Dateline: Giddings, TX

Zags got creamed last night. Local CBS feed had Kansas, saw a few minutes of Zags during kansas halftime. Watched it @ white bread Chiles. Visited w/ young man from Salmon, ID a usfs fire mangement person down here flying in a helicopter dropping incendiary objects onto forest for burn. We shared some common places over our lives.

Drove to bank parking lot across street from apt complex. Quiet night 1/2 block off main drag. Got real cold, temp in AM was 38 degs. Almost turned on heater.

Bought propane. Called LBS, left voice mail.

Drove to Huntsville SP. Paid $4.00 entry included a shower. Some kind of big cub scout outing going on.

Rode trail on low level output. Hiking trail wide, well used over time. Some roots. 6.92 miles & 585′ vert.

rear tire flatted after yesterday’s ride: side wall blow out & tube abraded. Couldn’t find tube leak. Used only spare tube, no spare in my pack. Gritted my teeth & hoped for no flat. Patched w/ duct tape boot on both sides of tire. Tire shot from rocks cutting the sidewalls. Rear formula brake pads shot.

Bike shop called back left voice mail, no tire but tubes. Drove back into town, found shop, & he was gone.

Headed West towards Austin driving back roads until 290. Stopped @ Giddings, TX for night in a parking lot 1/2 block off main drag. Might be close to police station.

Tomorrow is Austin. 2 REIs in Austin as is Performance Bikes.

Saw another CXT outhouse w of Huntsville. Go Spokane.

Thunderstorm played out b4 bed. Several times during the night the weather radio warning went off but the  warning was maritime. Hot sleep, kicked off blanket, just flannel sheet.

Plan is to drive into Texas to Beaumont, find a bike shop & learn about selected trails. Stopped @ visitors’ center for directions. There are many unbright people out there. Found a bike shop, another unbright person.

Plan is to ride 2 lakes rec area as there is an 8 mile loop that dries quickly after rain. Rural low land Texas. Humid & dead flat w/ lots of standing h2o. Fortunately 2 lakes is just up of the flats. $6.00 entry: USFS includes shower.

Road still damp from earlier shower. I am stoked: Texas makes 39 states and I get to ride after 2 rain days. Remarkable how well the trail drained. Rain clouds dropped down. Temp in upper 60. Summer gear, figured if it rained I would be warm enough. And I was. At first it was difficult to discern humidity from rain. Rode 2 pretty hard laps. flowy twisty hand cut all ST, only 300′ vert in 2 laps. Heavy understory making bush bashing not desirable.

Wore bike clothes in cool shower to rinse off trail debris. Trail remained relatively dry & unscathed during gentle t-storm & my 2 laps.

Last night another gulley washer. This time in the AM the trails @ Lincoln parish had puddles. No way is it going to dry out. Nix on riding Bodeau also. Decided to drive S in LA seeking cajun influence and then over into Texas. Haven’t stumbled onto them yet.

Drove 2 lane roads. Houses run the normal gamut of well done albeit smaller here and the dumps. Pretty flat, some fields had standing h2o in the crop rows. Levees are big. When it rains the h2o has little place to go.

Found a Walmart that does not allow overnight parking.

Saw 2 dead wild pigs off the side of the road. What attracted me was a crow standing on top of something black. 2 pigs together, no idea how they met their demise. Added to my photo collection.

Flutters are all but gone and leg knot almost gone.

Made just N of Lake Charles and was thinking of staying in a XG but spotted an office bldg parking lot. Hot, 76 deg & humid. Forecast is for another bad T-storm. I turned on weather radio to “alarm” setting. Before I finished my lentil stew dinner it shrieked on w/ warning for severe t-storm w/ hail. I quickly drove next door to a drive in  bank under their covered teller stations. Sky got dark, no wind, & then  it hit: winds, pelting rain, lightening, thunder but no hail. Better safe than pelted.

I spoke w/ Paul @ Sportsmobile again and decided to splurge for a solar panel addition. He told me yesterday Austin received golf ball size hail that damaged car bodies & cracked windshields but didn’t harm the solar collectors. Hearing the body damage spurred me to the bank overhang.

Forecast is for rain tomorrow also.

Tomorrow is Texas working to Austin. Van work is scheduled for Tues & Wed.

Found small hole in balance ball that lets air out. Need to find right glue & patch to hopefully seal it. Dipped it in lake @ XG no bubbles. Washed it off under the hose & discovered small stream of bubbles. Stopped @ a Walmart believing they would have beach toy repair kits. Bought the one they had for patching pools.