Day 4 - Austin to San Antonio

The Route

Going from Austin to San Antonio was a real experience for all of us. I was expecting the same terrain and landscape that you see through the window of your car when you drive down I-35. We were pleasantly surprised with the tree-lined roads that wound through and over many streams and dams along the way. This made for a very pleasant ride.

To top off the route we even saw some true to life Texas Longhorns grazing and resting in a field along the way. The picture may even provide a new mascot for the Quattro Assi team. 

The only time we really hit any traffic or problems was when we hit the northern suburbs of San Antonio. Once we got through a bit of traffic our route went through some very nice park areas and then brick lined streets of San Antonio. Once we reached the hotel we even had a view of the city skyline.

Many thanks go out to Fred Meredith of the Austin Cycling Association and William Hudson of the San Antonio Wheelmen. The route that they provided were excellent and provided the wonderful view of the Texas country side.

The Ride

About 98% of the riding was excellent. We had two small incidents happen during the day that caused some slight problems, but they were easily corrected.

The first was Sean's rack, which unfortunately broke again even after fixing it yesterday. The screws that hold the bottom portion of the rack to the bicycle frame came out and were lost somewhere on the road. This caused the rack to rub the tire. This required a little more effort to fix. We visited a transmission repair shop, which thankfully directed us to an auto parts store, where we got the necessary goods to complete the repair. On the bright side Sean's rack broke at the best possible time in the ride. The next intersection after it broke was the last street where civilization existed for about 20 miles. Any later and we would have either had to back track, or ride with a broken rack, which is not easy.

The second incident was George's tire, which became flat number one of the trip. We decided that if this also became the last flat, it would be an excellent trip.

The rest of the trip to San Antonio was without incident. Everything went smoothly and we all enjoyed the ride. At the end George began to get a little tired, but with good cause. George spent the Saturday night chaperoning after-prom and was up all night. He then flew to Austin on Sunday to meet us with about 2-3 hours of sleep. After only one night's sleep he was the first to hit the bed and was out like a light.

San Marcos, Gruene, and San Antonio

Once we got going on the road San Marcos was our first real stop. We stopped here to get some lunch, but also so Sean could get new alumni decals for his car. Sean is a graduate of South West Texas State University, which is in San Marcos. We ate like pigs at the "Cafe on the Square" in San Marcos and then walked briefly around the square. The statue on the square in San Marcos is of John C. "Jack" Hays. Jack was one of the original developers of San Marcos.

Gruene Hall which was built in 1878 as one of the first dance halls in Texas. Who knows, maybe the Texas 2-step originated in this hall. Gruene, Texas is a small tourist town which is home to many bed & breakfasts and antique shops. Greune Hall is also one of George Stait's first stage appearances. 

In San Antonio we had an excellent time on the River Walk. For those who don't know, San Antonio created a river in the shape of a square through their city. All along the river are restaurants and hotels. It was an ideal place to walk off the day's ride and loosen up muscles that had already become tight from the riding.

Riding Update

Our ride today was the first day of traveling with full packs. The packs add about 20 pounds to our bicycles. This weight was held to a minimum as we traveled light and are staying in hotels. Because of the weight and the wind you will notice that yesterday's average speed was over 19 mph, but today's was just over 14 mph. This speed will more than likely be our average speed until we get rid of our packs in Houston for the trip back to Austin.

Miles: 87.89
Average Speed: 14.18 mph
Total Trip: 169.03 Miles
Total Average Speed: 18.33 mph

Weather

Today's weather hit us square in the face. We headed South to South-West and a stiff wind was blowing out of the South to South-East all day. Most of the day was spent trying to find a place to draft off the other guy. Other than the wind the weather was very cooperative. Most of the day was partly cloudy with a some period of bright sun. The high temperature was 85*.