On Day 61 (riding day 50) I rode 47 miles from Richards to Coldspring Texas.  Much of the route took me through Sam Houston National Forest.  But part of the ride was a bit unnerving as I rode out of New Waverly on route 150 the traffic picked up, especially truck traffic.  The road was two lanes with hills and curves that made line of sight rarely over a half mile, with little to no shoulders.  I couldn’t believe the speed limit was 70 mph.

One might ask what does a lone cross-country unicyclist think about during all those long miles out in the middle of no where day after day?  I would answer.  I think – just stay up, just stay up, one more revolution, just stay up.  That’s what occupies my mind most of the time.  But I am amazed at the process.

The smallest bump can take me down, but I can ride over a curb without going down as long as I see the obstacle.  My eyes take in the bump in the road and send a message to the brain. Picture a bump.  Brain says “got it”.  I’ll describe the nature of the bump, calculate the estimated time of arrival and send a message to the leg and core muscles to be ready for the bump.  Brain says “muscles you see that bump ahead”?  Muscles “not my job, that’s what the eyes are for”.  Brain “Whatever, be ready to react to the bump and send me feedback so I can tell you what to do next as we actually ride over the bump”.  Muscles “too late we are powering through the bump right now so figure out what we should do next”, Muscles “What, you say there is another bump ahead?  Good grief.

This goes on at least 10 times in the time it takes you to read the previous paragraph unless you’re a slow reader like me, then it happens about 20 times.  This is at about 12 mph.  At 17 mph, well you get the idea.

Saw a green snake today, it would have gone well with the pink one we saw in Big Bend.

Stats for day 61: Rode 47.71 miles at 11.9 mph, Max=17.6 mph, Ascent=1896′, Descent=2014, Max elevation=517, Min elevation=196, Ave heart rate=107, Max heart rate=143, Ave temp=74, Calories burned=1287. Total trip miles=1801.  After 50 riding days I am averaging 36 miles per riding day.