Nov. 9, Lake Conroe, Texas

I got on the road to Navasota, Texas at first light. It was going to be a 65 mile ride and I wanted to make certain that I would arrive prior to dark. Apparently, this area was settled by German immigrants, and you can see the culture as you ride. I passed a particularly interesting property–the kind of place you would see on “American Pickers.”

Good material for American Pickers

The route took me to the town of Burton, where I was supposed to head north along the official route taking small country roads. After asking multiple people about the existence (or lack thereof) of shoulders, I opted to take US 290 to the city of Brenham and then head northeast along Texas highway 105. This proved to be a good choice, and saved me 6 miles and several hundred feet of climbing. The city of Brenham was really interesting as well–lots of art and antiques. I’d love to come back to this city sometime.

I made it to the campground at about 4:30. This was a decent place–only 5 bucks and that included a shower. However, there were fire ants everywhere. You really have to watch these guys–I got a couple of bites before I realized the problem.

Fire ants everywhere

I went to sleep last night pretty certain that Clinton would win the election. At about 2 AM, I woke up and decided to check my phone to see if a winner had been determined. Looks like Trump is the next president. God help us.

This morning (11/9) I got an early start. About half-way through my ride, I went through the community of Lake Conroe and, off to my right was a bike store. I’m not going to pass up a bike store, and I stopped in just on general principles. I was greeted by Cindy Noori, who asked me if I had come to stay.

Cindy Noori at Lake Conroe Cycling

Cindy is a Warm Showers host, and has set up her bike shop to accommodate cycle tourists! What a nice person. I decides that I would do it! I was immediately offered lunch and beers from two different local breweries. I will take two half days off, instead of 1 whole day. I am at the bike store now (Lake Conroe Cycling) and will leave tomorrow morning.

Cheers,