Day Thirty: luckenbach, look what I found, bibbs

It was cool this morning when I left. You'll hear me yapping about the weather and the wind, and I realize you don't really care, but the weather is pretty important to a guy on a bike. Sometimes it feels like I've turned into one of those old guys who sits in front of the TV in a Mr. Rogers sweater watching the weather channel all day.

It seems even stranger when you consider that I may as well just open the window and look outside considering they're so regularly wrong in their predictions.

Perfect weather, perfect roads today.

My parents retired to Johnson City, which is only about forty miles east of Fredericksburg. They've since moved, but for years I've always wanted to visit Luckenbach, which is fairly close. My uncle, aunt, and cousins lived in Johnson City when we were growing up, yet I never made it over the Luckenbach. Twice, I decided to go while on my way to Fredericksburg, but never saw the sign. Later I learned that every time they put one up someone stole it.

So, now, I KNOW where to turn, and I'm going! Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas!

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

Hondo Crouch, a local rancher and regional folk hero, bought Luckenbach in 1970 when he saw an ad in the paper: "town- pop. 3- for sale." Hondo was a poet/sage who used Luckenbach to host the first Women's Only Chili Cook-off, a World's Fair ("World" because he proclaimed Luckenbach as the center of the universe), and Return of the Mud Dauber Day (just like the swallows which return to San Juan Capistrano each year).

After Hondo died in 1976 his music-making friends penned the song "Luckenbach Texas," which was then recorded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson in 1978. The song, now a classic, became a huge hit all over the country and put Luckenbach on the map.

When you pull into town, there's not much there... a post office and a few scattered outbuildings. Really, what do you expect for a town with a population of 3?

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

The Dance Hall is usually closed, although there is an occasional dance. There's a small amphitheater where hundreds, if not thousands, of people have played, some of whom who have gone on to become famous.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

While I was there, I had a sense of the place having a rich history. Although there were the normal trinkets you can buy at any tourist trap (bumper stickers that say "Luckenbach, TX, pop 3" and keyrings that say "Luckenbach, TX: Where Everybody's Somebody"), I didn't get the sense of it being touristy.

When I walked through the store to the bar in the back, a guy was sitting on a stool playing a guitar. He was pretty good, and I pictured this having happened quite a lot in the last forty years.

The guy behind the bar, Danny Terry, acted like I was a regular and he'd known me for years. I bought a Coke for a buck, and we chatted a while. On the way out, I noticed that he had some CDs for sale, sitting beside Willie's, Waylon's, and some others.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

As I worked my way back to the front, I stopped and talked to the cashier. There I learned that at one time there was a Luckenbach Festival, but the 14,000 people who attended were just too much for the local law enforcement to cover so they stopped having it.

The regular cashier, Virgil the Store Guy, was at a meeting. Apparently, that's what everyone knows him by, and there's a business card at the cash register with his name on it... Virgil the Store Guy.

I also learned that, in the eighties, as a joke there was a parking meter in front of the General Store/Post Office. All you had to do was park in the space beside it and you wouldn't have to pay the meter.

After hanging out in Luckenbach for a little over an hour and chatting with several other people who were passing through, I finally climbed back on the bike and started riding.

A lot of the rolling landscape is filled with oak trees and Spanish moss. I saw at least twenty deer on my way to Blanco. The Texas Hill Country is just that.... hilly.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

My path followed the Pedernales river. In Texas, it's pronounced PER duh NAL us. Because of the drought it's not much of a river, and was even stagnant in places.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

Today was one of those perfect days in which you could ride forever. The weather, the scenery, the (lack of) wind... everything made it a perfect day to ride.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

At first glance, I thought these were piles of hay.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

Then they raised their heads.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

More pictures of the scenery.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

Although I could've gone a lot farther today, Blanco is my final stop. It's more difficult to judge distances when you're looking at a huge Texas map and I thought today's ride was going to be farther that it really was. I arrived in Blanco (pop 1505) after about 36 miles.

The first thing I did was eat. I'm still trying to eat as much Mexican food and barbecue as I can while I'm in the South, so I stopped at Riley's, which is on the town square. I also got some Blue Bell ice cream, which is unavailable in Iowa.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

While I was there I met and chatted with Mary and Jim Rowe, a couple from Mississippi who are traveling around. They've seen bikers on the road before and had some questions about a few things. (Interestingly, they were different than the ones people usually ask) They very kindly gave me their address in Mississippi in case I pass near them on my way to Florida.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

Tonight I'll be staying with Tommy and Vickie Bibb. I used to work with Vickie when we lived in Munday, Texas. She and her husband have since moved to Blanco and I've since moved north.

I wanted to get at least one blog posted so I rode to the public library. Vickie offered her computer, but I didn't want to show up and say, "HI! I haven't seen you in ten years! Where's your computer?"

While I was at the library I got a text message and replied. Twenty minutes later, guess who showed up?

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

My friend Klaus! He texted me, asking where I was. He was coming to Blanco from the opposite direction, Kerrville, and had spent last night in Comfort. I texted him back and told him I was at the Blanco Public Library. His reply was that he's five miles away.

I called vickie and asked her if Klaus could also stay the night. She's been reading the blog, so she already knew about him.

Klaus and I rode to the Bibb's, where we spent some time catching up. We showered, then went out to eat at a local Mexican food cafe.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

On the way back, Tommy took us on a tour of the town. He retired as the school superintendent a few years ago.

When the topic of retirement came up Klaus, puzzled, made a comment that none of us had ever considered before. "When you retire, why do you move away from friends when you need them most?"

It's true... people tend to move somewhere else after they retire.

Back at the house, we visited some more. We calculated the difference in mileage between what Klaus did and what I did... he rode 141 more miles than I did and still made it to Blanco at the same time.

He is hard.

In Blanco, I'm back on the ACA route. Just up the road, about eight miles, there's an Austin alternate for people who are interested in going there. Klaus is considering it, especially since no one has said, "YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED!!!"


36.64 miles
12.0 average speed
35.0 maximum speed
3:01:53 time
1438.8 total distance