The Pineywoods Purgatory 25 mile ride or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Long Distance Bike Ride

After months of not posting I finally have something worth posting about:

A good friend asked me if I wanted to attempt the Pineywoods Purgatory 25 mile ride.  To our mutual surprise, "Yes, I do want to".  I wanted to a lot.  The next day, when I was sober, it dawned on me that I had no idea what I had drunkenly agreed to and immediately began to think of reasons to weasel out (yeah, pretty much what I do when I agree to do things when I'm drunk) and then, I didn't want to weasel out of this.  I did not know if I could do it or what it entailed or...I went through the self-doubt rolodex.

A few weeks passed and I poked around on the internet for reviews of the ride, tips for riding your first 25 mile ride, yadda, yadda, yadda.  98% of what I found was, for  my tastes, useless information. There were articles for cyclists (y'know, people who ride 25 miles as their warm-up).  There were articles for women who wanted to train for their first long ride but who trained and went a gym and balanced bicycling with their lifestyles.  Then last week I threw some numbers around about what I have been biking each week (roughly 35 miles) since the middle of March 2014.  So with maths, roughly 840 miles in six months from my new home to work and back and around town.  Downside is I still smoke like a fish and drink like a chimney but hey, bicycling and new found confidence that I could potentially complete a 25 mile ride without dropping dead or vomiting blood or both.

In the last week people have been asking me, "Why are you riding 25 miles?"  Mostly with incredulity, though I'm not sure if they wonder why someone would ride that far in one go or if they wonder why the hell I would do it (most people seem to think that I hate everything, up to and including most physical activities people think of as "fun").  My initial response was honest and far from snarky, "I never do anything, I've never done anything like this before, and I want to see if I can do this."  Then I would say something snarky to make them feel more at ease.

My friend picked me up this morning at 6:30am.  Loaded up the bikes and gear and drove down to Lufkin for the ride.  Yeah, I was nervous over the last couple of days and last night I asked, "What the fuck did I talk myself into?"  That early on Saturday morning after only a few hours of little kid Christmas Eve sleep, I wasn't nervous I was on autopilot.  He offered much needed advice and suggestions on riding etiquette and cadence & pacing.

Around 7:30am

My biking outfit consisted of khakis (hems tucked into socks ride to work style), Stewart plaid Doc Martens (purchased in 1996), my smelly hat, borrowed bike gloves, new underclothes (second time wearing boxer briefs in my entire life), and an electric blue too-tight shirt I bought from Goodwill last Thursday for $3.99.  Riding a 7.3 FX Trek (gifted back in May '14 by same friend who invited me to this ride).

I joked that if I died, I wanted to have a last cigarette.
A couple of minutes before lining up to set off.  

I have to admit that I felt an old, sadly familiar, Hooligan Youth feeling watching and looking at most of the other riders.  Self-conscious, woefully inexperienced, poor, and not sure if I should really be there at all. Then that surge of, "I'm going to kick ass just out of spite."  Nerves really hit me when  my friend and I got queued up - thankfully near the back.  I didn't have to recite the  "Litany of Fear" but I had to consciously keep my breath regulated.

Then it was time to set off.  I almost hit a firetruck bumper trying to get my left shoe in the strap and not crash into anyone.  Out of the parking lot, took a right, and had some goddamned fun.

I funned all over the place.

I swear to God, I had all the funs.  Except for...well, I can't tell you.

There was one point I had to dismount but other than that I did solid (mostly).  Awesome ride with excellent company.  The rest stops were well stocked and the second rest stop had ibuprofen, bananas, and pickles.

The riders on the 25 ranged from little kids to not so little kids.  Was kind of awesome to catch up to a little kid in full rider gear kicking ass, okay she had two support trucks but still she was beasting. Mother and son in the last third with us, the son was on a Specialized and we hit this hill that suuuuuuucked. He and I were just bitching but fun bitching and picking on one another.  Some older guys (than us by twenty years) who started with us were doing the 50 ride.  Woman at the second rest stop looked at me and said, "You've got the bug now." (paraphrase).  Apparently I shifted into my standard bicycling cussing at one point in the ride, which cracked another rider up.  I also became self-conscious of how I talk to my bike to help me through tough spots.  Hell, I do the same thing in EVE...

Despite being outside of my comfort zone with a completely new experience I had an awesome time. This kind of ride was far different than the aggro-blitz I do to work and back and I always kept that in mind.  There were a couple of points I opened up or was seriously tempted to or give into rage and berserker stretches (like I do normally).

End result.

Yeah, I've got the bug and a goal.  This time next year I want to do the 50.

