No Chain: Ranger, Texas

Chilling at the First Baptist Church of Ranger

Population 800 (may be quite a stretch) according to the owner of Fox’s Mercantile, the only business located on main street that’s still open where according to the front display sell everything from crackers to coffins and after peaking through the window I’m pretty sure its not lying. Ranger was a petroleum boom town during the 1920’s and I’m pretty sure much of the town’s buildings haven’t been touched since that time. We had one of my favorite rides of the trip covering 75 miles from Sweetwater to Ranger on beautiful rolling back country roads that were so quiet we actually rode 4-5 across at times, a much welcomed change. The head wind we had been fighting for the last few days continued to gust but today it was directly out of the south hitting us on our sides all day, during one stretch I’m pretty sure I was cycling at a 75 degree angle leaning into the wind to keep from blowing over. We rode under a thick cloud cover and a tornado watch for most of the day but at least the temperature was perfect for riding. We rolled into Ranger right around noon, thanks to the Irish Hammer (Pete) who pushed our average speed after lunch to around 23 mph and found the First Baptist Church where we will be staying for the night. The basement we are staying in has lots of wood paneling, shag carpet and smells like a little musty but we have wifi and a nice kitchen so I’m sure we will survive. We’re about to grab showers at the truck stop located along the interstate, just another new experience for me along this trip, and are hoping to find a place to watch the NFL draft and NBA playoffs tonight before another 100 mile ride into Dallas/Fort Worth Tomorrow. No Chain!