Inks Lake Campout

Met Deb in Fulshear bright and early Saturday morning for a ride out to Inks Lake State Park for the Two Wheeled Texans Spring Hill Country Rally.

We got caught up in the MS150 bicycle race mess for a little while, which I thought I had routed us around to avoid. Oh well. We were in no hurry.

We finally made it through to Hwy 290 when traffic came to a standstill - the annual Chappell Hill wildflower festival was under way.

We detoured around the madness and eventually needed to u-turn, which brought us to this structure. It looked too good to pass up the photo op.

The day was beautiful. Blue skies, white clouds, and temps in the mid 70s.

Deb and I eventually got to the park and found the loop Matt had reserved for the group. Since the boys were nowhere to be found, we set up camp and went for a walk around the park to take advantage of the remaining daylight.

We found a group that had a band playing on the other side of the park.

The boys eventually made their way back and we had dinner, made fire, and reveled in stories and jokes for the remainder of the evening.

What happens at Inks Lake stays at Inks Lake....

It was c-c-c-cold overnight. I remember trying to duck down into my sleeping bag and closing it over my head to try to warm up, but I'd fall asleep and start to inch back out.

We emerged from the tent after Matt shook it thoroughly - I'm sure he was just trying to help knock some of the condensation off. Right, Matt? I ate breakfast (and it was yummy no matter what the numbers on the back of the package or my campmates say) then Deb and I set to packing up the gear.

We hit the road. Or at least we tried. Deb and I were in the back and by the time the first intersection appeared the guys were nowhere to be seen. We were supposed to go right, but that would have meant a change of course - and surely they'd be here waiting for us if that were the case. I convinced Deb we'd continue left at the fork since the group would have stayed on the same-numbered road and we headed up Park Road 4. We got a few miles in before we pulled over into a paved driveway. Still no sign of the guys. Was this the right way after all? Were they back at the fork in the road wondering what happened to us?

We turned and headed back, and as we reached the end of the road Matt and Roger pulled up behind us. Yup, we'd gone the right way - we just hadn't gone far enough to see where they'd been waiting on us. :doh:

The weather was once again cooperating quite nicely.

Somehow I was leading from the back. I'd been sober enough the night before to get a general idea of a route from the guys and program the GPS with help from Matt's atlas, but I had no way of getting it from my GPS to Brad's. I'd give Matt the next few intersections to look for and approximate mileage between them, then I'd drop back to sweep and give him the next set of turns when we finished those.

Cow Creek Road sounded familiar, so we took it. I'm sure the group was wondering what kind of unpaved mess I'd gotten them into, but we continued on through gravel, potholes, dry water crossings, and cattle guards.

Hey Mat, show us your Daffy! :lol2:

It's kinda fun to ride in the back. Nobody to watch my lines, nobody having to wait while I take pictures...

Cow Creek twisted and turned following the water, crossing over it several times.

We popped back out on the main road, and the view of the area was great. I just wish there had been somewhere to pull off for better pictures.

We made our way down to Bee Cave for lunch at Sonic (for lack of a better option open on a Sunday) and after lunch we said our goodbyes.

I led Deb out towards Lockhart for another fuel stop, then she headed for Huntsville while I wandered my way home to Houston.

I'm getting used to solo riding. Before this past year, I'd not gone very far on my own. I'm getting ready for the longest solo ride of my riding career and I'm trying my best to not worry about being "alone out there".

I've decided it's not so bad - I can stop when and where I want, and for as long as I want. I can take my time or take the super slab at will.

When I spot a sign that says "scenic overlook 1 mile" I can either keep going or check it out.

And most of all, I can take time to think.