Day 4 – Lifeguarding Lessons
Cleveland, TX to Crockett, TX
Thursday, June 11th
I woke late this morning with a horrible headache. We ate breakfast (Cheerios from the motel dining room and instant oatmeal from our personal stash) then started packing but I had to take a couple breaks to lay down with my head under a pillow. Due to that and to the fact that we still needed to work out a route, we got a later start than we’d like, leaving the motel sometime after 9 or 9:30. We rode FM 2025 toward Coldspring and from the little that I remember, I think the road was ok. I don’t remember it being horrible, so that’s something. By the time we got to Coldspring, I was getting pretty hungry and knowing we wouldn’t have a chance to buy food for several hours, we decided to stop at Elaine’s Cafe – the same place we stopped on our way out to Florida. On our way in, an old guy on a Segway zoomed by us, clothes flapping in the wind! He was trucking along at about 15mph going uphill! I love biking, but for transportation of someone his age and physical condition, I think that guy has it figured out. It sure beats rolling around in a car!
The restaurant has a good, free WiFi connection so we checked our mail, etc. while waiting on our meal. This second breakfast (eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy and hasbrowns) was delicious and gave us a good boost for the next part of the ride. We took Hwy 156 heading Northwest out of town. A few miles out, a motor home pulling a trailer came speeding up behind me. I though he would go around, but he just stayed his course and nearly sideswiped me. The force of the air he was pushing around almost knocked me off the road, so I radioed Dad to warn him of what was headed his way. Dad pulled further into the lane well before the motorhome reached him to encourage the vehicle’s driver to switch lanes to pass, but rather than do the smart thing – slow down, switch lanes well in advance, pass, then move back to the right well after completing the pass – the driver decided to make a tight swerve around Dad. The motorhome was going so fast (at least 15 over the speed limit) that when he swerved around Dad, the vehicle noticeably tipped.
Thankfully, shortly thereafter we were routed to turn onto FM 946. We made the turn and entered a different world. The two lane road was perfectly paved and completely vacant. It’s lined on both sides by knee-high grass for about 10 feet followed by a wall of towering pines. There were wildflowers and butterflies everywhere and not a sound of a car; just the singing of the birds and the rustling of the leaves. It was delightful. Dad radioed to point out a baby deer bunny-hopping through the grass and wildflowers. Though he was bouncing in our direction, he was obviously enjoying the romp too much to notice us at first. When we rode to within 15 ft of him, he realized his mistake, froze, then darted off into the trees.
Further down 946 some storm clouds began to darken the small patch of sky between the tree tops. They sprinkled a bit, but only enough to provide us refreshment from our layers of sweat. 946 provided such a delightful situation that I spent most of it watching my surroundings and singing to myself. After passing the beautiful, secluded community of Willow Springs (where two dogs sprinted a whole pasture trying to catch us) the road grew deceptive. It was still a joy to ride, but on parts that looked like a downhill stretch, we were having to pedal hard even with the help of a little tailwind. Despite that, I think 946 is the most enjoyable road I’ve ridden. I only wish it were longer.
We rode Hwy 190 for a short poorly-paved stretch then stopped at a gas station for some Gatorade, Reese’s and crackers before turning onto FM 405 – another delightful ride. Then we turned onto Hwy 19. From the turn at 405 to the Houston County line, Hwy 19 is a mess. The highway has a shoulder but it is so poorly constructed that the ten or so miles we had to ride to the county line ripped us up. It’s gotten to the point that whenever we see a “Now entering —– County” sign, we hold our breath, waiting to see the verdict on their roads. Trinity County was a nightmare, and we knew we couldn’t take much more of it, so when found out how well Houston County cares for their roads, we loudly rejoiced. We still needed to rest from our stint in Trinity County and took the opportunity when we reached Lovelady. We pulled into a little gas station, oozed off the bikes and sat on the sidewalk for several minutes trying to find the energy to go inside for a Dr. Pepper.
During this recovery, a trio of teenagers pulled in the station to gas up. The girl of the group walked past us on her way inside and thanks to her low-cut top, we got to see the star tattoos she had on the inner, upper side of each breast. Once she was inside, Dad asked, “So are you gonna get star tattoos on your boobs?” and while I was about to honestly declare, “Oh, I’d never do that” something happened subconsciously and I switched my answer mid-sentence to “Oh, I’ve already got some,” surprising myself and giving Dad an unexpected laugh.
