East Texas!

 

Our last night in Louisiana was spent on the grounds of the Merryville Museum and Historical Society.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  The town was so small there isn’t a gas station and only one restaurant where we were easily identified as the bikers and were given a warm welcome.  We had fun taking pictures on the museum grounds.

The rice fields of Louisiana have given way to very large logging operations of old growth pine forests in Texas.  Tony and I rode past more than 50 miles of forests with countless semis hauling cut pine trees.  When I get home I want to research what happens to all this wood.  And what happens to the ground that is now barren of trees.  The expansiveness of the Texas farms and forests from the seat of a bicycle is so incredible.   I thought the farms in Florida were big.  This take big to a whole new level.  

We’re staying at Shepherd Sanctuary in Shepherd, Texas at an event venue, workshop and event center.  It’s like we’ve entered another world surrounded by electric art.  We all love this place.

 

It was very hot today.  I biked over 55 miles, my biggest number so far.  This is my 10th day of riding  without a break and I’m due for a day off.  I’ve found that no matter how far I ride it’s always the last 5 or so miles that are the hardest so I tell myself that it’s just like riding the back way to the library down Knight Road.  A lot of this is mental.   Tony and I had some boring miles passing by all those logging operations so it helped when he cranked his music for the few miles I was able to keep up with him before he pedaled away from me.

I remember reading other riders blogs who said that they mostly ate gas station food across the US and I couldn't imagine doing that.  Well, I have a newfound respect for the role that gas stations play in these small rural places and the really excellent food some of them offer.  They are important community hubs and serve people in these rural areas.  We did find a spot in the shade at a gas station and ate our tuna fish sandwiches before we took off again.  David joined us again for 16 miles of biking.

I’m not sure David and I are fully taking in all these experiences and what we will continue to process when we get home.  But I remain humbled by the power of stories to connect people and am full of gratitude for this journey we are on and all the beautiful people we are meeting along the way.