Through beautiful Lyons Club Park I rode the wooded but well
paved trails along Salado Creek. I
wanted to stop, but I didn’t let myself.
I’ve got to learn something from that.
(Treat yo’ self). At the other
end of this gently up and down rolling park was Hiawatha Rd. Or what I call
Mount Hiawatha. It was too early in the morning
and I didn’t feel like contending so I got off and walked. On the other side in a residential area was
Abel’s Bicycle Shop. 
We had a great conversation about cycling. One of his bucket list items is to ride from
El Paso to Orange across Texas. He just
needs a SAG to ride behind him. I hope I
can help him out someday. He filled my
tire up and gave me two cartridges just in case. And he gave me some encouragement. This was one of the pleasures of the
trip. Meeting people and having
conversations. He’s completed the MS 150
from San Antonio to Corpus Christi and actually climbed the Harbor Bridge. That blows me away.
When I left able I was all aired up and ready to finish this
Camino. I had wanted to visit the
missions in order from south to north, Espada to the Alamo. But as fate would have it, it just doesn’t
make sense on a bicycle to add extra miles for the luxury of order. My route took me to the direct middle of the
missions. So I started at San Jose. The complex is a National Park of
interconnected sites; they’re connected by roads and bike trails along the San
Antonio River.
San Jose was incredible.
It’s hard to conceive of such an ancient preserved space in the middle
of a modern city in the New World. The
park has a visitor center with a small museum and theater to show you a little
history. After I toured the site for a
bit, I started south for San Juan Capistrano.
A beautiful little chapel in which the cedar ceiling joists offer
the scent as strong as incense. I could
have stayed there all day. Along the
path I ran into a couple from Ohio. He’s
an Air Force PA just stationed here in San Antonio. Four years from retirement they’re enjoying
their time in Texas. I shared with them some other places to visit in Texas.
And wished them luck. (Except as it
pertains to A&M football. He was a Volunteer
and we were both itching to find a place to watch the game today.) I offered them some water and they gave me a
little bag of trail mix. We were going
the same way so they outpaced me on their touring bicycles and made it to
Espada just ahead of me.
The chapel was uniquely Spanish with some Moorish elements
in the door. Quiet and peaceful I wanted
to stay but I was hungry. I grabbed and
apple empanada and Gatorade and chowed down. I started to eat it before I even paid for
it. But the lady in the church bookshop
was very understanding. She even
confessed that she frequently does the same thing. 
Live music was playing in the background and a great festival
was happening on the other side of the rampart.
The emcee spoke of unlimited fajitas, burgers, beer and more which
sounded appealing; I asked the clerk the name of the patron of the church—“St.
Francis.” Today was the Saturday after
the Feast of St. Francis. They were
having their parish celebration. The significance
is that they’ve been celebrating this feast in some fashion for several hundred
years. Though I was hungry the
purchasing of carnival tickets was too daunting. So after lingering a moment I hopped back on
the cycle and looked for a sports bar to eat and watch the A&M and
Tennessee match. Success.
One final note I had hoped to camp in an RV park in the Mission
Trails area. But they don’t have tent
sites. So I hunted around and found some local motels, Tejas and Camino Real
were close by my location. Both would be
appropriate for my Camino Real de Texas.
I went with Camion Real.
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