Kickapoo Creek Revisited

Route does a loop and crosses Kickapoo Creek twice~!

I've ridden this route many times, since it was the first 100km Rando Route I made when I got to Texas. Made a few changes to the original route, but nothing too drastic. About time I did an informational video

Same start place in Avery, TX and several other of my routes. Either you start at the 7-11 (NO, not the 7-Eleven you're used to seeing everywhere) or the local Dollar Store (which opens at 8:00 AM). It's the 7-11 this time. Rolled over for a late morning start.

Big sign at Phillips Hardwood outside DeKalb, TX

 Grabbed a bar and headed eastward on Hwy. 82 to lite traffic and a headwind. Managed to catch a
little of the NETT (North East Texas Trail) before DeKalb. Nice riding on trail leaves between rows of trees before exiting by the Phillip's Hardwood mill. They have a nice sign there about trees.

Short stop for receipt at the Donut Shop. Lady working today from Cambodia. She kept asking "How are you?" I gave various answers, multiple times before it came to me... she was asking "How old are you?" "Not 80 yet", was my answer. The conversation deteriorated from there as I headed for the door.

Kickapoo Creek south near Boxelder, TX

New route adjustment goes south on Runnels St./FM992. No bike lane and no traffic to speak of. The turn west made for easy riding, as the tailwind pushed me into a false notion that I was fast! Stopped for a dead hog photo.. near the same place as months ago I did have a near-run in with a group of wild boars that nearly took me out on an dark early ride. No traffic along these roads as I turned at the Lydia junction on Road 44 toward Boxelder town.

Met a way-out runner, running in the traffic lanes before Boxelder. Left turn on Rd. 412 in Boxelder. Chev PU was parked in the middle of the road. Driver was out chatting with rancher and another friend. We all waved as I sped by toward the Kickapoo Creek Bridge. Short stop at the Bridge. Water was low and it was quiet. After a few pictures I was off into side winds northward toward Clarksville.

Attack dogs? NO! I put away my Mace bomb!

Big ranches & cotton fields s along FM412 as the sun was out and temps were nearing 70. Good riding weather for December in Texas.

Several miles on dirt road  4115. It was all dried out and fast. Toward the end, I noticed several dogs on the road ahead.. OH, oh. Got out my police certified Mace, shook it up good and got ready. These dogs were friendly and didn't even bark!

Northward to Clarksville on new, rough Co. Rd. 910. Missed several turns in Clarksville, but can't get lost there. Made my usual stop at McDonald's and got the normal poor service. After a hot-fudge sundae topped with GU Gel... bottle refill, I was off thru town and into more headwind riding back to Avery.

Kickapoo Creek north near Annona, TX

Wide bike lane and a bit more traffic as I plowed eastward, hoping the roadside trees would ease the headwind. One picture of note was a photo stop at Kickapoo Creek. Yes, the Creek starts way up north of Annona and goes south by Boxelder before joining Cuthand Creek and then the Sulphur River further south.


Kickapoo Creek Video

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Choctaw Travel Ride

Choctaw Travel route goes to Oklahoma

73 degrees today~! Time to hit the road. Brief Texas winter warm spell means more comfy riding time. Wanted to get started real early for a short rando route ride, but never got things sorted out till around 11 am. By then it was already "hot", so just a long sleeve Arctic Guard base layer under my black/white Colorado jersey.

Slight headwind as I peddled along on Hwy. 82 westward past Graceland and roadside cut trees. They are someday widening Hwy. 82 from Clarksville to DeKalb. Bike lane was wide, smooth enough and protected most of the way by cut-in rumble strips. Several sections of road repair had been done and some equipment was roadside by bridge upgrades. 

The turn northward on Hwy. 37 @ Clarksville brought tailwinds and smoother riding. Also wide bike lanes here skirted on the left by more rumble strips. More trees and water along the road as I made my way northward easily at 18-20mph with the 38T chain-ring spinning the small cog (10T) on the rear. Several rollers before a cute named town of "Dimple". It was mostly a few homes and a long ago closed store/gas station. Someone had nice multi-level birdhouses out front for sale, which offered a quick photo-op.

As I was crossing the Red River, noticed a group of people on their knees facing east. Huh? Had to stop and check it out. Praying? After further study, looks like they were collecting acorns under this huge tree. After crossing the bridge, a colorful "Oklahoma" sign greeted travelers and then the Choctaw Travel Center.

