Winds from the south at 20 mph, gusting at times. 70s all day. Clouds uncharacteristically low and stacked high all day, moving fast to the war zone up north. Dark and leaden. It’s a grim, embattled day with an unseasonable crosswind. Not the kind of day to go looking for beauty in Texas.
Happily left Beaumont but 90 was shoulderless heading out, but fortunately with little traffic. It picked up as the day wore on and I scored a shoulder pretty quick. By the time I made Liberty, it felt like rush hour in a construction area.
Plenty of beaten up homes with paint peeling off, front porches collapsed, two or three rusted heaps of cars in the yard. And spotless new cadillac SUVs with rims in the driveway. Priorities in this country are seriously out of whack.
Lots of refineries off in the distance and even one of those sinister towers with flames spewing out. Then, fields. Then, piney woods.
Texas does excel at roadside rest stops, something that I did not encounter more than a couple of times on the entire trip. A younger me once slept at these spots on bicycle tours through Texas; totally legal as long as I didn’t “erect a structure”. A little risky, sure. There’s always an anonymous vehicle parked there with tinted windows. And if there’s a bathroom, well, don’t go in at night.
Liberty, Texas. Dumpsville. One of the gas stations has a sign that reads in handwritten letters: No sitting or standing in front of or near store. Man. That’s pretty harsh. Everything is barred up. Not the kind of small town that I associate with Texas.
Crossed the Trinity. Man, just as ugly here at its end as it is in Dallas. Didn’t see any bodies float by, but I’m sure if I waited long enough I’d see a missing person go drifting by on her way to the Gulf.
Scored a hotel and made the walk into town through ant piles and knee high grass. No sidewalks here or in just about any of the towns I’ve been through on this trip. Everyone drives. No crosswalks, lights timed for cars, no pedestrian crossing buttons. Sensors won’t detect me because I don’t contain at least half a ton of metal, so I have to jaywalk. Drivers honk, teenagers hoot from their passenger windows. And everywhere there are machines, tanks of chemicals, rows of tractors and used cars, coils of tubes. Everything is ugly, and the roar of passing trucks is abominable.
Thought I’d take a chance with what by all appearances was a really bad idea: a Hartz All-You-Can-Eat Chicken Buffet. That’s Hartz, the same guys that bring you worm pills for dogs and cats. Same logo, not kidding. It was godawful. I passed two bbq spots for it. Man I’m stupid sometimes.
In the restaurant an impossibly obese man says to an impossibly obese woman, “I like your shirt. I speak English, myself.”
“Thanks! I got it on the internet. My husband says I shouldn’t wear it because I’m gonna make somebody angry with it.”
I don’t see, don’t even need to see it. This conversation takes place in front of the two foreign-born food servers.
Strange to say, but making Houston might actually be an improvement. Called a friend to coordinate my inner city strategy, which will be a challenge with H-town’s Ring of Decay™.
Morning now. Ready to ride.
January 8, 2009 at 4:35 am
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