I took a side trip from my usual “FM1960 to FM686 – Back” route to stop at the Dollar General store on FM2100 north of FM1960. Several months ago when I was at the Huffman Chevron a couple of other bikers pulled in. We talked about roads around Huffman and they mentioned they just rode on Huffman Eastgate Road from FM1960 to FM2100 and a dog chased them. Over the years I biked that road and I can remember a dog chasing me once or twice. Based on their report I started avoiding the road. Today I thought it had been a long time and the dog probably had better things to do so on the way back from FM686 I turned onto Huffman-Eastgate. All went well until I rode past the tree farm about a 1/4 of a mile. To my left I saw a large black dog running towards the road. Glancing ahead I saw there was a fence but the gate was open and I knew the dog would be waiting on me by the time I got to the gate. I stayed in the north lane and sped up planning on outrunning the dog. Looking to the west I saw a white pickup truck approaching. This is where the timing comes into play. The dog came through the gate and onto the road and then he saw the pickup coming towards him. The dog froze for a second but the pickup kept moving toward us. The dog moved back to the ditch on the south side of the road as the pickup truck passed between us. I increased my speed to get separation from the dog who was barking loudly from the ditch but not chasing me. It will be awhile before I ride Huffman-Eastgate Road all the way from FM1960 to FM2100.

After escaping the dog I stopped at the Dollar General store, bought my Cheetos and rode to the Huffman Chevron for a rest break. This was 29.35 miles into what turned out to be a 41.06 mile ride. I rested under the pump canopy for the final 11+ miles home. A freight train came through lasting for seemed a very long time. Three engines pulled an endless number of empty container cars. Normally I see trains with the flat bed cars loaded but not today.

Earlier in the ride I stopped on the railroad overpass on the way back from the FM686 turnaround point. The elevated view is one of the highest places in this part of Liberty County. (click on the image to enlarge it)

The railroad tracks appear to stretch to the eastern horizon. There are three modes of transportation in this picture: bike, car and rail. Off to the left down below the overpass a cow watched me while I took these pictures.

The white spot is the curious cow. (click on the image to enlarge it)

The weather continues to be exceptional for biking. I left home at 11:29 with scattered clouds and 92 degrees returning back home at 3:04 and 89 degrees. The clouds increased some but the sun was still out.

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A summary of the rides this year on the same route.