Day 33 - March 26, 2010 - Coast to Coast

P.S. from day 32 from the Captain: It was surprising how the vegatation has changed in such a short distance. In Del Rio, it was still the desert look, brown with mostly cactus. As we headed east, you started to see small trees, then flowers, and soon, trees large enough of to give shade. By Cooksey Park, the only cacti were prickly pear. The flowers were abundant and green grass was everywhere.

From the Captain: We headed out of Campwood knowing we would have to tackle the steepest grades (not the longest grades as in the mountains) of the trip. They were steep!!! Probably 10-12% grades but luckily they were short. The longest climb was 700 ft. We have refined the fine art of "bike hiking". One downhill was so steep, we had to stop and let the rims cool so we didn't have a blowout.

The scenery was beautiful with all the hills, valleys, and rivers. Trees are blossoming out and the pastures made for nice photos.

We went thru a small town called Leakey, population 307. Every motorcyclist in the state chose to ride to Leaky today. No wonder, the twisty roads and steep grades and fine weather make for good biking. They had 2 restaurants that catered to the bikers, "Hog Heaven" and "Bikers Grill." There must have been 2-3000 of them.

We made it to Lost Maples Natural Area. Nice Campground with large lots, grassy areas, river and waterfalls. It really is a nice part of the state.

We're continuing to have shifting problems with the bike. We jammed the chain again today buyt was able to dislodge it without tools. It is making for very tentative shifts. We are hoping to get to a bike shop tomorrow.