Day 18 - Camp Wood, TX to Kerrville, TX 88.07 miles/14.2 mph average 5 hrs 43 min.

It rained again last night, but the ground was dry with overcast skies when we took off around 7 am. The day was a bit shorter, around 85 miles. We took more time in the morning. Once we got out on Ranch Road # 337, things got rough again but after about 10 miles, it smoothed out. The road then climbed up for about 9 miles or so with about the same length decent. You'd never think this was Texas; hilly, lush, green, looking a lot like the mountains of Chile or Venezuela. We saw more wildlife today than all the other days combined. Deer everywhere, wild turkey, buzzards staking out road kill. We may have seen a few elk, but hard to tell the difference when the only glimpse is a flash of fur and a rear end running away from you, all while rolling along at 15 miles an hour on a bike. Do white deer exist? If so, we saw one.

Epic Ride - One for the ages. We'd do it again, maybe.


The route went to Leakey, Texas. Ranch Road #337 bisects the town and we were suppose to stay on it out of Leakey:

Construction made it a no go, so we hung a left onto highway 83, wider shoulders, smoother, and more direct. No brainer. 83 follows the East Frio River, and climbs up at an acceptable grade, but for several miles. We topped out, sped along with a tail wind until we hit road #39. Dad and Phyllis met us at the intersection, and we fueled up with a sandwich while a rusty windmill outside the rig groaned like a long suffering cow.

Road # 39 offered up a series of rollers that went on and on and on, with hardly any traffic at all. It descends into a valley along the Guadalupe River with at least a half dozen or more river crossings along the way. Passing through Hunt and Ingram, Texas, we made one more stop. Chris's front tire was flat when we pulled out after the break (first FLAT!!!), so I changed it, and off we went, straight into Kerrville, TX. The hotel lay at the other end of town through some gnarly road improvements. Check in, meet Bob for dinner, call it a day.

another thin wire from a truck retread strikes again

Fixing flats: A real skill that belongs on my resume

over and out