The Big Big Trip Journal! If you want to make the man (or woman) upstairs laugh, just tell him your plans!

[HobbesOnTour]

Day 80, Sunday, December 01, Ridgeland (Jackson suburb) to Rocky Springs Campground 83km

I suppose if you wanted to take lessons from bike touring and apply them to life, one of the lessons would be that sun follows the rain - it certainly did in style today!

The TV was full of weather warnings last night but this morning was bright and sunny, the sky almost completely blue except for a few stretches of thin, cottony cloud. Cool though. Even so, I donned my shorts for the first time since Nashville.

I hadn't slept great, getting up a couple of times to rotate laundry in front of the ancient air-conditioning unit. There's no breakfast here so I figured I'd grab something on the go.

Frankly, the motel was a dive. I'd picked it because it was the same brand as my stay in Eutaw - and that place was fantastic! I guess the franchising standards are a little loose!

I packed up and rolled out reversing my route from yesterday to get back to the NTP. Once I got there I had two options; Get straight on the NTP or take the mainly parallel mixed use path. I watched the road for a few minutes, saw the speeding traffic and opted for the path. I'd also pass a water point (I'd prefer that to the motel water) and there was more chance of grabbing a bite as well.

This MUP proudly boasts suitable for wheelchairs. Yeah, right! There were times it was so dug up and rough I was considering staying and setting up a wheel unbuckling service! On top of that, often literally, was the detritus from last night's storm - lots of wet leaves.

It was slow going. When i saw a filling station I grabbed a coffee& muffin. When I started again the first thing that hit me was the wind! Strong!

I came to the water station and slowly filled my bottles - low pressure.

I'd passed a major intersection and now the NTP was quiet! Time to get back on it! Easier said than done. Sometimes it was as close as 10 meters away, but with a ditch, trees or bushes in the way, or all three! Sometimes it was above me, sometimes below. None of the local roads seemed to join it. They either went over it or under it. Eventually, I saw a kind of gap, cleared out the dead branches and pushed through. I was back on the Parkway!

Oh, but that wind!! Much stronger than yesterday! It was like someone was messing with my head - here's a lovely road, here's a beautiful, blue sky and a bright, shining sun. Oh by the way, here's the feckin' wind!!!

It was slow going. I'd an "easy" 70 odd Kms to go to the campground. I was rapidly revising the easiness.

In fairness, though, there was no traffic. This part is closed due to road subsidence. I'm assuming it's Ok to bike on it. In any case, it's Sunday so no workmen to deal with.

The first 25km were hard fought for. I was drinking like a fish! I dislike headwinds intensely! A hill has an end. I may never make it, but I take reassurance from that and can motivate myself to meet it.

But wind? That can go on and on and on! Some other power is messing with my mind!

In fairness, the countryside was spectacular in the sun. The few remaining golden leaves on the trees positively glowed as if proud of their longevity. I think that may have angered the wind because several times I was caught in a blizzard of falling leaves.

On one stretch there were even a couple of swirling raves of leaves. It seemed like tiny tornadoes were whipping them up and spinning them around.

I stopped often to rest up & take a break from the wind. As the day wound on the wind started to swirl, changing direction - but of course, never a tailwind.

With about 25 km to go I pulled in and ate an orange, trail mix and jerky. 5 Kms further I was stopping for peanut butter wraps!

With about 5 km to go a lady cyclist came up behind as I was resting on a bridge. She's a bit of a bike tourer too. As it turns out she's camping out at my destination too.

She stumped me though, with a question - How far to Argentina? I have not got a clue!! I suppose that sounds totally irrational and probably downright dumb! To my way of thinking, a long trip like this shouldn't be reduced to distance, or especially distance divided by speed, it should be taken section by section. In the very early stages of looking at the route it became apparent to me that Mother Nature in the form climate, seasons and weather was going to be the main influence. Trying to race her, to beat her to maintain a route or momentum would be a fools errand.

On top of that situations in countries can change quickly too requiring detours of all sizes.

Simply put, any route, and therefore, distance, planned sitting at home would not survive the practicalities on the ground.

I set off again and made the campground about 4:30pm. It was still bright! This is a bit of a plus. On the first night out if Nashville it was pitch dark by 4:30!

I got the tent pitched & changed into my evening clothes. Even though Gizmo was showing temps around 20C for most of the day it never felt that warm. The night will be cold.

There's a faint discolouration to the water in the washrooms so I'm boiling my water for tea & cooking, preserving the last liter of "good" water I have.

I'm off now to make dinner, then turn in for the night. There isn't a hint of a phone signal here.

Tomorrow will most likely be the last day of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Then I'll be joining the Mississippi River Trail. Back onto regular roads and no more of these Forestry Service campgrounds. These have been very good. Pitches with fire pits & picnic tables, washrooms (no showers) most with outdoor water turned off (winter) but water from the taps in the washrooms.There have been no electrical sockets (that I can find) since Tennessee. Electric hand dryers are a great way of removing dampness from clothes! Someone comes by in the morning to clean the washrooms and empty trash.

They operate on a first come first served basis and are free. I'm sure in high season (Spring & Fall) they are quite busy, but at this time of the year almost empty.


If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 81 , Monday, December 02, Rocky Springs Campground to Coles Creek (stealth camp) 63 km

I woke up well after sunrise, well rested. It had been a cold night and the morning was still cold. I took my day clothes to the washroom and changed in there - it was a bit more comfortable.

I put my coffee on, ate an orange and was busy making my porridge when a ranger came along to clean the bathrooms. I took advantage to ask him about the water. He wasn't aware of any problems but advised against drinking it. I told him I was boiling it for safety's sake. Since there were also washrooms at the entrance I asked if it was the same water source. He said he'd check the water there and report back to me.

I had my breakfast and assessed the water issue. I had a little under a liter of "good" water. The next place for water was a town about 25 km down the road. I should be able to manage.

I packed up and the ranger returned, this time driving a big leaf blower, clearing the road. The water in the other washrooms was the same, but he handed me a half liter of water for the journey!

I hit the road and the first 15km or so were fabulous! The sun was shining, the road was incredibly quiet and I was blanketed on both sides by dense trees. Then the landscape opened up and the wind took a more active role!

I slowed right down! But there was the town to aim for and I was starting to think of some warm food. The temperature wasn't rising above 11C and like yesterday, it felt cooler than that.

Port Gibson is where I was heading. I passed two filling stations on the way into town but continued on. I was hoping for a diner or even a fast food joint. Food & water at the same time. No joy. I found a supermarket and bought some water. Then out of town on a highway to rejoin the Trace. That wasn't much fun! Near the Trace was another Filling Station so I pulled in & had a sandwich.

Then it was back on to the thankfully, quiet Trace.

Port Gibson was an interesting little town, obviously way past its prime. Some lovely old houses were barely above ruin status, yet seemed to be occupied. "Too pretty to burn" was on the sign that I saw on the way out. A reference to the civil war, I'm sure.

One older chap talked to me outside the supermarket asking if I'd seen deer. "I have", I told him "and turkeys too!". Then he told me I should be seeing hogs too. Not sure how to feel about that.

Back on the road progress was steady, if not speedy. Traffic was very light and the hills had returned. As a campervan was overtaking me it slowed down to my pace, the passenger window dropped down and I found myself having a chat with the lady driver! She wanted to make sure I had everything I needed! Mississippi sure is full of surprises!

My target for the evening was the Natchez State Park. It's a bit off the route, but the only other alternative was on the other side of the Mississippi. I didn't want to fly past Natchez and certainly didn't fancy crossing a bridge near rush hour.

As it happened, I came across a picnic area with washrooms along the route. Not an official bike camp spot, but the same as the previous ones. I hummed and hawed, then remembered the first night when I had a similar dilemma. "Feck that", says I, "I'm staying here".

So I did.

I got the tent set up, my sleeping pad in the sun to freshen up, made some tea and sat in the sun writing this and trying to post an update as well - that failed. My solar panel was charging my phone as I wrote.

It's going to be another cold night so I'll be in bed early. Tomorrow will probably be a low mileage day. I might do an investigation of Natchez and see if I can find some wifi to do some updates.

