Friday, Feb. 29, 2008 - Leap Day

Anderson, TX to Navasota, TX. 13 miles, 1,343 total miles.

My extra day! I forgot that this was leap year, so I get a bonus day that I had not counted on. Sorry to all you salary workers ... you get to donate a day to the company! (More work, same pay)

First for the bad news. I went to the post office first thing. This was my last published "Mail Drop", and at all the failed attempts to get my mail earlier, I knew this was going to be the place where I would find all my mail. NOT TRUE. Nothing had arrived. The post office has failed me! So, to all you kind souls that tried your best to send me mail, it didn't work. It's just too difficult to predict where I'll be a week from now. So, after the post office holds General Delivery mail for 30 days, they send it back to the sender. I don't really know where the two letters are right now, but sooner or later, you'll get it returned, I'm sure.

Now for the mission I have for today: get a new battery and charger for my Canon camera, as my battery had finally died and I can't take any more photos. I had an easy ride to Navasota, TX and I found a nice place to camp in a city park just outside of town. Left the bike there and proceeded to catch a ride to College Station, about 25 miles away (off route). There's a lot of stores there, such as Best Buy, Circuit City, etc., so I'm sure to find what I need there. It was a pretty easy trip, waiting near the Highway 6 on-ramp, two men in a truck stopped and offered me a ride right to Best Buy, which was very close to where they were going.

College Station is also home to Texas A & M University, and the President Bush Library is located there. I didn't take the time to visit either of these, but I could see them from the road I was on. It was a nice, mid-sized town. One that I would enjoy visiting again if I was in a car or a motorhome.

The trip back to Navasota was even easier. You'll remember Justin, the guy back in Anderson buying cheeseburgers. He drove by, noticed that it was me in my bright yellow jacket, and stopped to offer me a ride. I didn't recognize him right off, being he was in work clothes and wearing sun glasses, but he knew right away that it was me. It's a very small world, and God was taking care of me! Justin wasn't going all the way to Navasota, but where he left me, it only took about 10 minutes for another very nice driver, a man in a truck headed home to Houston, to stop and take me the rest of the way back to Navasota.

The local Parks Department in Navasota was having a fund-raising garage sale to raise money for a skate park. I enjoyed talking to the Park's Department workers and others there, and they told me about the City's RV park, very close to where I had left my bike. The RV Park has showers, and for people on a bike, camping in a tent, there's NO CHARGE to stay at the RV Park! Free is a very good price.



Another camper at the RV Park told me about a celebration taking place this weekend in the small town of Washington, TX, to mark Texas Independence Day, March 1st, so I think I'll go there in the morning and see what's there.

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008

Coldsprings, TX to Anderson, TX. 55 miles - 1330 miles total.

It was a great morning, with warm weather for riding. The route went through the Sam Houston National Forest, and it was beautiful there. It reminded me a lot of Central Oregon, except there are no mountains to speak of ... not yet, anyway.

I ate an early dinner in Richards, TX. A guy by the name of Larry Ogletree runs a small BBQ diner just outside of town, and it was very good food. I was the only customer, so Larry and I had a nice chat about my ride.

The postmaster in Richards encouraged me to continue on to Anderson, and he told me that the post office there opens early, so I decided to go for it. He also told me about a nice restaurant next to the Post Office that offers great home cooked meals, so I'll give it a try in the morning.

I camped near the Courthouse, and it was very windy. I could hear the flags blowing in the wind all night long. It was warm durning the night ... maybe about 60 degrees or so. Almost too warm.

At the town gas station, they also sell food, and I couldn't pass up buying a cheeseburger. A guy by the name of Justin was there buying three cheeseburgers to take home to his family. We had a nice chat as we were waiting for our food.

Wednesday Feb. 27, 2008

Kountze, TX to Coldsprings, TX. 67 miles - 1275 miles total.

I had a lazy day today. Stopped for a 40 minute break (also known as a nap!) in the morning ... I just couldn't get going. It was a sunny day, but it stayed cool.

In the early evening, I saw a sign advertising a drama production at a local church in Coldsprings, called "Glory and Fire". It started at 7:00 pm, and by my estimation, I thought I could make it, so I headed off. Sure enough, I got there about 6:55 pm. It was a very good show, and there were a lot of people that turned out for it, especially younger people.

The church allowed me to camp in back of the church, so that was nice. I didn't have to ride very far after the production!

Here's my sign for the day. Only in Texas!



Why do they go to the trouble of having this sign made up and installed? Wouldn't it be just as easy to PAINT THE CENTER STRIPE? And here's the funny part: every time I see this sign, there's ALWAYS been a center stripe! I guess they forget to take down the sign after the stripe painter comes through.

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008

Merryville, LA to Kountze, TX. 67 miles, 1208 miles total.

After a great night at the Museum in Merryville with Mathais and Neele (from Germany), we got an early start at 7:30 am and headed for Texas. It didn't take long to get to the border.



Since my two German friends are much faster riders than me, we said our "good-byes" and off they went. Not too long later, I had my second flat tire on this trip. Not too bad, considering that I've gone over 1,000 miles. It was my rear tire on the bike, and it didn't take me very long to fix it.

