A Nice Windy Bike Ride on the Seawall

The Giant and I wanted to get out and ride our bikes, but we didn't want to ride in Houston. I just wanted a break from the bayous and the aggression and the bumpy roads. After much back and forth about where to go (and I'm still new to this whole picking out a cycling route outside of the city), we decided to head to Galveston. We didn't really know where in Galveston we would go and it really didn't seem like there were bike routes. So, we decided to stop at the tourist center to see if they knew somewhere to go.

On the way there, we noticed immediately how windy it was and the doubts crept into our thoughts (okay my thoughts really since he's used to wind and rain and darkness). I checked the weather app again and saw the winds high of 15 mph. Oops. I forgot to check winds when he asked me to look for rain. We decided that we had made our decision and to just go for it. I was expecting my impending death; he did nothing to reassure me. Oh well.

When we got to the tourist office, the lady just looked at us like we were aliens. But she did give us a map of Galveston and said a lot of people rent bikes and ride along the seawall. It was 10 miles long. We agreed to it and thanked her for our time.

On a side note, their tourist office was in a really cool old historical mansion you will see scattered around Galveston.

We parked by the Pleasure Pier (name still makes me laugh) and Hotel Galvez. Our plan was to cycle into the wind and then turnaround halfway. We would also stop for lunch since we really didn't eat much and it was already 11 a.m.

The wind wasn't so bad. It was a crosswind, which gave me balance issues, but never got so bad that it made me cry. I'm not saying it was glorious, but I was expecting a lot worse. We stayed on the road and then crossed over at the end of the seawall to turn around. I guess this was the spot to watch the sunset or something, because a lot of people were out there just watching the ocean and waiting.


I think this worked out great.

We turned around and headed back to the car. The lanes were big enough to share with the parked cars, cyclists, and cars. It was a nice change.

We stopped for a bit to take some shots.

The ocean looks pretty in this picture.

Yeah, I'm not ashamed I took this shot.

We found a place to eat, but went back to Academy to get a lock for our bikes. I actually got a lot of compliments on my bike and how it was a great day for cycling. I always reminded them about the wind.

So, we trudged back only to be thwarted by no tables and rude customers at one particular table. If you leave your drinks under a paper towel, which covers it and you leave your table open, in my eyes, that's fair game. Whatever. We ended up going to Brickhouse for a nice meal and a beer before we headed home.

I took this picture to remember our bikes in case they got stolen.

 

I love this shot of a sailboat and a cyclist and the ocean.

It was such a great Saturday and I was so happy we did it. I can't wait to go for that ride again.

Things I learned:

1. Parking along the seawall is not free anymore. We had to get to this website to pay money and we still don't know how much we paid. It was all very confusing.
2. The Spot is packed.
3. The biggest thing known to man is that the Galveston drivers are so much friendlier to cyclists than Houston. WOW! What a change. The drivers actually waited without anger to let us go. At one point, we ended up in a turn only lane. I went on the sidewalk to let this car go ahead. The car was having none of this. He wanted me to go first and finally I went. It was a weird phenonom.
4. Apparently, leaving your table and your milk shake under a paper towel means you claimed a table for good. Who knew?!
5. There is a big OSU and Michigan fanbase living in Galveston.
6. Galveston as a whole has cleaned up drastically. Hurricane Ike was a horrible thing, but on a positive note, it changed for the better when they had to rebuild. It didn't look like a shithole from what I remember growing up. The houses were really pretty and grandiose and they brought in more income to the city. I'm really happy with the positive changes to Galveston and the people / tourists that are going there in mass.