Ladies poise at Choctaw Travel

Choctaw has only a trailer and food truck active, as they are rebuilding the main building. Had a nice chat with one on the ladies working inside and managed to convince her to poise with her friend for a photo. Left a rando card, filled my bottle at the sink, bought a Milky Way Bar ($1.29) and soon turned southward into a predictable headwind.

Now slogging along much slower than the other way, I did pass a guy on a cruiser bike, riding beside his walking friend on the other side of the road. He seemed little amazed at seeing anyone out here riding. The headwind offered me a chance for more roadside video/photos. I turned around for a nice shot of horses at a pristine stock pond. About that time, someone on a ATV with dogs chasing passed by the field on the other side of the pond. Horses were a little spooked and there went my super video scene. Also stopped at the Hwy. 82 jct., to capture some video of the holiday decorated wagon at the BBQ stand.

2-level outhouse...we know who's on the bottom!

Eastward on Hwy. 82 was busier with pre-Christmas traffic. Wide bike lanes made it tolerable. I stopped at Annona to check out some decked out Jeeps for sale. I thought they were a little overpriced @ $10,900. Nearing Avery, did a turn around and took a shot of this tall outhouse. It had two doors: one on top labeled "Politicians" and the one under it labelled "Voters". I take it shit falls down and ...well, you know the rest. Further down the road was a unique metal work of the Loch Ness Monster "Nessy" buried part way in the ground. Looked real enough for a digital shot.

Still nice and warm as I rolled into the Avery 7-11. Picked up 2 slices of pizza to take home for the Ms. Overall good day for a rando ride.

Choctaw Travel Video

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Holiday Spirit: Spoke Lights For The Windmill

December weather around here has been up and down. Days of 30 degree mornings followed by paltry highs of only 48F~! Then the next week some rain, clearing skies and temps going up to hi 60's. Sure unlike San Diego weather for riding... cool mornings(jackets) followed by quick warm-ups and arm-warmer riding all day. I finding out the winds here are generally from the SE or SW and kicks your butt if you venture out into open pastureland. Not to be dismayed, I am starting to dial it in for the shorter rando type rides. Not much daylight for the longer stuff.

Old windmill near North East Texas Trail

Holiday season is upon us and I thought I would light up the old windmill for all to see. It's an old 8' tall specimen that the previous home owner left with the house. All white, with some bent legs, etc. I managed to take the head off, open it up, clean and grease up the bushings. Spins real easy now. Also painted the blades with the patriotic red, white and blue. This took hours to finish.. Cleaning, prepping and masking off. Hopefully it will hold up to the weather.

The tower was easy enough to put lights on. I ordered some of those multi-colored string lights with the remote controller. It's a 110v to DC system with an inline controller box. Putting the string lights on the tower took several tries... at first I followed the diagonal braces with the lights, but later found out it didn't show well at night. I changed that over to following the legs and horizontal braces. Shows much better now. Also how to attach the string lights to the tower? Of course, zip ties? I kept re-routing the lights, so opted for some tough Duck Tape..white of course. Small strips. Should last for a month.

Next up was the tail-fin. Couldn't use the 110V string lights, since the tail would be rotating every time the wind changes. Opted for a AA-battery pak string lights.. like we used to use on the bike frames. Bolted the pak onto the fin and used little clips to hold the string lights on the fin outline. The batteries seem to last about 4 nights. You can change the pattern with a remote. White lights.

Paint and lights for nighttime cheers!

Now for the spinning blades. That was the easiest one. Bolted on two opposing spoke lights. These had to be waterproof and sturdy. For sure. The only work when your wheel is moving and it's dark out. Perfect. Each had only one AAA battery. I opted for the Energizer Li batteries vs the cheaper ones. These lights show different colors and patterns, depending on the blade speed. No wind = no light! Saving batteries. Quite a show when the wind blows hard. These lights shut off with a button on the side.

We turn the lights on in the evening when the sun sets... and off just after sunrise.
I ended up making a short video of this project:

Windmill Lights Video

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Back On The Dirt Again...Never A Dull Moment Here

Yes, the real Graceland Ranch

Here we go again. Things have settled down somewhat and now have a half-butt riding schedule. My TX Rando routes now number only 2, but 4 more in the works...including Graceland To Detroit & Walmart To Woodstock! Yes, there is a Woodstock and Graceland here.. not far from our place either! Surprised at how many forests and logging roads around here.