I'm still gonna smoke a smoke before the ride.

New in Nacogdoches! Tabu Coffee!

Tabu Coffee

2111 North Street

Nacogdoches, TX, 75965

All Week: 6am-Midnight

There's a new coffee shop in Nac.  That might not mean much to you non-Nacogdoches dwellers but here that's kind of a big deal because besides Java Jack's Coffee House, a couple of sports bars, and a bowling alley there ain't much to do on...well...any night of the week.  Hell, people go to the bar at Fuddrucker's and hang out.  Not Just Games closed down about two weeks ago (and I only was able to eat there once).

Now Tabu Coffee is on the scene and I have to say that I am pretty impressed.  Good layout, lots of tables, small stage for live music, hip but not hipster pretentious, friendly staff, a nice mix of clientele, and they make a damn fine cup of coffee (I think even Agent Cooper would approve).  I'm looking forward to trying the food - especially the breakfast.  I'll give the 411 after I try it.

I strongly recommend going here, there really isn't any reason not to since they are open until Midnight, a stone's throw from campus, and Tabu is not a many tentacled, soulless, corporate chain.  A local business like this needs all the word of mouth it can get and all the support it can get.  They've got mine (and normally I hate coffee shops).

T's sandwiches - Pho in Nacogdoches!

After Zay's review/recommendation of T's Sandwiches and hearing it served pho we had to go.

T's Sandwiches

1122 N. University Dr

Nacogdoches TX

936-569-0464

Mon-Sat: 10am-8pm

Sun: Closed

T's is in the Nacogdoches dirt mall. The mall is really sad and T's is just kind of a small place with a couple of formica tables. You wouldn't even know it has pho unless you were looking for it. They have beef, beef "meatball", and shrimp pho plus a number of stir fries. They also serve cheese steaks, grilled cheese sandwiches, spring rolls, and quite possibly the best summer rolls - a.k.a. egg rolls - I have had in about a million years.

I got the beef pho after the owner wasn't sure if I actually wanted the meatballs - I did. You know what? This was a damn fine bowl of pho. Not a ten but a solid 8. I normally don't get just straight up beef pho but it was good, well rounded, and had a solid flavour.

The downsides:

• There wasn't enough cilantro for Amanda's liking.
• I wish there had been basil served with it.
• For $6.50 a bowl it was what would be a small size in other restaurants.
• Being in the dirt mall is kind of a drag.

The upsides:

• The pho was everything standard beef pho is supposed to be. Hearty, filling, and damned tasty. On the plus side it wasn't too salty.
• Was served with jalapenos, some minced cilantro, onions, Sriricha chili sauce, and hoisin.
• The boba tea was tasty as well as completely made from fresh ingredients.
• The eggrolls were phenominal. Seriously. Fresh, crispy but not greasy. Nom.

Simply put we now have a place for pho, stir fry, egg rolls, spring rolls, and quite possibly cheesesteaks.

Everyone in Nac or Lufkin needs to check out this place. The guys were super nice and the food was great. You're actually missing out if you don't eat here.

Wait, what, pho in Nacogdoches?

Thanks for the heads up from Zay over at Zay MoMo about T's Sandwiches.

Apparently the place serves pho and bubble tea and is not half bad.

I tell you what, this week I'm gonna find out and will report back.

T's Sandwiches

1122 S University Dr

Nacogdoches TX

936-569-0464

Sunday drivers or "What a loovly day for a ride in da coontry." Part 1.

We planned to go to a lake on Saturday but were warned off by the weather reports of "Turn Around. Don't Drown.". I don't know if you folks are familiar with TADD but here in Texas you don't mess around with that especially when your transport vehicle is a Honda Fit.

On Sunday the weather reports were not as menacing so we packed up the cooler with food and gathered up our shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed out to Lake Nacogdoches. After drifting west on 21 and taking a left on picturesque FM 255 we eventually found the West Park at the lake. It's really quite nice and the next time we go there we will have pictures. The weather was pleasant in the upper 80s with some cloud cover so my translucent skin would burst into flame. Nice little picnic area on the water. Wait, where are the grills? Hmmm. I wish I had a picture of post that a grill was formerly attached to.

Well we hopped back in the car and drove around a bit more and eventually stopped at Yakofritz Landing for lunch. The food there is good. Amanda got the catfish dinner and I got my stand by BBQ Beef sandwich. The catfish was better than I've had in quite some time and the BBQ sandwich was damn tasty. They actually mixed in the onions with the meat. The meat was chopped but had some kick ass chunks of texture in it. The sauce was just a hint sweeter than I would normally go for but it was still damn tasty.

