4.16.2011 Ride: Denton, TX - Bowie TX

The Texas ride journey began yesterday evening when Ted and I drove down from Springdale and arriving just at midnight. In the morning, Cliff arrived around 8:00.  Our hosts, Mike & Joanne, Ted's in-laws, made us a great breakfast to send us off.  I always keep saying that the thing I like about these bike rides is meeting people and meeting Mike and Joanne was a real delight for me.

Joanne & Mike

 

And...we're off...sort of.

The day started a bit on the cool side with a wind most of the day from the NW.  We traveled fairly busy roads for the first few miles before hitting more country roads. 

 

On the way to Krum, Texas, we passed this barn.  What made this structure picture worthy for me was the accompanying animal in the pasture.  Somehow, the white mule (donkey?) seemed to go with the white barn.

After missing a turn and adding a few miles to our ride we did come to Krum.

Krum. TX

We stopped for a quick break but did not try to down the 4 pounder. I was taken by a young gent on bicycle with a cowboy hat and a large belt buckle on a bicycle with a bag of Easter eggs.

Thank you, Harrison.

Our quietest part of the ride today was the 20 miles or so from Krum.  The roads sometimes stretched for 2 miles with broad sweeping views.

What a great juxtaposition of signs

 

I love this old water tank with its details.

Behind this shed was an old two story house built of the same material and similarly decayed.  Unfortunately, it was blocked by a lot of trees and I wasn't able to get a good shot of it.

 

We passed an abundance of these yellow flowers at one point. I really liked the yellow against the stark white-gravely soil. 

 

After lunch in Slidell, we realized we had a bout 40 miles to go rather than 25-30, so the latter part of the day meant a bit more serious riding.  Though, I still stopped to take photos, there were several items I didn't stop to get a picture.  

 

Ted and Cliff climbing up a rough section of road with NO shoulder and LOTS of semis working the oil fields nearby zipping along the road at break-neck speeds. We did not make many friends along this stretch as we brought many a truck to an almost grinding halt until they could pass.

Don Potts of Silver Lakes, TX

We met Don Potts when we stopped for a quick rest in the shade of the Sunset, TX post office.  He came over to ask about our exploits and let us know that he was an ex-biker.  We had a nice chat.

I asked Ted if he knew what this sci-fi looking object was.  Turns out its an navigation tower for planes flying into the air space.

 

And, finally, 70 miles later (after a detour for dinner) we arrived in Bowie.  

Today's Ride: Actual riding time: 6hrs 56mins. On the road time: Just over 8 hours.  71.14 miles.  72 degrees. Miles YTD: 1,987.22