Marilane wanted to spend a few days in the tourist town of Jefferson, TX. I'm not much for wandering around in and out of shops exploring and getting the history of old towns, so I brought my bike. Before going, I managed to pull up the local information and they had four routes listed, each heading out of Jefferson in the four compass points. Two of them had significant mileage on US 59 which normally had a wide shoulder but is currently repaving and had one side shut down. So those two routes were immediately nixed. I previewed the other two and didn't like one of them. The one toward Caddo Lake had a wide shoulder but was really rough. But traffic was minimal. The suggested route was a triangle of thirty-six miles, more or less the distance I was willing to ride.
For various reasons it took longer to get ready, so my first decision was to just do an out-and-back to Caddo Lake. That would be twenty-six miles and an estimated two hours. The sun shone brightly in a clear sky, temperature 68-73, a slight wind from the SE that would be at my back on the return.
Leaving Jefferson included several blocks of brick streets, but within a mile and a half I was headed east toward the lake. I had assumed that cycling enthusiasts in the area were few and far between, and sure enough, my morning ride netted me two Strava Local Legends crowns plus being the fastest in the 75+ age category. The right-of-way was even rougher than what I imagined and my shoulders were getting quite a workout. But once I determined that traffic was minimal, I moved out into the much smoother road and spent most of the ride looking in my mirrors. I'd move onto the shoulder when I saw a vehicle, but surprisingly 90% gave me lots of room.
I hate logging trucks. That goes back to Cycle Montana (1998) and one scary day without shoulders and logging trucks that were overly aggressive. Each subsequent encounter has only reinforced that first one. Therefore I was disturbed to see logging trucks barreling toward me every five to seven minutes on my way east. Already I dreaded to return. As estimated, an hour of heading east, really SE, and I hit my turn-around spot.
Fortune favored my return. I picked up the very slight wind at my back, was able to spend most of the ride in the roadway and not on the shoulder, and apparently the logging truck drivers were on a lunch break. Only one passed me and that was just before I turned toward town and he was nice enough to drive the other lane. The return took ten minutes less.
My second ride consisted of two legs of the triangle ending at Caddo Lake, with the third leg being the same as yesterday's return. Same weather as the previous ride, same rough shoulder, but a bit more traffic since this was Saturday morning. Not to belabor the point, but the first two legs of this ride have NO Strava segments. Once again I monitored the mirrors and more assiduously in that the 75 mph speed limit left little time to get on the shoulder. But again, the drivers were quite courteous.
As I approached the first right turn I heard some guy yelling "Y'all come back here" multiple times. There may have been a few expletives thrown in. I looked over and saw about a half dozen Chihuahuas (or similar breed) running out a gate and chasing after me. I could still hear yelling, and about a quarter mile down the road, two little guys were still coming for me. They weren't close, I turned the corner, and assume they finally gave up.
The first and third sections of the ride were macadam (interesting sidenote: macadam roads were introduced by Scotish inventor John McAdam.) but the second one was the roughest chip-seal you can imagine. I probably lost 100 miles of rubber in those nine miles. It was also a block headwind, thankfully not very stiff. Traffic increased.
I make it a point to carry nutrition, generally Clif Bars, on any ride over two hours. For this trip, I forgot my Clif Bars, and also forgot to pack any nutrition. When I made the right turn onto the last leg, I was beginning to feel the loss of energy. I had Nuun, so electrolytes were good. I husbanded the remaining energy and cruised on back into town. Again, no logging trucks.
All in all, these were good workouts. Not much scenery, rough roads, but good weather.
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