After some deilberation we decide to drive out to Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

The Barbecue House "Oldest Restaurant in Nacogdoches since 1959"

I figure since we live here now I had better do some restaurant reviews/impressions/whatever. First out of the gate is The Barbecue House. The sign says "BBQ House" so I don't know what the hell that is about.

Maybe it was because we went on an off day but I can't say that I was impressed. The beans were great but maybe it's just me - when I want BBQ I want brisket, sausage, turkey, chicken, and pork. Sure some slaw and some beans or some potato salad so I just don't have a massive pile of meat to feed on.

The brisket was okay, kind of dry, standard brisket. The sausage was pretty unimpressive. The turkey and chicken were good and the sides were pretty damn good. The slaw was a little mayonaisse-y but was a'ight.

They do have sandwiches that may be good. I don't know if they are any good and if I'll be back to try them.

About the sauce. There's much debate about sauce in BBQ: Sauce? No Sauce? Sweet? Vinegar? Thick? Thin? Slathered? Dry? Spicy? Smoky? The Barbecue House has pretty weak sauce. It's sort watery and doesn't have any particular goodness to it. It strikes me as a fairly generic flavor. Combined with average - at best - meat you have a real meh experience.

Fortuately there are still several BBQ joints in town to check out.

Nacogdoches: We Got Trees Part 3

It's our second official day here in Nacogdoches and we are getting settled in. Have been doing the recon/shopping/oh crap we need a screwdriver routine. Made a rather disconcerting foray into the Uber-Walmart down the road. I don't know what my problem is but I get rather confused and over-stimulated in big box stores. All the lights and colors and mind numbing array of products have a "deer in headlights" effect on me. All I wanted was a cat crap tray and a Master Lock and ended up wandering lost through aisles of items I couldn't possibly justify using but wanted them any way. Guns! Ammunition! Fishing gear! Frisbees! Tennis rackets! Jumbo coolers I could stash hunks of drifters in! 600 varieties of "Institutional" sized pickles! Oh and the locks are in the back fucking corner of the store. So after choosing a lock I found myself in the toy aisles and there it was for $10.88:






Yeah baby. While assembling the set I realized that I should have been playing with LEGOs for the last ten years. There have been some serious advances in the LEGO field. Seriously. The next kit I want to pick up is this one:

* * *

Just a quick plug for All My Sons Movers. These guys were awesome. We hired them to help us move and they just rocked. I've used movers before and they were hired goons. All My Sons made things ridiculously easy and if it weren't for the fact that wires got crossed and we couldn't get in to the apartment it would have gone smooth as silk. Yeah, if you need movers these are the guys to go with.

Here are a few of the tricks we discovered during this move:

1. All that paper lying around - the stack of over due bills and threats from debt collectors? - shred it and use it as packing material. None of our stuff that we packed this way broke.


2. A la #1 phone books. You're never gonna recycle them. Don't bullshit yourself. Use it to wrap glasses and mugs and assorted trivets. It works.


3. Don't throw out all the empty six-pack cardboard carriers. Use them for all that crap in your kitchen that is a major pain the ass to pack but won't throw out: bottles of hot sauce, spices, oils, vinegar, dried goods, condiments, jars of chile paste, and other assorted non perishable items. Load the six-packs up and put them in the box. I used flattened Lone Star boxes to layer and add additional packing.


4. Don't drink so much that you can use beer packaging as packing material for an entire kitchen.


5. Anti-depressants.


6. Do your laundry before you pack.


7. Pack a suitcase with a couple of days worth of clothes. Having a couple changes of clean dry clothes makes a world of difference.


8. Play "We're going to Russia" and pack toilet paper.

I hope these tips are helpful.

* * *

Not too much else to currently report. I'm a bit behind on my gaming but have begun to rig up everything. Next step is setting up speakers and all that goodness.

Nacogdoches - We got trees. Part 2.

Well folks we are here. It went 80% smoothly. There were a few moments of blind panic - like when we arrived expecting the landlord to have left the key - but all in all everything is a'ight. We'll be back in Austin this weekend and then pretty regular after that. Have some pictures of before and after the move. Here ya go:

Yeah, not much rhyme or reason but you get the gist. More news to follow. I think I need to take another nap.

Nacogdoches: The Oldest Town in Texas a.k.a. "We got trees!" - PART 1.

As promised here are pictures and a bit of commentary:

Masons...and uh...here is their office in Nacogdoches.




This is the place that I am obsessed with - the Main St. Theater. It's closed and rundown and I wants it.

Creepy Easter display on Main Street. Antique & Collectible Creepiness. Reminds me of Castle Rock's Needful Things.