There are many reasons for the name "The Lone Star State" I would like to think the reason for the name is that you only have you to rely on. Texas has a wild side most states can not even match and beyond most peoples comprehension. It is huge in it's sheer size and magnitude just like the people and the places. This is the fifth and final installment of my recap from a journey of truly epic proportions, nice to know it Texas was not the end but just the beginning.
I entered The Great State of Texas via hwy12 Via Starks Louisiana into the small remote town of Deweyville. Crossing the Sabine River was an easy task as you can tell by the photo the road had a huge shoulder and not a ton of Traffic. My stop for the night was in Deweyville at the First Baptist Church. Now I am not sure how many churchs claim to be the first but I always found that funny. Maybe it was just all the time I had spent on the road.
Either way, I rode into this almost deserted forgotten town. Deweyville, a few months earlier was completely flooded out. It was not a natural disaster it was a man made fiasco. Further up the Sabian River there is a dam. At this damn a Bass Master fishing event is held each year. Because rainfall was so nominal this past year they allowed the dam to retain water to keep the water levels at maximum for the event. After the event was over the decision was made to release the waters because the dam was straining to retain the water at that point. Well in doing so something unexpected happened. Mass flooding to the lower townships and with Deweyville not really having anything of recognition to keep people most left after the flooding leaving a town of washed out homes and businesses.
I got to the church just as the sun had fallen and right on time. I walked into the hall and there was a group of the youth ministers enjoying a meal before doing some of the repair work needed on the church. I smelled horrible and apologized greatly for the funk I walked in the door with...but by this point I could barely notice but I know others could. We all had a great laugh and they ushered me to the shower and laundry room.
Soon enough I was smelling fine and feeling hungry. These fine folks fed me and then I answered the standard questions. I usually got two different responses to the journey. One are you nuts and the other being this is just incredible. Even the are you nuts folks eventually admitted it was incredible. We talked about my reasons for the journey.
I immediately felt comfortable discussing my reasons of self introspection and understanding with these folks. I talked openly about my past, my illness and many other reasons behind my journey. The youth pastor even opened up about his own past with me, we shared many similar traits. He found his redemption in god and well i was seeking mine from the universe and the road. Not to far off from each other.
It was a Friday night and they had all gathered to do some work. They asked me if I would like to join them and pitch in. One lesson I have learned is when someone is showing you charity and you can repay it, you damn site do it. So yes I pitched in we painted the youth gathering area, listened to music, sang out loud and had just an amazing time. I look forward to seeing them again.....my first meeting of people in Texas was a good solid one and I slept like a baby on a huge couch that night.
There were many different routes I could take through Texas. In case you don't know, TEXAS is huge. The reason I was so excited upon entering the state, it meant that 1/3 of my trip was down. Texas is as large across as Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana combined. Reaching Dallas and my friend Mike meant that my trip was halfway done. Btw people in Texas do not measure distance in miles but in hours it takes to get there. When I ask a native how far it is to Dallas the answer was always the same "Oh about X number of hours" which means at 90 mph (the average speed in texas) 10 hours 900 miles. I found this at first rather odd, but later learned that it was rather appropriate. Since the state is so spread out and so rural you better damn site stick to major arteries, even those are remote at times.
After a good nights rest I got on the road just about daybreak the next day. I headed down route 12 to route 87 then to route 96 into Silsbee Texas. Silsbee is the epitome of rural Texas and holds a special place in my heart because of the people in that town. I reached Silsbee around the 6th of November and set up camp along at a really nice trailer park right next to the Largest Honky tonk around.
Here I was a northeast person in the middle of nowhere Texas, so what do you do, you go to the Honky Tonk. When in Rome do as the Romans, well when in Texas do as a Texan. I had to be a sight, padded cycle shorts, flip flops and t shirt in the midst of people with cowboy hats and boots. Man I had a time there. After eating the very best burger I have ever had, yes steak in Texas is better, actually food in each region that it is known for across the south is better than anywhere else you get it. Turned out the cook was from my original home of Baltimore MD, her and I struck up a great conversation and she introduced me to some of the local real life cowboys and cowgirls. These fine folks took me under their wing for the night and gave me a Texas sized night to remember. Some are still friends to this day. I learned the Texas two step (I guess because I was a novelty and not half bad looking I was passed around by several women as a dance partner, I even showed some how to dance to non country music). Earl, a man of 70+ who had more party in him then anyone in their 20's let me wear his cowboy hat and even put me on the electric bull. I will never do that again, I signed up to be kicked in the groin several times and thrown on my head. But no matter what it was a memory i will soon not forget.
