Uninspired (May 6, 2015)

I read recently that one's view of the world is controlled by one's point of view.  I think there is truth in that adage.

My point of view of late has been one of visual boredom.   I left the green alleys of the wooded areas and headed to the Gulf Coast of Florida thinking I would be tantalized by the white beaches and blue Gulf waters.  But what I actually saw were huge beach houses built on stilts and twenty-to-thirty story condominiums lining the shore line ... and lots of traffic.

So I headed back to the  Southern Tier (green alley) route ... less traffic but also less visual stimulation.

Since the scenery was not stimulating new thoughts, I began thinking about the "sameness" of many areas of the U.S.  I do not have the ability to identify, or rather locate where I am, by identifying types of trees (which line the roads).  Road construction, for the most part, is uniform throughout the country.  So, when riding these green alleys, one gets the feeling they could be anywhere in the U.S. with similar weather and elevation conditions.

Towns ... depending on the size and economic strength, one sees the same national brands.   Very small villages will most likely have a Dollar General store and a gas station/convenience store (with a Subway tucked in the corner of the convenience store).  From there, as the village becomes a town, then a city, the usual national brands, with pre-designed site-adapted structures show-up ... Waffle House, Exxon/Shell/Chevron, stand-alone Subway stores, Circle K, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, CVS/Walgreens drug stores, regional grocery stores, and then the national hotel chains ... then the big one ... Walmart.  Interestingly, one of the long time public dislikes of Walmart has been the negative impact of a Walmart on locally owned businesses.  Makes me wonder why all of these other companies have not received similar treatment.  Surprisingly, haven't seen any Starbucks for many a week.

Structures ... residential and commercial structures designed and built in the past fifteen to twenty years have also become quite uniform. Personal fashion and style has also become nationalized rather than regionalized.

Sameness ... everywhere.   Thankfully there are a few wayward folks, such as the individual who conceived the bay-front residence in the adjacent photo.

On a positive note, I had the good fortune to have enjoyed two lunches with friends over the past three days.  Three days ago I shared a table and conversation with Kim's mother and step-father.  They live southeast of Pensacola, and drove up to Crestview to join me for lunch ... during my travels with Kim, Kim's mother and I had many a conversation via email.  Was a joy to actually meet them.

Yesterday, Claire and Bob Rogers pulled up behind me in Chattahoochee ... they are on their way to visit family in Georgia and West Virgina.  We had been communicating as to our locations, and finally got together.  Very timely as they headed north from Tallahassee yesterday afternoon, and I head east today.  Can't (over) say how very nice it is to sit and share time with long-time friends, other than to say it is wonderful!

So,  continuing east to the Atlantic ... about six or seven more days.  Hoping my point of view will allow me to be inspired.

They got it wrong (April 29, 2015)

My mental state yesterday morning was as gloomy as the weather predictions .... and the cloud cover.  Thankfully, Mother Nature does not take orders from those doing the predicting.

What started out as a gloomy attitude, and me clad in rain gear, ended with a joyful ride through some very attractive neighborhoods in Gulfport, Mississippi ... in shorts and t-shirt.  Having traveled through the swamps (adjacent picture) of Louisiana, I entered Mississippi and got my first view of the Gulf of Mexico.  In as much as the gray-toned overcast was still prevalent, the color of the water was equally as gray.  Other than the satisfied feeling of reaching the Gulf Coast, the emotion of seeing the Gulf was a bit of a letdown ... kind of looks like the Great Lakes since there were no waves crashing the beach.

The next week or so I will be riding along the Gulf Coast, then about another week across Florida to the Atlantic.  Ten day weather forecasts show sunny skies along the coast.

Hope the weather folks got it right this time. 

Weather (April 28, 2015)

Not a whole lot to say, other than it has been quite wet and windy for the past several days ... quite wet and windy.

Tornadoes and torrential downpours in Eastern Texas.  I am currently in Slidell, LA and heading to Gulfport, MS today ... more of the same is expected ... wet and windy (and I am not speaking of tailwinds!!).

Slidell is located about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans ... New Orleans, where a few railroad cars were blown off of an overpass yesterday.  As I say, weather.

Don't know if the adjacent picture adequately shows it, but my fingertips are white and wrinkled from riding in the rain ... kind of similar to if one has been in a pool for an extended time.  Fortunately, it is not very cold, so the weather related discomfort is primarily due to continuous rain.

So, 'tis time to don my rain jacket and pants, and head out into "it" one more time.  Weather .... jeeeez.

Out of the Woods (April 24, 2015)

For the past several days of riding, the views have been pretty much limited to the paved road, 30' of cleared area on each side of the pavement and the tall barrier of trees.  Occasionally there were fields cleared for farming ... also clearings (scars) left by the logging industry.  The roads are primarily minor roads, which usually means a lack of pavement to the right of the white line ... also means true excitement when the logging trucks roar by.

I have been fairly loyal to the Southern Tier route, but have decided I have seen enough of the wooded areas of Louisiana.  I am now headed to the Gulf Coast, planning on viewing vast amounts of water east of New Orleans (and hopefully soft ocean breezes ... did I mention the constant 90%+ humidity??).

Today's revised route took me through some beautiful areas that were viewable due to the lack of tall trees crowding the roads.  Partly due to the fact that I failed my Draft physical back in 1968 (that and having lived in the desert for most of my life), I have never viewed rice paddies.  Today I rode past many, many, many flooded paddies, which in truth did not help to reduce the level of humidity.

Because of the dampness of the air, I just did not mind getting drenched by a thunder storm toward the end of today's ride ... I was already drenched ... it was the lightening that was a concern.  All in the day of a cycling tourist.

But I love all of this.  Particularly the motel at the end of the day rather than a tent in the woods.

Ups and Downs (April 22, 2015)

After leaving the comfort of Kim's place in Austin, I have spent four days experiencing a variety of "ups and downs".  Naturally, with Austin being located in the "Hill Country", there were a number of geological ups and downs.

The "ups and downs" that affected me the most were mental.

Location-wise, I have been riding eastward about 40 miles north of Houston ... and Houston is north of the Gulf of Mexico.  A tremendous weather pattern emerged from the Gulf producing extreme weather warnings and much flooding.  The nightly thunderstorms have been overwhelming to this "but it is a dry heat" guy.

This past weekend there was to be a MS 150 charity bike ride from Houston to Austin.  The plan was for the riders to ride from Houston to La Grange on Saturday, then on to Austin on Sunday.  The fairgrounds in La Grange were set up to accommodate the 13,000 riders (yes, that is correct ... thirteen thousand!!).  Friday night the storms brought over two inches of rain which resulted in the fairgrounds being flooded.  They ended up cancelling the Houston/La Grange leg, and just had the Sunday ride into Austin.  I was fortunate to ease into La Grange just prior to the rain falling (all night, I might add), and got into one of the few motel rooms available in town.

The next day I rode on to Navasota, TX, and camped in the city park.  Hurricane force winds (I thought I was going to be airlifted in my tent) and a huge downpour for most of the night.  Very disconcerting to be in such a storm with the thinnest of materials  protecting me from the elements. 
Sometimes a trite phrase really applies ... I was not a happy camper.

Due to this unhappy experience, I decided to overnight the next evening in a nice motel.  Unfortunately, my bad attitude and tiredness led me to have a few too many beers ... not a pleasant episode.  Riding with a hangover is not fun either.

So that is the mental "down side" ... what followed the next overnight was heaven sent.

About three miles east of the Texas town of Shepherd, there is a small retreat center/campground called Shepherd Sanctuary.  The lady who owns/runs the place, (Connie) is one of the gentlest people one could meet.  She and her family had been flooded out in Houston during the Katrina storm.  They had previously bought property near Shepherd, and decided to leave Houston and develop this facility.  To try to describe it would be futile, other than to say the rental cabins, the thousands of eclectic antique items scattered in and around the place is highly amusing ... and surprisingly peaceful.  The Venus de Milo-like statue pictured above goes almost unnoticed due to all the other items that catch the eye.  (Google "Shepherd Sanctuary Shepherd, TX for a look at the facility.)

We did not discuss religion, but I am sure she has followed the teaching of Buddha.  As seemingly cluttered as the entire place is, there is a very strong calming element. 

So I am mentally up this morning having put in a strong 65 miles yesterday (did I mention the roads have now flattened??), and will be exiting the great state of Texas today or tomorrow.  I have been riding across (and across, and across, and across) Texas for the past 21 days, and have logged just over 1300 miles since leaving Globe, AZ on March 24.

