Day 44 - Oct. 17th I had to start my ride at 2pm today as I had a long teleconference call. I ended up riding 45 miles today on gentle rolling hills and little headwind which makes a big difference then big hills and strong headwind!! I thought I would also jot down a couple observations of my ride in rural Texas and other things as I am now 60 miles away for Louisiana. I say rural texas as most of my time has been on the back roads of Texas with all its variety.
1.) Texas is a very large state as I have ridden 1080 miles here along. It is one third my total ride across the U.S. It also has a lot of different environments such as hot/dry, rainy, humid, flat, very hilly, lots of wind, rocky, fertile soil, no vegetation, lots of trees, grass etc... Big cities and many miles with no population.
2.) Lots of friendly helpful people.
3.) I have seen more American flags (and Texas Flags) then I have seen in 10 years of living in California.
4.) I have lost 10 lbs on this trip. My secret: eat all you want and then spend 4-8 hours on your bike every day!
5.) High school sports are huge here as they dominate the local newspapers.
6.) Lots of pickup trucks...mostly double cabs.
7.) When you meet a local cow in the middle of the road...they look very scary, but none have attached yet!
8.) In the very small towns usually the best building in town is the U.S. Post Office. There might be nothing in town but a Post Office...our tax dollars at work!
9.) McCain/Palin signs dominate the landscape in West Texas, Obama/Biden dominate the landscape in Houston/Beaumont area of Texas.
10.) Big trucks passing me on the highway scare me still. I think the large timber trucks are the worst.
11.) Texas has many churches.
12.) Never stand on the side of the road and pee into the wind....you will get wet. This is true in Texas and everywhere else.
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