Day 11 - Bastrop to Lexington - The Bigs Start Retirement Right!

April 16, 2025

Day 11 - Bastrop to Lexington

We started out with a good plan for the day after looking at routes last night. However, as soon as we saw that Highway 21 leaving Bastrop had no shoulder, we changed our mind and went right back to the original plan.

I adjusted my saddle this morning based on last night's ride to dinner and then made a few more stops to adjust my saddle in the first 10 miles after leaving Bastrop. I got it pretty close but that doesn't mean it was entirely comfortable!

Seen leaving Bastrop. Dave said it was partly made of wood. It was for sale - don't miss this! 😁

We kept climbing through various developments to get out of Bastrop. I was glad to finally see the water tower knowing we were at the high point!

Outside Bastrop we saw a large MD Anderson Cancer Center facility with several large buildings and a very tall fence. There were also geodesic enclosures that appeared to all be separated inside the tall fence. I couldn't get a picture and wasn't inclined to get any closer with the very clear warnings about trepassing all along rhe property. building research facility. Some Google research shows it is a cancer research center and part of it uses primates.

We also saw a large tract of land that had No Trespassing warnings as well as warnings to not enter as you were in the "range impact area". Turns out it was a National Guard training area out there.

They made it clear we weren't welcome here!

Check out the small tank with gun parked by the watch tower. Not sure what this is!

We had several different wildlife sightings today along the road.

This Llama was just chilling in the shade. There was a mom with a new foal in the pasture as well, but she ran off as soon as I got close for a picture.

These two Bison were in a pasture with some Longhorns.

The Longhorns, including three current-year calves

The guardian donkeys keeping watch - they came right over when Dave got closer to the fence.

We spent most of the day riding quiet back roads. It was a really good day of riding, except I had trouble staying comfortable on the new saddle for too long today. The country was mostly ranch land and more moderate rolling hills. Of course with the weight of gear, I never manage to just roll up them!

We did have quite a few miles today with a nice tailwind (helped push me up some of those hills), and some cross-tailwinds that are better than nothing. Maybe we'll be lucky again tomorrow!

The scenery most of today on the backroads.

We only had one stop with services today about half way. The town of McDade only had a Dollar General on offer, so we bought some lunch meat, pack of cheese, loaf of bread, and mayo and made several sandwiches for lunch. There was a sign pointing to the old historic downtown, so we stopped to see it.

This was the whole historic downtown (don't mind my fingers in the corner!)

This part had a list of multiple saloons that had burned down and been rebuilt through the years.

We are finally starting to see more wildflowers again now that we have moved further east. The wildflowers in the Austin area were smaller, and less of them by the roadside. I think it was just too dry in the Austin area this year for good wildflowers.

I saw several good patches of Indian blanket on the roadside today.

A prickly pear cactus with a couple blooms open.

Prairie verbena painting the roadside a pretty pink.

Tomorrow we'll continue heading east to Lake Somerville. It is very windy tonight so hopefully that means it is getting it all out of its system before tomorrow!

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 319 miles (513 km)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesYour new saddle looks a bit narrow for a woman's anatomy. Usually those designed for touring are wider at the "sit" end, since often people touring have a more upright position. Hope it works out for you. If too painful try to find a slightly cushioned (gel filled) cover to attach over top. Sometimes available at Walmarts. How long is your tour? A few weeks might be alright,but a few months of riding on a painful saddle could lead to a less than happy lady.
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2 days ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesJust reread your intro. Only a few days to go on the "new" seat. You'll be fine!
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2 days ago

Laura SeiditaTo Steve Miller/GrampiesYou are right - it probably is a little narrow but was the only viable option. It isn't quite as wide as the Brooks and I need almost all of that. I only have a few more riding days so should survive, but already don't like it much!

I would have ordered a Brooks delivered somewhere if we had a lot further to go. 😊
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1 day ago