YIPPEE KI YAY

Tuesday, 10-26-10. Yippee ki yay-No headwind today! The weather service reported a 5mph breeze out of the NW and we are headed south and then west. We changed a rear flat on Ann's bike Shirley before we left the motel in Bandera. Once again, we lingered too long at breakfast talking with Doug who is a cyclist/runner and does historical restoration work. He was envious of our adventure. The first 20 miles on Hwy173S had us cycling over and past stony hills. At the top of the climbs we could look back and see the ridge lines of the hill country that captivated us for the previous six days. We experienced a steep descent at mile 21 and then had a prairie-flat 8 miles to Hondo Tx. With a slight tailwind, we easily cranked 18-20mph stopping only once to take a photo of a beautiful field of cabbage. At Hondo, we turned west on Hwy 90. The road was flat with a shoulder that, at times, was somewhat rough. We biked past plowed fields that apparently grew cotton as evidenced by the large amount of the white fluffy stuff along the roadside. The plowed fields alternated with desert scrub as the highway ran parallel with railroad tracks that had a reasonable amount of train traffic. We crossed several creeks and the Frio River, all bone dry. That served as a reminder that as we travel west, water and settlements will become somewhat scarce. We arrived in Uvalde at 4:30 after biking 70 miles.