I woke up to a beautiful dawn over the lake and enjoyed a great breakfast of oatmeal and tea. I left the camp refreshed for the very short and very flat ride into Frederick. With almost no wind, I covered the distance in a couple of hours and arrived in Frederick before 10 AM. It was obvious that the rumors about the effort Frederick had made in anticipation of Freewheel were true. Various businesses had decorated bicycles and scattered them around town.
I stopped off in the local coffee shop for some more breakfast and got a great welcome from the ladies of town who had dropped in for their weekly chat. Everyone was full of great information and unbelievably welcoming. It was a really great experience.
After my snack, I made my way over to the county courthouse where I charged up my batteries and chatted with cyclists as they rode into town. Pretty soon the crew that rides up from San Antonio/Houston arrived with my riding friend Moni and they got the party started. They are a vibrant and occasionally rowdy group so they gave a fair warning to those who might set up camp near them:
In late afternoon my mother and Grace showed up and it was wonderful to see them. They spirited me off to Medicine Park to a cabin and then to an area restaurant for a nice steak. It felt great to sleep in a real bed after several days without one.
Pictures below:
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