With plans to head out again the next day squashed by downpours it was time to hunker down for a few days. Nothing can be more demoralizing than to be stuck in a tent with nothing to do except listen to the rain, wind and thunder. That is until some company came riding in. Two more people joined me in the tent area of the campground both cyclists coming from San Diego and heading to Florida. I liked hearing their stories about what was to come and they liked hearing mine. We shared tips, laughed and had a wonderful time as 3 strangers from different parts of the world all finding friendship in Texas.
Pat was from Switzerland and had done some incredible solo trips in his life. He once sailed solo across the atlantic in a small sail boat. Jared was a young guy of 24 from New Zealand heading to Florida to meet his fiancee who was on vacation.
After a few days of talking and hanging out together the rain cleared enough to head back out and we were on our separate ways. It was nice to no longer be considered a novice. Heck by this time I was seasoned and that felt really good to me.
I headed northwest towards Dallas at this point and well I was off and rolling. Making great distance each day and enjoying every moment of the journey. One thing about Texas, it is stunning in its sheer beauty. The sky is huge and the scenery is beautiful. I was aeveraging about 70 miles a day at this point and really found my groove. One thing though and I mentioned it earlier, people fly in Texas. With the roads being relatively flat and straight with a posted speed of 75 it can be dangerous, as I soon found out.
About 150 miles outside of Dallas, Fort Worth my worst nightmare returned. I was on route 287 in a pretty remote stretch of road. this section had some rolling hills and I was enjoying regularly getting up to 30 mph. On one particular downhill I heard the sound I hated to hear behind me. You see rumble strips have particular sounds, center ones break and are closer together so those you don't worry about because it means a vehicle sees you and is going around you. The ones to worry about is the really loud larger separated shoulder rumble strips that means someone is drifting onto the shoulder. When I heard the loud rumble a turned my head backwards just in time to veer into the tall grass and barely missed being hit by a semi tractor trailer.
The tall grass threw my bike into a cartwheel, trailer and me went flying head over heels at 30 mph. The world went dark and I remember being in a ton of pain. A few hours later I was awakened by a woman's voice screaming "are you ok". I wasn't I was in a drainage ditch with my leg twisted, some bleeding from my ear and whole lot of pain from thrown onto some rocks. She saw the reflection of her headlights on the reflective material of my trailer in the grass as she was driving by. I had been knocked out for a few hours and was pretty beat up. The police and ambulance showed up and for the second time on this journey I was heading to a hospital because of an unaware driver.
I was 60 miles from the closest medical center and while I was being transported to the hospital this road angel as they are called (anyone who helps a cyclist out of nowhere) took my bike and trailer with her to her home, funny I don't even know her name.
Once I got to the hospital, they started to check me out. My leg was trashed, I hyperextended my MCL tendons in my left knee, I had a minor concussion, a severely sprained ankle and a fractured rib.
This was decision time, this was another crossroads of my journey. Was I going to continue or was I going to stop. I was only a 100 miles from my next long term stop with my friend Mike Roberts in Dallas so after a days rest and the return of my bike and trailer from my road angel i packed it into a Uhaul and headed his way. I figured that I would rest up with him for a few days. Get the bike repaired and see where I was at with my physical ability. I have always looked at it that if I am physically able I was going to continue, well I would see how a few more days would be. At this point I had a fractured wrist still, a hyper extended knee, a sprained ankle, a fractured rib and a concussion.
A few days rest in Dallas with Mike his friends and his family did me well. We road along a beautiful river ate the worlds best chilli and relaxed. After getting word that my bike was ready I headed to the shop. My bike had been morphed into a mountain climbing beast. New gearing, New wheels and really nothing left except the frame of the original bike left. It was set for the mountains....but after a few miles of trying I was not. It was apparent that I had a ride ending injury and I would have to call this portion of the trip or risk ending my cycling all together. So it was with a sad heart I had to call my trip head home and heal.
The bike from the journey remains in Texas, I will ship it back when I get out there with the next go around. Oh yeah Im doing a second round. Boxers go for rematches, runners rerun a race they failed and it is important to keep trying. I have a goal of solo crossing the United States and I will. So I flew home a week before thanksgiving. I flew home to no fanfare and I flew home beat up. But I flew home a success in my eyes because I had just ridden halfway across the United States unassisted and solo. I did something I should have never been able to do. From my death dead to a cyclist that covered 1426 miles well it truly was the trip and internal journey of a lifetime......oh and btw I met another new friend on the flight home, and well my friend Bruce met me at the airport a little more broken but still not beaten.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME
