We had a quick visit on Thursday's drive down with our friends Todd & Kim & Lovey in Austin. It was a wonderful lunch at their house along with Todd's magic coffee fixins before packing back up and heading to the Hampton in Kerrville.

Unfortunately the wildflowers were not much this year. The weather had not cooperated and there were just a few visible. We biked both Friday and Saturday, then drove home on Sunday.

Friday's route left from the Fredericksburg Elementary School on Lower Crabapple Road and headed north. The temperatures were perfect. It was smooth sailing under cloudy skies and a brisk south wind (at our back). We got to see the fire damage from the "Crabapple Fire" north of Fredericksburg. At about mile 15 someone crashed hard at the bottom of a steep downhill. EMS and authorities rushed past us with sirens blaring. Then many minutes later they came zooming back sirens again going. Turned out the woman had to be Care Flighted to a trauma center capable of dealing with her injuries. Yikes. We caught up with Niles later and found out he was the first biker on the scene. He called 911 and tried to give aid but she had no identification on her. This really freaked him out. The sheriff and crew eventually let us continue at the bottom of the hill but then closed the course for everyone and (we think) turned everyone behind us around to go back to the start at the elementary school.

That's because, when we turned left/west we realized the south wind was 20-30 mph gusting to 35+. Stewart was blown completely off the road and managed to unclip before going over. We continued very slowly centered in the road, death grips on our handlebars, heads down, until the rest stop at mile 25. One of the organizers told us they had expected gusts of 30-35 but were getting reports of 50+ mph and they would gladly SAG (Support And Gear) anybody back in if they wanted. We learned the hell that is a straight 30mph cross wind with 50mph gusts. Everyone who rolled in was a bit shell-shocked. Linda, Anne, and Stewart sagged back to our cars while John soldiered on testing out his new e-bike in the stiff winds, hoping for a better day on Saturday.

Which we got.

Saturday out of Kerrville was overcast and a little windy but nothing like Friday. There were rain forecasts for later in the day but we only got a few sprinkles near the end of the ride. It was very pleasant and relaxing compared with Friday. We remembered the climb up to the cell tower between miles 4 and 5, then the rolling hills heading east. The first rest stop was in the town of Center Point where Anne shared a capuccino with Linda at the coffee shop "Central Provisions". This place was great with art decorating the walls, snacks at the stop out front, and rest rooms. Reminded us of "Snug On the Square" in downtown McKinney, TX. Center Point is also the place we always stop at the waterfall over the Guadalupe and get photos. Same this year. We again biked right by our old "Dave's Place" where, in years past, we'd stop and get "Buckets Of Beer" and sit on the patios toasting our biking prowess. It closed a few years ago but is still there to point at and remember. Then we biked northwest past the steep climb "Seldon's Folly" before arriving back at the Trailhead Beer Garden. Named Seldon's Folly because once at Dave's Place Niles told us to be aware on the ride into town that there's a sharp right turn and the steep hill begins; be prepared. Turned out to be a sharp left turn and the hill began. Nobody was prepared. Stewart spotted several "Park Models" on the bike ride into town. Wouldn't it be nice to live in one of these micro-houses on the riverfront? These were right beside of the Jeep Wagoneer museum that we always used to marvel at. It has now closed and there is no sign of it except the large deserted parking lot. Sad.

In the evenings we relaxed at various restaurants along the Guadalupe River (and Nimitz Lake) in Kerrville. We sat on the patios at Thai Ocha, Chiles, Rail Cafe at the Depot, Off Main Brewing, and Schlotsky's. Since biking went through the lunch hour we mostly ate lighter fare at off hours and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. We also got a chance to visit and stroll through Kerrville's Louise Hays Park, across the Guadalupe, and up the "switch backs" to the beautiful Butt-Holdsworth Library.

Also, on Saturday, we again visited Kerrville's Riverside Nature Center where Stewart sat on the covered patio and read his book while Anne, John, and Linda wandered the grounds looking at birds. John pointed out the trail left the Nature Center and crossed Town Creek into a beautiful wooded area. Anne spotted an Egyption Goose on the walk, very unusual in this area. We met some kids fishing off the bridge that were more than willing to show us their catch. They were having the best time ever.

We stopped by and visited with friends Steve & Doris on our Sunday drive home. They're doing good. They live along the shore of Buchanan Lake where, in the past, it was covered in Bluebonnets, Primrose, and Indian Paintbrushes. Not this year, although they have a lot of deer that visit their property.

A notes on e-bikes. We noticed many more e-bikes this year than last. It reminded Stewart of disc brakes. There was a time when only a very few bikes had disc brakes, all the rest were the old, reliable caliper brakes. Now, caliper brakes are very rare. Everyone has disc brakes and the tech works great. Is it the same with e-bikes? It's also true that we see many more older people biking now-adays (including ourselves). That might have something to do with it. Btw, e-bikes are zero help in a stiff cross wind!