Hitting the Bricks

The drive to Ft. Worth got under way slowly as an accident on the IH45N closed down 2 lanes of traffic. I spent the first 45 minutes of my trip driving a whopping 5 miles! As I crept along I couldn’t help but notice the ugly, brown, dense layer of pollution hanging on the horizon. It amazes me. We have a tremendous bank of knowledge, science, engineering and manpower in our Country, on our World, yet we choose to continue along a path of glutinous and irreparable usage of our natural resources. We could have just as easily put in place an urban sprawl line and built a public transportation infrastructure that would have much more impact than the joke of ethanol fuel. Yet we pursue filling coastal wetlands for multi-million dollar “planned communities” and expanses of roadways to carry us 50 and 60 miles per day to and from work one car per person. Lots full of shiny new cars assembled along the freeway like a pass in review as a thought crosses my mind…

shining poles line the freeway
all donned with garrisons
old Glory dancing on the breeze
proclaiming their patriotism
with words
like
mitsubishi
hyundai
and
toyota

Once I got North of the Houston metropolis it became a beautiful day; the sky clear, the breeze SSW and the vegetation showing the first signs of the impending Spring. Traffic was light and the jeep ran exceptionally well. I simply tooled along at 60mph enjoying the drive. I haven’t been on a road trip in a long while and I intend to enjoy this experience. It was a little more difficult to watch the passing landscape as the jeep requires one to actually drive rather than to set the speed control and cruise down the highway. Given the price of fuel, I also chose to remain on the freeway rather than take the scenic route as I usually do when traveling. Thus way I enjoyed my trip.


by TXPeddler

Ready to Go

OK. My gear is packed and I'm ready to get underway but, first things first... food and sleep. I'm cooking a large pot of Irish stew for dinner. A piping hot bowl of stew with some good bread ought to be just the thing to send me off right. Yesterday a cold front came through and along with the rain came a 45 degree temperature drop and 30mph gusts of wind. The cold and wet made for miserable company last night causing my back and legs to ache and twitch. The pain and muscle spasms kept me awake most of the night. I feel better today though as the sky cleared, the humidity dropped and the quick silver climbed to 65F. A full belly and a soft rack should allow me to be plenty rested for my journey. This time tomorrow, if without incident, I will be in Ft. Worth.


by TXPeddler

'08 Gator Ride

First t-shirt ride of the year and it came off without a hitch. I was pleasantly surprised at my performance. Rafael, Colin and I managed to keep a pace of 18-19mph throughout the ride finishing up with a 16mph average for 63 miles. I love the sound that several well-tuned bikes make as they hum along the black top on a quiet country road.

The morning started out foggy and mild in the mid 60's. I left my jacket in the truck and was glad I did (for once). I was happy to see Bill at the start and again when we finished as I hadn't seen him in about a year. The ride start was delayed about 30 minutes while we waited for the fog to clear a little. The first 11 miles to the ferry were fun. It was like riding in a cloud; the sounds were muffled and condensation built up quickly on my glasses and rained down from my helmet. I had no troube spinning up the Fred Hartman and took it slow coming down because of the limited visability, wet pavement and lots of other riders of varying skill levels. We went through TXPWD San Jacinto Monument Park and passed the Texas and it too was very pretty in the fog. I could only see about 60 feet up the monument as it disappeared in the fog. The wait for the ferry was about 15 minutes and by the time we got across and deboarded the sky was clear and a beautiful blue. We even managed to catch Chuck, Roy, Stephanie and Susan who had started before us. We road with them for a while talking and enjoying the company. The wind did not blow very hard settling in around 8mph out of the SSE. We only made one more stop at No. 4 Rest Stop (thanks out to the VFW folks) for some quick water and a cup of cheez-its. We finished the ride at 1214hrs, which made me happy as I had set a personal goal of finishing by noon... close enough for me. We loaded up and enjoyed some chili dogs and a nice cold coke. The ride was well organized and supported.

Lastly, Sun Block! Sun Block! Sun Block! At the end of the ride I happened to look at my arms and found 2nd degree burns. Last Sunday we had gone for a ride and I forgot the sun block. I turned quite a nice shade of lobster pink on my arms, knees, ears & nose. Friday my arms began to peel. Saturday I, el stupido, forgot the sun block...again! A nice young lady at the beginning of the ride let me have some of her sports block and I applied it to my arms and nose. Still, with the sun block applied I burned. I have not had a blistering sun burn since I was about 7 years old. So, today I picked up 2 containers of sun block while at the store... a 45spf to apply before the ride starts and 70spf spray to apply during the ride as needed. I really should have known better but I haven't had a problem with sun exposure since I was a child. If this doesn't ameleorate the problem I will go to wearing all white, long sleeve coolmax shirts.


by TXPeddler