Day 44 - Silsbee,TX to Merryville ((Continued)

By

​I picked up a new bicycling accessory today at the hardware store in Silsbee - a wooden dowel. The clerk at the store had seen me ride up on my bike and as I was checking out she asked whether the dowel was to fend off dogs. Absolutely. There are a lot of wild dogs in this part of the country who seem not to like bicyclists.

Like every bicyclist who has ridden extensively in the Southeast I have often been chased by aggressive dogs. I know of riders who have been bitten and riders who have been knocked of their bikes by dogs. Years ago in Louisiana a vicious dog leaped out of the woods from across the street and was aggressively pursuing me. A motorist coming the other way saw I was in danger and swerved over and hit the dog. 

I carry mace but it can be difficult to use, especially in windy conditions. This time through I decided to “talk softly and carry a big stick!”



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 61 - Tallahassee, FL to Greenville, FL

By
Image
​I spent a delightful Easter Sunday pedaling through the deep forests, bayous and rolling hills of northern Florida. This is a part of Florida that most visitors never see. Most zip up and down interstates 75 and 95 or across interstate 10. Around here they call this area the “real Florida “.   I spent the evening in a magnificent bed and breakfast owned and operated by a very kind and caring hostess. I will always remember sitting on her splendid porch looking out as thunderstorms rolled through from the west. And I loved sleeping on a feather bed! Greenville was the boyhood home of the great Ray Charles. A number of years ago the town erected a statue of Ray in the park. His daughter sang at the commemoration and stayed in the same bed and breakfast at which I stayed. The Bad Attorney Billboard award for the day goes to the many deserving attorneys at Morgan & Morgan. There were a number of things about their billboard that I found disturbing, starting their use of the word “...
Read more

Day 65 - Palatka, FL to St Augustine, FL

By
Image
​Finished!  It was truly a magical journey - had outstanding weather throughout (except the headwinds!), met many nice and interesting people along the way, both the body and the bicycle performed well, enjoyed fantastic local cuisines, blessed by courteous drivers, did many fun and interesting activities, and enjoyed great scenery! Oh, and many amusing Bad Attorney Billboards.  Today’s Bad Attorney Billboard was fittingly climactic. It’s from Ron Sholes, whose slogan is, “YOU HURT? WE FIGHT!”. Mr. Sholes has even managed to secure a portion of this catchy slogan for his phone number. And his award winning Billboard features a scowling man, whom I assume to be Mr. Sholes, rolling up his shirt sleeve, apparently in preparation for a fight. This is a contender for the Bad Attorney Billboard of the entire trip! Now that I have at long last arrived in St Augustine, I am going to set out to find the Fountain of Youth!
Read more

Day 64 - Gainesville, FL to Palatka, FL

By
Image
​It was so windy today that I saw vehicles with surfboards. That must mean the ocean is near. Yes, tomorrow I have a short 25 mile ride to St Augustine, where I will meet my wife, Sheila, and dip my front tire in the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the ride today, and most of the ride tomorrow, will be on a paved bicycle trail, which on the southern tier is an exceptionally rare luxury. I am staying tonight in a bed and breakfast in a home constructed in 1885-1886 by Civil War Major Sherman Conant of the Union Army. Major Sherman led a most interesting life. You can read about it on Wikipedia. One thing his Wikipedia entry does not say is that Maj, Consnt had a secret, very well concealed underground tunnel leading from the basement of his house to the heavily traveled St.John’s River, about 600 feet away. The proprietor and local historians believe the tunnel was used to smuggle imports illegally into the U.S. without paying tariffs.
Read more