Can you hear me now?...Can you hear me now? If you are west of Hunt, in Texas Hill Country, and a customer of Verizon Wireless the answer is a resounding... NO!!!
What a day! We left the River View Resort heading west. There were no cars for hours at a time. The beginning was pretty classic Hill Country... challenging hills with steep down hills (which can be just as challenging in terms of controlling the bike). We stopped often to take some pictures and drink. Riding in the middle of nowhere without cell phone service was a bit scary. It became clear that if we ran into any problems the only thing that was going to respond to us were the hawks and vultures flying overhead and eating random carcasses on the side of the road (we didn't take pictures of that). After an extremely steep down hill (there was a sign indicating that trucks should be in the low gear) we stopped in a ranger station in the Lost Maples State Park to rest our hands (they were killing us from gripping the brakes so tightly), use the phone, and refill our water bottles. We rested in the air conditioned ranger station for about an hour and tried to find a place to spend the weekend. Strangely, most places we called were booked! It was 3pm and we believed everything would work out, but it was getting late and we didn't know what the good lord had planned for us. Luckily we found the number for the D'Rose Inn (more on that later). Deb, the inn keeper said she had just one room left. Then she made us an offer we couldn't refuse, but it was also an offer we couldn't accept. Deb warned us that we were going to encounter 2 very very difficult hills (more like mountains) before reaching the inn, and she offered to pick us up (we were only 10ish miles away). She told us there would be no shame in taking the ride - many people before us had called for help, and she would be happy to do it. Tears of joy rolled down my dads face, but being the macho men that we are, we said 'no thanks' (BIG mistake). We thanked the rangers for their hospitality and continued on our way. A few minutes later we hit the 1st big climb. The road made a sharp upward curve up the side of a towering mountain with no end to the incline in sight. We both tried to get some momentum going, but it didn't help. My chain ended up coming off the gears at the base of the hill (an easy problem to fix, but my speed was gone completely) and even in the lowest gear, we didn't last long. We walked the bikes up the hill (the incline was so steep that we had to lean our entire weight on the bikes to keep them from rolling down the hill). We would have called Deb, but couldn't because we had no phone service. We were hesitant about riding our bikes down the other side because of the risk of losing control due to speed and the rough gravel we had been riding on all day. We ended up riding down, and at one point I hit 37mph even though I has squeezing both brakes! The second big incline that Deb warned us about went the same way. On our way up that incline we stopped for water. My dad told me he had a vision of a neon blue pickup truck that was going to pick us up and take us to Leakey. My dad has many strengths, but prophecy is not one of them. Roughly three hours after leaving Lost Maple Park, we pulled into the town of Leakey under our own power. We picked up some food at the local convenience store. As we debated carrying a case of water bottles the 0.2 miles to the D'Rose Inn, the store owner came over and offered to drive our groceries to the inn for us. He kindly drove up to our room and helped us unload our food (what a great guy!). The D'Rose Inn is a cyclist- only inn (motorcycles and bicyclists only - our kind of people). My dad asked Deb how after living in Washington DC and spending time in New York and Connecticut working for IBM, did she end up owning an Inn in Leakey Texas. Deb explained to my dad that while working in New York, she googled 'B&B for sale' and that this place was the first place that came up - hows that for following your dreams. After owning the place for a few months she had a conversation with a motorcyclist who complained that his bike was pushed over at a different hotel. Deb asked him what if there was an inn that only allowed bikers. The man replied - that would be a great idea, but it will never happen. That's pretty much the story behind this unique and incredible place. The rooms are immaculately clean, there's no smoking in any of the rooms, and the beds are very comfortable (we passed some of the other places we called and they didn't look as nice as this). Each room has the name of a different motorcycle. We are in Harley. If you are riding a motorcycle or bicycle - D'Rose Inn is the only place to stay in Leakey Texas!