If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 82 , Tuesday, December 03, Coles Creek (stealth camp) to & around Natchez 40ish km

It was darn cold this morning!! A dusting of frost covered everything. I was slow to get up,waiting for the sun to rise. When I did, it was still cold, ice crystals in my water bottle.

I breakfasted slowly, in no rush and wanting to let the condensation evaporate off the tent.

There was no huge mileage target today. The plan was to explore Natchez a little, cross the river and set up in a campground.

I packed up & set off. It was cold! Bright blue sky, brilliant sun, but very nippy, especially, again, in the wind.

It was a slow and steady run down to Natchez. Traffic was very light.

Near the end of the Trace I finally remembered the mileposts!

The end, like the begining, was unspectacular! There was no chorus of cheerleaders to greet me, just a slip road onto a highway.

The road into Natchez itself was quiet, with lots of sharp ascents and descents. On the crest of one hill I caught a glimpse of blue, different from the sky. It was the Mississippi! There's something romantic in my head about creating a hill and seeing a landmark in front of me.

I rolled through the town trying to make sense of the one way system, right up to the river.

In another of those concept meets reality moments, the reality just blew me away!! Here I was, standing, looking at the Mississippi! Reality is so much more intense than the concept!

Totally excited and awed by my location I took a little wander before stopping for a bite to eat.

Natchez was a boomtown before the civil war, recovered somewhat afterwards, but lost its status when the steamboats were replaced by trains. It still has lots of old architecture. It is a picture of Southern, Old World Charm, albeit with a dark history.

On a whim, I took out my phone & checked Booking.com. For $6 dollars more than I paid for the dive motel in Jackson I had a suite in an old plantation! I jumped at it!! This was a little town worth wandering around.

Wandering down to Natchez under the Hill, the old slave trading area (Boomtown, remember?) I met Rye and his father. Rye's 18 and off for a jaunt on his bike. He started in New Hampshire and has made it this far. His Dad was joining him down here for a few days.

He's a lucky guy to be doing this at his age, and fair play to his father too!

I took the scenic route to the plantation, seeing the less prosperous side of the town.

But the Plantation? Wow! After falling to rack & ruin it was restored slowly from the late 1970's.

My room has a spa bath which got a whole lot of use! Dinner was the best fried chicken I've ever tasted!

I also borrowed some bleach and cleaned out my water bottles. I've had a slight touch of the runs the last day or so.

Tomorrow, it's back to a more basic way of life. I'll be crossing the Mississippi then following that for the day. Thereafter, I'll be turning west and heading for Austin. Accommodation options can be scarce at times.

As a cycle route, I found the NTP to be some of the best cycling so far. Excellent roads, little traffic except for Jackson & Tupelo, and decent camping options, if sometimes far apart. Of course, that could change depending on the time of year. Spring & Fall are the peak season.

I found the scenery fantastic, although I could see some people becoming bored.

There is a lack of civilisation, though.

Nashville is a great city to start or end and New Orleans is down the road. A very nice tour could be put together around the NTP.

If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 83 ,Wednesday, December 04, Natchez to Three Rivers Primitive Camp Ground 73 km

Louisiana sure is different!!

Last night the hot tub both cleaned and revived me as well as doing a good job on my laundry!

It was a luxurious night in a four-poster, canopied bed. Breakfast this morning was as luxurious - ham and bacon, eggs, grits, yoghurt, muffin, coffee. I lingered, enjoying every morsel.

There was a tour included in the price, starting at 10 am. I was in two minds whether to do it or not. I enquired about the length, to be told it was about 45 minutes. Sold!

I leisurely did my packing and presented myself at 10 am. It was definitely interesting. The second owner was a rather famous figure as a business owner and as a military man. Quitman.

Some of the artefacts in the house were originals, others were from the era. Union troops had ransacked the house during the Civil War.

A guest asked about servant quarters and the guide, pointedly, I thought, replied about slave quarters. When she had a follow up question about servant quarters we could all turn the airco off such was the drop in temperature.

I very much enjoyed my taste of the Old South.

I rode away thinking Natchez is an interesting little place - and I hadn't even visited the casino!

I made for the bridge, actually bridges - there are two, one for each direction - to cross the mighty Mississippi and was horrified at the lack of a shoulder. Traffic wasn't heavy, but it was fast moving and the wind was buffeting me. Thankfully, half way across the right lane was closed for roadworks so I could weave in there. On the way across I entered the seventh state of this bike trip. I've no picture of the sign because I was too busy trying to stay alive in Louisiana, but I did grab a picture of these - a common feature on bridges and a death trap for those with skinny tyres.

Once over the bridge I got off the highway onto some back roads then onto a rough track along the river. Thankfully, I got off that and onto a two lane road through the countryside.

Pretty much straight away I got my first dog chase. Relatively harmless, three yappy little dogs, but complicated by being overtaken by a big truck.

The wind was being kind - just as well because the land was so flat.

There is no doubt that I'm in a whole new world here. The landscape is completely different to what has come before. There's a big dyke or levee on my left side hiding the river and flat, fertile farmland to my right. The traffic was quite light and a decent shoulder allowed me to ride on the road and dip into the shoulder if a car came up behind.

The road engineers were messing with my head all day, going from a decent surface to a wonderfully smooth surface to a lunar landscape and back again! Also, some of the roads were incredibly straight and long! Fantastically long with water mirages caused by the sun on the surface.

A big part of the route was through the Three Rivers Animal Sanctuary. Here, the road was particularly poor, but the scenery more than compensated with the road wandering through a swamp.

It was really great cycling! The views were so different from the past couple of weeks they were stunning.

I was tipping along, making good time. I was heading for something if an unknown quantity - a primitive campground on Google Maps. I didn't fancy trying to find it in the dark.

Coming across another alligator was a shock to the system though! Cycling along, a swamp to my right I was in my own little world. The remains of a blown out truck tyre is not an unusual sight so it barely registered with me until I realised what it actually was! Then I saw the blood and realised it was already dead, but still in one piece. I paid a bit more attention to the road after that!!

With the exception of about 10km the road pretty much followed the levee. On top of the levee was a gravel track. I presume that can be biked too, but why would I with a quiet road pretty much all to myself?

I did climb up every now and then, not to see the Mississippi - that's still too far away - but the land in the floodplain of the river - normally forest or swamp.

Vidalia is the town on the Louisiana side opposite Natchez. From that point on there are no services or stores until I hit a town tomorrow. For that reason I filled one of my bladders with an extra 2 liters of water since I have no idea if there's water at the campground this evening.

Finding the campground was slightly tricky, but getting to it was really tricky - a very stoney gravel track. I eventually made it and set my tent in one of the most open spaces ever!

I had to be careful to avoid the many anthills and as I was scouting a good spot I came across a dead snake. Lovely! I'm back in the wild!

As I was setting up a couple came with a caravan, two pickups, an ATV and a menagerie of dogs. The dogs are friendly enough. He took them for a walk - him on the ATV - and called over to me to tell me if I needed anything they were just over there! People certainly are friendly!

My tummy's still not feeling great. I think I'm going to skip dinner and just sleep. Dumbass forgot to get more oatmeal so I'll see how I'm feeling in the morning for breakfast.


If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

for comments/questions/discussion

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Day 84 ,Thursday, December 05, Three Rivers Primitive Camp Ground to Bunkie 90km

The advantage of camping in a wide open space is that daylight hits the tent far earlier than under trees. As a result I was up early and foregoing breakfast I headed out into the bright, new day.

I'd slept from about 6:30pm so couldn't complain of being tired, but the lack of breakfast was certainly a cause of some drag. My target was Simmesport for some food, some 30 odd Kms away. The wind wasn't helping too much either.

I first crossed a hydro-electric dam then several "control" structures on the old river. Traffic was light and other than the varying quality of the road all was good.

To get into Simmesport I had to cross another bridge. Again, not a pleasant experience. Once in the town I stopped for some food and got my water topped up. I had now left the Mississippi River Trail behind and was now officially on the Southern Tier route across America!

As if to emphasise that I met only my third touring cyclist as I was leaving town. She's Canadian, cycling west to east. We stopped and had a long chat comparing notes. I had little useful information to give her since she'll be following a different route to me, but I learned that the approach to Austin is complicated by roadworks. I may need to plot a different route.

