Save 22 A Day Trans-America Cycling

Fredericksburg is a tourist destination in the Texas Hill Country.  For us it’s a rest and recuperation (R & R) destination.  Museums are also available.   We are at the tour halfway mark!  Tour leaders sang a happy halfway ditty to us yesterday.  Some halfway stats and observations * 1500 miles down the road * Temperatures generally cooler than normal * Before the middle of Texas we had more tailwind than headwind.  It appears that in the central region of Texas it is rather common in the spring to have winds out of the east, so we rode pacelines there where we can there to foil the headwind. * One day of rain, on Day 24 was a gully washer * We have ridden over most of the worst chipseal on the journey, but Larry warned of some rough road still ahead of us Last night and today Barry, our retired Navy Command Master Chief, presented everyone with a unique, customized challenge coin.   One side includes the seal for the Navy S...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Today marked the halfway point of our cycling journey across America.  Trans-America Cycling staff surprised us at breakfast by singing the "Happy Halfway to You" song at the breakfast table. Happy halfway to you Today was a picturesque ride in the Texas Hill Country.  There was one steep hill with a grade measured at 12%.  Once on top there were panoramic views of ranchland with cattle, sheep, goats and alpacas.   Where before Del Rio there were no trees, now trees are everywhere Water in the hills Smooth chip seal made with rounded pebbles made for a very smooth ride. Thanks to Ray from Malta for most of the outstanding photographs of the hill country today. Today we had some of the smoothest chipseal for miles around.  The reality though is that most chipseal is rough.  A Texas cyclist recommended to lowering air pressure  to best deal with the rough c...

Today's ride was cancelled due to heavy rain, thunder and lightening, i.e. for safety purposes.  Riding down the very steep descents would be very dangerous today in the heavy rain.   In addition there is low lying ground in the ride past the climbing stages in which creeks and rivers flood the road and make travel impossible.  Once there the only way to get to Ingram is to backtrack, which would be a very long journey.  After the accident in Hatch, NM that took out one TAC truck and the TAC custom trailer and has left us with two remaining vehicles, the bicycle carrying capacity of the vehicles is a limiting factor in ferrying riders and their baggage and equipment. Rain at motel cancelled the ride today Sandbags by stores in Camp Wood !@#$%^&*()_+ Today's blog is from Tennessee Jim's personal blog from the 2017 TAC tour for the exact same route.  You all would have enjoyed the ride very much and would have felt proud from mastering the...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Before the start of the ride today, Roberto was interviewed by staff from the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) Association of Graduates office.  That interview is part of preparation for an article in the June issue of the USAFA alumni magazine Checkpoints . Roberto's interview Jeff and Ryan of the  Association of Graduates office did a very thorough job gathering information, photos and videos for the article.  Ryan even operated a drone overhead along the route today to take bird's eye view videos of cyclists riding.  The previous day pictures and videos were taken of Jim, a 1969 USAFA graduate, proudly cycling in an Air Force Falcons bicycle jersey.  A GoPro digital action camera was bicycle and rider mounted to take videos of pedaling feet, the road over the handlebars, the cyclists face, etc.  Very cool!  Later that day Jim was interviewed.  The Checkpoints article ...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . To day was a partial rest day after the tough ride yesterday.  The ride was only 32 miles, but it was into a 10 to 15 mph headwind. Most of us had dinner at the Sirloin Stockade.  After dinner our two riders from Malta checked out a serape and sombrero.  John tried them on for size.  The captions for the photos are by Ray, John's friend from Malta. We have a Mexican riding with us. Can you tell me where I can get a good taco around here? Riders wore Veteran Energy jerseys today in anticipation of an interview raising awareness of veterans' suicide with a Del Rio newspaper set up by Veteran Energy.  The ensuing newspaper article featured Kip's photograph. Veteran Energy team Climbing hills can be challenging. I think I can.  I think I can. SAG food nourishes cyclists during the ride.  A major dilemma occurred when we ran out of crunchy peanut butter.  To ...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Today was probably the hardest day of riding of the tour so far.  Most of the 89 miles was into a headwind, peaking at about 15 mph.  There also were plenty of extra long dips to negotiate, some a mile or two in length.  To compound matters, because the wind slowed us down, we were riding in the late afternoon sun and heat.   At the first SAG stop there were happy faces, before the riding conditions deteriorated Climbing up the far side of a long dip, one of very many on our route today Another difficulty was the rough surface of Texas chip and seal, which will often be referred to as chipseal in the blog.  Instead of rolling smoothly, the bicycle wheels go bumpety bump down the road and loose good road contact.   Some Texan cyclists have described it to us as chunkseal, which in the rough areas is a better description than chipseal.  All in all the chipseal that we ...