What a day! We left the River View Resort heading west. There were no cars for hours at a time. The beginning was pretty classic Hill Country... challenging hills with steep down hills (which can be just as challenging in terms of controlling the bike). We stopped often to take some pictures and drink. Riding in the middle of nowhere without cell phone service was a bit scary. It became clear that if we ran into any problems the only thing that was going to respond to us were the hawks and vultures flying overhead and eating random carcasses on the side of the road (we didn't take pictures of that). After an extremely steep down hill (there was a sign indicating that trucks should be in the low gear) we stopped in a ranger station in the Lost Maples State Park to rest our hands (they were killing us from gripping the brakes so tightly), use the phone, and refill our water bottles. We rested in the air conditioned ranger station for about an hour and tried to find a place to spend the weekend. Strangely, most places we called were booked! It was 3pm and we believed everything would work out, but it was getting late and we didn't know what the good lord had planned for us. Luckily we found the number for the D'Rose Inn (more on that later). Deb, the inn keeper said she had just one room left. Then she made us an offer we couldn't refuse, but it was also an offer we couldn't accept. Deb warned us that we were going to encounter 2 very very difficult hills (more like mountains) before reaching the inn, and she offered to pick us up (we were only 10ish miles away). She told us there would be no shame in taking the ride - many people before us had called for help, and she would be happy to do it. Tears of joy rolled down my dads face, but being the macho men that we are, we said 'no thanks' (BIG mistake). We thanked the rangers for their hospitality and continued on our way. A few minutes later we hit the 1st big climb. The road made a sharp upward curve up the side of a towering mountain with no end to the incline in sight. We both tried to get some momentum going, but it didn't help. My chain ended up coming off the gears at the base of the hill (an easy problem to fix, but my speed was gone completely) and even in the lowest gear, we didn't last long. We walked the bikes up the hill (the incline was so steep that we had to lean our entire weight on the bikes to keep them from rolling down the hill). We would have called Deb, but couldn't because we had no phone service. We were hesitant about riding our bikes down the other side because of the risk of losing control due to speed and the rough gravel we had been riding on all day. We ended up riding down, and at one point I hit 37mph even though I has squeezing both brakes! The second big incline that Deb warned us about went the same way. On our way up that incline we stopped for water. My dad told me he had a vision of a neon blue pickup truck that was going to pick us up and take us to Leakey. My dad has many strengths, but prophecy is not one of them. Roughly three hours after leaving Lost Maple Park, we pulled into the town of Leakey under our own power. We picked up some food at the local convenience store. As we debated carrying a case of water bottles the 0.2 miles to the D'Rose Inn, the store owner came over and offered to drive our groceries to the inn for us. He kindly drove up to our room and helped us unload our food (what a great guy!). The D'Rose Inn is a cyclist- only inn (motorcycles and bicyclists only - our kind of people). My dad asked Deb how after living in Washington DC and spending time in New York and Connecticut working for IBM, did she end up owning an Inn in Leakey Texas. Deb explained to my dad that while working in New York, she googled 'B&B for sale' and that this place was the first place that came up - hows that for following your dreams. After owning the place for a few months she had a conversation with a motorcyclist who complained that his bike was pushed over at a different hotel. Deb asked him what if there was an inn that only allowed bikers. The man replied - that would be a great idea, but it will never happen. That's pretty much the story behind this unique and incredible place. The rooms are immaculately clean, there's no smoking in any of the rooms, and the beds are very comfortable (we passed some of the other places we called and they didn't look as nice as this). Each room has the name of a different motorcycle. We are in Harley. If you are riding a motorcycle or bicycle - D'Rose Inn is the only place to stay in Leakey Texas!
Today (Saturday) we woke up late and looked over some maps. Deb offered us a ride over the next hill tomorrow (based on our maps its twice as long as the last ones and it has twice the gain in elevation), and we quickly accepted (no point in being overly prideful)! After eating a little, we walked to the Frio River, tried to catch minos (very very fast/ small fish), and enjoyed the cool water for about an hour. It was almost as good as being poolside at the Senkers on Saturday afternoon - without the great selection of Snapple and beer. We came back to the hotel and napped for an hour before going to dinner (which was really good!)
We hope to put up some more pictures from Friday tomorrow.
We hope to put up some more pictures from Friday tomorrow.
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Check out our route at the link below:
Hey guys- we love your beards. I think you should do this again with a Harley! We all continue to be amazed.
ReplyDeleteLove the Falks