We parted and I headed away, my destination for the day further than hers. What I do think is interesting, albeit from a very small sample size, of the three other cycle tourers I have met, all are solo and two are women! I think that's a great thing to see.

I was on secondary roads, often parallel to the main highway. Road quality was variable, from moderate to downright lunar! Then I crossed the main highway and took a secondary one, busier with a shoulder I was avoiding as much as possible.

For trucks, I took the simple approach of pulling off the road altogether. They pass very close and the wind they generate is very unsettling, especially with such a dodgy surface.

Here in Louisiana, there has been a marked increase in the number of cars that beep me. I thought that when they were coming from behind it was a friendly warning and when from an approaching car it was a friendly show of support. As the day progressed I refined my interpretation of the beeps. Let me see if I can get the nuances just right….."Hey, you on the bike, I'm coming up behind you and you better f*** off outta my way" is the closest I can come to.

The route ran through several little towns, each time it seemed like the traffic got heavier.

A lot of the houses have Christmas decorations outside - inflatable Santas, reindeer and the like. I'm riding past these in temperatures in the mid 20s C and the imagery is not computing. To add further to my confusion one guy was cutting his grass around his Christmas decorations. The (summer) smell of fresh cut grass and the winter decorations almost caused a headache in my poor addled brain!

I was heading for Bunkie, to the Fire Department. They host passing cyclists. I've been trying to call since yesterday evening but can't get a signal. I'm hoping it won't be too much of an issue if I just roll up.

The last stretch to Bunkie itself was the worst. Heavy traffic, little to no shoulder. I eventually made it and there was no one around. Doors were open, bags were in rooms, there was space where a fire truck should be. I waited, assuming they were on a call.

After not too long two of the volunteers showed up and made me most welcome! I'll be sleeping inside, I had a great shower and got recommendations on where to eat. I went off for crawfish, a Southern delicacy. One of the guys offered to drop me off, then pick me up! I took my bike.

Dinner was great, but crawfish are little shellfish, something like prawns that need to be deheaded and the shell removed - a frustrating experience for the hungry cyclist!!

Bread pudding is common down here so I treated myself and I can see why it is so popular! Delicious!

I got back to the station and was just getting to know everyone when a call came in and everyone ran out! An incident involving a train and a car. I was left alone.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to camp at a local museum near Oberlin. I've managed to make contact using WarmShowers and a text message. Apparently it's a confusing place to get to, but at 100kms away I should have a reasonable chance of getting there before dark!


If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

for comments/questions/discussion

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Day 85, Friday, December 06, Bunkie to Oberlin 120km

The crawfish didn't agree with me.

It was relatively late going to bed by my standards. They guys needed to unwind after their call out. Understandably, it was pretty gruesome.

I set up on the floor and tried to sleep. A queasy pressure in my belly made it difficult, but I managed, until there was another call out. Now I was awake and feeling very ill. But the nausea eventually passed and I dozed until about 5:30. I got up and started packing. From 6 am people started shuffling in so I said my goodbyes and headed around the corner for something to calm my stomach and maybe some breakfast. I passed on breakfast, but had a coffee. The filling station had free WiFi so I updated this blog.

For the second time my credit is up on my prepaid SIM and for the second time I'm having a terrible job to reload it. Failing again, I set off.

Today felt like it was going to be a zigzag day. There aren't many roads in Louisiana, so sometimes there is no direct route. First big target for the day would be Chicot State Park.

I set off on the now familiar schizophrenic Louisiana roads. One minute they're fine, the next I'm bumping over roads that look like they've been the victim of dive bombers.

Then I turned off onto a road of gravel. I'm not a fan of gravel. My only serious bike accident happened on gravel. The front wheel hit a large stone and slid away from me.

While this road was slow going, it was interesting. People lived along the road, sandwiched between it and a bayou. Accommodation was anything from an old school bus to a shack that would hold the bike, but not the trailer. One lot had a shiny caravan under a shelter, but the rest were definitely ancient and often in poor repair. One van, for example was totally covered by an ancient tarp. This was off-grid living. I passed one vacant lot that had about 20 different "No Trespassing" signs. No house, shack or caravan - just the signs. I don't take photos in these places. I'm afraid of attracting attention. I did offer morning greetings to those outside when I passed, but unusually for this part of the world I got no response.

On to the State Park and the first bug in my plan. The Park operates a one-way system. Those heading west - me - have to take a long way around! Lovely, an even longer day!

The approach to the park brought some hills into the equation, although the trees provided a welcome shelter from the wind.

I rolled on towards Ville Platte, stopping for food at a big market & filling station. The girls serving me were blown away by my bike ride. I ate outside in the sun, then rolled onwards.

The rest of the day was a struggle to be honest. Long, flat roads, lots of wind, effectively racing the sun. The landscape wasn't particularly inspiring and there was a sense that it was all a means to an end rather than an interesting part of the journey.

I passed several cemeteries that I would have liked to have stopped at, but I was under the time cosh. On a side note, it's not unusual to be buried above ground in these parts. Given the likelihood of flooding it is a prudent act.

My phone was still out of credit so I couldn't call my hostess for the evening. According to her, gps units direct to the wrong location. Contact would be required at some stage.

Eventually, I reached a sign proclaiming Oberlin 24 miles. In those 24 miles there were three turns! Temperature was now high 20s C and while the wind was a drag it was keeping me cool. It was a matter of head down and grind it out. The road surface kept changing too! Just to add to the sense of enjoyment I was now encountering big trucks regularly. If the road was bad I bailed onto the grass - these guys pass pretty close and there is no room to manoeuvre. Safety before speed.

I'm back now too, to having few places to stop. All in all the last two hours were a grind.One bright spot was the sky. A dense cloud moved in front of the sun with the effect that the sky turned pink, then orange, then purple. The cloud blocked all the light, but behind it, it seemed like the sun was pulling all its tricks out of the bag - it was glorious!

At last I reached Oberlin and turned south as directed. I was on a major four lane highway so wanted to get off as soon as possible. Seeing the town Library I went in and explained my predicament. I was 100 meters from my destination! I walked the bike over to the Tourist Commission Office - no one there, although the back door was open.

I went back to the Library hoping to make a phone call or use the WiFi, but they were locking up.

I went back to the office and set up the tent deciding to wait. . Then inspiration hit me - there's a phone in the office! Cheekily, I rang my contact. No problem at all! A few minutes later a colleague was here, I got the tour, wifi password, shown the electrical sockets and the dedicated washroom block for passing cyclists! What a great little spot! We had a long chat, then I was left to my own devices!

Small town America is great! The local high School football team is playing a game so I can hear the commentary and ACDC at half time! The train rolled by a little while ago...loud! The Police know I'm here and will keep an extra eye out tonight. How great is all that? On top of that, this is the first evening in weeks that it's not cold! There are even a few mosquitoes about!

Tomorrow is an unknown quantity. Further down the road there's a church that welcomes cyclists. I'd hoped to get there tomorrow and maybe catch a service on Sunday too. The only problem is that it's more than 120km away and I'm not sure I want to do another day like today. I don't enjoy racing the clock. Whatever about riding the NTP in the dark I don't fancy Louisiana's roads in the dark.At the same time while the first half of today's journey was interesting, the second half was definitely dull and uninteresting.

I'll see how I'm feeling in the morning.



If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 86, Saturday, December 07, Oberlin to Ridder 57km

I woke up at about 4:30 am and gave serious consideration to getting up and making a run for the church camping spot. In the end, I decided against it and rolled over for another snooze.

When I did get up the sky was dull and grey, it was relatively cool and the wind was blowing strongly.

I made a pot of coffee, some porridge and some more coffee - I was in no rush. I'd decided to take advantage of the facilities and give my chain a good cleaning. I'd bought a new toothbrush so commandeered the old one for chain duty. The chain was very dirty. I'd given it a quick wipe and relube a couple of times since Nashville so this was well needed.

I also took advantage of the power & wifi to listen to the Northampton v Leinster Heineken Cup game. Such luxury on the road!

