This morning I'm traveling without my pannier bags. Since I'll be staying at Wanda's again tonight, there's no reason for me to carry all of that stuff. I'm only bringing my left pannier bag, and I emptied it out and loaded it with a spare tire, an extra tube, a patch kit, my small tire pump, and tools. I'm also carrying my handlebar bag, which has all of the things I need to be accessible - credit cards, money, maps, camera, energy bars, PDA (for blogging).... things like that.
I calculate I'm traveling about thirty pounds lighter without the other gear. Really, it doesn't seem like that much. My own weight is still the same, the bike still weighs 29 pounds, and I'm estimating I still have at least nine of the thirty nine pounds of my gear. So, instead of 257 pounds I'm carrying 227 pounds. I kind of wonder if it'll make any difference.
From Gay Hill I head east. In places there are huge cracks in the road. You can't really tell from the picture, but some of the cracks were 8-9 inches deep, and plenty wide enough to accept an unsuspecting bicyclist's tire.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
The scenery is very pretty along this route.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
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You can tell exactly how tall the trucks are.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
On William Penn Road I met a couple of women bicyclists, Ari and Erin, heading in the opposite direction.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
They started their trip in Virginia and traveled along the Eastern coast before turning West. They're both from Venice, California, and grew up quite close to each other. Somehow they both ended up in New England, ready to return to the West. They talked about perhaps doing some hiking, then Erin suggested taking a bike trip since Ari has taken some shorter ones before. And that was that - a thousand plus miles later, here they are.
It's been an interesting trip for them, especially traveling through the Deep South. Erin is a vegetarian, and there isn't a single cafe anywhere along their route where you can't buy a chicken fried steak. A cafe in the South can't survive if it doesn't sell chicken fried steak. It's hard enough just finding FOOD sometimes; If I'm lucky I can find something that's not deep fried. I can't imagine being a vegetarian on a trip like this!
We talked in the shade of an oak tree for about twenty minutes before heading off in opposite directions.
This part of Texas is not only scenic but very historic. I passed through Independence, almost a ghost town now, which is the original site of Baylor University.
Washington, "The Birthplace of Texas," is just up the road from Independence. Also called Washington-on-the-Brazos, it's where Texas became an independent nation in 1836 when it signed its own Declaration of Independence from Mexico. In some ways, Texas is STILL a different country.
I stopped briefly at the museum in Washington, then continued on to Navasota.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
For lunch, I decided on The Filling Station. The waitress' T-shirt boasts, "The Filling Station: where burpin' and fartin' is still a competitive sport."
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
I decided that bicycling is sport enough for me - at least, for now. (buuuuuuuuurp - er, excuse me)
After lunch I pedaled through Anderson, then Richards. I took a fifteen-minute break and watched all of the traffic come in and out of the only place in town to buy something, a small convenience store, while I cooled off and had something to drink.
After Richards, almost instantly, I was surrounded by a forest of tall pine trees. This is East Texas, also known as The Piney Woods. With trees towering above me on both sides, there was less light and it felt later in the day.
I think it's safe to assume it gets warm here during the summer. This lug nut has sunk down about halfway into the shoulder on this road.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
Here are some pictures I took this afternoon.
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I crossed Lake Conroe late this afternoon.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
I saw this sign and wondered about it. Are the pool and the cemetery on the same lot? The cluster of houses surrounding wasn't a town named "Pool." I strained to see if it was just the name of the cemetery or if there was actually a swimming pool there, but I just couldn't see anything.
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| From Mark on a Bike 08 2 |
It was starting to get dark fast. The trees really make a difference, cutting off the light. After seeing the first car with its headlights on, I continued to ride; however, I soon began feeling invisible, and therefore very uncomfortable. There was no shoulder on this section of road, and I began worrying about being felt by drivers rather than being seen by them.
I pulled over at the Ranger Station and waited for Wanda, who showed up shortly afterwards.
Looking at my average speed, I guess cycling without the weight really DOES make a difference!
73.78 distance
14.4 average
29.0 maximum
5:06:53 time
1685.0 total
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