Much like everyday life, there are many "ups and downs" out here on the road.  For now ... dare I say it ... life is good.

Vanishing Comments (April 22, 2015)

It has come to my attention that at times friends (and foes alike) have been having difficulty in getting comments posted.  After some research, and several sample comment posting on my part, I have reached the following conclusion:  I don't know what may be causing the difficulty.

I do know that there sometimes is a lag between hitting the "publish" button and the comment being posted due to a "moderator" delay.  Other than that, I haven't a clue.

If any past "successful" commenters have some advice, please do share.

Like Moses ... (April 16, 2015)

After what seemed like an eternity of traveling through Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas, I have finally emerged from the desert.  Not being remotely close to being a Biblical scholar, I am hoping that reference is correct ... I had initially thought "40 days and 40 nights", but I think that is Noah's story.

Upon leaving Del Rio (former home of Wolfman Jack and the 500,000 watt AM radio broadcasts heard as far north as Chicago and far reaching both east and west back in the late 1950's ... rock 'n' roll!!!), the desert was left behind.  What had been brown and hot turned to green and over-cast cool.  Had a short ride (34 miles) to Brackettville/Fort Clark and ended up camping at the Fort Clark RV/Tent area.  Much to my joy, there were three other touring cyclist sharing the tent area.   Nick and Greg are long-time friends who are from Colorado, and Ian, who is from Las Vegas, is riding solo.  Nick is riding coast-to-coast, and Greg drove down for twelve days of riding (he would drive to the next over-night town, then ride his bike back and join Nick).  It was a true joy to share the campground with these three fellow cyclist.

The next three days included riding to Uvalde (42 miles), Hondo (43 miles) and Kerrville (56 miles).  The first two days of this leg were on fairly straight and flat roads ... and just enough of a headwind to remind one that one did not have a tailwind.  The ride up to Kerrville was the entry into the Hill Country that dominates the areas around Austin.  The adjacent picture gives an idea of the beauty of this area ... the riding has been a delight since leaving Hondo for Kerrville.

A word about the term "Hill Country" ... when phrases such as this are used to describe terrain one can deduce what one is getting into.  Example:  if you are heading to a town by the name of "Mountain Top", you can put all your cash into a bet that you are probably going to be climbing for a while.  Same with "Hill Country" (actually should be called "Hills Country") ... lots of short/steep climbs followed by exhilarating short/steep descents.  Beautiful country with a wonderful palette of yellow, blue and rust-colored wildflowers against the green grasslands.  I have been repeatedly told I have arrived at a time of flowers and green grasslands ... I am indeed a lucky traveler.

I met up with Nick and Greg in Kerrville, and was fortunate in that they invited me to join them for dinner.  Most often when this occurs when touring, one is limited as to distance to eateries.  In this case, we piled into Greg's truck and drove a great distance to a nice restaurant overlooking a beautiful river.  Good (new) friends, good views, so-so food and good beer made for a most excellent evening (not to mention riding in a vehicle with wide/soft seats!!).  Good time.

The next day I rode the 54 miles to the home town of LBJ ... oddly enough the town goes by the name of Johnson City.  Another beautiful ride.  The high-point of getting to Johnson City was greeting a smiling Kim, who had spent the day riding out from Austin.  I met Kim three summers ago on the cross-country ride from Oregon to Maryland.  The following year we then met in Minneapolis, and rode up into Canada and back to Bar Harbor, Maine.

We spent the evening enjoying a surprisingly good dinner and a not-so-surprising very enjoyable conversation.  There is a lot to be said for sharing time with (old) friends.

The next day (yesterday), we rode the 44 miles to Austin on some incredibly beautiful back roads, which, as it turns out, are also incredibly steep.  Painful as it was for me, it was a joy to be riding with Kim again.  Today I am enjoying a rest day at Kim's house, and have received a tour of Austin.  Impressive city.

On a side note, Kim is leaving next week to hike the Camino de Santiago 450 mile trail in Spain.  She had asked me to join her and her sister for this trek ... but, frankly, I ain't that crazy!

So tomorrow I head on toward Florida  and should be getting to the Atlantic Ocean around May 20 ... but unlike Moses, I don't think I will attempt to part the sea.