to Cleburne SP, TX

By Ben |

I woke this morning feeling exhausted.  I had gone to bed early, having stayed up late the previous two nights with Chris and Jimmy, but what with the insects buzzing around my mosquito-netted head all night I hadn't slept well.  When I looked in the mirror, I saw that the mosquitos had bitten all over my forehead, so in addition to having freckles, I now appear too have acne!

to Cedar Hill SP, TX

By Ben |

This morning Natalie was still sick and cantankerous, so Jimmy stayed home to take care of her.  Rain was falling pretty hard, so I wasn't in a hurry to leave either, but I did around 8.  The rain continued nonstop until I got to my campsite around 3, and was intermittent after that.

Because of the rain, I only stopped when I found shelter, which wasn't as often as I would have liked.  The new seat position put more strain on my Achilles' tendons, so they began to hurt even as my knees showed dubious progress.

To Irving

By Ben |

Chris had said he would get up early, so I asked him not to leave without waking me to say goodbye, but as it turned out I was up over an hour before he got up!  It was a slow morning until around 9:00 everything started jumping...

Nov 16: Dallas Metro

By Ben |

[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on November 16, 2004]

Hi, folks! I'm at the home of my friend Jimmy, whom I've known since preschool, and who joined this list three months ago without knowing it was mine. :-) He's been showing me the photos from his own cross-country bike ride in 1996.

To Dallas

By Ben |

Finally, a day when I didn't have to push myself... I woke at a leisurely hour and had a long conversation with Leela while packing, then rode at a comfortable pace into Plano and met Sara and her son Jordan for lunch.  Jordan is a few days short of 3 years old, and Sara plans to continue staying home full time.  Her degree is in biochemistry.  Her husband Jerry does classified work for a government contractor.

to McKinney

By Ben |

The plan today seemed simple enough: ride from Texoma to Wiley, set up camp in a park there, and have dinner with Sara (Ballard) Moore and her family.  Two problems: my knees hurt more than ever, and the Texas maps are a smaller scale than I'm used to.  This is not to mention the rain, which was just a bother.

to Texas

By Ben |

I started out today very discouraged.  My knees hurt more than ever, and the first few miles getting out of the park were all hills.  I got off and walked, but even walking hurt.  I didn't see how I could make it to Texas -- I'd have to change all my plans, etc. etc.  I thought about calling Mom & Dad, but I decided they had enough to worry about with 'Becca's baby shower, so I put off calling until evening.

To Sulphur / Chickasaw NRA

By Ben |

Today was supposed to be a short ride, but knee pain necessitated a lot of stops, and the only campground with showers turned out to be a lot farther south than I had anticipated!

In Paoli, I stopped for coffee and wound up talking with the cafe owner about the trail riding (cattle driving) he did in the '70s.  He gave me my coffee for free, but I tipped generously.