March 25, 2017.  Buescher State Park Texas to Houston Texas, 78 miles, and 1776 miles from the Pacific.  A great day to be on the bike.  Beautifully clear Texas skies with relatively cool temperatures and even a tailwind now and then.  I wake up in camp happy excited for the chance to get to Houston to see my host son Dominik on his birthday.  I call and make arrangements to be picked up in north of Houston to avoid city traffic.   I ride 20 miles then stop for breakfast in La Grange. I meet a nice lady who buys me breakfast and gives me an alternative route to Houston.  She is the coordinator for the MS 150 rides in Texas and knows the area roads well.  Her son is a semi pro bicycle rider.   Her suggestions turn out to be a golden.  And once again I am taken care of by the kindness of a perfect stranger.  Seems like trail magic happens every day if I am paying attention and paying forward.  After breakfast I noticed my body is feeling a little drained today.  By early afternoon I start to feel the signs of bonking.  I know the feelings well enough not to ignore them.   Shaky legs and fuzzy vision.  I down a banana, a power bar, and some Gatorade but I am still dogging it.  At 1 PM I find a shade tree along side the road and take a nice siesta.  Before I lay down I check my surroundings for fire ants and snakes. I awake feeling better but still dogging it.  I eat a tuna fish sandwich and some salty potato chips and stop by a roadside stand for some ice cream and more Gatorade.  My Energy finally returns to near normal and I make it to our scheduled meeting point in time.   I get a big hug from the birthday boy and we drive to Houston with my bike in the back of his car.  I will spend the next couple days giving Horse some much needed love and maintenance, catching up on some rest, and giving Camp Happy good cleaning before I begin the second half of this journey.
Cheers
Freebird