Fruit Loops And Cavemen

Riding Day 25 – 22.6 miles

The team hunkered down at a Comfort Inn in Navasota, TX last night to avoid camping in torrential rains, which at times came in the form of violent thunderstorms, lightning and thunder. Several times during the night I was awakened by bright flashes and booming thunderclaps that sounded like buildings collapsing. How, I wondered, was the rest of the Tribe doing, our new friends who are crossing the country by bicycle just like us, but doing so without support outside of themselves, how were they doing????

We found out later in the day that Jamie Lee was sheltering in Austin, TX, and Ana & Dustin were safe in La Grange, TX after a harrowing night when they had to flee their tent to shelter in a community center. Brothers Von & Wendell had strayed off route to the south and were probably missing most of the craziest weather, but Oscar the Frenchman had been out of touch with everybody for a while. I hope he too, is safe.

We got up around 7:00 and went to the breakfast area to dine on coffee, eggs, yogurt and Fruit Loops, which you have to admit are just as good now as when you were a kid! And of course, we talked about what we were going to do, would we ride, does a steel bicycle attract lightning, and just what was our plan for the next day as the weather was forecast to still be around on Friday. We went back to the room and started looking at doppler radar images, weather forecasts, rain projection amounts, etc. Odie is a numbers guy and shared hourly projections, and when the thunderstorms and lightning were projected to end. I’m more of an intuition guy, and after considering all the info we had, thought that we should just go for it. The Bob deferred his vote to us as he would be in the OREM and not on a bicycle in a raging storm. Ultimately, we decided to wait and see how the day progressed weather-wise.

Around 10:00, doppler radar, which is very accurate these days, showed a lessening in the intensity would be occurring around midday. Recognizing this as an opportunity, we decided to head out to the starting point about 25 miles to the west and see if it we might be able to at least ride back to Navasota, which would complete Map #4 out of 7. We quickly got our gear ready and hit the road around 10:30. Arriving at the starting point around 11:00, the weather was raging with high winds, heavy rain and a lot of lightning. The Bob parked the OREM on the side of the road, and we sat inside eating snacks and talking, each of us unsure if we’d actually be riding. I kept checking my radar app, and it looked like a break might happen around 11:45, and Odie and I decided that when it did, we’d jump on Hank and at least ride back to Navasota.

The weather break arrived shortly before noon, and I stepped out of the OREM and into the maelstrom to get Hank off the rack and ready to go. It was still raining, and the wind had a menacing quality to it that seemed to say, “get back in the van and go away puny human.” But instead, Odie and I climbed aboard our noble steed and launched headlong into the fray. In short order we were careening downhill, the wind buffeting us like the flames of a bonfire on the beach. The rain stung our cheeks, and the spray from Hank’s tires soaked our shoes and legs. In those first moments I was seriously questioning my judgement, but I kept those thoughts to myself and wondered what Odie might be thinking.

We had our taillight strobing in the back, and I also had the headlight on in strobe mode, because despite the crappy weather, the road was still busy with cars, trucks and big rigs, and I wanted to be as visible as possible. The Bob stayed close, and we spotted the OREM frequently, a beacon of safety on a wet and blustery day. We took a break after 10 miles, and I felt like a soggy dog who got left outside on a rainy night. But we fueled up and got back on Hank, intent on making it to Navasota before we pulled the plug, knowing that we had another night in the same room at the Comfort Inn, a decision we had made earlier in the day given the weather. The rain finally eased and then stopped, although the wind remained, and after a little less than 2 hours of semi-desperate pedaling, we arrived back in Navasota, and in doing so we also conquered the psychological monster of Map #4 and the unyielding torture of the Texas Hill Country. Map #4 was behind us now, finished as in “stick a big fork in it,” and it felt awesome!

We drove back to the hotel content with our day as the damp chill invaded our bones and had us longing for a warm shower. The Bob, being The Bob, took the most direct and intelligent route to reviving himself and climbed right back into bed to warm his bones.

After showering, we all went out to eat at Joe’s Italian Restaurant and had a surprisingly good meal. The wait staff was amazing as well, and watching them perform on a busy night when they were short-staffed was like watching a ballet, each employee pirouetting in perfect syncopation with the others and smiling through it all. In fact, I’m going to Yelp them up when I finish this post.

Tonight, it’s still raining, and the thunder and lightning have returned. East Texas is flooding, and it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow along our route. The plan, as I type tonight, is to get up, eat, and ride. That’s subject to change, but I think it’s what we’ll end up doing. We’ve traveled 1,678 miles so far and have another 1,232 miles to go. It feels like we’re starting to go downhill in a way, and at this point we’re probably all a little crazy and want to get home. There are still many things to see and experience, challenges to be met, and a ton of miles to be pedaled and survived. Each of us is well entrenched in our own unique groove by now, living and traveling on the fringes of normal society like modern-day cavemen who occasionally stay in hotels. We miss our former lives even as we understand that we’ll be different creatures when we return home. Some aspects of this trip will quickly fade away as we once again settle into our routines, but there’s a few things, intangible things that can’t be easily explained, that will ride with us to our graves, and in the end, that’s what I will cherish most.

To all my fellow Tribe members, be safe out there, and if we don’t see you again, please stay in touch via texts or the blog and let us know how you’re doing. It has been my great pleasure getting to know each of you, and if you ever pass through San Diego, know that you’re forever welcome around my campfire…