Day 43 – Wind and Rage
Tuesday, December 2nd
Shepherd, TX to Brenham, TX
I rolled out of bed and checked the weather outside. Seeing frost on the cars and my breath on the air, I figured we were in for a rough start today. We ate the motel breakfast – cereal, juice, cinnamon rolls and coffee cake – and made an effort to start packing. Unfortunately, our legs failed us so we did a lot of seated packing rather than the more effortful, standing/walking-around version. (I even stole for a little nap while “stretching”.)
Dad checked out while I gathered the last of my gear. When I wheeled my bike to meet Dad outside the lobby, he noticed my back tire was flat. It was slow leak and we needed to get on the road, so we switched out tubes, using the last new tube we had – a 26″ x 1″ instead of a 26″ x 1.25″. We rode South on 59 until we reach SR 150 where we turned West to head to Coldspring. The road, just like Hwy 59, was horribly repaved. We passed the Shepherd TXDOT office and muttered in their general direction. At least their office is on one of the shoddy roads, so they have to suffer their own mess by some small measure.
We didn’t recognize anything until we reached the center of Coldspring. We turned left to continue on SR 150 and stopped at an Exxon to, well you know the drill. After picking out a Reese’s bar, wee enjoyed looking over the machetes the station had for sale. There were several of the typical ones out of Brazil and some Cold Steel barongs that looked lovely. Unfortunately, the souvenir would have been too much weight to carry along (but might have been handy to use against some specific trucks…)
Fighting, the usual – bad roads, hills, strong headwinds and crosswinds – we rode out of Coldspring, eager to get some of the day’s miles under our belt. Though 150 was atrocious almost the entire length we covered, the stretch just West of Coldspring is actually pretty wonderful. It’s well-paved and takes you through the beautiful Sam Houston National Forest. We rolled through the woods to a Patsy Cline album playing on my tiny cell phone speakers, and with only the trees to hear me, I couldn’t resist singing along. 150 eventually turned nasty again, but we continued on through Evergreen and Pumpkin to New Waverly where we stopped at the same grocery store we visited all those weeks ago when we were headed East. Just like the last time we visited, they were out of sausage and chorizo, so we again had potato, egg and cheese tacos instead – still very tasty! A big family had claimed all the tables and seats inside the grocery store, so we took our tacos, some bananas and a Reese’s bar outside and played vagrant sitting in the sun on the side wall of the building.
We also stocked up on Fig Newtons and peanut butter crackers for our long ride through the forest, then took off on CR 1375. While riding through the forest on a road with almost no shoulder, a beige landcruiser with a guy in a santa hat decided to pass between me and the one vehicle of oncoming traffic. Couldn’t be bothered to wait a few seconds – too many presents to deliver?
Two days ago, while checking the weather forecast and marveling at the headwinds we’d be facing while heading North and West, Dad said, “At least it looks like it will change and come out of the South in a couple days.” Without having examined the maps I jokingly replied, “So I bet that means our route turns South in two days.”
Today we couldn’t believe I was right. It was ANOTHER day of 20-30 mph head- and crosswinds. And guess what, we checked our route for tomorrow, which basically heads West, and checked the local TV station weather. Here are the wind predictions for tomorrow: 20-30 mph winds out of the SSW. It’s like the weather *knows* our route BEFORE we do! So creepy.
When we reached Richards, both of us needed a rest. I had been pedaling hard and running the motor on the whole morning ride and I still hadn’t been able to keep up with Dad through the hills, headwinds and all. I don’t know how he does it! It’s amazing! We pulled up to the gas station, parked the bikes and walked in to buy some chicken tenders and soda. I peeked outside to check on our rides and saw my bike laying on its side. I thought the wind toppled it, but the back tire was completely flat.
Again. We patched a tube, but found it had more than one hole. After another patch, we finally got back on the road around 1pm. We hoped to cover over 120 miles today, but between the bad roads and the strong winds, there was little chance we’d make it. But we pressed on.
