I had my first flat tire today, on the Fred Hartman bridge.  There was a lot of debris on the shoulder of this multi-lane highway.  It wasn’t glass, but a tiny shard of metal that was hard to dig out of the tire.  I thought it would be too dangerous to stop and take a photo, but I had to stop to fix the flat anyway so I also took a photo.  I met Mom & Dad and Chip & Cherry at Gilmore Elementary School.  When Madison & Will got out, we biked home together.  My little brother Chip is running barefoot behind me in the photo at the start of the 1975 trip.  Now Chip is a rocket scientist who helped put up the Space Station.

Fixing my first flat on the Fred Hartman Bridge.

I’ve crossed the 30th parallel, one-third of the way to the equator from 45 degrees North.  I’ve cycled across 15 degrees of latitude in 18 days.

The unrelenting south winds blew all night.  Great White Pelicans soar gracefully over the whitecaps on Lake Livingston.  All this lakeshore was newly created in 1969 by damming the Trinity river.  After I cross the Trinity, East Texas gets very flat. Many streams are called bayous, but I see no alligators in the water-filled ditches.  I pushed hard all day trying to make it to my brother’s place south of Houston where my parents are waiting to meet me.  I struggled to keep my average speed above 19 kph, but gusts of 50 kph would knock that speed in half.  I’m almost to the Gulf of Mexico, but still 60 km away from Chip & Cherry’s.

Thunderstorms rolled through at night and moved on by the time I hit wet roads at 10 am.  This route takes me through historic county seats like Canton, Palestine and Crockett. With the late start and constant headwinds I only get as far as the NW end of 50 km long Lake Livingston, not to the State Park on the SE end.  I set up my hammock in a nice, redneck RV park. A Hank Williams-style crooner repeats the same song amplified through-out the park. I prefer his trying to perfect that one song to a closer, competing  campfire boom-box.

April in East Texas

Strong headwinds again today, but not as hot; so I pushed on all day at only 18 kph, over 8 hours in the saddle. I met the most dangerous challenge of the journey. I biked 35 km between Athens and Palestine with no shoulder on a busy two-lane East Texas highway, cars & trucks rushing by at 105 kph (65 mph).  Hwy 19 had a wide shoulder all the way from Paris, then next to nothing.  I  kept rapt attention to my rear-view mirror and hit the ditch for a few too-close calls.  I survived, but I do not recommend this route to other cyclists.

Texas ditch in bloom

I implemented my tropical strategy today. I didn’t bike from noon to five; because “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. For me it was the 30 to 50 kph SSW winds more than the 30C temperature.  I could have cycled a record distance if I turned around and pedaled north.

Texas Hwy 19 is a good route south.  Though not too busy, this two-lane road has smooth, four-meter wide  paved shoulders.  After 5 pm I took the busy two-lane Hwy 154 to my camp at the Lake Fork Resort,( site of many Bass fishing tournaments).  I constantly checked my rear-view mirror, ready to bail onto the soft and inconsistent shoulder.  After 16 km, a wide, but rough, shoulder materialized at the county line.

The Paris Texas Cowboy Eiffel Tower.

Ahh, there’s nothing like April in Paris.  I pushed hard to get here today just so I could write that opening line. I’ve been gooping up with sunscreen mornings and putting on leggings and long sleeves in the afternoon. My sunburnt shins are starting to blister.  I fought heat exhaustion as I crawled the last 25 km to Paris against 30 kph headwinds and a record high of 30 degrees Celsius (86F).

Let this be a warning to all coyotes.

Sardis Lake, OK

I was up and over the Arkansas river bridge in a cool dawn. I updated my last entry at a McDonalds from 8-10 am for $2.95.  I had a very pleasant ride through flatter terrain, then 2-3 km gradual inclines through the Sansbois mountains. Logging trucks passed in this piney woods;  site of the infamous Robbers Cave, now a state park.  That Jesse James left his mark all over the place, from Northfield, MN to here.  While going downhill my rear wheel froze up and I skidded to a halt, rubber burning.  Expecting a major mechanical headache; I found that my wool socks, drying in a net bag, got wedged between tire and frame. A sock brake. The socks are still wearable.  Later on, my hammock unstrapped itself from under the seat and the rear wheel ran it over.  That’s happened before and I’ve now added a fail-safe strap.  I’m seeing Black Vultures and Armadillo roadkill.  I got in late to a beautiful campsite on Sardis Lake.  The host waived the $15 fee and it has showers!

Hennessey Hammock

The Clear Creek Monastery

After breakfast and a visit to the neighboring Clear Creek Monastery, I continue skirting the western edge of the Ozarks. I’m still on twisty back roads but some hills are much steeper around Fort Gibson Lake. I haven’t gotten off to push yet, but almost lost traction with this front-wheel drive recumbent bike. As the grade get steeper there is less weight on the front wheel.  Today’s 27 degrees C ( 82F) is the hottest yet and the NW tailwind shifted to a SW headwind.  I wasn’t sure where I’d camp until I saw this town campground on the Arkansas River. I’ll leave the Ozarks when I cross over and head away from the Arkansas River.  The term Ozark is derived from the French. Trappers shortened the phrase “aux Arkansas”, meaning “going toward Arkansas”, to “aux Arks”.

Wisteria & Dogwood in The Coves at Bird island

A fox trots down Mockingbird Lane at dawn and deer pose as lawn ornaments in The Coves at Bird Island.  After visiting Larry at the guard shack of this gated community I continue cycling through the Oklahoma Ozarks with a cool tailwind on winding low traffic roads.  Valleys are 100m deep and I cross a 15 cm deep stream on the way to Clear Creek Lavender farm.  My Warmshowers hosts Chris & Denise share a delicious vegetarian quiches dinner in their new house with guests Mike & Emily of Three Springs Farm, a CSA.  Read about my visit on Denise’s blog.

Denise & Chris at Clear Creek Lavender

Fording a stream in the OK Ozarks

I entered the western edge of the Ozarks in SE Kansas on one of my flattest days yet.  I followed Historic Route 66 through Baxter Springs, KS where Jesse James robbed a bank and fled into Indian Territory before it became the state of Oklahoma.  While waiting for the tourist office to open in Miami, OK; I toured the opulent Coleman Theatre with a Louis XV interior. Built in 1929, with the wealth from local lead and zinc mining to attract top national talent, it is being fully restored.
Dogwoods and Redbuds bloom white and red in the woods’ understory as I descend to the shore of the Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.  I’m taking my first rest day here at the lake home of Kristin Danielson Bender, AHS Class of ’76, an hour’s drive from Jim & Kristin’s home in Tulsa.  I cycled through spotty rain drops the last 5 km, with more rain coming this weekend.

Kristin Danielson Bender & reCyclist

Coleman Theatre Miami, OK