Day 58: Hunt to Leakey

March 3, 2014

We woke up at 5:30, a little later than we sometimes have. It's not much use being up, though, because the deep freeze has outdone the forecast, and it is under 20 F. (-7 C) Our situation is looking a bit dicey, because we are essentially out of food. The store we passed in Hunt, some kms back, had almost nothing. So we can't stay here, and no use going back. But can we go forward? It would be bad news to be out on a lonely, frozen road with no food and very sparse settlement ahead. And oh, there is no cell phone service.

We have laid out all our clothes and told ourselves "Well, people go out skiing for a day with not much more than this, so what are we afraid of?" A little voice replies "Up hill climbs, headwinds, flats, not reaching the lodge by dark, - that's what".

I wrote the above two paragraphs this morning, and wanted to post it and a little more before setting out. That way, people would know what we were thinking before finding us frozen in the hills. However the web site was down, so we just headed out. The fact that you are reading this now must mean that we made it!

We waited until 8 for the air to warm up a bit, whcih it did not really do. However the office had opened by then. Inside they had some chocolate bars and granola bars. Dodie bought 20!

With all clothes on (even what we normally use as "pyjamas") the icy wind did not cut through us. I had one of our two remaining hand warmers. While gentle, these are a big help, and they last for many hours. So the freezing temperature was somewhat under control, and we had the concentrated "nutrition" of 20 chocolate bars. That left only the hills.

The temperature for most of the morning. The lowest we saw was before setting off: -4.4 C

We did our usual routine - cycle as much as possible, zoom down the downhills, push uphill when necessary, send Steve ahead to park his bike at the top of a hill and have him walk back down to push or crank Dodie's up.

The gate of ranch. Every ranch has a secure gate and no houses visible.

Look at how strong and tall these fences are made!

A big decision. Follow ACA onto 187 or continue on 39 to join 83. 83 turned out to be Easy Street

What it looks like to Steve, walking back to help Dodie up.

Some cute deer of some sort through a ranch fence

We are not worried about 39 having no shoulder, because it has no traffic!

Now we somewhat understand the high fences on the ranches.

However, despite our ernest efforts by 12:30 we had made only 25 kms. The ACA route wanted us to head down hwy 187, past the Lost Maples State Natural Area.(see photo below of a map that shows all this). We knew there was a gas station/handimart at the intersection with 337, and some B&Bs in the area. However we could not confirm their availability - no cell service. The distance to one of the B&Bs would be about 58 km from where we started. From there, the next day, we would only be able to hop to Leakey, because the next stop would be too far.

The remaining 58-25=33 kms looked pretty daunting, because hwy 187 goes through what some locals call Little Colorado - ie big hills. So here is where we took another gamble and headed straight for Leakey, on US 83. The gamble ended like winning the lottery! US 83 had a wide shoulder and what's more went downhill or flat/slightly up for the entire 22 km into Leakey!

We arrived in the little town and were a little disconcerted to find most things closed (for the Winter?). However the little grocery was open and Dodie went in to buy the place out. (Never shop when you are starving!). We then proceeded to the "Historic Leakey Inn". Here we found a phone in a bucket and a number to call. The man who answered said he would be down within 20 minutes. In the meantime we absorbed the scene, which had a main building, several cabins standing around, and a very large covered area with BBQs and tables. We took to the tables and began to arrange supper. It would have been great to put the tent right there, but we knew another sub freezing night was on the way.

The whole area looked like it would be a lot of fun to stay at. That is, funky, roomy, with good things like shelter and BBQ. However the man (who we think is Brad) and his wife arrived, and suggested we might like to shift over to their sister property, Frio Springs Lodges, just 1/2 km away.They seemed to think it would be more pleasant - hard to imagine since this place looked great.

We pedalled over the 1/2 km and to one of their two bedroom cabins. We stepped inside, and oh my God! Immaculate tile floors, pine panelling, fireplace, sofa, granite top table and six chairs, washer/dryer, kitchen, two separate bedrooms. Totally gorgeous!

Brad had popped ahead and turned on the heat and the TV and was just leaving when we arrived. He casually mentioned we might like to have a look at the Spring, over by the one bedroom cabin, the one they almost put us in before figuring the two bedroom would have more room for the bikes!

We did wander over, past the pool, and oh my God! - a spring flowing along a stone flume into a small side channel of the Frio River. In the near distance, deer running, in the water, cypress. This place is the embodyment of the phrase "gorgeous retreat". That assessment comes from the folks that spent last night at a retreat on the also gorgeous Guadalupe. On the other hand, the same people also expected to freeze or starve up in the hills today, so maybe they are delirious. I think not.

The price Brad gave us was clearly the cyclist special. There is no telling how many multiples of that the place is really worth.

Brad confirmed that the ACA route by Vanderpool is unnecessarily brutal. It also seems that if we continue on 83 and bypass ACA again tomorrow, life will be good and we will be well on our way to Del Rio. Alright!!

The reservation system at the Leakey Inn

Bedroom of our cabin. There was another bedroom like this, and two bathrooms.

Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 3,443 km (2,138 miles)

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