Today we have a long ride ahead of us. I awake with more then just a little trepidation of what lies ahead. As I lay there awake trying to gather the strength to get up and face the day, I hear noises outside and wonder if other campers have joined us during the night. I exit the tent to find my wife waiting outside. Although she claims she is there to congratulate us on our first days efforts, I get the feeling she is really there to convince herself that her son is alright, and is not being forced on this trip against his will.
Our quick start to a long ride is lost as we are treated to a big breakfast and (extensive) conversation on what else we could do during spring break. One would almost think she worries a bit. We promise to call her during the day and keep her up to date on our progress as we go on. The bike is working well, and we are having fun together. Our ride starts with us running late (but full).
The route we have chosen keeps us on back roads with little traffic. We leave the campsite and follow highway 306 until a right turn puts us on a northward course out of town. We cross FM-32 and start down Mail Route Road. In a bit, we should take a right turn onto a numbered road that will take us into Wimberly. In time, we find ourselves back on FM-32. Great! We are lost! Well, not really lost, just miles off course and running late. What happened? The “good” map used to plan our route used numeric references for all of the roads. The road signs, of course, use the local name for the roads. Although this the only day we got lost, we ran into this time after time on this trip.
Using our map, we plotted a new route to get us back on track, and missed another turn! We arrived in Wimberly a lot later then we had planned on, there was not enough time to make our campsite by dark. However, we could make it back to Canyon Lake in time, and we would try again in the morning. Consulting a map in the local hardware store, we found the road names for our original route and decided to take that way back to Canyon Lake.
Along the way, we were passed by a person on a mountain bike that warned us about “a bit of water on the road” ahead. He thought we could cross it, but also gave us a detailed route for bypassing it if we wanted to. We decided to press on and in a few miles we found the low water crossing he was referring to. A this point, the road crosses the Blanco river, and there was about a foot of water flowing over the bridge. We saw several people playing in the water and on the bridge, so we decided to make our way across.
Safely on the other side, we thanked our lucky stars that we had gotten lost earlier in the day. Had we come from the other side as originally planned, we never would have been able to make the crossing. The bridge is curved, located at the bottom of a steep hill, around a blind corner and covered with extremely slick moss. Oh, did I mention that the warning signs were down? By dumb luck, we avoided a very dangerous situation.
After reattaching the gear, we continued on our way back to Canyon Lake for the night. Several times during the day, we tried to phone the house, but could not get through. In the end, we decided to leave messages with my work, my wife’s work, and our friends in Lampasas so my wife would not worry. With that done, we setup camp and promptly crashed out for the night. What a day!