My camping spot last night was really great. I got such a welcome and the facilities they have laid on for bike tourists are exceptional. I particularly enjoyed listening to the "live" football game coming from the nearby stadium. You see these things in movies, there I was listening to it. Had I arrived earlier I'd have given serious consideration to going. A Friday night High School football game is typically small town America, no?

Once clean I got packed up. Taking down the tent was a bit challenging in the wind.

Setting off there was a problem immediately. The handling was all wrong - a soft rear tyre. Darn!

Back to the picnic table and I had a choice - pump it up & hope for the best or do a proper repair. I opted for the full repair since I had no idea of the road conditions and didn't fancy any complications on the side of the road.

I located the slow leak, patched it then had some problems with my pump. Maybe that's coming to the end of its life too. It has been around the block.

Packed up again I set off, this time with no issues.

The road from Oberlin was straight - straight into a headwind, but pleasant nonetheless for that. I had a decent shoulder outside the rumble strip and the sun was shining. It's amazing how a bit of sunshine lifts the spirits! Each side of the road was lined with forest and a couple of roadsigns reminded me I was on a trail of myths & legends. This is the kind of cycling I enjoy. The steady rhythm of the pedals combined with the relatively safe environment gives the mind loads of room to wander.

A ride like this is a bit like a snow globe for my mind. I can shake everything up and the meditative cycling allows everything to settle in place. Each thought, each idea can be examined as it lazily settles. Anything not settling down encourages extra scrutiny and deliberation. It really is a great way to figure out what's important.

Way back in the very early days of my touring I met a man on my way to Germany. He flagged me down and was very excited to meet another touring cyclist. He told me he had cycled from Russia (to NL)!

He also told me of his habit of bringing dead people with him! In the metaphorical sense! He told me of the many conversations he had had with long dead family members and friends. At the time I thought he was quite weird and declined his invitation to stay. I've often thought back and realised that he was far from weird. In many respects the mind clearing that takes place on a good days cycling lends itself to this and many other positive mental activities.

I pulled in for food in the small town of Mittie. It was quite a while since breakfast at that stage. The day was well getting away from me, but I had another 40 odd km to go.

Talk about straight roads!! Unbelievable! But hilly! Nothing too high, but a constant rolling up and down. The wind was coming at me diagonally for most of the way. As is the new normal, the road engineers were having a laugh. Pristine smooth surfaces turned to crap for no apparent reason. Most of the time there was a wide shoulder, but whether that was usable or not was open to debate. I took to taking the road as much as possible and dipping into the shoulder when traffic approached.

The last 20km or so the shoulder was passable, albeit with cracks running across from the road. There was grass and moss growing in the cracks giving me a bumpy ride. The cracks on the road had their effect too - sometimes when a car drove over one of these there was a sound like a gunshot either right behind me or beside me! Never a dull moment!

Heading for De Ridder I saw a sign for an RV park with a bike symbol. This is not where I was headed but it's closer to my route and has everything I need - some grass and a bathroom! I got the tent set up just in time to notice the sun setting behind some trees.

Today was a really good day. I didn't get very far, but I enjoyed the trip, I got my drivetrain spick and span, I fixed a puncture, Leinster walloped Northampton and generally, I had a relaxing day. Tummy is still a bit off, though.

Tomorrow I'm still not sure on my destination.

Now that I have credit again it appears my phone is acting up. I can make calls but I cannot hear anything. The other person can hear me, but that's not much use. It puts a bit of a downer on using some of the Warmshowers and other options like the church.

On the off-chance I've texted the Pastor in the church I'd like to stay at and he's just answered back! I'm camping at a church tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to this!

And for good measure, I'll be rolling into Texas!!



If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 87, Sunday, December 08, De Ridder to Kirbyville 90km

I had been looking forward to being woken up by the sun this morning, but the weather prevented that happening. There was a heavy fog on the ground so I took my time having breakfast and packing up. I don't see any point in rushing myself onto roads where visibility might be an issue.

When I did set off I took a figary and wandered off the official ACA route down some backroads. I was in no rush, had about 70kms to cover and the official route was all "big" roads.

I quite enjoyed my off course ramblings, although they added about 20kms to my journey today.

For back roads the surface was quite good! Best of all most of the dogs were either small and yappy or big and chained up.

About noon the sun made an appearance, a guest appearance, really since it didn't stay on stage too long. The wind was ever present, though.

I stopped about 1pm for a bite to eat and hit the road afterwards with a vengeance. I wanted to meet my host about 4pm.

I rolled through Merryville, my last town in Louisiana and then on to the Texas State Line. It was another of those reality meets concept moments!

I've always had a thing for Texas. Many years ago another "Road not Taken" might have seen me living in Texas. I'm a big fan of some Texas musicians and what little boy has not dreamed of being a cowboy on the wide Texas plains? Apart from a layover in Dallas airport many years ago I had never been, but it was always a place I wanted to visit. And here I was - visiting - on a bike!! Surgeons couldn't have scraped the smile off my face as I took some photos. This is my 8th State! I've cycled all the way from Virginia to here!

Eventually I had to carry on and the first thing I noticed was that the speed limits are higher here! 70mph on a two lane road, although I had a wide shoulder all to myself.

Then I turned on to a "country road", a two laner, no shoulder and a limit of 65mph. Thankfully, for most of it there was little traffic. There were houses, though, and that meant dogs. Most were yappy and happy to guard their boundary.

They talk of "Texas Hill Country" and Texas wasted no time in introducing hills! Up and down. Up and down.

I texted my host to say 4:30 would be a more realistic time and I arrived bang on my new schedule.

Talk about a welcome! No tent for me tonight - I have a room! I had a shower, a shave, put on some fresh clothes and was taken to dinner in a local restaurant. This is hospitality on a whole new level!!

The "cyclists" room has puncture repair kits, tools, oil, a pump, maps. Everything one can need.

My host, Jim, is the most charming of people, demonstrating his Christian faith in action without being preachy.

Kirbyville is not a wealthy town. 80% of kids qualify for a Government lunch program. He told me of how the Church helps the community. Kids are sent home from school on Fridays with a backpack of food so they can eat at the weekends.

The local churches pull together with food drives for families. For example, this Church is responsible for sugar and flour. Other churches for other items, donated by congregations or bought, as necessary. Then the complete "packages" are distributed.

This Church also has a creche/playschool to make it possible for parents to work without the exorbitant cost of childcare. The Church's annexe is also used by High School Students and other groups like the Boy Scouts - there are no other places for them.

I know I'm a guest in this country, but something strikes me as wrong in the picture just painted. What hope have kids with that start in life?

In between all that, Jim takes personal care of every single cyclist. He started in 2014 and has two folders full of pictures and comments from passing cyclists.

Frankly, I am humbled and awed at the Human Spirit on display here. I have the full run of the building - me, a scruffy, sweaty stranger who rolled up at 4:30pm is a trusted guest. This is so much more than I could have imagined.

Oh, Jim's picking me up at 7am to bring me for breakfast!

I haven't even thought about tomorrow yet. Today was such a wonderful day - my arrival in Texas, then my moving evening.

If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 88, Monday, December 09, Kirbyville to Big Thicket National Preserve 89km

Oh the perils of wifi and a Netflix subscription!! I was watching Frasier and the West Wing much too late last night! I was up though, at 6:30am because Jim was taking me to breakfast. There was no way he'd let me pay. Breakfast was delicious - eggs & sausage with biscuits and lashings of coffee. Jim told me old stories of Texas - great imagination fuel for the road!

I had to get my photo taken for his book and then I set off - in the wrong direction! Well, wrong according to the ACA route. The fact is they had laid out a very uninspiring ride in a wide shoulder along a big highway. I didn't fancy that, so set off on some smaller roads.

The target was Silsbee, not terribly far away. These smaller roads would be more interesting and a little longer.

There was no danger of sunshine for a while, although it was already warm and the chances of rain were high.

I was enjoying the cycling and the landscape, even the wind was generally welcome as a source of cooling.

The landscape was hilly, sometimes swampy, sometimes agricultural and sometimes forest. The traffic was mainly light, although it tended to come in clusters. Not so pleasant when there's four or five big trucks barreling past.

