Lonely Miles

Following up a short ride (and overnighter) to the lake, with all its lounging and picture-taking and such, I was hankering for something more substantial. I wanted to “stretch one out” as we say. Maybe it would be good to get into a rhythm, and stay there for several hours. One of my favorite 100 km loops takes me out for a huge dose of lonely country, and has a perfect refuel stop in Muenster, Texas at its northwest limit. The two photos I’ve included here do nothing to illustrate the great variety of terrain and sights along the way, but they do capture that sense of solitude one can have in many sections of this route. Didn’t take many photos today…didn’t want to break the rhythm. I just got into a groove and pedaled myself silly. This route is medicinal.

I’ve been considering this as a route for one of my annual Rambles.  It is significantly longer, and has more climbing, than the prior two routes we’ve used. But it still has plenty of gravel. I suspect that several of the regulars would love it, but there might be a goodly number of my guests that aren’t up to 60+ miles of hilly gravel in December. More pondering to do on this, I guess.  Maybe plan this route for a different group in the fall?