Day 27: Ingram TX to Johnson City TX (Outside of Town)

There is no cell service at the end of the Day 27 ride camp site so you will be receiving this a day late.  Camp last night was very nice so no complaints.  

Last night when we arrived at camp I road in on a flat front tire.  I changed the tube and got everything ready for today’s ride – happy face!!!  Leaving camp this morning, we took our normal pictures... 

...and about 1 mile out of camp I had a front flat tire.  So frustrating to turn around and I changed out every thing.  New front tire and I put on the super-duper tube Sandy bought a few days ago.  Off I went…   The ride went wonderfully for 70 miles when my back tire went flat – sucks.  I pulled the tube and found out the instant-patch that I used a few days ago gave way.  I change to the spare tube and continued.  At about 80 miles I had another back tire flat with just a few miles to camp.  I was tired and just pumped up the tire and nursed it into camp.  When I pulled the tube another instant-patch gave way.  My conclusion is these things work great to get you through a jam but are not a long-term fix.  I have been rotating through four tubes, each with 4~5 patches each.  I retired all the old tubes today and started over – no more instant patches.

Today’s ride (other then the flat thing) was perfect.  The wind was behind me most of the day and while there was 3K feet of climbing there were no real hills.  I must say thought that I saw 13 percent today on an early climb that I think was the most for the entire ride.   

The roads were not always empty, obviously I am the visitor.

And you dont want to be on this road in the rain.

At about 30ish miles Sandy and I meet in Fredericksburg TX for lunch.  The town was hopping and there was a very nice downtown street.  After lunch, I headed on my way and Sandy walked around for a while. 

The Beer is Sandy's

Today’s original plan was to stop in Johnson City and be about 50 miles from Austin.  The idea was I would arrive in Austin tomorrow and we would take a rest day.  All plans change.  We road about 10 miles past Johnson City and will not stop in Austin for a rest day – my legs feel good and I don’t want to stop. 

Camp tonight is at Pedernales Falls State Park.  It is a very nice camp site and away from the road.  It is Spring Break so the site was crowded – Sandy mentioned that I was riding, and they found us a spot.

Camp for Day 27 night

This was Day 28 morning but the picture fits 

Just before camp, I met up with a couple – Kenneth and Alli heading to San Diego.  It is always fun to stop and share a story or two.   They seem like they have their act together and this is not their fist long distance ride. 

Fellow bikers on their way to San Diego

Ride Stat for the Day…

Start Time:  9:23 AM Central Time *        Finish Time: 5:08 PM Central Time

Elapse Time: 7 Hr. 45 Min.                        Ride Time: 5 Hr. 16 Min.

Distance: 82.5 Miles *                                Average Speed: 15.6 mph

Climbing/Descent: Ft. 3093/3727              TSS: 153

Average Power: 146 Watts                          Normalized Power: 170 Watts

Calories: 2758                                             Ave/Max HR:  115/140 bpm

*I was about a mile from camp when I got the flat, so I really stated closer to 10AM there are 2 waisted miles.

For food today, I had my Cliff Bar at about 1.5 hours and a great lunch with Sandy in Fredericksburg.  We shared a Chicken Wrap with Fries and a soft pretzel.  Before lunch, I finished both of my bottes and we filled them at lunch.  By camp they were empty. 

For tomorrow, we will try to get to the other side of Austin.   The ride should be 70 ~ 80 miles with another 3K feet.  My calculation has us out of Texas in 6 days. 

Spring is in the air....