March 27, 2018
Day 36
Navasota, Tx to Cold Springs , Texas
Miles: 41.2 Elevation climbed: 1481 feet
Up early and out on the road before 8 this morning as the impending doom of a thunder storm has been forecasted. Seems we got lucky and arrived at our destination, The Sunday Houses,( more on that later) by 1:30 and ahead of the storm although we did have to sit out the rain briefly at one point. We started again, it rained, but 1/2mile later it stopped and the sun came out, weather is fickle!
On their way out of Navasota Maggie & Tim rode past a man out doing some hoeing, he waves & says “ going to Florida ?” Tim says yes, then he says “ you on schedule?” Then nods , and that was it, Maggie did a great job relaying the encounter to us
A little history on our accommodations ,the Sunday Houses.
The Texas State Historic Association states:
SUNDAY HOUSES. Sunday houses were small second dwellings maintained near a church as a weekend place of residence. They became popular in the late 1800s among farmers and ranchers who lived in areas too remote to permit commuting to services. The families owning such houses normally left their farms and ranches Saturday morning, journeyed to town, took care of shopping and business, attended an evening dance or party, and spent the night in the Sunday house. On Sunday they attended church in the morning and either returned home in the afternoon or attended Sunday school in the afternoon, and then spent a second night in town. Sunday houses were also used when a member of the family needed to stay in town to conduct business or receive medical attention. Some Sunday houses became the residences of retired ranchers when their land was turned over to their sons. Although in Texas Sunday houses were almost exclusively confined to Germans in the Hill Country, particularly Gillespie County, the phenomenon was not unique to Texas. Similar houses were used in the 1660s in Middlebury, Connecticut, and a counterpart to the Sunday house exists in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
On our ride today we rode along state highway #105 through the beautiful Sam Houston National Forest. They were doing a controlled burn as well which was interesting. At one point we crossed over Lake Conroe with an expansive causeway which Jeff handled very well. Unfortunately we had to leave 105 for state route 150 which had great riding conditions until San Jacinto County where the only shoulders early on were rumble strips. At one point some idiot forced me off onto this shoulder where I lost control and narrowly missed becoming part of the forest . I was able to unclip in time to serve away from the trees. Fortunately this type of driver is rare.
The rest of our trip was relaxing and we joking challenged ourselves to arrive before the storm, we won!
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 3 | Link |
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Vulture/id
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/overview
----->Bill
6 years ago
6 years ago
I don't mean to be a know-it-all, but just want to help folks out cranking pedals to identify wildlife & plants. I know what it is like to be on the road for most of the day and maybe find a library to use internet and only have limited time and on and on. My most recent ride was journaled on crazyguyonabike.com (Heart Attack Comeback) in 2011, and it still has plenty of unidentified stuff. Being retired, I have time. Being unable to do more than about 20 miles in a day due to knees, I am no longer doing bike touring, but am interested. Following on-going tours gives me the opportunity to use my educational background and primary interest in nature to help other folks.
All that to say, I hope I do not offend you by looking like a know-it-all, correcting nit-picky stuff. Some folks on cgoab tours actually have even begun to ask me by name when they have a question. Not many cycle touring folks take pictures of nature stuff, so it is a delight to help if I can.
----->Bill
6 years ago
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 1,587 miles (2,554 km)
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6 years ago