Later, I came to a river that must be very popular for riding in a canoe. There were about 6 or 7 different out-fitters that rent canoes during the summer season. I've never seen so many canoes all in one place. I'm sure that on a busy day, it's possible to walk from one side of the river to the other without getting wet!






The wind for the day was a tail wind, so that helps, especially on the hills. My trailer is so heavy, I sure wish I could un-load some more of the "stuff" I'm carrying! It got cold in the evening, so I decided to stay at a Super 8 Motel for the night. It was a good decision.

Here's my "Sign for the day":

Monday, Feb. 25, 2008

Oberlin, LA to Merryville, LA. 58 miles, 1141 total.

The day started out clear and warm, but it soon turned to clouds and a strong side wind that turned into a head wind for the last 5 miles of the day. They were slow miles! I don't think it will rain, and it's not as muggy as it was last night.

The Adventure Cycling Map says that there is a historical society that runs a museum and allows campers. It was a great place, and people there were very friendly and welcoming! They even had free bottled water! They allowed me to camp on the porch of an old cabin, and they unlocked the bathroom/shower house. What a great place to camp for the night.



A pair of cyclists from Germany, Matthais and Neele, arrived to town shortly after me, so the three of us camped together at the museum. We had a nice visit, and their english was outstanding! They will follow the Southern Tier for a while, but will travel north and end up in San Francisco rather than San Diego. They are planning on seeing some of the National Parks like the Grand Canyon. They said they will end near the 1st of June, so maybe I'll see them again when I'm hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail when they bike West to San Francisco. I hope they will come to Sisters in December, but it might be a long ways to travel from Germany!

Sunday, Feb 24, 2008

Washington, LA to Oberlin, LA. 55 miles, 1083 total.

Camped at Willie's Washington RV Park last night. It was a funky RV Park next to a river, complete with it's own small tavern. They had a band that started playing at 9:00 pm, so after I took a shower and ate dinner (a sandwich from a nearby gas station), I went in to listen to the band for a while. I didn't like how smokey it was, and my clothes still have a smell of smoke, but it was a great place to see how the locals like to have some fun. The bartender, Slim, was a very nice guy and wanted to know a lot about my trip. We talked for a long time. I enjoyed it there, and I even slept pretty good that night.

I didn't get started on my way today until 8:30 am. I have to get up earlier than that if I'm going to keep up 55 miles per day!

I found a great place to eat lunch in Ville Platte, LA, called the Pig Shack. Wow, their buffet lunch was really good! Ribs, Pork Chops, Sweet Potatoes, and so much more! The place was packed, so I ended up sitting at a table with Greg, an Oil Company employee that operates remote contolled subs at off-shore rigs, inspecting the supports and cleaning off the barnicals that attach to the supports. It sounded like a very interesting job, and Greg knew a lot about some of the small near-by towns. We had a nice visit.

Later in the day, a biker heading East (Mike) stopped and we talked for a long time. It was nice to take a little break. His wife was driving the support vehicle, and they are staying only in motels (no camping), so he was traveling very light. Mike is a graphic artist that used to work for a TV station in Chicago. We talked about work, the future, and biking! I hope that Mike and his wife will consider coming to Sisters in December for my celebration party! Bike on, Mike!

I camped in the back of the Police Station in Oberlin. I figured that it would be a fairly safe place to camp, and that way, the police knew right where I was! It worked out well, except that the train tracks were also near-by, and at least 3 trains went through in the night. No way to sleep through a passing train in the night!

There was a long section of road that was under complete re-construction. The good news was the traffic was very light! The bad news, parts were completely gravel (and mud) for about a mile. I can't ride in gravel and mud, so I had to walk my bike for part of it. All in all, though, it was a great day ... warm, no hills, no rain.

Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008

Simmesport, LA to Washington, LA. 49 miles, 1028 total.

I passed the 1,000 mile mark today in the town of DuPont, LA! This was an exciting moment for me. It was like the trip was finally REAL and not just a dream. 1,000 miles seems like a long way to travel by bike, but I just take one pedal at a time.



I met a biker from Wyoming today. His name is John, and he's a history professor. We enjoyed eating breakfast together and talking about the South. He's not following the Adventure Cycling route, but making up his own route though very rural parts of the South. We had a great visit. The breakfast at Rossie's, French Toast and OJ, was also very good!

I'm still having a lot of problems with this whole "mail-drop" thing. I know that I have a couple of letters out there, and thank you to whom ever sent them. One of these days, I hope I can read the letters! I left a note for the postmaster at DuPont, LA to foward any mail to my last scheduled mail-drop at Anderson, TX. I should be there by Thursday or Friday, and I hope to catch up with my mail there.

Still, the fastest way to reach me is to text me on my cell phone. I've been trying to save my battery, so I do keep the phone off for most of the day, but I turn it on from time to time, and will always reply to a text message. Otherwise, e-mail is also good and posting comments on this blog is also good.

Be cautious about some of the comments. If the comment is very brief and all is has is a link, DON'T CLICK ON THE LINK! I'm trying to figure out how to delete these, and it seems that spammer's are posting these comments. I'll get them removed as soon as I can figure out how.

This shot was a typical countryside shot ... It's really been beautiful here in the South:




The library I'm using today won't allow me to up-load any photos ... I'm not sure why that is. I'll add some photos at the next library when I get the chance.