Day T3: Who's that Waco on a Bike

February 7, 2023

Cedar Hill to Waco TX

Today's ride would most certainly make the top 10 of my cycling career, maybe even the top 5. It was that good. If you're thinking you can't find adventure in the US then you're wrong. Today would rival anything I've done in SE Asia.

The Airbnb last night was very pleasant in a beautiful part of town, although the stay was too short. As I wrote on the review, the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful, very safe. The hosts are friendly and responsive. But since time is limited, the show had to go on. This location was picked on purpose because it was close to an Orange Theory fitness location that for whatever reason I had picked and booked the class a month in advance during the planning stages of this trip. I had no idea why, but just a feeling that this class was going to rock.

A very long time ago before covid, my wife (then fiancee) and I were in Vegas and booked a package of classes that never expired. Well a few years later, that is now, I was going to use these classes again.

Here it is, in Cedar Hill. I rolled up on a bike and later when checking into the class, a few people commented on this fact.

I guess you really have to trust your feelings, because I had this sense that the studio was going to be worth it. Not only was that the case, it exceeded all expectations. This was the best fitness class I have ever done at all the Orange Theory studios, and I have just now done over 500 classes . But this coach did some things that I've never seen in Shanghai and I'll explain in a bit.

It all started by the friendly staff at the desk who started using my name right away and then the coach. It was quite apparent that she had a passion for fitness and went above and beyond her job to build a community. People were lingering before and after the classes and chatting, the exact same wicked vibes as in Shanghai and carrying loud conversations. I was already hooked.

As always, the challenge is to say where I'm from, but this time I went with Vegas because that's where I got the class pack membership. The system computer confirmed it. With that sorted, I told them I was riding a bike from Dallas to Austin in stages and they thought I was crazy. The coach said I'm a Forrest Gump on the bike. But the whole class loved this shit and the coach hyped me up on the mic. Everyone started asking questions about the bike trip.

The biggest concern that people had was the weather, and the fact it would rain. They asked me what I would do. I said rather stupidly, "I'll chill and get a coffee while waiting out the rain" like this was Thailand or something. Newsflash: it isn't.

The concerned looks on their faces told me this was not the best answer. I then asked them some questions about how long it would rain for and the consensus seemed to be all day. The girl beside me on the treadmill said, "Maybe there'll be a few storms and you'll scoot through", but I started getting worried that I wouldn't be so lucky.

Later on I learned from other conversations that Dallas had had a major snow storm the week before I got here. They asked me what I was doing last week, and at least I was switched on enough to say "Chilling out in Vegas". Then I told them I brought the bike over on the plane. The whole studio seemed to be eating this shit up, and the coach was on fire on the mic calling out cues. The class itself was brutal, one of the hardest I've done, and this was even before the bike ride. Already close to 900 calories burned.

What the coach did was quite exceptional. She used the names of many people, probably close to 10 at a time. I was of course one of them but in terms of this skill it is extremely difficult to remember people's names and use them. Anyone who can master this is a god or goddess in my eyes. I have tried countless times and am certainly getting better at it. You would think a teacher could do this, but this is not the case. The fact that our fitness coach could do this so well was probably the highlight of the day.

She also hyped up the room with an insane energy level I've never seen before in my life. The whole class reciprocated. Later I was told, "We're a really rowdy bunch around here." Well no shit. If there is time, I definitely want to come back. I left a raving review online.

Later I asked if there was a Starbucks or somewhere to chill out, and fortunately there was nearby. I definitely made the most of it. Directly across the parking lot was 'Massage Envy'. I envy anyone who can afford those high prices to enjoy the massages. I have done none all trip, and that will have to wait until returning to Asia.

Finally setting off, it was almost noon after all that faffing about.

Everything is bigger in Texas including the sports drinks.

Love Love's They saved my butt on Sunday night, as the first oasis that was open during that stint as I could finally exit the interstate near Denton. They are one of the few 24 hour chains.

It was going to be a very long ride today. Over 85 miles, or close to 140 km. Unfortunately there wasn't much choice, as I had already prebooked all my Airbnbs as well as Orange Theory classes. The entire route was decided on both of those things actually, and once committed I had to stick to it. For both Airbnb and Orange Theory, if you "late cancel" you'll be dinged a penalty so this basically forces you to commit. In my case, I had to commit to the route despite every fiber in my being saying not to do this.

