Hellweek - "Everybody's somebody in Luckenbach"

After a nice rest day on Thursday, I was ready to ride again on Friday. The weather was cool, probably around 60 degrees, and it sprinkled off and on, but it was a nice, scenic 70 mile ride, with a kick-ass downhill and some tough climbs. My legs hurt worse than I thought they would after a rest day...but I think it might have been due to dehydration (I had my fair share of sangria the night before). We rode the first 20 miles of the ride in a huge pack of about 40 people. After a quick stop at mile 20, Angie and I rode the rest of the day with Birchwood Annie and Nate, and another couple from Rochester NY. We all co-miserated about having to return to cold temps and snow at home. I'm really bummed about the weather in MN. When we left, it was about 50 degrees, and I was really looking forward to getting home and having it be spring and riding my bike. But now everyone's talking about bustin' out the cross-country skis again. I'm not looking forward to getting off the plane tonight. After our ride, we headed downtown again and went to this gourmet salsa shop that has samples of all of their salsas, marinades, spices, jams, and fudge. It was a nice little appetizer. Then we decided to go back to Luckenbach...the interesting/strange place we visited on the first day of riding. I was looking forward to another "cherry limeade"...they use fresh-squeezed limes! We enjoyed a little jam-session where a 12-yr kid was playing guitar with a bunch of the old comboys. Luckenbach, Texas, is a strange, but cool place. Notice the two different types of "bikers" in the picture below? We then headed back to town (and actually saw Marjie's zebra on the way), had dinner (and I finally got a yummy margarita), and got to bed early.
Today (saturday), the plan was to get up early and get a quick 40-mile ride in before having to leave. We awoke to the coolest temps yet, light rain, and storms in the forecast. That didn't stop Lieselot, Marjie, and Paula. But Angie and I had no desire to ride in that. Lieselot reminded us that this is the last day we can probably ride outside for a while...but I didn't come to Texas to ride in miserable weather, and I'm still technically on vacation. So I've had some time this morning to pack, catch up on my blogging, and send out a few e-mails.
Angie and I will be leaving for Austin again shortly, and the others will be packing up and driving north. Back to reality - snow, cold, and trainer rides.

It's been a great week, but I look forward to a good latte, my own bed, my guy, my friend's party tonight, and my little guys too (who I'll have to try to see ASAP).

Thanks for reading!


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