Day Twenty-Three: "King of the Hill" (24 January) 77 mi

I left from a bike shop near downtown Austin after buying some extra tubes for the very rough roads ahead in West Texas. John had met me to go ride with  for maybe half an hour. He stuck with me until just we got outside of Austin and then he broke off. It was great having him as a tour guide as well as seeing my friends Leah and Drew. I've known Drew and Leah my entire life and when I had found out they were in Austin and that John, one of my Instagram followers, was there it just made sense to go to Austin. So right after I left Austin I get into the thick of hill country and immediately start doing the steepest ascents of the trip.  I passed 1000 feet today and it just felt incredible being that high up and I got some pictures as well, but the hills really slowed me down so I had to play catch-up. Right around Johnson City, Texas it flattened out and before I knew it I was in wine country. I was thinking "wine country?" I had no idea Texas had wine country. Well regardless it doesn't matter since I don't drink. By the way I'm now in Fredericksburg, Texas which I say is like the Aspen of Texas. Very wealthy, a lot bed-and-breakfast places, a lot of German restaurants. It's a nice area and unfortunately I'll be leaving out tomorrow set out to Junction with sunny skies and cool temperatures on my way to the Southwest.