We woke up this morning with an overwhelming desire to go back to sleep. Despite our slow start, we managed to get out of the hotel by 7:30. There wasn't a great breakfast selection, so we took some packaged donuts and cookies for the road (along with some orange juice in our water bottles). Yesterday we noticed that there were not many places to fill up water bottles between cities (in the past there has been a gas station every 10 miles or so) so we brought an extra liter of water each (just in case). At one point we went 25 miles without any place to fill up with water. Considering it was 99 degrees that was a bit scary. Turns out we didn't need the extra water but we came VERY close. The day consisted of huge uphill climbs broken up by short downhills and flat road. We stopped at a gas station to get some chips and refill our water bottles in New Waverly, and met an interesting man. At first glance, the man was probably in his late 50's, but after talking to him, we learned he was actually in his early 70's! After climbing about 1500 feet in elevation we asked him how much longer we would experience these massive hills. He told us that "hill country" didn't START for about 200 miles. While we mulled over this bad news (we thought the hills today were fairly tough and we're not even in hill country yet!) the man sat in his car and played some scratch off lottery games. We returned the map he had loaned us, and he smiled and said "well, now I gotta throw out all these winners!" As we got ready to leave, he rolled down his window to say goodbye. "Well, now I gotta get home to beat the old lady," he joked (....we hope - can't make this stuff up). The rest of the day was fairly bland... lots of hills and very tired legs. We rode through Sam Houston Wildlife Preserve. Earlier in the day we called ahead to the Check Point Lodge Inn in Richards, TX to make a reservation, and Doris ( the Inn keeper) told us to pick up some groceries in Richards and that she would drive them to the Inn in her truck. When we arrived in Richards we felt like we had entered an old Western movie (see pictures below). We later learned that most of the buildings are over 100 years old and haven't been renovated since! Doris met us at the grocery store in her pickup truck and gave us directions to the Mexican Hill Ranch (yes... I said ranch!) When we made the reservation we had no idea what to expect. There is very little information on the internet about Check Point as they are just putting together their website. We got their number from Adventure Cycling maps and the reason we were staying was because it was the only place to stay for many miles. When we first saw the place it felt like we had entered the Field of Dreams (for lodging, not baseball) It was 80 acres with cows, chickens and pigs. The lodge was created by her husband Ernie a few years back and you can tell that he is a perfectionist. He told us how his army friends from around the world would come to spend time on his and Doris' cattle ranch, so he decided to fix up the guest house, put in a pool, and make it an official Inn. The facilities are incredible! The pool was clean and each room is immaculate and has its own theme. Our room has a great Harley Davidson theme, is very well air conditioned and has free wifi. The bathrooms are located in out- houses (see pics) but they have toilets that flush and electricity and smell great as they are made out of cedar. After swimming and talking to Ernie about the ranch, we cooked dinner in the 'cyclist kitchen' located next to our room. Over all, today was like being in a 6 hour spin class lead by our friend Mitch Mailman, in a room that is 99 degrees, while sipping 100 degree water to cool down. We are certainly looking forward to the weekend but are sorry we can't stay another night at the Check Point Lodge Inn. Not quite sure where we are going tomorrow!!!
Side note... we have noticed EVERYTHING in Texas has the 'Texas Star' on it (belts, hats, houses, and even toilet paper holders...see pic below)
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Check out our route at the link below!
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