Bike Geek

Yesterday I completed a 65-mile, 6.5 hour journey from my home in San Antonio to the town of Fredericksburg, Texas on my bicycle. It was an amazing experience and a true physical/mental challenge.

It was a physical challenge because:

• Much of the route involved climbing, including a long, curvy climb with a 3% grade. Oh…did I forget to mention? This occurred at about the 48 mile mark. Just about the time my energy levels were starting to head South!
• About 8-10 miles into the ride I encountered drizzle, fog and slick pavement. None present of course at my house when I left for the adventure. This took a high degree of physical diligence – to maintain control of the bike which had different handling characteristics due to the weight I was carrying – while navigating through a few spots of traffic congestion. At one point, I encountered a large mud slick across the road which I could not avoid – I sort of floated through the mud, kept my hands off the brakes and somehow managed to get through it!
• The humidity was 84% – one of the most humid days of the year. The last 1/4 of the ride started to really heat up when the sun broke out of the clouds from time to time.

It was a mental challenge because:

• I was alone (although I had my iPhone and a good connection so friends and family provided some much appreciated support by commenting on my Facebook/Twitter updates along the way).
• It was pitch black at the beginning of the ride on an interstate access road and I was soaked to the bone from the drizzle. I had a few moments where I considered turning back.
• At about the 58 mile mark my GPS told me to turn right on a “River Road” that apparently only exists as a figment of someone’s imagination AND in Google Maps! As a result, I had to do some “on the fly” re-routing.

Highlights of my little one-day tour included:

• Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area : sitting atop that nasty, 3% grade climb was a scenic overlook and an incredible place where millions of Brazilian Free-tailed Bats emerge nightly.
• The experience of riding through some incredibly beautiful and tranquil back country roads (like Old Highway 9) that made me feel like I was riding my bicycle in Europe or something (and I’ve never been overseas so go figure!).
• The hospitality of a woman in Boerne who said hello and chatted with me briefly.
• The hospitality and nice conversation with the owner of the Waring General Store, who cooked me up a damn fine cheeseburger at 10:30am in the morning!
• The friendly staff at the Hangar Hotel where I stayed overnight (and was my destination).

Despite the challenges I faced, it was an experience I won’t soon forget and the insights gathered from this little experiment have convinced me that a) I love bicycle touring and b) the next tour I plan will be even better since I’ve already gained some great insights (which I will be sharing soon in a separate entry).

For a little multimedia experience of my tour, check out my Flickr gallery where I have posted photos and videos of the ride.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 3:13 AM and is filed under bicycle touring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.