Ramble Report



Some of the Ramblers, Arriving on Saturday Morning

 Saturday, people from around North Texas arrived at a single residence near Sanger. They were lured by the common invitation to ride around on some not-smooth gravel roads.

The Second Country Ramble was afoot. Chris (the Ponderer himself) Johnson advised us all about the route and some of the highlights of the route. This year, there were a LOT more ramblers than last year's five. Twenty eight to be approximately precise. Shortly after 10, we were off. The later start time proved to be a wise change as we missed the worst of the morning chill and, as it turned out, we got back well before sunset, despite some unplanned detours by most of the ramblers.

The Ponderer Himself, Chris Johnson

Doohickie

Chandra in Front of His Beautiful Nomad

Typical Road Surface Along the Route

This USED to be a "No Dumping" Sign

A Creek Runs Through This



Someone Thought This Doll Needed an Elevated View So She Now Resides High in a Tree.
We All Thought the Doll in the Tree was Creepy, Though at Least She Was Sitting Comfortably.



Old Road Bridge, Seen from the New

 You see, about 2/3 of the way from Sanger to Rosston, most of the ramblers got ahead of Chris, who had the only route map (and the local knowledge) and they all headed down the wrong road. Either that, or they were all abducted by alien forces driving a white pickup. Riding WITH Chris, we came to the junction and wondered if they might have gone the wrong way. Chris headed out to see and I headed down the correct route to the General Store in Rosston. As it turned out, the concern was well placed since nobody was at the General Store except for several local dogs that needed some barking practice.
Amazingly enough, Doohickie and Chandra, who'd been bringing up the rear in order to collect stragglers, were the only ramblers (other than the Ponderer himself) to take the correct route and so they came in AHEAD of almost everyone. This certainly merits some sort of tortoise and hare story, but I can't think of a good one right now.

Chris Looks for Ramblers

The Owners of this Shed Hunt; Presumably Their Quarry is Not Santa, However



When I Arrived, There was only ONE Bike!?! I Felt Like Robert Redford in "Three Days of the Condor"



Doohickie and Chandra Were Bringing Up the Rear of the Ramblers
They Were the Next to Arrive. Had Aliens Abducted the Rest?



Eventually, Everyone Arrived. It Pays to Go Where the One With the Route Map Goes!



Doohickie and Chandra Head Home

And, of course, by Apertome's special request, what Ramble Report would be complete without at least one "catfish head on a pole" photo?

The Catfish Heads Looked a Little Tired This Year.
These Gave the Doll a Run for Her Money on the Creepy Scale



Ramblers Left as the Sun Began to Set. Good Day and Good Company

All in all, it was a very nice day, with lots of congenial cyclists. Despite a few mechanical failures and a few that perhaps set off on a harder ride than they had bargained for, I think pretty much everyone had a good time. Pondero dun gud.