La Grange, TX to Bastrop, TX (31 miles)

Wednesday May 21, 2008

I was a little uncertain I was going to leave La Grange today. This was a nice (and cheap) motel, and I needed more rest. BUT, I made a deal with my legs this morning: Get me to Bastrop before it gets hot and we will go no further today.

Having eaten a McDonalds apple pie from the night before as well as familiar oatmeal made in a styrofoam to-go cup from iced tea at lunch the day before, I headed off on Highway 71 toward Bastrop. I was glad my legs which had tightened up during the night felt loose and relaxed after the first few miles. It's funny how I can stretch my legs in the middle of the night and almost fall asleep during the stretch. When I started this trip I couldn't even stretch very far. Times have changed.

The Colorado River winds along the northeast side of Highway 71. What that means is that should the shoulder disappear for some reason, I am limited as to my exit strategy from Highway 71. This caused me to be a bit nervous at the start, but seeing the wide shoulder along Highway 71 once I got started, my concerns were diminished.

Starting at 7am today, my goal was to get to Bastrop before things heated up too badly. 75 degrees when I started was comfortable, and remained comfortable the entire 30 mile ride as the sun was struggling to find it's way out from behind the mostly cloudy sky. "It was MY turn today", I thought as I ran from the sun, powering up hills as road construction crews watched me go by.

Passing some interesting and pretty sites along the way, I stopped occasionally to snap some pics. More old cars filled a lot along the way. It would be interesting to poke around some of these since I still have the 67 Mustang Convertible I bought in highschool and fixed up. But I wasn't going to give the sun a chance to catch up since I could see old cars another day.

The railroad tracks crossed under Highway 71. Something about RR tracks that I like. You can see how far they go or how they gently curve around a corner leading to who knows what. It's probably this kind of thinking that got me on a bike to do this ride in the first place. The route of the imaginary tracks under my bike tires changes often with no certainty as to how far they go.

My very first oil/gas well was seen near Smithville. That reminds me that in West Texas I will be heading into the same country where the recent movie "There Will Be Blood" was filmed.

The Colorado River winds around quite a bit. The birds apparently loved the shelter under the bridge. Perhaps the unseen troll feeds them daily.

Buscha's restaurant along Highway 71 must be popular the two days it is open per week.

The hills roll more gently when following a good sized highway. I rather prefer that over the quick ups and downs where you immediately give back what you just earned. I reached over 500 feet elevations, which is the most so far, though modest, I know.

Reaching Bastrop shortly after 9am, with the sun still trying to fight it's way out from behind the thick mesh of clouds, I was drawn to a unique looking restaurant on the edge of town: Kendra's Roadhouse. A closer look showed a neon sign luring me in with Hamburgers, Malts, and Drinks.

The cook at the Roadhouse told me they opened at 10:30am, but offered me ice cold water while I waited. Taking the opportunity to tweak my journal, I relaxed in the sun-lacking breeze. Soon, Becky, a very nice waitress with dirty blonde hair arrived and offered me a malt before opening time. Banana malt it is!!! Before the burger I later ordered was served, a regular customer named Ann, gray-haired, heavyset, and pleasant, was walking in with a jug. I asked "How's it going?" She signed and said "good". "Seems that sigh tells something different", I said in return. She went on to tell me that she is driving down past San Antonio to go to a horse show and wanted to leave earlier than the time she had woken up this morning. The jug was for filling with Kendra's Roadhouse tea. "They have the best tea here", she told me. Simply reaching for the chair, she invited herself to my table and joined me while the jug was being filled inside. I like how informal it is to do that here. She told me about her Arabian horse named K.R. Azeem and how her interest in horses was recently renewed after years away from them. With a jug of tea now in hand, she went to the car only to return a moment later with a business card and proud photos of Azeem.

Following the early lunch, I found my way through downtown Bastrop to the public library for route research, email, and blog updates.

Having parked and locked my bike near the library, the rest of the day was on foot between the river walk, the library, and various downtown shops. At a late lunch (yep, I can eat more often these days) I made sure to have a Lone Star beer as well as a Shiner bock, both Texas staples.

At 6:30pm, my friend John Ray, who recently moved to Austin from San Diego, drove up in his Jeep and took me back to his place just north of Austin where we ate brats off the grill before a little TV talk, and bedtime.
Finally some rest days! My legs held up their end of the deal today!