I'll be passing along my SD area routes to the hard working RBA there...Dave Danovsky. Tried to convince several SDrandos to take them over, but seems the liability issue is a concern. There are many great, hard routes...including MTB and various gravel routes too. I'm sure some will be chucked and die out... but the videos & memories will live on!

Alan Gustin riding RAT-1000 on the NETT

Been busy with various house things, exploring new gravel routes and NETT (North East Texas
Trail), which is just behind the house. Met a rider the other day on the Trail over by Dekalb(Alan Gustin) riding the RAT-1000 as an ITT (Race Across Texas-1000miles). Never heard of that one, so I checked things out and cobbled together the route. Already rode some of that.. mostly all gravel roads, but zigs and zags all over the place, making it's way west to NMexico. I'll do that whole thing soon. It's a bikepacker route. I'm not set up for overnights, just long rides now. OH, Alan had to bail out after 2 days due to achilles tendon pain and not keeping to his planned schedule.

Robert Axle Project Thru-Axle for Diverge gravel bike

Weather here is a whole lot different that the SD area weather. It actually rains here! That means I had to set up the trainer. Well, the Specialized Diverge gravel bike's axle wouldn't fit, so had to order a special axle from Robert's Axle Project. Hi-quality thru-axle for the trainer that you can just leave-on for gravel riding also. A little pricey too. Modified my old Performance Bike basic trainer to fit the wider axles. Just cut down the right side axle holder by 1/2". put it back together and added some Loctite Red to the shaft/sleeve connection. Bingo, that worked good.

North East Texas Trail (NETT) just behind house.

Zaharah has a newish bike now. Specialized Roll. Nice riding bike with wide 2.1" tires and single chain-ring. Set it up on the trainer for her during the rainy days. Joe Morgan sent it out from his shop in Temecula... packed with goodies and of course, super-deal mode.

Been lagging on my video work. Have lots of footage, but just haven't put it together as a viable story/route yet. Plenty of roads & paths to include around here. In the meantime, I managed to join the LSR (Lone Star Randonneurs) To ride a LSR Brevet around here, you need to not only be a RUSA member, but also join up LSR. Many of their brevets start around Dallas/Fort Worth area...a whole lotta miles from home.

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Road Finds In Texas

Avery, TX: NE Texas Trail is behind far treeline

Yes, finally made the move to our place in Avery, TX. A little different here from San Marcos, CA, not only the weather, but the riding is too. Now living next to the undeveloped NE Texas Trail.. longest one in Texas when complete.


OH, done some recon on thatTrail already.. wrong bike.. gravel bike...Diverge with 650b tires... needed swamp buggy tires and mosquito repellent instead. As I indicated.. undeveloped RR bed... now.


Been riding around doing route recon mostly of late. Have 2 new local rando approved routes and hopefully more on the way. These farm to market (FM) roads have # instead of names.. haven't seen figured out the numbering sequence yet.. 1701...3315, etc. \

Only store in town: A real 7-11?

No traffic to speak of. Clean and chip seal is rougher than the CA version. Minimal trash roadside, unlike CA land. Drivers swing wide and wave. Probably think I'm lost.. which I have been already.

Rode up to Oklahoma the other day by accident. Just kept going, looking for a "Welcome" sign. Never did see one. Only managed 2 road finds so far. A nice pristine Texas DOT jacket and a .38 cal. semi-auto gun! What a state!

 More later when I get things sorted out.

- randorides

Stagecoach 400 Ride-In

Our micro ride down to Start route

The annual Stagecoach 400 bikepacking route starts down in San Diego this year. At the USS
Midway Park under the "Kissing Couple" statue. Interesting place to start. Great for a ride down to check things out.

Several of the local randos/riders were interested, but only John Fry and my buddy, John Mestemacher were serious. Start time for the SC-400 was 0800 down in San Diego by the bay. Needed to start early to allow plenty of time to make it.

Stepped out the door and realized I might need a vest for this morning freshness. Home made reflective vest on, I rolled into the local 7-Eleven before 0400 for a ice fill-up. A little spit of drizzle and I plunged down to meet John Fry at the bottom of R'cho Santa Fe/Melrose Dr. John pulled in a few minutes later, lights blazing. After a short chit-chat about the mini-drizzle, we were off up the climb to meet John Mestemacher near LaCosta Ave.

