DAYS 29 & 30: 10/18 Warrenton, TX to Navasota, TX; 10/19 Navasota, TX to Cold Spring, TX

DAYS 29 & 30: 10/18 Warrenton, TX 56 miles to Navasota, TX; 10/19 Navasota, TX 71 miles to Cold Spring, TX – 

At breakfast in Warrenton, I had one of those aha, goose bumps moments. Speaking with the women with whom we shared a table, we discovered Cyndi had competed in the same equestrian category as Christopher Reeve, novice amateur, and knew a fair bit about his riding accident. She told us about some of the protective equipment now in use like an air bag, actually an air vest, that aims to protect a rider against such an injury and she thought his accident has helped inspire its development. 

(Editor's note: please see here if you would like to donate to Mark and Heather's Reeve Foundation fundraiser) 

Breakfast with Cyndi on my left 

Today’s ride was the least eventful to date. We passed some ranches, a few had minor gas fields on them. But my mind was plagued by the story we heard last night of a teen driver who allegedly intentionally hit a group of 6 cyclists in Waller, Texas on highway 290 about an hour away. The lady who told us assumed we knew, as it was supposedly a national story because he wasn’t charged. We happily until now had no clue. We had ridden on 290 before and would again. All I could think was there’s another “there but for the grace of God go I” moment. 

The highlight for me was meeting our waitress Hailey at the not so great BBQ restaurant a short walk from our hotel. I was taken by her rodeo belt buckle which she wore with the pride of a champion prize fighter. I asked her all about it and it led to my rodeo education and I learned she was a high school senior. She shared her dreams and ambitions about college and beyond. I’d bet on Hailey!

State Ranch Rodeo Finalist

In Navasota, we heard about the ACA group’s injuries and falls including a broken elbow and one rider fell and she had been unconscious. My appreciation for everybody wishing us to ride safe just grew significantly. 

I had been looking forward to today’s ride as it was on the Texas Forest Trail through the Sam Houston National Forest and would end in a lakeside community. It would be the end of Texas Hill Country at last. 

There was this great stretch of road that was perfect for temperature control. The shadows were just right that we went in and out of the sun, never getting too warm nor too cold. 

Shadow and light combo for the perfect riding temperature

Around noon, I stopped roadside to enjoy a water view, and to snack on some cheese and yogurt. Heather stopped and climbed over the guardrail for a “bathroom” break. After just 10 seconds in the grass, she came hopping out yelling about her ankles were covered in ants biting her. Hmm I thought, guess I won’t be going over the rail for my bathroom break. (Author’s note: the itch and bites have plagued her for days since.)

Lakeside bathroom break where Heather got attacked 

Tonight’s stay was at a Warm Showers guest room attached to his weekend house with the owner not in town. He warned us ahead of time there was not even hot water. But with no close alternatives, we accepted. It was near no restaurants and had no kitchen, so we bought some healthy vegetables for a dinner we could carry by bike the last 5 miles. 

Keeping my calorie count up 

As we entered the lakeside, gated community, the homes sported Halloween decor. We passed the gorgeous lake view and had 5 houses to go, so our anticipation grew. 

A beautiful lake

Anticipating a beautiful home...

And then our bubble burst. We knew the owners had not been here for a month, but we were not prepared to walk through spider webs to get indoors and find more webs in a dirty room. The sheets were not clean, who knew about the towels? It was late, soon dark, 5 miles back to the turn off and nowhere near a hotel. We were staying for the night in what felt like the Halloween haunted house. Our spirits were low. We had to get out at least for dinner. We went to the lake to soak in the view and eat at the picnic tables. It was so buggy we put the food away. 

Attempted picnic at lake

We then met Kathy who was around 75 years old walking her dog Beau. Turns out she grew up in Bronxville, a mere 20 minutes from where we live, and of course knew our town so an instant bond was formed. After chatting for a while, we asked if we could use her kitchen to wash our vegetables and chop them. She said of course and invited us over and offered us wine or beer. Her home was so warm and nice. We felt like we were imposing so declined and said goodbye. 

Kathy our partial savior

On our walk back we laughed how we probably should have accepted her hospitality and even shared our lodging situation as she was so nice that’s she’d likely invite us to stay. We went back to our room, tried to eat, but had no appetite in this room so tossed out most of our veggies. 

Heather showing her sad face

At least we had a pound of Heather’s fudge still to sweeten our moods, and so broke open the package and treated ourselves to lift our moods before going to bed early so we could leave real early. 

This was definitely the most miserable night of the trip, but we laughed hardest and the most about it as we knew it was temporary and we appreciated the larger context of an adventure that we were enjoying immensely.

© Copyright Mark Segal 2021