19th – 20th Nov 2018

Kerrville to Fredericksburg 40kms

All of us had a relaxing morning. James came to our room, with delicious chocolate muffins, we chatted, watched the news, shared more plans, and eventually decided we’d get going. James headed back to his hotel next door, and we got packing. As Will was getting the bikes out, Betty put up a protest, with her first flat tyre of the trip. What the hell Betty? It was her rear tyre, which was pretty bald, and we were hoping it would make three more days of riding, but nope, it’s cactus. Luckily we had a spare, which Will whipped on in record time, while I packed all the gear. We rode over to meet James, and together we slogged out of town. It was bloody cold, 7C, and a slight head wind. Our first 5kms, was up a shitty hill, but the rest of the day was pretty much rolling hills, with some nice downhill runs. After only 2kms, we had to stop. We’d reached 5,000kms. Wow, that is so amazing. We did a little dance on the side of the road, took the happy snaps, and carried on.

Betty had a blow out, she was really trying to help me. I wasn’t feeling like riding today, she went out in sympathy. Will was having none of it!

About halfway we stopped at a hardware store, come service station, for a break, and they gave us free coffee, and let us sit by the warm fire. How nice is that? We enjoyed a good half hour of warmth, before hitting the cold road again. From here it was more downhill than anything else, and we smashed into town just in time for a late lunch. Fredericksburg is a German style town, so we found a German style restaurant, and had a fantastic lunch, with warm spiced wine. It was tough to say goodbye to James, as it’s probably the last we’ll see of him this tour. It has been a real privilege to share part of his journey. 

Fredericksburg, what a cool town. Wineries, breweries, and good German food. Pity it’s so bloody cold.

We rode a couple of backstreets, to the HEB store, and did some food shopping. Two nights here, then two nights in Johnson City, then we ride to Austin and are done. It is tough to comprehend. It is a difficult time in a tour. You want to finish, you don’t want the experiences to end, you miss your family, and the comforts of your own environment. It is hard to leave all the amazing people you’ve met, knowing you may never see each other again. We hope we do. So the next few days will take great energy, to ensure we don’t close our eyes and miss what ever great experiences they have for us. It’s not over yet!

Too cold for ice cream, so off to the supermarket. Which tree should we get kids? Lucky Will came out, we almost had one strapped onto Yellow Dawg. Nice to arrive at Sunset Inn and Suites, especially when Tim upgraded us to a self contained, huge unit, for nothing extra. Wow, thanks so much, it was fantastic.

Fredericksburg – Tuesday

Lazy morning! Nothing to rush around for. It was very cold outside, but the sun was shining. Eventually, we got the unloaded kids out, and loaded them with our stinky clothes, and rolled down the hill to do our washing. Easy hour and a bit just reading five year old magazines, The we loaded our clean clothes into the panniers, and rode around town for a look at some of the sights.

Fredericksburg is a beautiful little town, with lots of cute, neat houses, and old stone buildings. All local stone. Not to mention a street full of churches.

Google found us a brewery for lunch, but didn’t quite have the location right. We managed to locate it with a bit of back and forth, along the Main Street, and enjoyed a nice lunch, with a couple of good beers. This is going to have to end when we finish riding, or we’ll just ruin all the hard work we’ve done. Bugger!

Love the different colours in the stonework, and these are quite old buildings. They look great.

The rest of the day, we relaxed with a Mandala, some old movies, and not much else. An easy ride tomorrow, in some more colder weather.