According to Katherine: Day 32 Recap

Woods, winds, woolly bears and wildflowers! This day had it all, and it has to have been the best day of the trip. How many times have I said that?

The Weather Channel issued a severe thunderstorm and high gusting winds warning as I was eating my breakfast of two hard boiled eggs, a bowl of instant oatmeal, and a four-ounce container of yogurt. (I'm about to get the hang of breakfast!)

It was 74 degrees and overcast, with black clouds all around us when we rolled out at 8:15 a.m. I had the joy of our nephew Rob Feagin and his family there for our exodus. They gave up more than a day of their vacation at Susie's family's East Texas ranch to come share my experience. What a compliment!

Three miles from the hotel, we entered the Bastrop State Park. There are about 13 miles of winding, hilly roads that make you want to shout, "Wheee!" as you ride. A couple of the hills were very steep. One was a 17% grade, and lots of us put pride aside and walked our bikes up to the top.

The aroma of the lush piney woods all around us was so refreshing. Rob's wife Susie's friend works in the Park. They linked up with her, and she drove them through the park to follow our route and stop for pictures as we approached. Such fun!

Brahma mama and her baby.

About five miles into the park, the winds came. The trees bent and groaned, the sky blackened and a few large rain drops forewarned us more were sure to come. Some of the wind gusts carried very cold air, as if someone had opened a refrigerator. Then, within minutes the temperature dropped to 63 degrees. I found out just how fast I can ride when I'm cold and scared! I could relate to Hansel and Gretel's fright in their forest. I was sure the woolly bears would be appearing any minute, but they didn't. The noise was just the wind in the trees, and the small limbs and branches blowing by. And, thankfully, the rain never came.

At 16 miles, the SAG Wagon was waiting, and the van and trailer were just down the road. Our guides urged Marge and me to ride two miles in the van to avoid fierce cross winds and wind shear. We took their suggestion. The minute the highway turned eastward, we got back on our bikes to enjoy the remainder of the ride under clearing skies with very helpful tail winds.

All along the way, we enjoyed an endless parade of colorful wildflowers on both sides of the road, and out in some of the pastures. We completed the 41-mile ride in the warm sunshine by 1:30 p.m., and relaxed with our PB&J sandwiches and hot cups of coffee in our lovely Best Western motel room.

We washed our bike clothes; and when I took them out to hang them up, there were white caps on the swimming pool! It would have been dangerous for Linda to use the gas stove to cook dinner in the trailer with all the wind, so she ordered pizza, and we ate in the motel's breakfast area. It came from a local pizzeria, and was exceptionally good. I left some of the crust on my plate, and didn't have any cookies for dessert. There weren't very many dishes, so we were back in our room and ready for bed nice and early to revel in our day's accomplishments. (Like this one: I learned to blow my nose while climbing a fairly steep hill. Until now, I have been loathe to take one hand off the handlebar in the midst of an ascent!)

1,752 miles behind us. 1,348 to pedal. 26 days to go.       

Dr. Jeter Day 32 on Polyvore.com