Day Thirty Two: kountry kitchen, bbc, bbq, 'dillo

On the way out of Lockhart I stopped at the Kountry Kitchen for breakfast. It was advertised as being "Just Like Mom's."

It's odd, though.... I just don't remember a cigarette hanging from my mom's lower lip. And I don't remember her having a gravelly voice. Nor do I remember her letting two thirds of the people in the room smoke.

Probably just my faulty memory.

For several hundred miles, even in New Mexico, there have been oil wells spotting the landscape. Most of them are really old and tired sounding. They squeak as they run, and sound kind of lonely.



There are a few newer ones, but in general, they scar the scenery.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

Isn't this a beautiful sight? It would even be more beautiful if it were on my RIGHT side instead of my LEFT side.... another headwind today.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

After seventeen miles I arrived in Bateman, which, as far as I can tell, has a church. Bateman Baptist Church, and that's it.

That's all I needed though - just SOMEthing to block the wind for a few minutes, so I pulled over and sat on the ground on the leeward side of the church.

After a few minutes a woman came out of the building behind the church and asked me if I'd like to come inside where it's warmer. My plan was to make this a VERY brief stop since I'd only pedaled seventeen miles, so I said no thanks, I'm alright just sitting here out of the wind.

Sometimes on a trip, I forget why I'm riding. I start thinking about how many miles I've done, and how many I have to do, and my average speed, and the wind direction.... and I forget to look around.

When she came out five minutes later and asked me again, I said yes. THIS is one of the main reasons for the trip.

I followed her into the Fellowship Hall of the church where she and another woman were preparing for the Fall Festival which will be starting in a couple of days.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

For the first ten minutes or so, I sat quietly in a chair while the two women decorated the room. There was a Christian song playing in the background. A song, as in ONE song... over and over and over and over.

Eventually, the one who asked me in, Stacy, asked me a few questions about where I started and where I was going. After that, the conversation flowed more freely.

I learned that the reason the song was playing over and over is that Stacy will be singing it in a couple of days. Someone just asked her last night if she would be willing to perform it, so she's trying to learn it very quickly. Since she has Attention Deficit Disorder, she just plays it in the background and lets it soak in. Not a bad idea, actually.

Stacy made me some hot tea and we continued talking.

Della was also helping. She seemed nice, but was very quiet most of the time.

Stacy is really proud of her three children. Johnwayne Cinch (Johnwayne is his first name, Cinch is his middle name) was in the room with us, and played with stuff while the ladies worked.

TJ is her other son, older, and Cody, the only girl, is older still. Stacy told me about Cody's ability to pitch a softball 95 miles an hour, and she's only a freshman in high school. Perhaps I should call the Houston Astros or the Texas Rangers baseball teams, especially since she can also hit.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

She asked me my name so she could put me on the "Traveling Mercies" list. When I heard that I KNEW I was in the South. I appreciate it, and wonder if "traveling mercies" includes a nice strong tailwind.

My body and heart warmed, I started riding again.

In Bastrop (pop 5340) I stopped for more barbecue at Cartwright's BBQ - getting it while I can.

The man in front of me in the ordering line, about in his mid- to late sixties, ordered first. He had a gut which entered a room three minutes before he did.

"I want a sliced beef sandwich. And leave all of that fat on it, willya?"

The young guy cutting the meat paused, looked at me quickly with an incredulous look and a half smile, then started making the sandwich.

The man who hasn't seen his feet in thirty years then added, "Everbody's always on a diet, ya know."

I did my best to get a profile picture, but wasn't able to. This was the best shot I could get.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

I'm camping tonight, so I stopped at a convenience store and picked up some bread, milk, and a few other things.

Bastrop State Park and Buescher State Park are almost connected, and the road between them looks just like the park roads. It's a nice place to ride. I only saw two cars the entire time I was pedaling through them this afternoon.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

Both parks have some REALLY steep grades.... steeper than anything I've seen in the Rockies. There were some that, if they'd been twenty feet farther, I'd have been walking my bike up. Even in my granny gear, pedaling as hard as I could, I was really struggling.

The downhills were nice though.

As you may have gathered, not much can cause me to brake to a stop when I'm going downhill.... severed arteries (mine or others), a nuclear blast within thirty feet, Elvis hitchhiking ... all these things can wait. However, I did see something on the side of the road that caused me to immediately brake, turn around, and pedal back uphill.







I don't know why he (or she) was so fascinating to watch. Maybe because an armadillo is so.... prehistoric.

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

From Mark on a Bike 08 2

At the entrance to the Buescher campground I met a local family of bikers who were out for an evening ride, two parents and four kids. The kids were extremely well behaved. It's not too surprising, though, when you consider that they were out on bikes instead of huddled around a television.

The father is interested in taking a trip someday, and I let him know that it's certainly possible with kids.

I pitched my tent on the grass and took a shower. In the bathroom the lights automatically go off after a certain period of time. Fortunately, when it happened I was standing right next to the door instead of buck naked and dripping wet with soap in my eyes on the other side of the room - all I had to do was open the door and the lights came back on.

Buescher is a nice place to camp. There were only three other campsites being used, and the campers were quiet.

That night, lying comfortably in my sleeping bag, I heard some rustling outside my tent. The movement, the pause, the movement - it sounded exactly like my armadillo friend. I thought about poking my head outside to take a look but was too cozy.

One of the last things I heard before drifting off to sleep was a coyote howling off in the distance.


45.97 miles
11.3 average
31.6 max
4:04:07 time
1546.5 total