Southeast Texas DOC

Southeast Texas DOC
Rides & Events Gallery
Ride to Woodville — December 3, 2006

The four people you see in the pictures below (and myself, behind the camera) are the true hardcore riders of the club. Or perhaps the craziest. This was one c-c-c-cold ride! The trek from my home in Clear Lake to the starting point--the IHOP at US 59 and FM 1960--was nearly an hour through temperatures in the 30s. As I rode I was thinking nobody else would show up for the ride, but as organizer I still had to go just in case. To my surprise there were eight or nine of us that came to breakfast! I figured that after the ride in nobody would want to continue on to Woodville. A couple were smart enough not to, but the rest were ready to roll. Uh-oh...my bluff was called: I'm actually going to have to DO this ride. Okay. The electric gloves are on my fingers and wired into the 998--I can handle it.

So off we went, as the sun teased us with timid peeks through the clouds. Hope for a warmup as the morning progressed. False hope, as it turned out. We headed east on FM 1960 across Lake Houston to Huffman, where after only minutes of riding our troop forced the first stop to warm up and to deal with the breakfast coffee. One Duc-cicle turned back there, the rest forged ahead. We made it farther on the next leg, to a welcome stop in Shepherd. Another rider turned back there. The rest saddled up as soon as we could feel our toes again. The third leg of the trip was a long one. A whole bunch of back roads that would have been pure joy on a nice warm day, but were more of an obstacle to overcome on this one. Along the way a loose connection to my electric gloves rendered them inoperative--leaving me in the same frigid boat as the rest of the group. It was well over an hour before we came upon the first possible place to stop and warm up. And it was closed! We skipped the rest of the back roads and turned towards Woodville. A moment later we stumbled on a convenience store at the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation--a very welcome (and warm!) sight.

The trip from there to the Pickett House Resaurant, just east of Woodville, was a quick one down a major highway. We overshot the turn slightly, whipped around and turned into Heritage Village, proceeding directly to the warmth of the Pickett House. Inside we found a good crowd enjoying Sunday dinner. We enjoyed the all-you-can-eat home cooking--delicious fried chicken is their specialty, along with vegetables and fixings. We lingered awhile, basking in the warmth and hoping the cloudy day would eventually give way to sunhsine for our ride home.

Well, that didn't happen. We rode through Woodville and headed south. It gets warmer when you go south, right? The clouds are breaking up to the south, right? Uh, no actually. It was still cold and the day was getting on, so we stayed on the highways and headed back towards home. The route took us through Dayton, the turnoff point for riders heading into north and west Houston. The rest of us headed south through Baytown and Pasadena towards our homes on the southeast and southwest sides. Home sweet WARM home! Do I really have to go back outside and put the bike in?

Outside the Pickett House, Woodville
Closeup of frozen riders

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Home > Photo Galleries > Rides & Events Gallery > Ride to Woodville — December 3, 2006

The four people you see in the pictures below (and myself, behind the camera) are the true hardcore riders of the club. Or perhaps the craziest. This was one c-c-c-cold ride! The trek from my home in Clear Lake to the starting point--the IHOP at US 59 and FM 1960--was nearly an hour through temperatures in the 30s. As I rode I was thinking nobody else would show up for the ride, but as organizer I still had to go just in case. To my surprise there were eight or nine of us that came to breakfast! I figured that after the ride in nobody would want to continue on to Woodville. A couple were smart enough not to, but the rest were ready to roll. Uh-oh...my bluff was called: I'm actually going to have to DO this ride. Okay. The electric gloves are on my fingers and wired into the 998--I can handle it. So off we went, as the sun teased us with timid peeks through the clouds. Hope for a warmup as the morning progressed. False hope, as it turned out. We headed east on FM 1960 across Lake Houston to Huffman, where after only minutes of riding our troop forced the first stop to warm up and to deal with the breakfast coffee. One Duc-cicle turned back there, the rest forged ahead. We made it farther on the next leg, to a welcome stop in Shepherd. Another rider turned back there. The rest saddled up as soon as we could feel our toes again. The third leg of the trip was a long one. A whole bunch of back roads that would have been pure joy on a nice warm day, but were more of an obstacle to overcome on this one. Along the way a loose connection to my electric gloves rendered them inoperative--leaving me in the same frigid boat as the rest of the group. It was well over an hour before we came upon the first possible place to stop and warm up. And it was closed! We skipped the rest of the back roads and turned towards Woodville. A moment later we stumbled on a convenience store at the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation--a very welcome (and warm!) sight. The trip from there to the Pickett House Resaurant, just east of Woodville, was a quick one down a major highway. We overshot the turn slightly, whipped around and turned into Heritage Village, proceeding directly to the warmth of the Pickett House. Inside we found a good crowd enjoying Sunday dinner. We enjoyed the all-you-can-eat home cooking--delicious fried chicken is their specialty, along with vegetables and fixings. We lingered awhile, basking in the warmth and hoping the cloudy day would eventually give way to sunhsine for our ride home. Well, that didn't happen. We rode through Woodville and headed south. It gets warmer when you go south, right? The clouds are breaking up to the south, right? Uh, no actually. It was still cold and the day was getting on, so we stayed on the highways and headed back towards home. The route took us through Dayton, the turnoff point for riders heading into north and west Houston. The rest of us headed south through Baytown and Pasadena towards our homes on the southeast and southwest sides. Home sweet WARM home! Do I really have to go back outside and put the bike in?
Outside the Pickett House, Woodville
Closeup of frozen riders