Day 24: Shepherd to New Waverly

March 10, 2025

Lots of this growing by the side of the road.

The area we passed through is known as the Piney Thicket. It was apparently very hard to pass through.

Lots of nice, low-traffic roads with trees to block the wind.

There's always a jackass in every crowd. This one was very friendly.

It was so nice last night to sleep inside. I slept in my bag on the bed. It was a little soft, but I still slept well. I woke up about 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Still, it was dry, quiet and dark.

I ate two oatmeal packets with raisins, walnuts and a banana. I took a turkey and cheese sandwich, 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 kind bars, and a clementine for lunch.

It was cool in the morning, I think in the upper 40s, but sunny. I wore the same thing as yesterday: sun sleeves, long sleeve jersey, and tights. I used the Salsa shorts since it was shorter ride. I did not take ibuprofen.

There wasn't any place after Shepherd, at about mile 4, to get things until New Waverly at Mile 43. I stopped at about mile 23 at a church and oiled my chain, took off my tights and sunsleeves, and ate a kind bar and the eggs. BW and JW were there and PB, JE, and SR joined soon thereafter. They left before I did. At Mile 36 all the above were stopped at a church for lunch, so I joined them. I ate my sandwich and a clementine. Again they left before I did. I caught them all pretty soon except BW, who I cauth at mile 43, at New Waverley, where AH was in the van. The others joined soon therafter and JW went shopping. PB, JE, SR an I went to lunch in New Waverly at a small cafe. BW, JE and I shared a Hootie (marinated beef) Burger and some fried pickles. I paid for lunch. JW was shopping. Soon JF, DS, and BD came and sat down near us. The burger was good and I was hungry, so I'm glad I got it.

The rest of the 7 miles to the campsite went fine. I could tell that there were more hills on the ride as my legs felt a little tired. Tomorrow is 71 miles with a similar elevation gain per mile. I hope they feel good for that. My butt didn't hurt to bad, probably because I took a bunch of breaks.

The roads were nice, though there was quite a bit of chip seal, including some fresh stuff that looked pretty sticky. Most of the roads were either very low traffic or had a wide shoulder.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 1,161 miles (1,868 km)

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