all slept well last night and managed to eat breakfast, pack up camp, and be on the road at 9:30am. That's a good time for us! We made a quick stop in downtown Bastrop on the way out for ice, gatorade, and a snack for me before hitting the road. 

There were a few busy roads getting out of Bastrop this morning but we were quickly on some beautiful rural roads. We had the occasional steep hill, but luckily they were short! And there were none that we had to walk. It was just pretty rolling countryside.

The wildflowers for today were the Pink Evening Primrose and the Drummond Phlox. There were a lot of patches alongside the roads but they were harder to see because the grass has gotten long. In the spring, many places don't mow the roadsides or other areas when the wildflowers are blooming. 

Pink Evening Primrose pictures:

Drummond Phlox pirctures:

At about 22 miles into the ride, it was time for lunch. We stopped at a combination Mexican supermarket, deli, bakery, and meat market. Reba and Dave got various meet tacos and I got enchiladas. For $9 I got 3 chicken enchiladas, with rice and beans. It was a huge plate!

There weren't any tables to eat at, so we sat on the sidewalk in front of the store to eat. We even had a very friendly dog as a lunch companion.  His eyes were begging but he was very polite and just waited for us to eat. Of course, all of us had more food than we could eat, so he was rewarded with a good lunch. 

We saw a couple touring today on a tandem pulling a trailer. We were going opposite directions. They were going downhill, and we were headed uphill so we passed in a flash and there wasn't anywhere to stop and chat with them. 

As we came into Austin, we passed right by the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track (Formula 1 track). We could hear engines on the track and Dave went up a little into the complex and was able to see some super bikes on the track. 

It got a little warm this afternoon but we knew we had a possibiity of swimming at the park. After getting camp set up, Dave and I headed for the Upper Falls for a swim. Reba passed on the opportunity. The water was cool and 30 minutes of hanging out in the pool below the falls was wonderful! The water was a little low in Onion Creek so there wasn't a lot of water coming over but that didn't matter!

Random scenery pictures and tonight's campsite: 

DAY 1 - WARDA, TX TO BASTROP, TX

Mileage - 35.7; Total Mileage - 35.7 miles

We enjoyed our stay at Warda last night. There were several other groups camping around the pond, including a group of Boy Scouts. We camped across from the pond from them to avoid any noise, but they were not up late and I didn't hear them at all after about 9pm. 

Field with Longhorns at Bluff Creek Ranch (Warda)

Our camp last night by the pond. Reba didn't bother with a tent and just slept in her van while she could! Dave's great campfire. 

We were packed up and on the road at an unheard-of time of 9am this morning. It was pretty windy all afternoon and night, and the wind started up before we left Warda. It was mostly blowing out of the SE, and our general direction for today was west and north.

We had some areas with great tailwinds, and also had areas headed more into the wind.  Overall none of it was too bad. 

We stopped briefly in Winchester about 10 miles into the ride. There wasn't much there and the steakhouse was closed on Sunday, so we started heading out of town. Right as we got to the edve of town rwe saw the Zilss Memorial Hall and found information about the Quilt BlockTrail. The quilt blocks are mounted on buildings, barns, and houses. There were maps detailing 50 different designs that can all be found between Giddings, TX and Smithville, TX. 

We decided we'd have to wait for another time to track all of them down. As we left town we saw several more designs as we passed more houses and barns. 

The terrain was mostly rolling with small hills as we headed for Bastrop. We had to ride on Hwy 71 for a few miles to get to some restaurants we thought would be good for lunch. Hwy 71 is a 4-lane divided road with a very wide shoulder. It was good as far as that, but was very busy and noisy with cars. 

There weren't really any other good options for that section because there are limited roads that cross the Colorado River. There were two restaurants next door to each other at about 22 miles into the day. One was a Mexican Restaurant and one was a Café. We decided on the café, parked, and went in. Well, surprise! The café's menu was almost all Mexican food. So that's what we had for lunch! 😆

After lunch we got back on Hwy 71 for another 3 miles until we could turn off onto backroads that would take us straight into Bastrop State Park which is our home tonight. We knew we only had about 10 miles left and we were enjoying the quiet roads. 

Then it got hard. The last 5 miles were through a neighborhood alongside a golf course. It didn't start out too bad, but then there were multiple very steep hills in the last 3 miles that had all of us in granny gear and barely making the climbs. 

One was really steep, and we were all walking. And then it got steeper! It was so steep it was almost impossible to walk and push the loaded bikes. When we got to the top we took a quick break in the shade of someone's driveway before heading out to tackle the last couple miles. Fortunately, that was the worst and everything after that was so steep going down that we were able to coast to the top of the next with only a few pedal strokes. I hit 35 mph on one decent through there. 

We saw lots of wildflowers today. The one we saw the most today was Indian Blankets. They are a pretty red/orange color and were all beside the road. 

Indian Blankets covering a field; Indian Blankets beside the road; and a close up of Indian Blanket. 

We had some great views after climbing the hills where we could see for miles. 

Picture from camp today. 

Tomorrow we will head to McKinney Falls State Park on the eastern edge of Austin. Hoping for more tailwinds and fair skies!