April 4, 2016
Shepherd, TX to Silsbee, TX
Day: 59.1 miles; Total: 2,001.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 938′
Map Link: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/8395447
Almost immediately after leaving the motel, we turned onto a rural road and began our basically flat day of riding through the trees. Everyone will say a road is flat ( as a car driver) but on a bike nothing normally is actually flat. Today’s route had me primarily in my biggest front chain ring and that’s not usual on a loaded bike!
We biked past miles of forests and while there were logging trucks , they gave us a wide birth and the traffic volume and straight road kept the riding pleasant. There were several wilderness areas in the area but the big deal here is the Big Thicket Preserve. It was just south of our rural road and once consisted of more than a million acres of almost impenetrable forest boasting nearly every variety of hardwood and pine native to southern Texas. Extensive lumbering reduced the size of the forests so the area was protected as a preserve in the 60’s.
We stopped for lunch in the tiny town of Honey Island, where we ate at Pittman’s where you can get good food and your deer ” processed “.
Now this looks truly different from what we saw when we entered Texas
The Trinity River, heading to its National Wildlife Refuge just to the south
The relatively quiet road kept these trucks not too scary
Traveler meets the nice folks at Pittman’s where we had lunch
Relaxing before we ate
Now here’s a motto to live by- ha!
Traveler meets Randy, in Kountze, who’s a local artist who bike toured in Texas in the 70’s. We encouraged him to go do it again!
You can see Traveler,near my left leg, securely riding in his baggie on my pannier
A local who wanted to join us for lunch
Now this looks like the south!
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See details about our Southern Tier route.
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Love the picture of you with the dog today -and the the thicket with the moss. I love seeing your pictures everyday. Ann
Thanks Ann! It’s amazing to be now in a very southern feeling area ( and we are not that far from the gulf. )
That cute dog was very people friendly and wanted to be best friends with everyone who came into that little place.
You are giving us a good look at east Texas–so different from the western part of the state! Thanks for showing the scenery, people, and pets along your route! It looks like you might make Louisiana by sundown tomorrow! You are truly spreading the word of CCI across the south. Love, M and T