We stretched before getting back on the bikes, then took off for the last leg of the day. A ways down the road Dad reached the top of a hill before me and asked, “Do you want to ride the Corsa.” While still climbing I said, “I don’t know…let me see what’s at the top of this hill.”
“Nope, you have to answer right now.”
“Ummmm, ok, yeah, I’ll ride it.”
Thankfully, I reached the top of the hill to find a nice descent followed by a flat stretch that curved around out of sight. We swapped and I enjoyed riding the wide, smooth shoulder until we topped a small hill and saw the monster climb that lay ahead. I tried to attack it, but the shoulder started to shrink and I had trouble controlling the bike, so Dad agreed to tackle the rest of the hill. It had been an exciting ride though!
We made it to the Loop 304, which encircles Crockett, pulled over and started looking for motels. We called home and asked my mom and sister to look into some, and in the meantime we called around based on the phone numbers available in the GPS. We called the Economy Inn ($50 per night) and on a whim called the Warfield B&B ($80-90 per night). Mom and my sister called back having checked with the Holiday Inn Express which was asking $112 per night. So we settled on the Economy Inn. We rode through town (after resolving the trouble I had navigating the unmarked one-way roads around the town square) and arrived at the Economy Inn. I asked Dad, “Want me to see if the B&B would accept $75?”
“Yeeeaaaahhh…that would probably be better.”
I called up the B&B while Dad talked to an inquisitive guy who had wondered across the street, drawn by our strange rides. Doug, one of the owners of the Warfield B&B agreed to the $75, saying he would probably just do a continental breakfast instead of a full one. He mentioned that he was at work but that he’d be back at the house after while. Greatful for the opportunity to stay away from the Economy Inn, we rode to the B&B, parked our bikes, relaxed on the porch then walked to the nearby Brookshire Brother’s store to stock up on road snacks, DP and fried chicken for dinner.
By the time we returned to the house, Doug was back. He showed us our room then instructed us where to park the bikes. While Dad got cleaned up, Doug introduced me to Wallace, their giant half-Mastiff, half-Boxer 13-yr-old puppy. He warned that Wallace likes to “play Lifeguard”, but didn’t explain what that meant. When Dad finished with the shower, he took our dinner out to the patio while I cleaned up. When I came out to the pool, Wallace was sitting at Dad’s feet, intently watching the chicken strips disappear into Dad’s mouth. After I sat down, he galloped off to go play by the pool. We soon picked up on his lifeguarding routine: he’d grab his toy (shown here, posing with Batman):
run to the edge of the pool, pin the toy with his paw then pop it into the air with his nose and watch it plunk into the pool. He’d watch the toy intently for a second or two, then bob for it. If he missed or the toy began to float away, he would brace himself at the edge of the pool and very carefully stretch his neck out toward the pool, teetering shakily on his front legs. Once he caught the toy, he’d run to another spot along the edge of the pool and repeat the process, then move to another spot by the pool and do it again. After the third time, he’d disappear into the pool house (where he sleeps), we assume to dry the toy off on his bed. After several minutes he would reappear and start the cycle over again. We tried to join in, but the only time he ever wanted our participation was to rescue his toy when it got caught in the current of the pool jets. Instead, we took pictures of Batman around the pool:
and around our room:
After the refreshment of the pool, we decided to take an evening ride to bump our mileage over 90 for the day. We rode to the South, visited one of the parks and stopped at a station for a DP the returned to the house to get ready for bed. While retrieving ice from the kitchen, we got into a conversation with Doug about his gardening and the history of the house, how they bought it and restored it completely (and believe me, they’ve done an amazing job on the house, the pool and the gardens). He also told us that he and his partner, Ken, decided to extend the $75 offer to anyone passing through on the weekdays! So if you find yourself in Crockett, know that the Warfield House is the place to stay! Tell Doug that Cyclists, Kent & Katy, sent you. =)
Warfield House Historic Bed & Breakfast
712 East Houston Ave.
Crockett, TX 75835
936.544.4037
www.warfieldhouse.net
kendougwarfieldhouse@yahoo.com
Today’s Quick Stats:
Bike Distance (mi) Average Speed (mph) Trip Odometer
MiniWini 90.61 16.2 376.85
Sti(ck/g) 90.74 16.4 379.83
Stampedes: 3
Roadside Pees: 1