Chicagoans in Cattle Country

Thursday, March 2

I made a decent start and got on the road by 6:30 to a cold morning.  Two conditions in which I don't like going downhill: in the rain (as the water gets sprayed up onto my glasses), and when it is a cold morning!

I pulled off onto a side road and was taking a break when I saw a touring cyclist go past, heading west. Huh?  Where did this guy come from?  I jumped on the bike and hurried to catch up.  Turns out that Bob was on the same route and had stayed at the next town up from Shepherd (where I had stayed).  I told Bob I was planning to stop for breakfast at the town if he wanted to join.  (A second breakfast for me? Sure!)

Bob did join me, and I found out that he was from Chicago as well.  It was fun to chat with Bob and talk about all the ups and downs we have had so far.

Heading out, we leapfrogged each other a couple of times, and then I came up to Bob talking to a guy named Chris who was also from Chicago--quite the Chicago day.  Chris was biking from El Paso to New Orleans.  I was jealous to hear of his 115-mile day further west when he had a tailwind and a slight decline that allowed him to cruise.  I'll be taking the same route, but it'll be an incline.  And the wind will likely be against me since I'm heading west.    :-(

Part of my day was spent going through the Sam Houston National Forest.  While not spectacular scenery-wise, it was quite peaceful and pleasant.  I hope there are more of those kinds of breaks to come.

Oh, and another milestone today.  Coming into Navasota, I completed my third map of seven.  I have now completed 1236 map miles with 1815 to go.  Note that my actual biked miles are a bit less because of taking shorter routes when possible, so about 1180.

Day: 15
Time: 9 hours and 20 minutes
Distance: 82 miles (Shepherd-Navasota, TX)

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Friday, March 3

Going rogue!  Looking at the destination choices for today, it was either going to be a short day at 65 miles or a long day at 90.  However, the only choice of lodging at 90 miles was a state park that was booked solid.  On further examination it appeared that by (once again) taking the hypotenuse, some distance could be shaved.  In fact, by going off route and going 90 miles, I could cover the equivalent of 106 miles on the map!

I followed the standard route for the first 40 miles.  This was a pretty pleasant ride over rolling hills past the myriad ranches in the area.  There was a Baptist church where Sam Houston was baptized--apparently as an adult.  When told that all his sins were washed away, he was heard to say, "I pity the fish downstream."  There were a number of historical sites besides the church, including the homestead cabin of Texas naturalist Gideon Lincecum.

The first part of the Google alternate mapping was great.  I was on 290 with a wide shoulder and an awesome tailwind.  Anytime you can cruise at 17-19 mph with a fully-loaded bike, you know the wind gods are smiling on you.

While on 290, I saw a Walmart, so I thought I'd stop and get some groceries.  This was not as large as the previous Walmart superstore I had stopped at.  It didn't have the correct tubes for my bike (which made me realize, whew, I must have just gotten lucky at the earlier Walmart when I had all those flats in Alabama and needed some spares!).  It also didn't have any fresh fruit, so I ended up having to stop again at a grocery store. In retrospect, given the distance I was traveling, I should have left the shopping for another day or waited until I reached my destination.

Unfortunately, Google then directed me onto some dirt roads for about 4 miles.  I was glad I was on a mountain bike.

The last section on Highway 21 was not great.  It probably would have been better if I had finished earlier as I was catching the evening rush-hour traffic.

The hotel I selected ended up not being that close to many restaurants. After riding all day, the last thing I want to do is ride again, so I usually opt to walk to dinner, but unfortunately my choices were a half mile away.

I chose an Italian restaurant as it was the closest.  Unfortunately, it was also very popular, so I had to wait about 15-20 minutes to get seated.  Then, after I ate my meal and the bill came, I realized that I left my wallet back in the hotel.  Yikes!  The thought of walking back to the hotel to get the wallet wasn't very appealing at that point.  Luckily, I was able to call Julie and have her give me the credit card number to pay for the bill.  I'm torn between relief that it worked and concern that it was allowed...

Day: 16
Time: 10 hours
Distance: 90 miles (Navasota-Bastrop, TX)

(post by Will)