Del Rio - Camp Wood, TX
Daily Route
Daily Elevation (minus 8 miles...oops)
Last night’s sleep in the cabin was OK for me. Tim was up most of the night because of snoring. I was up some because Tim was tossing and turning in the bunk below me and the wooden bed shook and made creaking noises whenever he moved. We woke up to overcast skies, and temperatures in the mid-60’s which should be nice to ride in.
When we arrived at the RV, Patrick wasn’t there. He finally showed up just before we were about to leave and said that he scouting the start of our ride because the road was closed for construction. He walked a bit of the road and saw that we could get over the bridge that looked like the reason the road was closed. If we didn’t want to take the closed road, the alternate route was 2 miles longer. The majority wanted to take the chance on the road closure, so we headed out just after 9 AM and crossed the road closed barriers 30 minutes later.
When we arrived at the RV, Patrick wasn’t there. He finally showed up just before we were about to leave and said that he scouting the start of our ride because the road was closed for construction. He walked a bit of the road and saw that we could get over the bridge that looked like the reason the road was closed. If we didn’t want to take the closed road, the alternate route was 2 miles longer. The majority wanted to take the chance on the road closure, so we headed out just after 9 AM and crossed the road closed barriers 30 minutes later.
Riding through the construction
We went about 2 miles when we realized it was more than just bridge repairs. They were resurfacing the entire road. So, we turned around and had to take the alternate route. All this detouring turned a 82 mile day into an 88 mile day, which all-in-all wouldn’t be bad except we had a headwind and terrible road conditions most of the day.
Once the detour issue was over, the road for the first 30 mile were pretty smooth, then US 90 turned back to the chipseal we had most of yesterday. However, unlike yesterday, there was a lot of traffic so we couldn’t take advantage of being able to ride in the road. We all knew that when we get to Brackettville we will finally be turning off US 90, so there was hope.
Between the detour, the wind, and the chipseal road, it took us way longer than expected to cover the 44 miles to Brackettville. We took a break at the Subway and got back on the road leaving US 90 behind. When we got onto RM 334 our hopes were dashed. This chipseal road was even worse than US 90. It doesn’t have enough traffic to seal the road, so there was no smoother surface at all. The plus is that there wasn’t very many cars on the road.
Here is a pretty good photo to show you the chipseal road we are riding on:
Once the detour issue was over, the road for the first 30 mile were pretty smooth, then US 90 turned back to the chipseal we had most of yesterday. However, unlike yesterday, there was a lot of traffic so we couldn’t take advantage of being able to ride in the road. We all knew that when we get to Brackettville we will finally be turning off US 90, so there was hope.
Between the detour, the wind, and the chipseal road, it took us way longer than expected to cover the 44 miles to Brackettville. We took a break at the Subway and got back on the road leaving US 90 behind. When we got onto RM 334 our hopes were dashed. This chipseal road was even worse than US 90. It doesn’t have enough traffic to seal the road, so there was no smoother surface at all. The plus is that there wasn’t very many cars on the road.
Here is a pretty good photo to show you the chipseal road we are riding on:
And a closeup of the road:
Close-up of chipseal
Patrick met us about 18 miles out of Brackettvile which was a much needed stop after being shook and rocked for over an hour. On this road we seem to only be able to go around 12 mph due to the friction of the road.
Much need break, courtesy of Patrick
If it wan’t for the darn road surface, the ride would have been very pleasant. There was huge ranches and we saw many flocks of sheep, and our first glance of the Texas longhorn cattle.
When we crossed into Ulvalde County the road smoothed out some.
Ah...soother road
This was around mile 66, so we had to deal with 36 miles of chipseal turning a 2 hour ride into 3 hours since we were averaging only 12 miles per hour on it. We then met Partick one more time before turning north on TX 55 for the last 14 miles of the day. TX 55 is back to chipseal, but there isn’t much traffic so we can ride in the lane.
Jackie and Mary almost home for the night
We made it to camp right at 7 PM, 10 hours after we left. This is the longest day we have spent on the road. By the time we set up camp and took shower, dinner was at 8:45 PM. After dinner everyone was exhausted and retired at 10 PM. Luckily we have tomorrow off and can sleep in late.
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