At 11:59 the sun won it's battle with the clouds and came out to say hello. While I was literally basking in it's warmth I was distracted from the road and got a frightening shock when I heard panting at my right foot. A white dog had given chase and was closing in on me. I yelled at him and reached for the water bottle and gave him a squirt. He didn't back off, but he stopped gaining on me, now happy to bark me off.

Without meaning to tempt fate, I am feeling better about the dog situation. If something like this happened a couple of weeks ago I'd have been a nervous wreck afterwards - rubber legs, the works. Today, I just cycled on. I'll take that as a sign of progress. A break from any serious dog interactions seems to have lowered my anxiety level.

After the small town of Spurger I was back on a main road, albeit with a wide shoulder. Taking a breather and looking at Google Maps I realised I had another option for tonight. I could head for Silsbee as planned or I could head to Big Thicket National Preserve. The second option was further away, but had the advantage of shortening tomorrow's journey. No bad thing considering rain is forecast.

I decided to take my new option and followed the highway until I turned back on to another back road. Again, this was real touring - interesting landscape, minimal traffic. For the first time, I noticed an error on Gizmo, my Wahoo Elemnt. By now I was well off the planned route, but the first 5km or so of this road were not on Gizmo's maps. I've never seen this before. I'm well used to wandering off my prepared routes and just using the simple map on the screen, but for the first stage I was in no man's land, although minor roads from my road were shown. Weird!

For the final leg it was back onto another main highway. Apart from a couple of hundred meters it had a shoulder the whole way. Cars & trucks zipping by make a lot of noise! I was glad to turn off onto the quiet road to the campground.

I got the tent set up and had dinner. Feeling very tired tonight. It's lovely and warm, for the moment, but rain is coming in and lower temperatures too!

The chap beside me has what I thought was a trailer tent. In fact, it's a trailer caravan. The roof pops up! It's quite a cool looking thing. He has an app that shows when the International Space Station is overhead and despite the cloud cover I got to see it!

Tomorrow, I'm heading for Shepherd. There's a campground there. Given the weather and the out of the way location of the campground I emailed them to be on the safe side. They have cabins at $20 - maybe an idea after a day of rain!


If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 89, Tuesday, December 10, Big Thicket National Preserve to Shepherd Sanctuary 82km
Oh be careful what you wish for!

More on that later.

I woke up a couple of times during the night, heard the rain on the tent and rolled over again.

I woke up at 4:30am and gave serious consideration to packing up & hitting the road. The rain had lightened and it seemed like a good opportunity. Then I thought about the light and the conditions. It would be dark for another two hours at least. I decided sleep was safer!

When I did wake up again I wasted no time packing up. Hitting the road I was in my full raingear and high Viz vest. I'd skipped making breakfast in the rain and was headed for Honey Island an hour down the road for coffee and whatever warm food I could eat.

As always in the wet I was cold for a few minutes but then warmed up. The wind was from a northerly direction and pretty cool. For the first twenty minutes I was on the big shoulder of a main highway. Then I turned off onto a farm road, much less traffic and a minor shoulder. Progress was steady, pedalling hard enough to stay warm, not too fast that I'd overheat and also trying not to waste too much energy to the wind.

Getting close to Honey Island I was really looking forward to something warm inside me. I was certainly ready for breakfast.

On this trip I have a personal and probably bizarre list of things I'd like to do. One of them is to be stopped at a railway crossing when one of those mighty long trains rumbles across for ages and ages. In my mind's eye that has always occurred in Texas, a small road, winding through the desert, a long train rumbling past, front and back lost in the distance……

You see where this is going right?

Right before Honey Island I got my wish - in the pouring rain and howling wind! I was about 30 seconds too slow to make the gates and was caught on the wrong side! Trains are long in this part of the world and not particularly fast. In the time it took to pass I nearly froze!

Oh well, another thing off my list!

I ate in the town's only store and chatted to some locals. I even got my first "Howdy"!

In these small towns the local filling station or store is the hub of the community. I'd reckon if I hung around long enough I'd meet most people in the town.

Food orders are called in & picked up, pleasantries exchanged, news shared.

Given the weather I was looked on kindly by the locals.

As I was leaving another touring cyclist was pulling in. Ignacio was heading from Houston. We formed a mutual commiseration society on account of the weather. Ignacio is riding with homemade panniers and baskets. The rain really isn't good for him. Nonetheless he was in good form. I passed on the details of the UMC in Kirbyville to him and headed off into the rain.

Talk about a straight road!!! Only for the rain blocking my view it seemed like it went forever in a straight line! For over an hour I ploughed on just straight. A narrow shoulder made passing traffic more tricky, but thankfully the logging trucks were coming against me. In truth the traffic was concentrated in bursts, then nothing for twenty minutes.

Eventually, I made a turn and then another straight road - this time with hills! To make matters more interesting the rain was getting gradually heavier.

At about the half way point I rolled into Rye. Another coffee break! I had a coffee and a doughnut in the filling station and went back out to the bike where I got talking to a couple. Today, people are being especially chatty & friendly - I'm putting it down to the weather, but it could be Texas too!

Deciding I wasn't quite ready to hit the road I went back inside and had another coffee! I was chastising myself for laziness, but when I did set off the next 20kms flew by.

The wind was coming from a northerly direction so for most of the day I had a crosswind since I was generally heading west. At one stage, only for about five minutes or so, I was heading south and was blown along. It was glorious! Hardly any sound, much less chilly. Bliss, even in the rain.

Turning off to head to Shepherd and my campground I veered essentially north. It was not pretty! The signpost said 9 miles and they were amongst the longest 9 miles I've ever done!

There's a Texas singer/songwriter called Ray Wyllie Hubbard who sings a great song about his life and ambitions. He finishes it with something like "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations I have pretty good days" (Watch his performance on Letterman on YouTube - there's a very funny line in there).

Well, my campground was like that. I had low expectations. I knew I could get a cabin and given the weather, that was my preference. But this place is amazing!! It's a little Hippy Dippy, but my cabin is gloriously decorated with old Texas memoribilia and just plain quirky stuff. I had a wonderful shower, there's a kitchen to cook my dinner in and the place is overrun with cats! One even made enough of an impression that I let him sit on my lap!

A wonderful end to a tough old day.

If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

for comments/questions/discussion.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Day 90, Wednesday, December 11, Shepherd Sanctuary to Double Lake Campground 32km

What a wonderful little place I was staying at. I'd downloaded "The Irishman" so watched that last night in bed. The luxury!

The sun was well up when I awoke. I stumbled over to the communal kitchen where coffee was already made!

I took my time packing everything up, tightening a loose bolt on my rack too.

I had a couple of options on destinations; basically Forestry Service Parks either 30 or 70 km further. I also needed to do some grocery shopping and get to a bank. Busy day!!

I set off back down the little road I took last night. The sun was blasting out of the cloudless sky and it was like I had never been on this road before! What a difference a day makes! It also seemed incredibly short whereas last night I thought the road would never end!

It's about 8 or 9C but the sun makes a big difference to the temperature. The next few days should be good, but the nights will be cold.

I hit the town of Shepherd and got my groceries & cash. On the way out I was peckish so stopped at a roadside trailer for some grub and coffee. They had outside tables in the sun - that swung it for me. Two brothers were also getting some food and were really, really interested in the bike. One of them kept staring at the bike and saying "you came from Virginia on that!" I'm fairly sure he meant bicycle as opposed to a perjorative reference to my faithful Roccado!

We had a really good conversation about my trip, my motivations etc. They had a lot of questions about the bike and the gear I was using. When one of them asked me the (usual) question "Do you carry a gun?" it was the first time I didn't hesitate in answering in the negative. These were good guys. They work on electrical infrastructure - pylons, poles etc., sometimes from helicopters! One of them sent out a message about me on their group chat - I sure hope it was a "watch out for this guy" as opposed to "here comes some target practice"!

They packed up to leave then one of them came back with the offer of some glasses for me. I have glasses so I declined gratefully, but yet another example of stranger's kindness in action.

When they left I got talking to the owner of the stand. He was sure he'd met me before so I had to run through the places I'd been.

As I set off I figured I'd head for the closer campground as it was getting late and my tent was still soaking wet from the morning before.

