Day 45: To Camp Wood

April 10, 2012

Today I ride into the green zone once and for all. It will be a long day but I'm well rested now. I got up at 6:30 and walked next door to have breakfast at IHOP. On the road at 7:45, shortly after sunrise.

Overcast sky, 66F, humid, headwind blowing from the east. I pedaled all the way across Del Rio. Traffic was heavy until I got past the Air Force Base. I saw many jets taking off and landing.

US 90 has a paved shoulder but the shoulder is very rough chipseal that is not pleasant for cycling. The traffic lanes are worn smooth but there was far too much traffic to pedal in the main lane.

Roadside picnic area along US 90 east of Del Rio. It's nice to see tall trees again.

The flat ride from Del Rio to Brackettville is kind of boring. I arrived in Brackettville at 11:30 and had an early lunch. No more services for the next 50 miles to Camp Wood. Brackettville has several interesting limestone buildings but the town is not thriving.

I left Brackettville on FM 334, heading northeast towards Camp Wood. I was happy to be back on a low-traffic road with maybe 1 car per minute. Much more pleasant than US 90.

The landscape becomes steadily greener, with more and more live oak trees. And I start to see the Hill Country ahead. I saw many birds, butterflies, and insects.

The landscape gets steadily greener between Brackettville and Camp Wood.

I had a headwind, but it wasn't very strong. The clouds broke up at about noon.

I start to see the Hill Country in the distance.

Texas Farm-to-Market roads are great for cycling.

FM 334 ends at highway 55, where I turned north. Still 20 miles to Camp Wood, with more traffic. The road is now in Nueces Canyon, mostly flat.

Historic Methodist church in a rural community south of Camp Wood.

I'm now in the Texas Hill country. The hills and green trees are a nice change. But the best part of the Texas Hill Country is the clear spring-fed rivers and creeks. The first spring-fed river I see is the Nueces river which starts at springs 20 miles north of Camp Wood. I will also see the Frio, Sabinal, Medina, and Guadalupe rivers.

I will travel across the southernmost part of the Hill Country, so I won't see the Colorado river of Texas. It's a big muddy river that starts hundreds of miles west of the Hill Country. Not as appealing as the small clear spring-fed rivers that originate in the Hill Country.

Nueces river 4 miles south of Camp Wood. The first clear spring-fed water I've seen in a long time.

I arrived in Camp Wood at 6 PM and got a room at Woodbine Inn for $63. Later I spent a long time looking at the interesting clothes at Dolores' Mohair shop. Very fascinating. Camp Wood now caters to motorcyclists more than it did on my previous visits. But it's still a low-key tourist town. I like this remote southwest corner of the Texas Hill Country. It has bigger hills and fewer tourists than the areas closer to Austin and San Antonio.

Today had a high temperature of 83F. The humidity was moderate in the late afternoon, but very high in the morning. More humid than normal.

I was surprised to find that Camp Wood has no Verizon service. The motel has Wi-Fi, of course.

Distance: 85 mi. (136 km)

Climbing: 1779 ft. (539 m)

Average Speed: 11.1 mph (17.8 km/h)

Today's ride: 85 miles (137 km)
Total: 2,395 miles (3,854 km)

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