Today was a very challenging yet successful day of cycling. It started a little earlier than usual, around 7:00am, with a one-mile hike on foot over a dirt and gravel road through a field to get to a paved 2 lane road. From there, we cycled under heavily overcast skies until about 11:00am, when the skies opened up released a lot of “liquid sunshine” for the remaining of the ride, with periodic torrential downpours on relatively busy roads, traveled by logging trucks, tractor-trailers, and other service vehicles. Not the most pleasant sensation, but anytime you complete a nearly 90 mile ride in these conditions, you should probably count it as a victory.
Our first segment had us travel through Navasota, just about 7 miles from our campsite. The route took us past the statue of Frank Hamer, the gun-toting lawman who tracked down and killed Bonnie and Clyde. Frank was the city marshal of Navasota back in 1934, when he and his posse finally dealt the final blow to these outlaws. I suppose we owe him an eternal debt of gratitude, for if he had not been successful, these two would probably still be wreaking havoc in Texas! As a little bit of trivia, Bonnie and Clyde were lovers, but were not married. Bonnie was married to a guy named Roy Thornton, and died wearing his wedding ring. Also, it is said that Clyde’s first arrest came from failing to return a rental car. They also say that bank robberies were NOT their specialty, apparently they staged far more robberies of gas stations and grocery stores than bank heists. Often, their loot amounted to only $5 – $10. One last little bit of trivia: Clyde chopped off two of his toes with an axe in prison in order to avoid enduring unforgiving work and brutal conditions at a prison he was in. This proved to be unnecessary, however, since he was paroled only six (6) days after he did this. It reminds me of the quote sometimes erroneously attributed to Clyde, but in fact was said by Willie Sutton: When asked “why he robbed banks?” Willie calmly explained, “because that’s where they keep all the money”! How any of this has anything to do with my cycling trip, I’m not really sure!
After this little excursion, our route took us past the Lone Wolf Ranch, a ranch on the outskirts of Navasota. This ranch belongs to Chuck Norris, so naturally, I stopped to take a picture, and started to cycle up to the front door, so I could share a few of my favorite Chuck Norris jokes, and see if he had any new ones for me. Unfortunately, the group I was riding with dissuaded me from going to the door. It’s a shame, since I’m sure if Chuck was home, he would get a “kick” (pun intended) of a few good ones. One of my favorites: “When the boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris”. And one last one as a bonus: “When Chuck Norris enters a room, he doesn’t turn the lights on, he turns the dark off”. You see? Chuck would have LOVED my surprise visit. Maybe next time!
From Navasota, we cycled into the Sam Houston National Forest, located only about 50 miles north of Houston. This was an absolutely beautiful drive, which would have been even better had it not been raining so hard. Sam Houston National Forest is one of four national forests in Texas, and spans over 160,000 acres. It even includes a 128 mile hiking trail. They say that deer is the most prevalent wildlife in the Forest, with plenty of quail and dove. I was surprised to see well over 100 small, well controlled fires on both the left and right hand side of the road, deep in the forest. These first were mostly smoldering, however there were several where you could easily see small flames emanating from areas surrounding fallen logs. I learned later that the US Forest Service is working on a prescribed burn here. The prescribed burns are the controlled application of fires by a team of fire experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire. Apparently, the burns reduce wild first, rejuvenate wildlife habitats, provide control of invasive brush, and improve watershed. You see, I learn something new every day!
As we entered camp this afternoon around 3:00pm, the skies unleashed another torrential downpour, coupled by very loud thunder and very close lightning strikes. The sound was truly deafening, and pretty scary. I’m not crazy about sleeping out in the middle of a pasture tonight under these conditions, but on the bright side, maybe this will help me charge my cell phone! Tomorrow, we cycle from Shepherd to Silsbee, which will be a 59 mile day with only 742 feet of elevation. After a 90 miler today, I think I should be able to handle this. The only thing I don’t relish is putting on water-logged shoes and vest, but am afraid that this may be unavoidable. I promise to keep you posted, and to post more pictures, once we make it to a place with Wi-Fi!
The Walking Machine 