Out of town I had my now familiar dilemma - take the ACA route or make up my own on smaller roads. As I approached the point of decision two out of three cars heading in my direction took the turn for the smaller road while the only car in the other direction took it too. Looking down the minor option the trees were high and a lot closer to the edge of the road - there was a lot of shade. This time I took the ACA route because of the sunshine!

It was straight and hilly. Short, steep hills. The shoulder was wide but full of debris and the surface was rough. But it was all mine. Traffic was light as I rolled along. The legs were feeling heavy after yesterday too.

Texas has lots of fences. In comparison to anywhere else I have been in the bike in the U.S. it has by far the most fences. There is very little public land in Texas, nearly all land is in private ownership. They don't bother with No Trespassing signs in the main. Instead they use purple paint to signify private property. Basically, a gate or a tree with purple paint means something like "Cross this line and someone will be along shortly to shoot you". Of course, one advantage of these fences is that dogs are behind them!

They also like their elaborate gates, especially at farms.

However, Texas also seems to provide picnic spots. I passed two today, just a simple layby with picnic table or two. Handy for the weary (or in my case, lazy) cyclist.

I stopped at one of these on the edge of the town of Coldspring and since I had a good internet connection I updated this blog. Then I hopped back on the bike and rode out to my campground.

It's in a big forest by a lake and I appear to be the only person here! I met the rangers, paid up my fee and set the tent up in the sun. It is soaking wet! My actual pitch is shaded by trees so I'm moving the tent around to maximise the sun.

The lake is beautiful and I have it all to myself!

People sometimes ask me if I get lonely on these trips, cycling solo. Generally speaking, the answer is "No". There are always pleasant people to talk to along the way. Sometimes I've ridden with someone for a day or two if we're going in the same direction. The loneliest I've ever been was on my first bike tour along the Danube, ending in Vienna. The last day had been quite tough (my fault) and I'd arrived exasperated, frustrated, tired and starving. But Vienna charmed me and I had the most magical evening exploring the city centre. It was such a perfect evening that I missed having someone to share it with.

Tonight, looking at the lake, the beautiful spot I have all to myself, a little of that feeling crept in. Not much, just a little.

Not exactly the longest day in cycle touring history, but a very pleasant one.


If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

for comments/questions/discussion.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Day 91, Thursday, December 12, Double Lake Campground to Cagle Recreation Area 52km

Night last night was special. No other word for it. First of all, I was completely alone in a huge area, only the night sounds of animals and owls calling. Secondly, it was darn cold! A night for tucking in, warm and cosy in a sleeping bag. Finally, and best of all, there was a bright, full moon in the clear sky. I don't think I've ever seen a moon so bright. It lit up my tent as bright as day. About 10pm I actually dragged myself out of bed for a pee and took a little stroll around. The moonlight on the trees was just amazing. The trees and leaves and ground were illuminated, but since the light was not directly from the sun they were lacking their usual colours. Instead of green and rust and brown there were different shades of a silvery white and blue effect. Startling, beautiful and very atmospheric. Bloody cold too!

Until relatively recently I used to be petrified of the dark. These days I think I'm making up for lost time by soaking up what the night has to offer. I wandered around for a little while, amazed at the shadow the moon was casting of me, then gratefully got back into bed and snuggled down.

Because of the shade of the high trees around my tent I was awake a bit later than normal and stayed in bed an extra few minutes because it was cold outside!

Then I got up and did my chores, making breakfast & coffee, moving the tent into the sun. Today looks like another glorious day!

The morning was so nice I took my pot of coffee down to the lake to simply enjoy. I've been looking forward to visiting Texas for so long I have no intention of rushing through.

On my way back to my tent I met the ranger, John, again. We had a long talk about life, the universe and everything, really. He packed in his job in construction, bought an RV and now lives and works in the forest. He's a lot poorer, for sure, but a whole lot happier and contented.

It was after noon when I finally rolled off - the latest start so far, I think. But what a lovely morning it was!

At the start the road was fine, then I left San Jacinto county and it all went pear shaped. First of all I lost my big wide shoulder. Now it was about a meter wide but half of it was taken up with a rumble strip dug out of the surface. The cars still expected me to stay in it though!

Then I hit roadworks. At first it was ok - I was cycling on the improved part, lovely smooth tarmac, staying outside the bollards so relatively swift and safe. But then I hit the next stage - the prep work. No shoulder, crap all over and cars flying past.

I saw a small store and pulled in needing a break from the traffic more than anything. I ordered a burger and while waiting wandered around this general store. It had everything! Food and drinks, a gun section, a knife section, loads of outdoor/hunting gear as well as kids clothes and lingerie! It made for an interesting exploration!

I set off again going as fast as possible to get through the roadworks. At last they ended and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

But I breathed too soon. A red/wine pickup coming up behind me gave a couple of toots on the horn. Appreciating what I thought was a friendly warning I prepared to raise my hand in salute when I saw him in the mirror barrelling straight for me! Now he was blasting his horn in a "get off the road" way and I had no choice but to ride over the rumble strip, onto the verge and try to avoid the steep drop. For good measure he drove on the rumble strip beside me, the noise just adding to the general sense of mayhem.

I really, really don't get this naked aggression. There was no oncoming traffic, there was nothing behind. All they had to do was give the steering a gentle tug in one direction. Instead he ran me off the road.

After that, I was in a foul mood. With no safe place to stop I continued on, unable to let it go.

I came to the town of New Waverly and had to take a diversion while they are rebuilding a bridge. Of course, it isn't at all clear what bikes are supposed to do. It looked like the diversion was onto the Interstate, a no-no for bikes, but the guys at the worksite couldn't help. In the end I winged it, avoided the Interstate and got back on course.

Now the road was smaller, but with a usable shoulder. Traffic was also lighter. This was forest country and the trees are spectacularly tall! I passed one camping option in favour of another further down the road. When I made it, I had to fill out an envelope & pay. These registration forms are a pain in the ass for foreigners on a bike. They want loads of info and the number of your campsite. We're supposed to cycle down, pick our site, cycle back up and pay. Sometimes the campsites are miles from the office! Also, it was $30 for the night - last night was $20.

Still grumpy I rolled on in. I toured the first "loop" of sites and decided to go further. The second "loop" was the last, close to a huge lake. When I saw the view my grumpiness started to fade. I picked out a site, lovely & spacious so I can pitch on grass as opposed to the sand/gravel. I had just parked up when my neighbour came over. Vicky is actually a "host" so she finished off my paperwork. She said if I needed anything to just ask. Jokingly, I said I'd like a beer and she replied "no problem - she had beers".

I declined her kind offer but as I set up the tent I thought a nice beer might be just what the doctor ordered. A few minutes later found me tapping on her door. When I asked if I could buy a beer she said that I could have one, but she couldn't accept money. That wouldn't work for me so I told her if she looked around she might find some money and finding money wasn't against the law. On this basis the transaction proceeded until she returned one of my dollars saying she had found too much! She offered me more beers, but one was enough for me. In any case, she showed me where they were and I was to help myself!

I returned to my table and was having my first swallow when she was back - this time with a big, big bowl of freshly made stew! For me! Delicious!

What a rollercoaster of a day! A wonderful, lazy, interesting morning, a foul couple of hours on the road causing a complete shift in mood, then an encounter with a kind, generous person to swing the pendulum the other way!

And that's before I talk about the view!

This cycle touring lark is pretty good for the soul!



If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

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[HobbesOnTour]

Day 92, Friday, December 13, Cagle Recreation Area to Navasota Fire Station 61km

Normally these campgrounds have "quiet" times from 10pm to 6am. Since Vicky had broken the rules by giving me a beer, I couldn't really object when she played Christmas music all night long!

In fairness, I've been bombarded with Christmas music for weeks now, in stores, filling stations - everywhere. Most of it is the cheapy cover versions so at least these were the classics.

It hadn't been so cold last night, although the moon was very bright again. This time I had no real urge to go walkabout since there were lots of other campers. I was up for 7:30 and had a leisurely breakfast. I've noticed my bowls of porridge are getting bigger & bigger!