2019 Stagecoach 400 riders at Start

There he was, rash and all. John had gotten into some poison oak on a recent MTB ride and his arms were rashed-up and itching. Which way do we go? Don't know, just keep riding. John led up Garden View Way and down to Encinitas. We stopped at Swami's Park at the announced time of 0515, enjoyed the waves below and left on time at 0520. Only the three of us southward on quite roads and swooshing waves.

Up over Torrey Pines and down thru Rose Canyon, where work is still going on there. Short stop at Anza Cove for a bathroom break and shower fill the bottles. Soon off into the sunrise onto Pacific Highway into San Diego proper.

Quiet waterfront till we got near the "Kissing Couple" Park. There bike-packers were prepping their rides for the journey ahead. Got a few riders on video, chatted with some I knew and cruised the pits, looking at the different bike set-ups. I should be riding today instead of hanging around in "wantabe" mode.

Real Deal: 2019 Stagecoach 400 Route

At 0800, they promptly left the harbor and started the long ride up to Laguna. We followed them out to the Sweetwater Bike Path and a bit further on the gravel trail. Time to finish our own loop and head toward the ocean.

Bayshore Bikeway was laced with headwind, as usual. John M. did most of the pulling and we rotated on occasion. Nice and sunny as we waited for the next Ferry. John M. bought tickets for us and we relaxed on the short trip to the Convention Center. We rolled thru town, around Anza Cove and made our final stop at the McDonald's near Rose Canyon.

John-John watching riders on Sweetwater Trail

Of course, no regular ice cream, but they did have choc shakes! Go figure. John Fry bought one for us both. Add a pack of GU Gel and I was good for another 2 hours of tempo riding. John had to tell a story of his recent trip up to Oregon and his daughter's "scare the neighbors dog away with gunshots". Interesting to say the least.. Reminded me of stepping out the door of our hi-plains home east of Colorado Springs and lobbing a few rounds at the packs of feral dogs on the loose. Managed to drop a few and had to "return them to nature" like a good guy would.

Chit-chat and relaxing on the Ferry crossing

Nice riding along the coast and soon John F. led us via Falcon and LaCosta Ave to John M's home. A few good-bys (not much hand shaking, due to oak rash) and we were off downhill where John Fry peeled off for home. Long day for him. He's riding good after his foot surgery. I wobbled up the hill and thru San Marcos town into a final 7-Eleven stop. Greeted there by owner Najib Azzam and a free ice cream for my efforts. Thirty minutes later, I was home and eating everything in sight.

Interesting ride of 116 miles/187km with John-John. John M. later reported new rash on his back! Trip to the dermatologist tomorrow for sure. Managed to throw together a video of some of our ride today.


2019 Stagecoach 400 Ride-In Video


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Najib's New Ride

Najib's new carbon ride.

Najib Azzam is a friend who sort-of wants to get into cycling more. He has two 7-Eleven stores in San Marcos that keeps him busy. Several years ago, I hooked him up with Joe Morgan @ Nytro for a order-in on a new SCOTT Scale 710+ MTB. That's the 3" tire, 27.5 MTB hard-tail that weighs in at 27#.

Najib was having back problems, so his new FELT road bike didn't get much use. He decided to get a more "comfortable" road/bike path bike. Thus, he followed Joe up to The Bike Shop in Temecula and ordered in a new 2019 Specialized Diverge Expert X1 carbon ride. For a week, we planned on a short ride to check out his new bike.

Rando John Fry (recovering from foot surgery) would join up on this easy route, along with Sam Thomas, driving down from Sun City. Sam needed the training miles, since he has been lax with cycling over the last few months. Easy ride for him. Also Keith Olsen, groin pull, sounded interested in this too, since he was looking for something easy, not to aggravate the pull any more.

I needed to get in some "rando" mileage, so I rolled over to Escondido early. Picked up a few donut holes for the guys at Peterson Donuts on Escondido Blvd. Met Sam as I was leaving. He had the same idea as me. I gave him my donut bag and headed over to the San Marcos start at Najib's Mulberry 7-Eleven.

Sam rolled in last, and with some hoopla, Najib, John Fry, Sam Thomas and I rolled out around 11:30 to bright, sunny skies. light winds and coolish temps.

Sam ate all the donuts!

Easy route over to Escondido via Country Club and then up old Hwy 395. Najib was already
struggling on the small hills, even though we were soft peddling. We turned onto Camino del Rey, where Najib stopped to answer a cell call. Some job emergency. Then another stop.. etc. I mentioned to him the need to take time in your life to leave the job at home and enjoy the ride!

