Copperhead Road

My night of sleeping on a bridge went very well. Again, I can’t believe I just typed that. Sure, I had to inflate my mattress a few times during the night – asphalt is not a particularly comfortable sleeping surface – but other than that I had a great sleep. The traffic noise wasn’t a factor at all. I don’t know if that’s just because I’ve become somewhat immune to it or because there wasn’t much overnight traffic in the area. Probably a bit of both. Either way, while I’ve still never slept UNDER a bridge, I can now say I’ve slept ON a bridge. I’m not necessarily sure if that’s something I should really be announcing but it doesn’t make it any less true.

From my home on the bridge, my morning began with a very nice sunrise. You could ask why I was up before sunrise, but I would have no answer. That said, it was a surprisingly scenic morning. After admiring the sunrise, I made my way over to the truck stop for breakfast. Specifically Subway.

My past few Subway stops have actually been free – no, I haven’t been sponsored by Subway (yet). However, the past few stores I’ve been to have had a promotion where you get a free six inch sub when you put $25 on a gift card. I figure it’s a safe bet that I’ll use the $25 somewhere down the road – in the meantime, I’ve received four free subs. As for this morning’s sub, it too was free – sort of.

For those that don’t read the Guestbook entries, Geoff (who I met on Balboa Island) made a generous donation to my Subway Addiction Fund (no, there’s not really such a fund). While the fund might not be real, his donation was and, as such, breakfast this morning was courtesy of Geoff. Thanks Geoff. And thanks to his generosity there will be several more Subway stops sponsored by Geoff. Maybe someday Subway will follow Geoff’s lead! Side note: I’ve yet to see a Ford dealer along my route but I am looking. In the meantime, does anyone know where Geoff might find a F4TZ 3600B (steering wheel) for his restored F150 truck?

It was shortly after 9:00 by the time I finally got on the road this morning. Today’s destination was Schulenburg. Schulenburg is a pretty short ride from Luling but since I pedalled beyond Luling yesterday I was in for an even shorter day than originally expected. Not as short as yesterday but it would be a sub-70 km day.

As rides go, this one was very leisurely. While I THINK I could’ve taken the Interstate (and saved a few kilometres) I opted to stay on the road that runs somewhat parallel to the Interstate. It had a decent shoulder and very little traffic. As an added bonus, there was very little wind to speak of. At least, not compared to what has become the norm in Texas.

I leisurely pedalled my way through several towns along the way but there didn’t seem to be a need to stop at any of them. My first official stop occurred a few kilometres past the town of Waelder – a town that certainly isn’t lacking in signage as you arrive. Had there been a park or a bench or something similar in Waelder I likely would’ve stopped there for lunch, but there wasn’t. At least, not that I saw. That ended up working out pretty well.

Not far beyond Waelder, my route intersected back with the Interstate where there just happened to be a gas station. And the gas station had a picnic area. Today lunch would be at an actual table. What a concept. It was shortly before 11:30 when I stopped. Since my plan for Schulenburg was to arrive at my friend Tracy’s place at 2:00, I had plenty of time for a leisurely lunch.

Lunch was a varied combination of leftover food that I had been carrying for a while. There was a bag of bagels, peanut butter, honey, trail mix, an orange and a few remaining animal crackers. It was a veritable feast!

Despite taking a VERY leisurely lunch, by the time I hit the road again I was still well ahead of schedule in terms of arriving at Tracy’s by 2:00. Not that that was a problem, I just like to be punctual. A lot can happen when you’re on a bike for hours at a time and I enjoy the challenge of arriving on time. Today I would not arrive on time.

As I neared Flatonia, the driver of an westbound pickup truck waved. Generally, not a noteworthy experience. However, moments later that same pickup passed me again, this time travelling eastbound. The driver pulled over at the next side road and flagged me down. And that’s how I met Dan.

To say that Dan and I had a lengthy conversation would be a bit of an understatement. And it was a very enjoyable conversation. Dan had done a lot of cycling in his youth and was curious about my journey. Among other things, we ended up talking about our respective two-wheeled adventures, life on the road, and how touring has changed over the years. And it really has! Some for the better, some for the worse. I don’t know exactly how long we talked but it must’ve been close to 45 minutes. I’d like to think our conversation will encourage Dan to get back on the bike and perhaps do a tour or two. I think it’s definitely a possibility. He was particularly curious about my freelance work while I travel. He’s a piano tuner and he wondered if he could make it as a roaming piano tuner. I’d like to think so.

By the time I resumed my ride it was almost 2:00. So much for punctual. That said, my 2:00 goal was completely arbitrary and I’m very glad to have met Dan.

The rest of my ride was completely uneventful and I arrived at Tracy’s shortly after 2:30. Of course, Tracy is still hang gliding at Lookout Mountain in Georgia so I have the place to myself for a couple of days. Well, not entirely to myself.

Tracy’s daughter, Alex (and Ian) live next door and have been great – although, I think they think I’m a bit crazy for cycling over 7,000 miles. They may be right. But at least it’s keeping me busy. Oh, and did I mention I have to watch out for copperheads here? Well, apparently I do. Suddenly the spiders are less of a concern.

Oh, and there’s also a dog here. I don’t know the name of the dog yet but it’s very friendly and appears to enjoy having its ears scratched. I’m more than happy to accommodate. Photos of the dog to come … once I learn its name.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 64.96 km
Ride time: 3:13:16
Average speed: 20.16 km/h
Maximum speed: 38.34 km/h