Day 32: Vanderpool to Camp Wood

March 18, 2025

Looking back at the first hill of the day. 600 feet of elevation gain in 0.7 miles and average gradient > 11%. Ouch.

I guess the speed warnings were for real. A sing said 22 motorcycle-involved deaths since 2006.

Camp Wood Creek looks a little dry. The bridge over it was quite long.

Last night I started to get a headache after dinner and it turned into a migraine during the night. I took a rizatriptan in the night and again in the morning. The wind was very strong all night. It blew my tent like in the picture above, though perhaps not quite as far down. I didn't get the greatest night sleep. I woke up at 5:30 so I could get my stuff packed and also put out breakfast and lunch stuff. JE was my partner and he was very helpful. I felt bad that he did more than I did. I ate oatmeal and a half of a PBJ. I packed a ham and Swiss sandwich, a kind bar, a crunchy granola bar, an apple and a clementine. I left about 8:20, which I thought was pretty good given that I had to do breakfast. It felt very windy in the canyon. It was in the 50s so I used leg warmers, a vest, a short-sleeve jersey, light full-finger glovesand sun sleeves. I wore medium weight wool socks. I wasn't cold at all. Once on the road the wind didn't seem bad. It could be that it was because our campground was in a canyon that was funneling the wind.

At about mile five we had our first real climb of the trip: a 0.7 miles, 340 feet of elevation gain, and an average gradient of 10% according to my Karoo. The total gain was about 600 feet according to RWGPS. I had to alternate grinding standing and sitting. It would have been nice to have a lower gear. The road was chip seal, but pretty good. There was low traffic and it wasn't windy. There was a 2nd long climb at about mile 10 (450 feet elevation gain in 1.6 miles at average gradient of 6%). It was better than wind. There was some nice up and down and winding descents. There were warnings about motorcycle deaths, etc, so I didn't really let it rip, but it was a moment of Type 1 fun. The scenery and road were beautiful. We descended into the town of Leakey, where JG was waiting to with he van to do shopping. It was about mile 19. I got a bottle of water from him and left my leg warmers, vest, and sun glasses case (that I brought by accident). I got a bottle of milk at the grocery store and drank it and ate an apple and a granola bar.

A few miles outside of Leakey there was a 2.4 mile climb with 550 feet of elevation gain and average gradient of 5.5%. I felt o.k. climbing and thought my gearing was o.k. About halfway to Camp Wood we started to turn Southwest and the wind started to pick up. It was mostly a cross wind and so riding was o.k. In Camp Wood, we turned directly into the wind. It was also a pretty busy road and pretty rough. There was a wide shoulder, but the shoulder was rougher than the road. It was a grind doing those last five miles.

Again I focused on keeping my power above 100 watts. My average power was 100 W and my normalized power was 130W. I think I am physically capable of power levels like that for 4 or more hours, even though I am fatigued. I think that gets me there faster and puts less pressure on my rear end. It is also more fun to go fast. I will try to do that again tomorrow.

We are staying at an RV park tonight. It has good wifi and generally nice facilities. We ate a vegetarian African stew with sweet potatoes, beans, peanuts, etc. There was very good pecan pie for desert. I am very full. I am hoping to get to bed early and get a good night sleep.

Tomorrow's ride is 75 miles to Del Rio, which is on the border. It goes south at first, then southwest, then west northwest. The wind is from the northwest and is supposed to be 22 gusting to 30. They are offering lift from Bracketville, at mile 47, to the end. I might do it. I don't want a repeat of the misery from 2 days ago on the ride into Kerrville. We are staying at a hotel tomorrow night.

Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 1,571 miles (2,528 km)

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