The Ride
The Ride
After inviting everyone for a bike ride a couple of weeks ago, I guess I should mention the ride. Everyone had the good sense to decline or ignore my request on a day that would reach over 100 degrees (very good decisions). My advice for riding in N. TX in August.
· Start your 8:00 AM ride before 9:30
· Have breakfast somewhere other than Whataburger
· Carry more than 2 bottles of water
· When the buzzards start circling, head for home
The State Farm roads around Paluxy have become amazing popular with motorcycle riders. On the couple of miles I rode on these roads, I saw 10-15 motorcycles. Most of my ride though, was on paved county roads. I biked on these roads for about 2 hours Sunday morning and saw one pickup truck. The county roads are almost as lightly traveled now, as they were 30 or 40 years ago. I hope the motorcyclists don’t discover them. Although the solitude was nice, the only man made sound most of the time were bike tires on the pavement, it was almost too hot to enjoy the ride. Or maybe I am a little too much out of shape. Or maybe it has something to do with the above bits of advice.
About 3 /4 of the way through my ride, I stopped under a shade tree to finish the last of my water and rest for a few minutes. I took off my helmet, laid the bike down in the ditch and sat on the edge of the pavement. After sitting a couple of minutes, 6 buzzards landed on the ground about 100 feet away. They landed under another shade tree, as it was too hot even for buzzards in the sun. I thought they must have been coming for some sort of buzzard snack, as you can usually find a dead armadillo or some other hapless critter on any road here. Instead, all 6 turned to watch me. It is a little difficult to relax with 6 scavengers staring at you. Even though these birds are not known for their intelligence, it was still unsettling.
Fortunately it was mostly down hill from this point. And I am going to follow some of my own advice next year. Anyone up for a ride?
After inviting everyone for a bike ride a couple of weeks ago, I guess I should mention the ride. Everyone had the good sense to decline or ignore my request on a day that would reach over 100 degrees (very good decisions). My advice for riding in N. TX in August.
· Start your 8:00 AM ride before 9:30
· Have breakfast somewhere other than Whataburger
· Carry more than 2 bottles of water
· When the buzzards start circling, head for home
The State Farm roads around Paluxy have become amazing popular with motorcycle riders. On the couple of miles I rode on these roads, I saw 10-15 motorcycles. Most of my ride though, was on paved county roads. I biked on these roads for about 2 hours Sunday morning and saw one pickup truck. The county roads are almost as lightly traveled now, as they were 30 or 40 years ago. I hope the motorcyclists don’t discover them. Although the solitude was nice, the only man made sound most of the time were bike tires on the pavement, it was almost too hot to enjoy the ride. Or maybe I am a little too much out of shape. Or maybe it has something to do with the above bits of advice.
About 3 /4 of the way through my ride, I stopped under a shade tree to finish the last of my water and rest for a few minutes. I took off my helmet, laid the bike down in the ditch and sat on the edge of the pavement. After sitting a couple of minutes, 6 buzzards landed on the ground about 100 feet away. They landed under another shade tree, as it was too hot even for buzzards in the sun. I thought they must have been coming for some sort of buzzard snack, as you can usually find a dead armadillo or some other hapless critter on any road here. Instead, all 6 turned to watch me. It is a little difficult to relax with 6 scavengers staring at you. Even though these birds are not known for their intelligence, it was still unsettling.
Fortunately it was mostly down hill from this point. And I am going to follow some of my own advice next year. Anyone up for a ride?
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