While having my breakfast I noticed my picnic table (made out of steel) was locked to a steel rod embedded in concrete. Add that to the fact that there's a sign in the bathrooms asking people not to steal the soap or shower curtains (!), things must get pretty wild here at times!

I'd another chat with Vicky and hit the road. This is another "pack it in, pack it out" park where they have no bins at the campground. You're expected to either burn your rubbish or bring it out of the park. Easy enough with a car, a PITA on the bike!

The sun had been swallowed up by cloud but I had a quiet road pretty much to myself. I crossed the big lake, but without the sun it wasn't as impressive as last night.

My destination today was Navasota about 50kms down the road. I was feeling good and had thought about pushing the distance a bit, but after Navasota there are no accommodation options for a while.

For the last two days I've been cycling through the Sam Houston National Forest - in Texas everything is big! The first part of today had a lot of similarities to the NTP, although at times, the dense forest seemed very close to the road. Wonderful fuel for imagination!

Changing onto another road the surface became better, although the shoulder disappeared. I was moving well, feeling good, eating up the constant short climbs. Approaching the town of Richards the landscape started to open up. I was starting to see further and further. Unfortunately, I was also starting to feel the effects of a headwind. In the one horse town of Richards I stopped for some grub, then rolled on out again.

Next stop was Anderson, a painfully slow section in open, rolling country, buffeted by a diagonal headwind. It was very tough work! Climb 70 or 80 meters, drop the same, rinse & repeat, all the time battling the wind. Cycling downhill and having to change gears onto the smallest front ring can be soul destroying! Having said that, the countryside was interesting, more open, more agricultural, although the road stretching straight away in the distance can be demoralising at times.

Since Louisiana there have been cattle out in the fields, beef cattle by the looks of it. They're as interested in me as the dogs! It's not unusual for every single bullock in the field to stare at me as I roll on past. A few days ago, a group of about six young cattle actually ran along beside me! Either I smell like a cow or they think my bike is a tarted up cow!

Reaching Anderson the traffic quickly increased so I decided to stop for a coffee before the last leg. Outside the filling station I got talking to two guys, both drunk (before 3pm), one of whom had driven there and shortly drove off again, pulling out in front of a big 18 wheeler. Food for thought.

Back on the road I had a huge, wide shoulder that was much needed because of the heavy traffic, many of which were trucks. I could see an alternative way on Gizmo so coped with the traffic to the turn off - A gravel and sand road. I chose the traffic and made my last burst to Navasota, 10 miles away according to the road sign.

Leaving Anderson I ran into Dan heading the other way. He's hoping to be in Florida in January. He's met two other bike tourists on his trip and based on his description, both sounded more than a little odd. But then again, I probably do too! Dan's lucky - he's got the wind helping him!

I made it to Navasota - it's busy!! The Fire Station hosts cyclists so I've headed here. It's open but no-one is home! I'm assuming out on a call. My telephone hasn't been working - I can hear nothing, although the other end can hear me. Having had a brainwave, I took the phone out of its cover and tried it. It worked! Still no answer, though!

Tomorrow will be longish by recent standards I think. There's no camping options for a while. Then there's the wind too! I'm hoping for an early start to take the pressure off for the day.

I also need to start thinking about accommodation in Austin. I signed up for AirBnB when I was in Nashville, so I may give that a try. I'm going to take a few days in Austin. I want to do some touristy things and I need to fill out the detail on my route to the Pacific coast of Mexico. I've no idea what my internet connectivity will be like so want to have as much detail & info as possible. I also need to start learning some Spanish!

The sunset tonight was just spectacular!

The guys finally showed up & I was made most welcome! I had a great shower, then ordered a pizza - I'd been having a craving. There's three firefighters on call tonight and the banter between them was top class! I'm really enjoying my second stay at a fire station!

I'm one hell of a lucky guy!

If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

for comments/questions/discussion.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Day 93, Saturday, December 14, Navasota Fire Station to Warrenton, Tx 89km

Sometimes when I'm cycling along I'm thinking of things I want to put down in this blog, making a mental note of something significant to me. Today was different. Today was a day where I was thinking of just how inadequate language can be to express what I was seeing and feeling and the camera has not yet been invented that would do justice to some of the sights today. Looking back at the photos taken today, they are a pale, bland imitation of what I was seeing. The scale is immense, no photo can do it justice. Instead of "Sunflowers", you'll be getting a single petal.

I've been doing a lot of reading on this trip. Books connected to where I'm travelling really bring the days to life. Larry McMurtry really brings the old West, and Texas to life. I'm currently reading one of his books and last night, in Navasota, Navasota was mentioned in my book!

Sleeping in the communal room with the firefighters I awoke at 4:30 am. Unwilling to disturb them, I rolled over for another snooze. I was awake again before 7 just in time for an alarm call. Lights on, a loud alarm and the dispatch guy on hidden speakers. As they got organised I got up too. I packed up and just before leaving got to say my goodbyes as they returned.

I headed out of town, stopping for a coffee and some food. Traffic was surprisingly light and I started making some decent headway on the wide shoulder.

There's a little bit of cycling Heaven in Texas. It's called the William Penn road, about 10 miles west of Navasota from Highway 105.

I turned onto this blessed road and felt like I had really arrived in Texas. It was simply, glorious! A quiet country road with barely any traffic, the traffic that did pass was moving at a snail's pace by Texas standards, it weaved around and up and down through some incredible landscapes. There was open farmland, big copses of trees, dense scrubland, waterholes or small lakes. Small birds were singing everywhere!

That's something I've noticed before, or rather, the lack of singing birds. So far on this trip there has been none! Today, though, they were out in force!

I felt an emotional tug at the state line when I reached Texas. Today, I surfed on a wave as I finally reached the Texas I had imagined. There are no words!

I stopped so many times, not to take a picture, just to make sure I didn't miss anything. There was no way I was going to rush through here! I could quite happily spend a couple of days riding up and down this road. It was special.

I look at the map now and I see it's only 10 miles long. It felt like 100, in the most positive way.

Texas is full of trees. Not just the National Forest I spent the guts of two days cycling through. Trees in clusters in fields, presumably to offer shade & shelter. Trees on the side of the road doing the same. These trees are old and characters in their own right. Today, there were so many of these trees. I'm no botanist and can barely recognise a Christmas tree, but these trees spoke to me. They have seen so much of the history of this place.

I passed an animal sanctuary, full of deer. In Texas!!! They were curious until I stopped to take a photo. Once I started to move off, I initiated a full on deer stampede!

I even saw my first cowboy!! He was out checking fences so I pressed hard on the pedals to get to him to ask his permission to take a photo. Alas, the hill wouldn't co-operate so I had to snap this from a distance.

I came to a cemetery and couldn't resist going in. I've passed a few in the last week - most are down side roads - but have felt a little uneasy about going in. Today, I wandered around. Most of the headstones were Newman's. The oldest I saw was for a man born in 1803 in Georgia, dying in 1889. There were quite a few that lived to a good old age back then, remarkable given the tough times.
There were also many headstones for infants and young children demonstrating just how hard a life it was.
In these places it's possible to see the father and mother, their children and their children's children. The cemeteries are so small and dedicated to one family.
An interesting quirk I noticed on two headstones was the fact that only the wife's initials appeared, under which were the words "Wife of …".
A different time.

I reached the small town of Independence and stopped at the General Store for a coffee and sandwich. There was no coffee, but they made me one, anyway.
As I was getting ready to leave, a man I took to be the proprietor started asking me about my trip. He has a simple book that he asks passing cyclists to fill in. He was a very pleasant chap with a great sense of humour. He presumed I was English and I corrected him in my own style - that's how I know he has a good sense of humour! We had a very interesting chat about lots of things while people came into his store and did their business. Everybody was relaxed and laid back, willing to wait, not wanting to interrupt the conversation flow.

Outside, a young girl (4th grade) was setting up a stall to sell Christmas cakes to raise money for her school. It's a small town now, but there was a real sense of community, with everyone chatting to each other and most buying a $20 cake.

After Independence the road became a bit bigger, but traffic was not too fast and quite respectful. I was feeling the hills a little more, but it was still fabulous cycling. There was a constant up and down the whole day.

