I’m finally getting around to jotting down a few notes from this year’s Easter Hill Country Tour. Aside from a woeful fall that Kem had – which I’ll get to – the rides and weather were really great this year.

For those following along, last year’s EHCT was largely snuffed out mid stream by freezing temps and sleet on Saturday. Though as you can see from the link, the flowers on the ride that Friday were amazing.

Easter came much earlier this year though and consequently there were very few flowers to speak of along the routes.

Friday we opt’ed for the 44 miler. Last year we had done that same route and done the 60 miler but we figured this year we’d save the longer ride for Saturday. The route north of Fredericksburg is one of my favs. The views back over the valley after climbing Lower Crab Apple are always worth a short stop. And I love the section along Welge-Hausen where you zoom down hill with Enchanted Rock looming in the distance. The picture here is one I took on last year’s ride.

Our Friday ride was nearly complete – we had maybe a half mile or so to go – and Kem took a tumble off her bike. Thankfully she had a good helmet. It cracked instead of her head. Aside from a headache – not surprisingly – she otherwise seemed fine though we would later find she had injured her shoulder in the fall and is currently in a sling and off the bike for another 4 weeks or so.

Kem opt’ed wisely to just rest on Saturday. I made the trip down to Kerrville and did the 60 miler. Another really nice hill country route. The first hour of the route was largely up hill and got us warmed up pretty quickly. The hill on “Freedom Trail Rd” had a lot of people slowed to a crawl. The section along hwy 27 is not my fav because of traffic but at least there’s a wide shoulder. The rest, particular along White Oak Rd and Zenner-Ahrens are quiet scenic sections of the route.

Friday night we managed to make it back to one of my favorite restaurants in that area. The Hill Top Cafe. Johnny Nicholas played the piano/harmonica and sang a little too. We’d gone out there last year too. The food’s great and oh yeah, they make great pies!

Finally, a few notes for anyone involved in planning the EHCT that happens along this write-up. Two words: More toilets. The rest stops had only 1 portable toilet. The start of the ride had only 2! Sigh. And a little variety at the rest stops would be nice. Bananas, pretzels and pickle juice at every stop.