Day 52: La Grange to Bastrop: Over 3000 km now!

February 25, 2014

Having chosen (not accidentally) the closest accommodation in town to Lukas Bakery, we packed and were over there pretty darn promptly. First thing in the morning I am not generally very talkative, but Dodie was able to engage the owner, Larry, with what must be for him the UQs. We (she) learned that he is the son-in-law of the founders. He came to work at the bakery in 1973 and has been managing it since 1978, when his father in law passed away. The recipes are all originals and are not written down, but are in his head. His principle is to make everything fresh and from scratch, including the cooking of the kolatche fillings. Further, the sausages that are in the pig in a blanket are preservative free. This gives them a short life on the counter, compared, he said, to the three day shelf life possible for low quality competitors.

To make sure that we had a good sample (just in the interest of scientific accuracy!) we ordered two apricot and two mohn kolaches, two "honey buns" (which we call sticky buns), two of what we would call cheese danishes, and two pigs in the blanket. Though we ate some at the bakery and put some on the bikes, in short order we had eaten it all. Yes, all.

The fillings were the best part. Flavourful and generous.The sausage in the pig in the blanket, too, was high quality and delicious. The sweet dough was not as dense and we would have thought. Not as dense as German or French . Perhaps Czech is lighter, or perhaps after 75 years in America, the product has evolved. Dodie liked it a lot. I would have voted for more density.

Where's the beef? The paper reports cattle numbers are down, prices up.

Look Marvin, they publish Retail Sales data by region on the front page of the paper

The next stop was planned to be Weikel's Bakery , whose slogan is "We Gotcha Kolache". However it turned out Weikel's was off route, and we missed it. Good thing, maybe, because our pig out at Lukas powered us easily for the rest of the day.

The thing about the route was that ACA wanted to keep us off route 71, which shoots directly to Bastrop. Rather ACA sent us up 77, across 153, and then into Buescher State Park. There, they wanted us to twist and climb on Park Road 1C until it would enter Bastrop State Park, and eventually, and we mean eventually, it would pop out back at 71. We played along, and did enjoy the quiet 153, and the lake and birds on Park Road 1C. But enough is enough. We were going to be enduring all this enjoyment all afternoon! So we fired up the GPS and bailed out back to 71, from there more or less zooming to Bastrop. (There are still some big hills involved).

More of what I am lagging behind to photograph. Had to actually chase this butterfly around.

Grrrr. Wish ACA would reveal why they chose a particular route. Did they choose this one for the steep grades, or the winding road?

On Park Road 1C were lots of oaks. Not Live Oak which is largely evergreen, but oak that loses its leaves. The shape of these leaves, unlike with the smooth ones of live oak, had pronounced lobes. This is also the area known as the Lost Pines. Here is the westernmost stand of loblolly pines in the US. It is a tiny stand, separated by 100 miles from the main forest, in Eastern Texas. Though prescribed burning is part of the management of the stand, we believe in 2011 there was an uncontrolled fire. Along 71 we saw lots of evidence of this fire.

Early Blue Bonnets. This is the Texas state flower.

Some evidence of German heritage in Texas

Some evidence of Czech heritage in Texas

Rabbs Prairie sign gives some feel of Texas history.

Sometimes when I am lagging behind, I am photographing something like this moth.

Dodie really liked this complete wraparound porch

Bailed back out onto 71. Note the extra wide shoulder protected by rumble strip.

The forecast is for thundershowers, rain, and very cold, so we took the excuse to find another motel. We phoned around and came up with the Tropicana, which was the cheapest. A pleasant surprise was a freshly painted place where everything works, the furniture matches, and there are no weird smells or anything else amiss! It's the first place at any price where we could say all this.

Next door was a steak house where Dodie ordered fried chicken. The waitress warned that this was a big plate. It was true. The chicken that we put in the takeaway container will make two hearty sandwiches for tomorrow.

Tomorrow we expect to cycle in cold and rain, but Austin is very close. We will stop there in a motel long enough to meet with Ardell again and re-swap wheels. The ACA route goes through the centre of town, and we will take that to be good enough for our tour the following day. We have noticed the pages of the calendar blowing by, and February is almost done. No time to dilly dally!

See our current location, courtesy of Michel Fleurance in Nantes:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/guestbook/message/?message_id=547192

Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 3,109 km (1,931 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0