March 12, 2010: The swarm arrives in Kountze, Texas

An insect biologist would have loved sticking a little GPS chip to the back of all 35 riders flying into Houston from Denver, Colorado Springs, Atlanta, and New York today, just to entertain themselves studying cyclist swarming behavior. Or perhaps it was more like herding cats.

Three cyclists arrived the night before, then today a first load of five, then ten, two more, and another ten, while two caught later flights when their original one was canceled, and three got stuck on a runway for two hours in Atlanta.

Nate Dick played the role of Queen Bee, the central magnet around which the swarm coalesced; and, just like a beehive, in the two hour wait between the time Nate set up the initial staging area in baggage claim C to when he moved the swarm onto the bus to go to Kountze, cycle bees re-greeted each other, started conversations left off a year ago, fed themselves, found the way to the nearest Starbucks and even the nearest liquor store for a case of mead (I mean, beer).

All arrived safely in Kountze, bicycles intact, luggage accounted for, and just in time for our favorite activity: eating. We picked up where we left off last year, eating gumbo, crawfish etoufee, and deep-fried everything at Moma Jack’s Roadhouse Café. Nothing like a little southern-fried grease to git ya up and on yer bike the next day.

Mark and Kathleen, Jane and Carol hugging hellos in Kountze while Parker greets Ruth, Matt, and the rest of the crew still on the bus.