After Burton, everything changed! A massive 4 lane, split highway, 75mph limit and heavy traffic. After the quiet and the birdsong earlier it was an audial shock to the system! There is no describing the volume of a pickup with off-road tyres barreling past you at 75mph on a chip/seal road.

To get off the road I had to cross the two lanes of traffic - not a pleasant task. Then I found myself on a smaller two lane, without a shoulder and reasonably heavy traffic. Alas, these folks were in a hurry unlike earlier.

I had passed a turnoff for one campground and was now heading for the town of Round Top to a campground mentioned in the maps. When I finally got there, it was closed & up for sale! Uh oh!
Roundtrip is a town with a population of 90 and about 20 antique shops and markets. Apparently, they hold antique fairs that attract thousands!

My next option was the town of La Grange, about 30km down the road. I really didn't fancy that as I was heading due west into a sinking sun - making me very difficult to see for traffic coming from behind. Given the time I'd probably be arriving after dark, too.

I popped into the local store and asked the lady about camping. She told me of an RV campground out the road, so I called and yes, they'd take a tent! Sorted!

The lady in the store, when she learned I was Irish had an interesting version of the "Irish roots" story! Her mother visited Ireland for 11 months and came back pregnant and with a baby - her "reminders" of Ireland! The father stayed in Ireland. Her mother never said a bad word about him!

So here I am sitting beside the road. A lovely old lady checked me in - more of a chat really - I got the impression she was a bit lonely. There's no washrooms, but I have water. I can pee in a bush! Cost? $5! I'm perfectly happy with that! I got off the road before it got dangerous and I have a place to sleep.

For years I've read about Texas, I've listened to and enjoyed the music. It's a place I've wanted to visit for a long, long time. I've been here for a few days, but today was the day I really felt like I was in Texas, or at least, the Texas I have imagined.

If there's something you really, really want to do, or a place you really, really want to visit, just do it. If it's not possible at the moment, keep the dream alive by reading about, or watching videos or movies or listening to the sounds of your dream. Make a plan. Just do it. It feels wonderful when you do!


If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/
for comments/questions/discussion.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Day 94, Sunday, December 15, Warrenton, Tx to Bastrop State Park 84km

It rained during the night, unexpectedly. It wasn't heavy rain, or constant rain, instead it was more like tiny little rain fairies had tiny little water pistols and were shooting different parts of the tent all night. In any case, the tent was wet in the morning.

I just wasn't feeling it this morning which was a big surprise after the great day yesterday and the fact that I'd booked (my first ever!) AirBnB in Austin for Monday night. On top of that I'd checked out some of my favourite artists and I've plans for Monday & Tuesday in Austin and Saturday in San Antonio!

I dragged myself out of bed about 7:30. Sunrise is typically about 7:15 in these parts. I'd already decided to skip breakfast to make the cycling day as long as possible.

I laboured to get organised and the tent didn't seem to be drying out too well, either. That was odd, too, since the wind was blowing strongly!

Just before 9 I hit the road. I may as well have had breakfast!

I love these trees!

La Grange was about 20 km down the road - that would be my breakfast spot. Right from the off I wondered if I'd ever make it! Traffic was light that early on a Sunday morning, but the wind was blowing me all over the place! A south Westerly wind and I was going to be heading west for most of the day! It was not a fun start to the day.

I struggled into LaGrange and gratefully pulled into the first service station I saw. In fairness, this was a fancy place with BBQ food, a supermarket, bakery and a clothes store all under one roof.

Hoping for a breakfast type meal I could only choose BBQ, so opted for two sandwiches (I need my energy!!) and a coffee. The coffee worked its magic and I wolfed down the food.

Feeling much better I rode through LaGrange - most noticeable feature: a huge cemetery split by the road through town - and out the other side. At that point I turned north for a while and began to fly with the wind now pushing me along. Quickly, though, I encountered two problems. The first was the appearance of a rumble strip in the middle of my shoulder, seriously restricting my speed and the second were stomach cramps. It looked like I'd eaten my sandwiches way too fast.

Whenever I had to push on the pedals with reasonable power my belly acted up. There were a lot of hills! Thankfully, there were quite a few bridges too which gave me a chance to stop and take a breather. By this stage the sun was out and the temperature was hitting 30C too!

I started to feel a little down and a little under pressure. I wanted to get to at least Bastrop tonight to give me a decent chance of Austin tomorrow. With the wind and my belly that was looking like a campground too far. So I had a talk with myself and decided that today was today and tomorrow could look after itself. I struggled on to the little town of Winchester where I found the little store, had a coffee, some Gatorade and rested for an hour sitting on their porch in the sun. They had a binder on the counter "Winchester then and now" that had pages for the current and previous buildings in Winchester and the people in them. It was a delightful read of the history of this very small town, undertaken by local, amateur historians. What a great idea!

Feeling better, I hit the road again, this time more into the wind. I was immediately grateful for my talk to myself - the going was much easier. I wasn't zooming, but I was making steady progress and appreciating the country around me.

My next target was the Buescher State Park. I could have camped there but was feeling good enough to go on. I had to pay a $3 admission though. I didn't regret that in the least as now I was on quiet roads in the National Park that would take me to the next National Park and my campground for the night. I was enjoying myself so much I even started to think about going further!

Ha! Dumbass!

The road in the National Park turned downright vindictive! There were some ridiculously steep climbs and descents. I never got very high, but each meter up felt vertical. And the same on the way down!! I had to be careful too because, although there was little traffic, oncoming traffic tended to come around blind corners on the wrong side of the road.

I had a frustrating experience with a proctocologist on one of these crazy descents. I know she was a proctocologist because she practically rammed her car up my ass as if to do an investigation! I pulled in to let her by and she waved her mobile phone at me as she drove past! I was really frustrated at losing all that momentum on the way down and cursed her roundly all the way up the other side!

But these climbs were brutal. My belly still wasn't 100% and they were taking a lot out of me. And it was hot too!

Eventually, I arrived at the edge of Bastrop State Park and settled on this as my location for the night. I was not going to push it anymore.

However, the campgrounds and office were on the far side of the park. With renewed vigour I set off on the last leg. Renewed at least, until I hit the next hill! I came to one campground and passed it, then another. I still had to get to the office and either check in or pay as a late arrival. There's not much flexibility in their rules here.

What got to me was another steep climb. The sun was sinking, my tent was wet, I had passed the campgrounds (3!) and now I'd another feckin' steep hill to climb. My Hiberno-English swearing at full volume wouldn't have been understood by most in this area!

I finally, finally got to the office and saw two rangers outside. I called out a greeting to them and parked up the bike. They got in their cars and drove away without word one.

The office was closed! Now I had to fill in another stupid form (different to the last 2 state parks) and pay my money. No pens or pencils to fill out the forms. No map to tell you which campsite was which (they have different prices). I was really peed off. I put my money in a blank envelope, using coins as a marker in case any ranger asks me), turned around and found a spot as the sun was dropping down. I'm supposed to pitch in sand/gravel again, but since I'm the only tent I set it on grass.

There wasn't much time for it to dry out so the floor is a bit damp.

I sat down for a while to cool off.

In fairness, it's a nice spot, although close to a busy road. I'm in a tent site, the next field is for RVs and the toilet block is there. It's big and modern and it has a dish washing area - something I've only seen in one other campground.

There is also a covered, communal area with picnic tables and a huge fireplace. It's lit with electric lights, has power sockets so that's where I'll set myself up for the evening!

The stars are out in force tonight too and for the first night in ages it's not cold!!

Tomorrow, the weather is due to turn. Rain is forecast. Austin is the target. I'm hoping for an early start to give myself the best chance of having a comfortable approach. David, in the fire station in Navasota told me that the Austin Fire Department changed their shift times so the changeover didn't occur in the morning rush hour! I'll be using a cycle.travel route over the ACA route. I trust cycle.travel far more, in general, and certainly in and around cities.

All going well, I'll arrive early, have a nap and head out to see one of my musical heroes do his residency in a pub!






If you have any questions or comments please fire ahead. For the sake of continuity I've had permission from the mod team to use https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/chat-one-for-the-big-big-trip-journal.254098/

for comments/questions/discussion.