The hills between Richards and Anderson were killers, but Dad still cranked over them while I struggled, even with the motor. At Anderson, we took 90 to Navasota, rolling over long and steep hills on a bad road and fighting a strong South headwind along the whole stretch. I don’t remember much of it, but Dad says it was the hardest part of the day for him. But he moved along, amazing me with each hill.
We hesitated in Navasota, knowing we couldn’t make it the next town with a motel on the Southern Tier route, but a guy told us Brenham was only 25 miles South along SR 105 so we decided to take our chances with that manageable distance.
Once again, the road was a nightmare for most of the distance between Navasota and Brenham. There were several spots where the new pavement wasn’t extended far enough to cover the old road. I wanted to stop to take a picture, but was afraid to lose the little momentum I had. Keep an eye out for it next time you are on a crappy but new-looking highway or state road in Texas. The underlayer was an older grey, but so much smoother! The new roads are almost as bad as Louisiana roads. The only difference is that in Louisiana, it’s taken years of neglect and corruption to let the roads get that bad, while in Texas, our officials take the shortcut and buy crappy roads fresh off the shelf. Nearing Brenham, we had to ride the white strip because the road was so rough. There was a 8 foot shoulder, but it was utterly unuseable as far as bikes are concerned.
When cars approached, we’d pull over to give them room to pass, then get back on the while line so we could make decent time. At one point, while riding several meters behind Dad, I saw a greyish tan Frontier truck approaching in my mirrors. I moved over and Dad did the same. With a car approching in the oncoming lane as well, I pulled over about 3-4 feet to the right of the white line. This should have been plenty of room. I never saw whether the oncoming car had anything to do with it, but the truck took a dive at me. Intentionally or not, he missed me by under 5″. Scared me half to death. So badly that I didn’t catch the license plate.
For the rest of the ride into Brenham, I could only think about what I would have done to that guy and his truck if I had had the chance. I thought a lot about rage and revenge and how cyclists can’t afford to dwell on either. It’s an odd choice; to choose to put yourself at the mercy of others so completely. From the cyclists we’ve met on this trip, it seems to be a lifestyle that chooses you. Whether you believe in Karma or punishment in the hereafter, in reality that guy will never face any consequences for almost hitting me at 70+ mph. If he did it on purpose, odds are he’ll do it again to someone else; maybe he finds it funny. Whatever his motivations, I have no control over them. Dad and I talked a bit about the crazy things drivers do on the road, how they react irrationally to inconvenience. He commented that in a week of riding cross-country, you’ll learn more about religion – with respect to yourself and to how others live it on a day-to-day basis (or, in this case, don’t) – than you will likely learn in 20 years of attending church.
The state of 105 gradually worsened as we neared Brenham. Coming into town, we passed another TXDOT office. Dad grumbled toward them and empowered by my residual anger, I yelled to no one in particular, “Your roads suck!” After a day of riding on sabatoged roads, we were both pretty mad at TXDOT.
We found an awesome motel – the Coach Light Inn. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but is fantastically remodeled and outfitted inside the rooms. Check it out if you’re ever in Brenham. With the famous Blue Bell Creamery close by, most of the motels charge $80-$120 per night, be we got one here for $60. We removed our boxes and had a blast biking to Church’s Chicken without the weight of our panniers. Back in the motel room after we downed our togo chicken, mashed potatoes and cole slaw, we compared new leg muscles. Dad’s are getting a little scary – they’re starting to look inhuman. Such is the life of a Bionic man.
We were getting ready to rest, but Dad wanted to work on a patch on my tire. You may have guess it, but he soon found my bike tire had gone flat again. Yes, this is the third time today. He found a sliver of glass in the tire and a teeny puncture hole in the tube. We have 90 miles or so to get to Austin tomorrow, I am completely out of replacement tube options for my rear tire, and there are no bike shops along the way. Hopefully we’ll make it without having to walk the bike to the city.
Today’s Quick Stats:
Bike Distance (mi) Average Speed (mph) Trip Odometer
MiniWini 106.50 16.1 2987.7
Sti(ck/g) 106.20 15.9 2976.6
Stampedes: 2 and a little bit over
Roadside Pees: 2