New Waverly, Tx. (Pop. 914)

Today, I needed to look for the beauty in everything. I only had a bit over 40 miles to go, but I knew I would have some stiff wind coming from the south.

I headed out around 7:30. The wind was already at around 16 mph directly from the south. My first mile was straight south, and it didn't take long to figure out what I would be facing. The route was mostly west but had plenty of southern angles that I knew might be challenging.

The first eight miles were pretty easy, and I started feeling just all right about myself. Then, I saw a hill ahead of me. For the next three miles I had a lot of up and not much down. The grades were pretty steep, and they were not short. Together they stretched me a good bit. I was so tired and would gladly have traded the hills for the wind.

I arrived in Coldspring at about the fifteen-mile mark and was wheeling through the town and prepared to keep going when I saw a donut shop. I mean, any excuse to stop for a break, right? I pulled in and ordered two donuts. The first was a cream-filled longjohn and an apple fritter. Then I grabbed a pint of chocolate milk and called it good. I took them and sat on a bench outside and bit into the longjohn. The dough was soft and nearly melted in my mouth. The cream was so gooey, and the flavor hit every taste bud in my mouth. I thought I must have gone to heaven, except I still felt my legs burning, so I knew I still had some time left on this Earth. I finished the longjohn and the milk and reluctantly got back on the bike.

The rest of the day was filled with more gentle ups and downs, but they still kept me huffing and puffing. I was about fifteen miles out and on a main road with a nice shoulder when the route called for a right turn back into the country. I thought about it and decided to stay on the main road. It would cut off about four miles, and I assumed it would keep me away from the steeper hills. Those two things may have turned out to be true. But!

I made quick work of the next 5 miles when the shoulder started disappearing and the traffic picked up. There was a decent wind blowing from my left, so the good news was that it would blow me into the weeds rather than into the traffic. The bad news was the narrowing shoulder was pretty rough with a smooth angling edge toward the weeds. I kept an eye on the mirror and watched the approaching traffic. As the traffic neared, I would grab the bike handles tightly and hold my line as the traffic blew past me. There were many times I was glad that Dana was not with me, because I knew she would be freaking out. Multiply this scenario for ten miles, and that is how I got to New Waverly. Several times I wondered why I thought this was the preferred route. However, as many times in our lives, once you have chosen a path, you have to finish it out and make the best of it. This did not kill me, so I must be better.

About eight miles out, I received a text from Dana telling me that she had found a nice coffee shop and I should hurry, safely, because they closed at 1:00. The day was still early, and I knew I would get there in plenty of time, so I kept plugging away.

I arrived having completed a challenging 41 miles. I ordered a drink, and we sat and enjoyed our drinks. Dana struck up a conversation with one of the baristas and somehow figured out we were from Goshen. The barista mentioned that one of their customers has a Janus motorcycle and thought they came from Goshen. She sent Dana a picture of the cycle, and I sent it to one of the salespersons from Janus. He replied that he remembers selling that bike. What a small world!

We are parked in a strip mall parking lot and hoping we won't get run off. If we do, we will figure something out. This is either the life of a pair of old nomads or the life of a pair of old people with no common sense. The jury is still out on that judgment.

I forced myself to look for beauty and found it in a thistle, some flowers, a pond, and some lush green fields.

I have also found beauty in each of you. Everything is beautiful, in its own way...

In addition, I crossed the 1200 mile mark today. The wheels on the bike go round and round…Read more