We had some chit-chat at Bonsall AM/PM, before deciding to ride toward O'side via the Bike Path. Normal easy route for us, not for Najib. Stopped at Mance Buchannon Park and decided to continue on to the ocean. By that time Najib has a sore butt from sitting. We needed another option to get him home.

Ahhh. The Sprinter Train. The group split up and I prompted Najib onto the next train eastward. It was a little crowded in the bike area after a few stops, but we finally made it to San Marcos. After the short ride to 7-Eleven, I parted ways and continue on with my mileage ride. Sam's car was still in the 7-Eleven lot, so I left a card on his side window.

This VIDEO somewhat depicts what happened.

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Round Wind Trip = No Mirror

2 modes of Bike Peddler Mirrors. I needed the long one.

During last weeks Rainbow Brevet ride down, my trusty Bike Peddler Mirror disappeared. I had just used one dollop of Superglue to test fit it to the new helmet visor. It was long gone somewhere in road-trash land. I'll just get another one and glue the crap out of it.

REI has them. $18 with some credit back at the end of the year. Too much. $12-14 online, with added shipping. NOT. I'll check with my buddy Joe Morgan at The Bike Shop in Temecula. Yes, he has them in stock. Time for a rando ride up to pick one up and check on the Gravel Summit next Saturday (Feb. 2, 2019).

A little cool for me as I checked out at 0700 from 7-Eleven and headed north. Sun was nice, shade was cool. Got into Temecula a little early, so it's a donut shop stop for me. Yunez and R'cho CA road shop. Buttermilk and a added choc/choc cake donut. I was hungry and needed the kick. Rolled over to Stagecoach Park and sat in the sun for awhile. Popped a Tylenol for the displaced Scapula and peddled over to The Bike Shop.

Bumped into some rider guy at the door. Him and wife recently got new TREKs and he needed full clothing kit. Joe was there to help him out. After some chat with bikepacker Randy, Joe brought the mirror over. WRONG. Shorty version (compact). Joe didn't know they had 2 models. Hopefully, he'll get the real version soon. After checking over some new Specialized Sawtooth gravel tires (look good to me. I'll try them on my next 700x42 tire change) and chatting with the boys about the Summit next Saturday, I'm off to warmer temps sans arm warmers and jacket. I also stuffed some SHOT BLOKS into my bag for ballast

Wind was blowing real good now. NE. I was flying back. Decided to cut over to Bonsall via smooth Hwy. 76. Big tail wind into Bonsall McDonald's. 59 minutes from Joe's Shop to a sit down! New record for me... and on the gravel WTB 650b tires too. Finished up the ride with a jog over to Vista via N. Santa Fe and back home to San Marcos again. Checked into the TwinOaks 7-Eleven and gulped a Advil for the shoulder inflammation.

2-tab day for me and with the ride yesterday, turned out OK. But, NO MIRROR.

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Backwater Blues Revival Ride

Ride to fundraiser on gloomy day

Often times I'll "mix it up" and do odd things as part of the normal rando route. The livens things up and makes one a little more diversified vs the normal cue route (sometimes the "reverse version" of a route makes it more interesting). Several times I've rolled into Biggs Harley-Davidson/San Marcos after a ride and see what's going on and listen to the live bands there. Usually the riders will have a "pancake" breakfast before 0900 and the group rolls out for a purposeful ride, returning before 1 PM to more food and live music. I did this last in September, where the rookie group performing was "Graveyard Witch". About time for another go at it.

Weather was crappy today (for SoCal). On the cool side with low overcast and almost drizzle. Rain in the forecast for today thru tonight. I checked out of 7-Eleven start early light and made good time on the Diverge gravel bike, looping around and ending up at the coast. Stopped for a few video shots of surfers waiting for the non-wave to come in and the busy dreary overcast beach volleyball action at Ponto Beach.

I was under-dressed and getting colder by the minute as I headed back inland and into drizzle/mist. Been a good day to pack a jacket, but nada for me this trip. Finally picked up some more gravel and finished up the route in San Marcos. Now time to ride over to Biggs and check out the reputable Backwater Blues Band.

Overcast and drizzle was the mantra for the afternoon. I managed to catch the National Anthem and a few songs by the band, before shivering myself back home to dry warmth. Band was good, but the rider attendance was lacking due to the weather.

Might try another Band ride on the 26th, when Black Market III performs. One of the better blues/rock bands in San Diego area.

 Backwater Blues Band Ride Video

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