Another thing is that during the planning stages I knew that the stint from Dallas (Cedar Hill) to Waco was going to be the longest and hardest. Back at the fitness class earlier today, people thought I was crazy for attempting this. But the fact of the matter is there is just nothing in between. Once past Waco it does get easier so that's what I kept telling myself.

Eventually this had to happen. I'm not a Trump supporter, never have been, but at least he shares the same contempt I have for covid lockdowns.

At some point a car stopped and asked me if I knew where county road 210 was. I had no idea but looked it up and helped him find it. Cliff and I then got chatting, he works for the US Postal service and is delivering parcels off route for someone else. He was stunned when I told him I was from Canada and learned I was on a bike tour. He did mention some places he had been to in my home country with great partying and I took notes. Then he had to leave to keep going for his work.

The next series of roads would be extremely rural and countless dog chases. Some of them were extremely big and vicious and not all were confined to properties. They would be running loose and hell bent on chasing me. As I quickly learned, the usual tactics for dealing with dogs in Thailand were not going to work here. Here with the sheer size of the dogs (this is Texas after all), you could either outpedal them or wait for a car to come by and use that as a blocker. Most of the time I could successfully outpedal them, but on occasion they would try to bite and this was super scary.

Eventually the road got busier as I turned onto Texas highway #81 and the dogs disappeared.

By this point, the winds had changed. Looking at the forecast I knew this was going to happen as the cold front from the north was chasing down here pretty quick. At first there were headwinds but these stopped and shifted, so I knew I was getting a tailwind! For the next 30 miles I just roared through.

Stopped for an amazing burger and chips at a cafe in Hillsboro. Amazing place, RK Cafe, I give it top recommendations. All this food and unlimited cokes for $15

The problem is that after lingering around this cafe, it was absolutely pouring with rain. There was no escape now. It was not going to let up. I caught a few lucky breaks with the rain subsiding every now and then, but it didn't take long until I was totally soaked.

It wasn't long until it got dark as well. This was really not looking good. My GPS kept rerouting me on backroads that ran parallel to the Interstate, so it was either use those or bike on the service road beside the freeway.

The safest option would have been to use the service roads as there is essentially zero traffic and there are plenty of places to stop like gas stations and the like. Plus I could make excellent time with the tailwind. Unfortunately that incident with the state trooper on Sunday night kept haunting me, and I was afraid it would happen again with a trooper that wasn't so nice. All it would take is for car drivers on the Interstate to make phone calls to the police, and I would get stopped again. It was either take that risk, or take the side roads, so I went for Option B.

That ended up being ridiculously hard. As I quickly figured out, these roads were all on the other side of the railroad tracks and the quality deteriorated significantly. The condition of the road got so bad that I have seen far better in Cambodia for example. My bags started falling off in the cold and dark rain and I was panicking trying to find a solution to keep them on. Eventually I scrambled with something that was workable and kept going. The road passed through a few towns that had really scary vibes to them. A pickup truck driver kept going back and forth and around in circles, and I was really scared for my safety so I found a hiding place and waited it out about half an hour.

Not only that, but once the road got a little better, there was an incident with what I'm sure was a drunk driver. He started weaving all over the place, turning left into oncoming traffic with no warning, and almost clipped a car. The driver let out a loud honk. He then cut way off into the shoulder where I was. He certainly would have hit me but I have had years of experience doing bike tours in Asian countries where crazy driving like this is the norm. So I knew what to do. I held back and got off the road and watched this idiot do all kinds of things like signal without turning, weave across the center line, and God knows what else. But I wasn't about to panic, this didn't scare me.

Eventually I found a gas station oasis and chilled out. I was cold and soaked, especially my feet, and thankfully there was only a mile left to this Airbnb.

There's a long story behind this one, and I certainly didn't expect an Airbnb this good. I had originally booked a camper in a similar location but a couple wanted to stay a whole week. This was all discussed back in forth while I was on the airplane from Vancouver to Dallas using the in-flight wifi. I agreed for the change, and he said that's awesome, the host would only charge an additional $36 for the upgrade. All told I paid just over $50 for this.

It is the best Airbnb I have ever had on tour. To say this is a reward for the day's biking is the understatement of the century. Just when I thought the touring couldn't get any harder, I remembered the wise words from the Uber driver yesterday who got me from Denton to cental Dallas. He said, "You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Say to yourself, you got this. You can ride that bike from Dallas to Austin."

Today's ride: 136 km (84 miles)
Total: 1,108 km (688 miles)

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