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

- randorides

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

- randorides

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

- randorides