The Calm After The Storm

After yesterday’s shortened ride due to torrential rains, this morning began with clear skies. The morning also began with a continental breakfast at the motel. Sadly, the breakfast wasn’t nearly as nice as the clear skies. On the upside, there were Frosted Flakes. As would be expected, there were significantly fewer Frosted Flakes by the time I was finished eating.

There weren’t many dining options in close proximity to the motel but I figured the Frosted Flakes would give me enough energy to get me to the next town. They did. However, that’s jumping ahead a bit. Before hitting the road, there was one errand I wanted to address.

By coincidence, the Luxury Inn (by name only, by the way) is next door to a Ford dealership. For those that have been following along for a while, you may recall that Geoff (from Balboa Island … and the Guestbook) is in search of a steering wheel for his restored F150. As such, I went into said Ford dealership to investigate. Sadly, I received the same response that Geoff has been getting. Apparently no one has the steering wheel in question. No one! I still find that surprising. That said, the guy at the dealership was very helpful (and even felt bad that he was unable to help). I’m not going to lie, I was really hoping they would’ve had it.

With my truck restoration mission a failure, it was time to move on. To where wasn’t entirely clear. My original plan was to be in Lafayette on Thursday to reunite with Becky and John – fellow cyclists I met three times in California. However, with yesterday’s rain-shortened ride, I’m now aiming to be in Lafayette on Friday. As such, the plan for today was simply to head east and stop when it felt like a good time to do so.

As rides go, today’s was pretty uneventful. I opted not to follow Google’s route east which took a bit of a detour south. Not that I didn’t have time to do the extended route but I decided to go with the direct route which was primarily a combination of Highway 90 and an access road which runs parallel to Interstate 10.

Along the way, there were two more stops at Subway bringing the total up to 110 unsponsored stops. Well, unsponsored by Subway but still sponsored by the aforementioned Geoff (from Balboa Island). Thanks again Geoff! For those tracking my Subway stops (yes, I realize I’m the only one tracking my Subway stops), today’s restaurants were in the small towns of China and Vidor.

The best part of today’s ride – other than the Subway stops (please sponsor me) – was the wind. No, it wasn’t an overpowering tailwind but there was still a tailwind. Despite the lack of strength of said tailwind, I was more than a little surprised to see my average speed at the end of the day was over 24 km/h. It was a very effortless ride.

Today’s destination ended up being Orange, TX. It’s another small town but with all the services I could need in a condensed area. One of those services included a Flying J truck stop. I was less interested in the shopping services provided and more interested in the huge green space behind the parking lot. Pretty much an ideal place to camp. While I figured the trucks might be a bit noisy throughout the night, I also figured it wouldn’t be any worse than the oh-so-many train tracks I’ve slept near.

I set my tent up earlier than I normally would at a location of this sort because my tent was still a bit damp from yesterday’s downpour and I was hoping to take advantage of the remaining sunlight to dry it off. Much like my pannier’s rain covers, my “dry bag” that holds my tent isn’t quite as “dry” as it used to be. Did I mention that there was a LOT of rain yesterday? The way things are going, I’m definitely going to need to replace some gear before my next trip – or even on this trip!

By late afternoon I had my tent set up and was sitting down for an evening of blog writing. Then plans changed. And not by choice. Moments after booting up my computer, a woman with a Flying J logo on her shirt approached my tent and informed me that I wasn’t allowed to camp there. To say I was a bit disappointed would be a bit of an understatement. To say that I was a bit angry would be more accurate. However, neither of those feelings would change the fact that I was going to have to move.

And so, after a brief 15 minute stay in my tent I found myself packing up everything. Grumbling under my breath during the process. I mean, seriously. How is that a whole parking lot full of trucks can park there for as long they like but a cyclist and a small tent are banned?

As I was packing up my tent, one of those truckers approached me and asked why I was packing up. I explained the situation and he was almost as annoyed as I was. He said that one of the other truckers must have “ratted me out”. He said he’s seen it happen before. I think that may have annoyed me more than the fact that I wasn’t allowed to camp there. I chatted (i.e. ranted) with the trucker for a little while before I needed to get back to packing up my gear. Dusk was approaching.

For the record, I can understand how Flying J wouldn’t want their field filled with tents or people setting up permanent residence there. However, I’d like to think that there is a place for common sense. Clearly, the field was empty. Clearly, cyclists are just passing through. And clearly, those cyclists are likely to spend money in their store at some point. Perhaps Flying J should take a lesson from Walmart in that regard. That said, it will take a pretty desperate situation before I ever patronize a Flying J franchise. Ever. And no, I don’t think they’ll care.

Of course, with all that said, it didn’t change the fact that dusk was well upon me and I needed a place to stay. On the upside there was Studio 6 motel nearby. On the downside, my free night of camping was now very much NOT a free night. I hate Flying J.

While I was far from thrilled that I had to spend the night in a motel, the motel in question was very nice. No, it wasn’t a four-star establishment but as one-star motels go, it was very nice. Plus, it allowed me to do some freelance work that otherwise would’ve drained the battery of my laptop had I tried to complete it in my tent. I guess that would be today’s silver lining. And if my day’s biggest problem is having to spend the night in a motel, well … that’s a good problem to have.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 103.86 km
Ride time: 4:15:15
Average speed: 24.41 km/h
Maximum speed: 44.67 km/h