A New Frontier

Date: March 18th 2017

From/To: Dallas TX/Decatur TX

Daily Mileage: 70 miles

Total Mileage: 1080 miles

Conditions: Sunshine, low 80s, little wind

Dallas marks the last major city I’ll pass through until I reach Denver. I’ll now be venturing off towards more open and rural landscape, through parts of the country that are still untamed by nothing more than asphalt. It’ll be far different than my journey through the southern tier; a new challenge with new obstacles. Something different.

I woke up to an empty household around 9:30AM. Rhiannon and Trevor were out of the house so I started cleaning up their office that was my converted bedroom for the past two nights. I had some coffee and did some laundry. I wasn’t in a rush to leave this morning because Decatur wasn’t too far of a trek. Trevor and Rhiannon came back to the house around 10 and we went out for breakfast, stoping at the local farmers market afterwards.

I really enjoyed Dallas. It’s a spread out city with a lot going on. There’s unique communities within the city that all offer something different. We made it back to the house around 11:30. I packed up my gear, said my goodbyes, and started off towards Decatur. Getting out of Dallas posed a challenge because I had to take some very questionable roadways through busy parts of the city. I rode on some highways I would not like to go on again, but I remained focused and alert. I’ve gotten better at handling busy areas with lots of cars and trucks moving around me. It’s still very dangerous, but I’m more accustomed to close encounters.

Once I made it to Lewisville I started to hit the suburbs, a much easier area to navigate through. I was really impressed with the way Dallas suburbs are built up. I passed through some very nice communities, including clean neighborhoods with lots of land and space. It was a peaceful ride compared to the busy parts I’d come from. As I neared Argyle, I started to see more of the stereotypical Texas ranches (or mansions or whatever you want to call them). It became more rural, but most of the houses only grew in size. I don’t know who lives out there and what they do but I’m intrigued to find out. Most of these homes had large plots of land, with cattle and horses fenced in. Not only were these houses impressive to see, the weather was spot on as well.. blue sky, sunshine, and low 80s.

I made it to Decatur around 6:30PM. This small city sits on elevated land, to the point that you can see the western frontier for miles out. I would’ve attempted a picture, but the depth of this scene went far beyond anything I could capture on a camera. I’d called the fire department earlier that day asking if I could stay at the station overnight, but I never heard back. I found a cheap motel close to the roadway I’ll be taking tomorrow to Wichita Falls. Tomorrow’s another “short day” at around 75 miles. Come back to see how it goes!

Enjoy The Ride,

-Matt