This October, Carl and I honored the memory of his mom Jeanette Knutson with a two day fundraising bike ride benefiting the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. It was a new challenge for both of us. My first time to ride 200 miles in a weekend (including more than 100 miles in one day) and Carl’s first time to do a fundraising bike ride.

We’re lucky to have many, many supporters including my Dad and Ellen who provided incredibly awesome support for us, lugging our gear around and meeting us at various rest stops with food and water, and making sure we got nice big meals at the end of the ride.

A few stats to share with you:

46 individual donations

$3,540 raised for the MMRF

2 days bicycling

309 miles ridden between us

9,774 ft of elevation gain

Thank you so much for your support!!!

And for those who like the whole story, read on for a photo montage of our weekend.

On Friday we had our first fall (or really almost wintery) day in Texas and it was windy and cold which threw a wrench in my plans to relax by the Lake LBJ in the cabin we rented in Kingsland.  We made the best of the afternoon by stopping by the nearby Perissos Winery and having dinner at Grand Central Cafe which happens to be located in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house.

Pictured above: Us enjoying the winery, and our little cabin at the lake.

The Saturday ride started in Kingsland before sunrise and went north through Inks Lake State Park, along the Lake Buchanan Dam, along the west shore of the lake, and then southwest to Llano where I met my support crew at mile 38 in Llano for encouragement and water. Don’t worry, I had all the lights for safety and had no issues.

Pictured above: Me at the start of the ride, the Buchanan Dam, Lake Buchanan, and one of the hundreds of deer spotted throughout the weekend.

At mile 58 Carl joined my ride. We then headed south along some nice ranch roads with a good view of Enchanted Rock.

Pictured above: The bridge over the Llano River, the start of Carl’s ride, and riding along ranch roads.

We kept meandering to the south, going through the tiny historic town of Crabapple and then headed into Fredericksburg for another rest stop with our support crew.

Pictured above: Small, lovely ranch roads and a historic cabin.

From Fredericksburg we rode to Luckenbach (everybody’s somebody in Luckenbach) passing the Gillespie County airport where the hangars have been converted into a hotel and a restaurant.

Pictured above: A field of large goats, the crew in Luckenbach, and the Gillespie County Airport and its hangars.

After a rest stop in Luckenbach we headed back north to Fredericksburg to finish our ride. Luckily we finished our ride just as it started to rain. 115 miles for me and 57 for Carl. We then got to have a late lunch before checking into our lodging for the night, where we relaxed on the porch watching the sun go down.

On Sunday morning I started a bit later but still before the sunrise. It was a cool and pleasant morning. The route headed east before dropping down south to go through the LBJ Ranch State Park.

Pictured above: A few shots of the sunrise, the Pedernales River in the LBJ Ranch State Park, and the Albert Dance Hall in Albert, TX (it was the only thing there).

I then headed into Blanco where I met my support crew in the town square and Carl joined me for the rest of the ride.

Pictured above: Us in our matching Real Ale Ride jerseys in Blanco (Real Ale is in Blanco, for all of you non-Austinites), and a stop as we were crossing the dammed up Blanco River.

From Blanco we headed south and east towards Canyon Lake on some very lovely ranch roads. We met our support crew along Canyon Lake for our last rest stop of the day.

Pictured above: the ranch roads, riding along a river, a small country church and cemetery, and the view from Canyon Lake Dam.

From Canyon Lake we headed to New Braunfels along River Road, which is a very nice road for riding (and driving if you like to go 20 mph).

Pictured above: Lovely roads and views from the River Road which follows the Guadalupe River.

At the end of our ride, I had reached 85 miles and Carl 51 miles. We grabbed lunch in town and finished the afternoon with some well deserved beers at New Braunfels Brewing Company.

 

Again, thank you so much for your support! It really means the world to us, and we’re so thankful that we were able to benefit the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.