I took off this morning just before 8:00 and headed north, then east to Van Zandt County and Martins Mill. It was 65 degrees with a stiff north wind, and with the first part of the ride directly against the wind, it was the coolest morning I’ve seen in quite a while. But this is still August, and it was 90 degrees before I finished the ride.

I rode on past Martins Mill, then made a loop to return to it for my only lengthy stop of the ride. The countryside really gets pretty past Martins Mill, starting to look like piney woods, but with some rolling hills and really beautiful ponds.

I had my usual hotdog at the Martins Mill store, then headed for home. I turned off. At mile 87, I turned west on FM 1391, intending on riding to Kemp, making a store stop there, and ending up with 100 miles. But, I had already been on the bike six hours and was hurting in enough places that I turned around after just over a mile on FM 1391, and rode on home. I ended up with 92.6 miles.

Today’s Martins Mill route.