San Antonio

Heading out from Bandera, Sam and I stopped at the Long Horn Saloon that we were at so we could get pictures. Brian Black and his wife were there. Brian knows a lot of musicians from his 15 years of touring with his band and may be able to get us into Austin City Limits when we get back to Austin. We exchanged phone numbers so we will see.




























































The 54 mile to San Antonio was challenging with some very steep hills to climb. After 31 miles, I came to a cafe/bakery where I had something to eat for the first time of the day. Sam joined me after about a half hour or so. It was a welcome break.
























Navigating our way into San Antonio, the 7th largest city in the U. S., was a challenge. My phone GPS was a life saver. There were many stretches that took us on busy roads, but one beautiful scenic trail.




































Finally arriving downtown, we booked a room for 2 nights at the Drury, a hotel right on the Riverwalk. It comes with free dinner including 3 drinks which Sam and I took advantage of. We also took advantage of the 22nd floor outside pool/hot tub with a couple of beers. Later we walked along the Riverwalk and came to an Irish Pub with a guitar player/singer. A great ending to our day.




































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:E Commerce St,San Antonio,United States

Bandera

Sunday 9/28/14 gave us a sunny day for a beautiful rolling 28 mile ride to Bandera. Wide shoulders and little traffic made for an enjoyable ride. Going out of Kerrville, we inadvertently became part of the triathlon that was going on, so we were riding amongst some of the athletes and were getting cheers from the crowds lining the course. Nice.















Compared to Kerrville with a population of 22,000, Bandera with a population of 850 was a nice contrast with a small cowboy country town atmosphere.












We found the trailer that we reserved and made ourselves at home. It is at the edge of town in a beautiful setting. The owner, Chris, and his wife are very welcoming.























Chris suggested that we go to the Long Horn Saloon for some fun. It is owned by Brian Black, younger brother to country singer Clint Black. Chris had Jason, his son, drive us to get beer and drop us off at Long Horn before he preceded back and put the beer in our refrigerator so we could have a cold one when we got back. The Long Horn was packed with locals some coming by horse and had a country band playing. Sam and I shot pool while listening to the band. One of the patrons, a tattoo artist, with his wife challenged us to a team game. He cleared the table in his second turn. After that he joined another team at the next table where Brian Black was playing. I was shooting OK, though, and won the next game playing against his wife. Chris was right. We had a great time at the Long Horn,


















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kerrville

Our ride to Kerrville was an easy 26 miles. Hwy. 16 took us there the whole way. With wide shoulders and good pavement, the cars flying by at 70 mph were not a problem. Having no luck finding a hotel in the center of town, we pedaled back to the closest motel we could find, an old and somewhat run down motel. We each got our own room for less than we paid for our last place. After bringing back some beer we made plans for the evening and for tomorrow - dinner at the Asian restaurant, music and shooting pool at Elm Creek Waterhole Saloon, kayaking tomorrow on Guadalupe River, and biking to a trailer/hotel in Bandera that I was able to book online.






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Fredericksburg

Today's ride (Friday 9/26) to Fredericksburg was much easier. Fewer miles (32) and more forgiving hills was a relief from our previous day's ride. Twenty five of the 32 miles was on Hwy. 290, a 70 mph road with a bad shoulder. Not fun.






For almost 7 miles we were on a scenic road which led to the LBJ Historical Park. This is where bike touring becomes so worthwhile . I took over an hour to visit the LBJ historic site visiting the museum and touring some of the grounds which included a working historic farm. Typically Sam and I do not ride together so he made it to Fredericksburg over an hour ahead of me. He found the Fredericksburg Brewing Pub and was waiting for me with a beer. Fredericksburg was settled by Germans and has many quaint establishments lining Main Street.






























After the brew pub we found a motel, relaxed by the pool, ate at Auslander Biergarten Restaurant, and found a patio where a good band was playing. A woman at the next table asked where we were from. She said that she could tell from our accents that we were from Minnesota. Sam and I then tried our best to talk Minnesotan, don't ya know. A game of farkle back at our room finished the evening. A great day filled with good exercise, good food and beer, good music, and many laughs.











- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone