Save 22 A Day Trans-America Cycling

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Crawfish are a Cajun delicacy.  They are grown in converted freshwater rice ponds in Arcadiana in the south of Louisiana.  We cycled past many of the crawfish ponds today on our 94 mile ride through the heart of crawfish country.   The parish sheriff explained to us that crawfish are largest when harvested in May and June, and after the harvest the crawfish ponds are planted in rice.  So we are in Louisiana at the best time to eat crawfish . . . lucky us.  These miniature lobster tails are great vittles. Crawfish pond with traps and a flyby captured by Maltese Ray Rice field Crawfish are harvested with paddlewheel boats.  When harvesting the boat moves in a straight line next to the traps and a person reaches out, lifts and empties crawfish from a trap into the boat without stopping.  The pond is shallow, and the traps appeared to be less than 2 feet tall. Paddle...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . We were looking forward today to leaving Texas, after riding for 18 days in that state, and entering Louisiana.  We had eaten plenty of Tex-Mex and barbecue and were looking forward to Cajun cooking.  Congratulations to the 14 riders for making it out of Texas.  It was a bit of a slog getting outta Texas.  We had rain today over the 42 miles from Kountze to Kirbyville, some rain quite heavy.  There was a great shoulder on much of the highway, so standing water there was not much of a problem.  At one point we had some lightening, and a group of riders were transported in the SAG vehicle to a Subway.  Everyone persevered and made it to Louisiana. Kristin took state sign photos to another level.  She mentioned something about a modeling career from the Welcome to Louisiana photo shoot, but it looks like she also has talent as as some kind of dancer, or even as a Gold's Gym trainer. ...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Every now and then even the most avid cyclist might question their sanity in cycling "from sea to shining sea," sort of like the quintessential chicken question. There were many logging trucks rumbling down the roads that we rode today, loaded most often with pine logs.  Chunks of bark sometimes fall off the trucks and onto the shoulder where we mostly ride, so cyclists need to be looking out for the bark.  Sometimes the pieces are larger, around the size of a two by four.  The logging trucks take the logs to sawmills like the one below near SAG stop 1 or to pulp mills Small sawmill on the route where workers were cutting the logs into lumber There were barks of another kind, from loose dogs running after us, especially down one Texas Farm Road today.  The dogs today were rather friendly and were chasing us for exercise. Our second SAG stop today was in the town of Thicket TX.  We ar...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Today was a hot, muggy day with bad wind, so it was challenging.  The temperature reached 85 F and the humidity 86%.   Drinking enough to stay well hydrated was a key to success.   Wind was more of a crosswind early, but there was considerable 10 to 15 mph headwind in the afternoon.   Early in the tour in the west we had more tailwind than headwind.  Since leaving Sanderson, TX we have had mainly headwind and crosswind, so much so that we believe we have now experienced more headwind than tailwind since the start of the tour. A bit of relief from the wind and heat was provided by riding through the Sam Houston National Forest about 50 miles north of the city of Houston.  Tall trees, pines and deciduous, on both sides of the road provided cooling shade and a block of some wind.   Riding through Sam Houston National Forest Passage through the trees We passed b...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Today was a pleasant day for riding, but the humidity is starting to become a factor.  The temperature was 68 F when we left La Grange, and when we arrived in Navasota the temperature was 85 F and the humidity 54%.   Today we were privileged to be welcomed to Navasota by the Mayor of Navasota, Mayor William A. Bert Miller, III and the Executive Director of the Navasota Grimes County Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Johnny McNally.  They came to the Best Western Motel in Navasota to recognize our efforts to cycle across America to benefit military veterans and thereby raise awareness of the 22 suicides a day by veterans and active duty military personnel.   Our team of cyclists are most appreciative of their visit and are honored to meet them.  These two gentlemen made our day! From left, Mayor Bert Miller, Mr. Johnny McNally, cyclists, Best Western staff and family Our meeting with the Nava...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here. We rode across Austin, population of city and suburbs of around a million, this morning, taking a route selected by Trans-America Cycling to avoid heavy traffic.  Because it was Sunday, traffic wasn't heavy.   We now have ridden east into high humidity that we will probably continue to experience in east Texas and following days in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.  Hydration is very important in the high humidity. Yesterday and today Bart Sherwood, the   T rain A D og - S ave A W arrior ( TADSAW) Program Director, met with us in Austin and La Grange.  Bart spoke to cyclists and the TAC staff at the 5:00 pm route meeting in Austin.  Later we made a video of Bart speaking about Medical Alert Service Dogs and TADSAW.  Bart thanked cyclists for their support of veterans and  TADSAW, and to show his gratitude gave each cyclist and TAC staff a TADSAW tee-shirt.  Cycli...