Time in Saddle: 6:57
Distance for the Day: 58.16 miles: From Junction To Fredericksburg
Accumulated Trip Distance: 2607.2
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 2052’/1728’, Highest: 2237’, Accumulated: 2251’
Speeds: Avg: 8.3 mph, Max: 31.9 mph
Weather: 58° overcast, and humid, staying overcast the whole day
Expenditures: $23
Woke up at about 6am, still somewhat dark out, noticed an odd sort of dripping rain, but discovered it was just an overhead telephone wire. I got up, very carefully avoiding getting mud on my stuff, and packed everything back into the trike. The temperature was quite moderate, and I ate the other half of my Subway sandwich, more to make space rather than from hunger, and was ready to go at 7:20. My exit from Hwy 10 to eastbound Hwy 290 arrived, and I took it to head due east towards Fredricksburg and Austin. The terrain here was rolling hills covered with black trunked live oak trees – kind of pretty, but a bit boring. I stopped at a ubiquitous picnic area to eat a snack of salted cashews and continued on. Still heading for Fredericksburg, at 12:35pm I just got through the tiny town of Harper, where I broke down and bought a cheese Danish and choco milk for “lunch” ($3). The clouds were lifting and thinning, and I could start to feel the heat from the sun coming through them. I got to Fredericksburg that afternoon, a town with a definite German influence, and noticed a sign for $15 haircuts ($20 w/tip). I took a deep breath and decided to make good my threat, went in, and ordered a hack job. “Take it down to less than half-an-inch,” I bravely stated, and then went to get my first ever salon shampoo. Bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz went the electric clipper as it chewed through my thick, black and white locks. After it was over, I looked in the mirror and saw the 48-year-older version of my 5 year old self. Hmph! Looks okay, and will certainly be more comfortable in the warm climates I was going to drop into for a while. Besides, two months of terminal hat hair was quite enough, thankyouverymuch. Afterwards, I went to the local library for a bit of wi-fi. There, I successfully activated my new McAfee anti-virus software, and spent a few hours handling a bit of email and blogging. I left at 5pm and went to the east side of town, where I found a spot to hang my sleeping bag, bivvy sack, and other items to sort of dry, in that breezy but still fairly humid air. It was getting on towards sunset, so I found a spot nearby behind a bunch of businesses, and got permission to camp on the lawn at the back of one of them. I had to pick my spot away from where a sweet tempered dog liked to “visit.” With my stuff mostly dry, I set up camp, had an energy bar dinner, and got to sleep around 9pm under overcast skies.
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