Day One In The Bag!

HOOAH!

First off, a shout out to Durrett Motor Company and Lee Weed for the digital camera, equipment and support! Your support is greatly appreciated and will help in the success of this mission.

Our test ride to Brazos Bend State Park went well. We learned a few things and came home smarter and more prepared for this mission. It was really hot and humid and even with sunscreen on I still burnt the tops of my legs and my nose! I learned that 60 miles per day while pulling 60 pounds (or more) of gear is about all I want to do on any given day! I also learned that BBSP has a serious raccoon problem. I mean, once the sun set that place was covered up with little masked bandits! They searched each campsite methodically examining every single piece of strange material in the hopes that it would be edible. I had my food locker strapped to the trailer until I got tired of chasing off raccoons every 20 minutes and brought it into the tent only to wake up to one of the little buggers standing up weaving back & forth while peering into the tent. I chased it off only to have him return 20 minutes later with a gang of his thieving buddies. When I shined my light out of the tent at him there were at least 30 sets of eyeballs shining back at me! This went on until about 0400hrs when they seemed to head off either for better scavenging grounds or the safety of their little lairs!

Today came off almost without a hitch. My good friend Benson (see photo on left of page) joined me for the ride to San Jacinto Battlegrounds. Nobody showed at Sun & Ski except a Fox News cameraman which was a nice surprise. We did an interview and shot some footage and then headed down the road. We picked up my friend Doc Elena at Bay Area Cycling which was another pleasant surprise as she hurt her knee a week or so ago. We picked up Sharon, Chuck and Bill at Bike Barn and it was nice to see and ride with Bill again.

We pedaled over to San Jacinto without incident and had workers in the refineries whistling and clapping while motorists waved, honked and cheered. Texas State Parks needs to work on their training program a little bit as when we arrived at the entry point the young lady on duty wanted to charge us each a $1.00 entry fee even with disabled license plates and the relative special needs of our little entourage. I showed my ID and indicated the disabled license plates on our chase truck (my chevy colorado) and asked if it was not TPWD policy that Disabled Veterans are allowed in with no access fee. (I know, you're thinking it's only a dollar and the park requires maintenance etc... well, I'm just a stickler for the rules). She called somebody else who also insisted on the entrance fee so, we paid and continued on our way. I hit the latrine to evacuate my morning mountain dew and grabbed a can of coke from the vending machine (the old snack bar and gift shop no longer exists).

About the time I was getting back to the group Fox news arrived and, low and behold, didn't pay an entrance fee... Hmmm? We had a very nice chat with the news guys and shot some more footage, which is posted below for y'all to view once you finish reading this.

About 2 miles past the ferry landing Chuck's bottom bracket/crankset failed. He tightened it up but it cut loose again at IH10. He shuffled his bike into the Texaco and Sharon called David to come fix the problem. It turns out the bottom bracket that was replaced this past Monday was the wrong one and David had to take Chuck and his bike back to his house for repair. We continued on through Crosby and then on to Dayton and finally Liberty. Later Chuck rode to my house and Theresa brought him to Liberty via truck.

Upon their arrival we all went to Tarkington's for some chow. The place was very clean and friendly and the food was of good quality and quite tasty. I had steak & shrimp with a potato and salad. I topped it off with an irresistible homemade coconut cream pie and washed it all down with a sprite. We visited for a bit with Marc Tarkington and his wife and staff about the trip and Marc invited us in for a free breakfast to get us started in the morning. Thank you very much, Marc! We will definitely be taking you up on your offer.

I found that I have a little too much weight on the top of the trailer and while cruising downhill it sways causing the entire trike to sway... very exciting! I will move the chow to the bottom of the B.O.B. dry bag and jettison as much as I think I can do without over the next few days. I can always re-stock later in the journey. I was told today that most cross-country riders carry very little food instead spending most of the trip searching for it much like a Geo cache! I don't know. I'm thinking I would rather have some chow with me but, I can understand the weight dilemma.

Thus my day ends. Let us see what tomorrow brings.

Enjoy the Ride!