Google Maps is such a great resource. Turn on bike layer, zoom out, and look for green because after all green means GO! Just northeast of Richardson, TX in Farmersville is ~80 miles of North East Texas Trail cycling "fun". It's starting to feel ironic how many cycling routes include a "Farmersville".
I talked with my friend and fellow adventure cyclist Holly and we came up with a plan. The trailhead is near "the onion shed". The shed was bustling with people for a festival faintly visible in the upper left background
Obligatory sign picture...
Things started off nice enough
...And then they started getting interesting. Trail research indicated rougher and less refined than rail trails back east. That's all in the name of adventure, right?
The multi-foot drop off and washout does not come through in this picture.
I was too busy trying to not fall between the railroad ties to get my finger out of the picture. Many foot drop on the bottom side and several places big enough to fall through.
This trip ended up being much more than I'd bargained for. I wasn't properly trained for the mileage - even flat smooth rolling - let alone the wilds of this trail. We usually hit 10-12mph on railtrails; today was 6-8. We bailed on the trail at Wolfe City I think and started riding roads. We found some backroads to meet a couple road runners and at least one dog encounter that almost got very bad.
One of my primary goals for the Texas trip was adjusting to hotter, drier, less tree covered, more desert like environment. More training is still required. I drank too much liquid (water/gatorade), didn't maintain balance of electrolytes, solids, and liquids, and made myself sick. Holly was kind enough to tow me for a while as I transitioned through multiple shades of green. Made me glad I'd given her a tow on an earlier ride.
Darkness set in and we were still miles from our destination. For the first time ever I hitched a ride vs just gutting it out. A good samaritan at a gas station agreed to run us up to our destination. For once I was glad everyone in Texas drives trucks. Destination, shower, dinner, bed. I hadn't been this wiped out in a very long time. Visits to the pain cave aren't always nice, but they give great perspective.
The guy who gave us a ride had an amazing story. I avoid blogging about other people because of privacy concerns. This guy had a rough go of it and was still as nice as could be. Thank you.
We were back at it the next day undoing most of what we did the day before. Starting point of attack was earlier start, stick to roads for smoother rolling, and periodic stops. We cycled south west out of Paris and back out on the road.
It still strikes me how differently the Texas landscape responds to water. Where I'm from water permeates the ground, plenty of deep mud and dirty water. In Texas the water runs off the landscape. As dry as things are, when it rains, it creates flash floods because the water just runs off. Even the creeks are clear because the dirt and water just don't mix. It's just different and impacts some fundamental assumptions.
Very little to see on the ride so moments like this were almost sufficient for uproarious laughter.
This is what I felt like for the last third of day one.
Not kidding. Decimated. In the middle of nowhere. Nothing around.
We rolled into a "town" planning for a solid sit down lunch at a place we remembered from the day before. Town looked more prepared for a gunfight than a welcoming lunch. The restaurant we had in mind was closed for the day so we survived off gas station food. One station at least served chicken fingers. Salty fried greasy deliciousness with a bread roll, gatorade, and air conditioning.
More desolate riding. Into a headwind that found us in the morning and persisted until we reach Farmersville. I told myself in the morning there was no way we'd have a head wind all day.... Another lesson in humility.
We were both done again. We started trying to hitch a ride again but were unsuccessful. Everyone else was going east and we were headed west.
Near the end we jumped back on the trail because it was shorter, and relatively tame, than the road route alternative.
And Holly picked up a pet for a few miles.
One interesting encounter with Texas wildlife - we saw several hawks along the trail. We road up to a rabbit that sat still letting us get amazingly close. We passed one bulging shrub and a hawk jumped up and flew off. The rabbit then scampered away. People > hawk > rabbit in the food (or fear?) chain.
We rolled into Farmersville as the sun set. Another full day in the saddle. We road the entire distance back arriving with a huge sense of satisfaction.
I was tempted to consider this trip (I)ncomplete because I didn't ride the whole trail, I used road reroute, and still hitchhiked on day 1. Finally back home enjoying a burger and beer that is all part of the "adventure". We met a great person and had a good day 2 showing.
I learned something about the heat. My core temperature reached a point and I was emotionally transported back to my previous bad experiences with heat as a boyscout, then as a teenager, and the most recent in my first half ironman. My experience as a teenager was the worst. I remembered the day, the people, minutiae of the work, and the ride to the hospital. Some science suggests a heat stroke leaves permanent physiological change. I may not be able to change that, but I can change the emotional response so I don't get triggered and then make bad choices. Not easy, but doable. Not complete, but I have a new approach for next time.
