Winter in Texas

Day 17. 92 miles (1200).  Lumberton to Kingwood TX, rode the first 60 miles on great rural roads with very little traffic. Once I crossed the causeway on Lake Houston I was in bad urban traffic and it was tough going.

Day 18. 94 miles (1294). Leaving Houston in rush hour traffic was a chore, the first 50 miles for the day was riding on the white line (no shoulder) with a steady drizzle to make things interesting. I was reminded that many highways in Texas sport 70 mph speed limits and most motorists show little regard for a cyclist, plus it is a common occurrence to have a comfortable riding shoulder disappear entirely, leaving the hapless cyclist on the white line with high speed traffic flashing by constantly. Welcome to Texas, sucker. Rode from Kingwood to Carmine TX and stayed at WS with all the dinner I could eat.......wonderful.

Day 19. 60 miles (1354). The day started nicely with some quiet rural riding but quickly degenerated into a deadly dance along a busy highway. I ended up pushing my bike for several hours, until an intersecting road gave me a safer riding option. During my march, I was privileged to meet a cycling couple who  stopped to ask if I wanted a ride, they had been riding the same route I was on until the traffic became too much for them to take so they stopped cycling and rented a car. There was no room in their car for my bike, but luckily they had a map that helped me choose a safer route. They are Canadians, started their tour from home in Toronto, rode to Clearwater, then set out for Austin TX. They almost made it. Figures that no Texan stopped to ask me if I needed a ride, it took a couple Canadians to do that. This days ride went from Carmine to Bastrop TX. Camped at Bastrop State Park.

Day 20. March 2nd........weather turned very COLD, so a rest day. My friend from San Antonio brought me new tires, Schwalbe Marathon Plus puncture resistant tires that I hope will reduce my flat tire problems. Most flats are a result of fine wires released from exploding truck tires that lay in wait along the road's shoulder, ready to be picked up by my bike tires. The worst day was three flats, it takes about 30 minutes to fix a flat so these flats take away from the miles for the day. The low for the night was 25 degrees.

Day 21. March 3rd. More cold, more rest.

Day 22. March 4th.  Awoke to an ice coated world, during the night a "thundersleet" storm hammered the area and left all the cars, trees and roads covered with a thick layer of ice. Car crashes and spinouts happening from San Antonio to Austin. Another chillout day.