Bicycling Naked (I Wish) Across the USA: Days 39 & 40: Bad & Good (UPDATED WITH PHOTOS)

Day 39 (October 23): We rode from Navasota to Cagle Recreation Area campground in the Sam Houston National Forest, about 5 miles west of New Waverly, TX. This was a bad day for me, and I can't even say exactly why except it started out with a crappy breakfast of bad fried donuts. (Just to show you, kids, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day!!!!) I was in a bad mood after breakfast; it subsided for a bit during the middle of the day reared again when we pulled into this campground in the afternoon, with NO ICE & NO BEER. (I had bought a bottle of cheap wine at WalMart in Navasota, but without ice, it wasn't so good either.) So....WHAAAHH!!!!

So, Day 40: GOOD day. Rode into New Waverly and had a great breafast at the New Wavelry Cafe (Pecan Waffles!!). We met Al from Vancouver, WA there, who had cycled down the Pacific Coast and then taken up the Southern Tier route. Interesting guy....

Later that morning we came across John of Brooklyn, who was traveling east to west. He'd started in Brooklyn, cycled down to Georgia, and then crossed down to the Southern Tier route. A young man, on his own He said he'd had company from Brooklyn to Georgia, but was now on his own, and I think he was missing companionship!!! We told him about La Loma del Chivo in Marathon; hopefully he'll stop there and be as surprised and pleased with that town/ & place as we were.

We had lunch in Coldspring, TX, at "The Hop" burger and shake joint. Of course, not eating meat, we ordered the shrimp, fries & hushpuppy baskets, AND chocolate shake/malt. Wow, they give you a LOT of shrimp!!! It's amazing what a difference getting good, decent food is on this ride. Just east of Coldspring, we bought a 24 oz Heinekein and had pulled over to a picnic area to drink it when this woman pulled up in a gold sedan. She was very nice and explained to us that she and her partner run a camping place for cyclists up the road in Shepherd, TX. We had seen it listed in the ACA map, but were leaning towards a motel. (I was sick of camping after last night with NO ICE!!!). She said they had cabins also, with electricity, and bathrooms and showers, and that it was much nicer than a motel. She also told us where the grocery store was on the way to their place, and promised ICE. So...

We went to the Shepherd Sanctuary just east of Shepherd, TX. This is undoubtedly, for me, the BEST overnight we've had so far. Take the eclectic environment of the commune in Marathon, and upgrade it about 5 notches in care and cleanliness and you have the Shepherd Sanctuary As I write tonight, we are sitting out on the deck outside the "barn" (communal kitchen), with red Asian lanterns glowing, wind chimes softly blowing in the breeze, the temperature absolutely perfect, and crickets chirping. A little earlier this afternoon/evening, the hummingbirds were out in full force. I was able to cook a real dinner in the kitchen -- baked cod in cream sauce over red potatoes, and sauteed zucchini & yellow squash with jalapeno. Beer for Rick and Lime-a-Ritas for me (ON ICE). I am SO happy.

Peach and Connie here are very hospitable. Connie was the one who stopped and told us about the place and showed us around when we first got here. Later Peach got home and we had such a great conversation with her about important things like politics and religion. It's really wonderful to have a beautiful night like this around intelligent, friendly people.

So....bad & good, from one day to the next. That's how it can be. I tend to stick in the moment and when I'm unhappy, I'm really unhappy. But then again, when I'm happy, I'm really happy. And so it goes.. And Rick doesn't understand this, since he has more control than the rest of us mortals....

Total mileage: 45. 85
Time: 3:25
Avg: 13.42 mph

PHOTOS OF THE SHEPHERD SANCTUARY....