And pay it forward. +1 for humanity.
I talked with my friend and fellow adventure cyclist Holly and we came up with a plan. The trailhead is near "the onion shed". The shed was bustling with people for a festival faintly visible in the upper left background
Obligatory sign picture...
Things started off nice enough
...And then they started getting interesting. Trail research indicated rougher and less refined than rail trails back east. That's all in the name of adventure, right?
The multi-foot drop off and washout does not come through in this picture.
I was too busy trying to not fall between the railroad ties to get my finger out of the picture. Many foot drop on the bottom side and several places big enough to fall through.
This trip ended up being much more than I'd bargained for. I wasn't properly trained for the mileage - even flat smooth rolling - let alone the wilds of this trail. We usually hit 10-12mph on railtrails; today was 6-8. We bailed on the trail at Wolfe City I think and started riding roads. We found some backroads to meet a couple road runners and at least one dog encounter that almost got very bad.
One of my primary goals for the Texas trip was adjusting to hotter, drier, less tree covered, more desert like environment. More training is still required. I drank too much liquid (water/gatorade), didn't maintain balance of electrolytes, solids, and liquids, and made myself sick. Holly was kind enough to tow me for a while as I transitioned through multiple shades of green. Made me glad I'd given her a tow on an earlier ride.
Darkness set in and we were still miles from our destination. For the first time ever I hitched a ride vs just gutting it out. A good samaritan at a gas station agreed to run us up to our destination. For once I was glad everyone in Texas drives trucks. Destination, shower, dinner, bed. I hadn't been this wiped out in a very long time. Visits to the pain cave aren't always nice, but they give great perspective.
The guy who gave us a ride had an amazing story. I avoid blogging about other people because of privacy concerns. This guy had a rough go of it and was still as nice as could be. Thank you.
We were back at it the next day undoing most of what we did the day before. Starting point of attack was earlier start, stick to roads for smoother rolling, and periodic stops. We cycled south west out of Paris and back out on the road.
It still strikes me how differently the Texas landscape responds to water. Where I'm from water permeates the ground, plenty of deep mud and dirty water. In Texas the water runs off the landscape. As dry as things are, when it rains, it creates flash floods because the water just runs off. Even the creeks are clear because the dirt and water just don't mix. It's just different and impacts some fundamental assumptions.
Very little to see on the ride so moments like this were almost sufficient for uproarious laughter.
This is what I felt like for the last third of day one.
Not kidding. Decimated. In the middle of nowhere. Nothing around.
We rolled into a "town" planning for a solid sit down lunch at a place we remembered from the day before. Town looked more prepared for a gunfight than a welcoming lunch. The restaurant we had in mind was closed for the day so we survived off gas station food. One station at least served chicken fingers. Salty fried greasy deliciousness with a bread roll, gatorade, and air conditioning.
More desolate riding. Into a headwind that found us in the morning and persisted until we reach Farmersville. I told myself in the morning there was no way we'd have a head wind all day.... Another lesson in humility.
We were both done again. We started trying to hitch a ride again but were unsuccessful. Everyone else was going east and we were headed west.
Near the end we jumped back on the trail because it was shorter, and relatively tame, than the road route alternative.
And Holly picked up a pet for a few miles.
One interesting encounter with Texas wildlife - we saw several hawks along the trail. We road up to a rabbit that sat still letting us get amazingly close. We passed one bulging shrub and a hawk jumped up and flew off. The rabbit then scampered away. People > hawk > rabbit in the food (or fear?) chain.
We rolled into Farmersville as the sun set. Another full day in the saddle. We road the entire distance back arriving with a huge sense of satisfaction.
I was tempted to consider this trip (I)ncomplete because I didn't ride the whole trail, I used road reroute, and still hitchhiked on day 1. Finally back home enjoying a burger and beer that is all part of the "adventure". We met a great person and had a good day 2 showing.
I learned something about the heat. My core temperature reached a point and I was emotionally transported back to my previous bad experiences with heat as a boyscout, then as a teenager, and the most recent in my first half ironman. My experience as a teenager was the worst. I remembered the day, the people, minutiae of the work, and the ride to the hospital. Some science suggests a heat stroke leaves permanent physiological change. I may not be able to change that, but I can change the emotional response so I don't get triggered and then make bad choices. Not easy, but doable. Not complete, but I have a new approach for next time.
And pay it forward. +1 for humanity.
