Rio Cibolo Ranch Walk

Whoa! Two hours for an 11K (6.8 mi.) walk! Must be the cool air and chilly breezes (and need of facilities) that made me walk so fast today. Temperature at the beginning of the walk was 57 degrees (minus some for wind chill). By the end of the walk it was 66 degrees and breezy. My sweater stayed on for the whole walk.

While I was walking, Bob went to the gym to play basketball with his buddies. He said his game was off, but at least he ran up and down the floor.

The Zuehl, Texas walk I participated in this morning was an event sponsored by the Randolph Roadrunners Volksmarch Club. That means club members staffed the start area, checkpoints and finish. Thank you to the many volunteers who made this beautiful autumn walk possible.

Where I'm headed to do the walk.

At the beginning of the walk we registered at Zuehl's Hall, a large building that can be rented for weddings, parties, family reunions, etc. From the Hall, we walked through part of the 130-acre longhorn cattle ranch. In addition to the Hall I saw the: Saloon, Frisbee golf course, hay ride wagons, canoeing area, 100-year-old pecan orchard, a place for barge rides, horseshoe pits, Kiddie Korral, softball field, and picnic areas. What a beautiful setting, made all the more lush because of the recent rains in south Texas. The plants, grass and trees are green again.

Main gate at Rio Cibolo Ranch

Zuehl's Hall for events.

"Come Walk with Us" banner.

Blacksmith shop.

Hay rides...but not today.

Llama and longhorns.

Burros.

Texas longhorns.

Longhorns and grackles.

100-year-old pecan orchard.

Cibolo Orchard sign

Barge not open today.

The barge rides weren't open today, but Volkssporting also includes boating sometimes. Today, there was an option to go kayaking. Kayaks, paddles and life vests were provided. If I didn't have an appointment to pick up my hearing aid at Costco at 2:00 p.m., I might have gone for a paddle.

Horseshoe pits.

Saloon.

Unique landscaping.

Took me a while to realize this is a BBQ'er.

Pretty flowers in bloom in October.

Our first checkpoint was at Zuehl Field, a WWII airfield. Locally it is known, tongue in cheek, as the Zuehl International Airport. It's claim to fame is that Robert Redford was here to film "The Great Waldo Pepper."

Sod airport runway.

The runway.

We walked along the left edge of the runway.

What's an airport without planes?

Don't know what happened to these!

There's quite a relic.

We walked along many country roads.

Family bar, The Double Ringer

Formerly Clemens School, 1891-1966 (now you can rent it for parties)

Fall berries.

The lane into Rio Cibolo Ranch.

Creative birdhouse.

River in Zuehl, Texas.

Lovely walk today and definitely not hot outside.

Just a note: I bought gas at Costco this week. It was $3.00 per gallon. You read that right: $3.00 per gallon. Wow!

Must get a move on to my appointment at Costco. Then Bob and I are going to see "Prisoners."

Travel Bug out.

Midwest Mountain Bike Festival - Day 2

It was a busy day at the festival. It started off with a pancake breakfast by the Eldridge Lions which was held at the Sac Fox campground shelter. From there is was over to the main festival area.
Group rides were organized. The kid's ride headed out. At that time, I decided it was time for me to ride. My goal was to ride the other loop (Parkview Loop). Carol (FORC member) recommended to also ride the Pine Bowl that comes off of the Parkview Loop.
The Parkview Loop is a little longer, and sections of the trail has tighter clearances and sharper turns. Then again, there are some longer straight-a-ways. The loop is a green trail (as was Long Grove Loop I rode yesterday).
Pine Bowl is a blue trail, yet I found it easier than sections of the Parkview Loop. Did not have the tight turns.
All-in-all, by the time I was getting near done the Parkview Loop, I was tired. Could see/feel I was losing the control of my bike. No crashes - thankfully. After the ride and a sandwich, I decided to head to the room for stretch my legs and maybe take a nap.
After the rest, it was time for the "Not Lame Games". First was "Huffy Toss". The goal was to see who to throw a "Huffy" bike the furthest. The other game was "Bicycle Dodgeball". Riding bicycles, throwing bicycle tires at the opponent in a classic game of dodgeball.
During the games there was a constant drizzle - making the grass very slick. It was also getting cool and damp. I decided I had enough for the day - skipping the potluck BBQ and the beer potluck.
Raining very hard on my drive back to the room. May have to grab the hybrid tomorrow to ride pavement.
Today's photo shows my Fuel EX7 on the Parkview Loop.

Paseo del Bosque Bike Trail

This morning, I rode the Paseo del Bosque Bike Trail in Albuquerque with my cousin, Don. Don is a Albuquerque resident.
After the ride we had breakfast and did a walking tour through Old Town. Don had some business for the afternoon. I headed to find a bike shop that could give me recommendations on where to ride dirt in the area.
Stopped by Fat Tire Cycles on Montano Road. Picked up a New Mexico jersey as a souvenir. Visited with Eric - of Fat Tire Cycles. He recommended the Foothills Trails - off the end of Montgomery Blvd. Thanks Eric (and thanks for the t-shirt). Will be checking out the trails in the morning.
Dinner with Don at the Route 66 Diner. Tired tonight. Should be able to sleep well.

Trail Bike Tires

My Trek Fuel EX7 also got new shoes. After 2100 miles, the OEM tires were too worn - basically, no tread left. The bike shop had a pair of Continental Vapor 26 x 2.1 tires. They were mounted yesterday.
This morning, I had other things to do -- Trail work day signs to post, and a fraternity alumni luncheon -- so had to wait to ride until this afternoon. Headed out from Xtreme Wheels to Manawa.
As I started riding the path to Manawa, I could feel that this was not going to be a fast ride. My legs were just not ready for a hard hitting ride after the ride yesterday. As I turned into the singletrack at Lake Manawa, I sure felt the effect of riding on new tires.
When I started to wander out of the track and made a correction, I found I was over correcting. Like it was one of my first rides in singletrack! Was my riding getting sooooo sloppy that I could get away with that in worn tires? Am I too tired from the ride yesterday that I am riding so poorly? I think it was a little bit of both.
I almost stopped riding in the dirt after the West loop but trudged on. My riding was improving, but I could feel that my brain was being overtaxed, and a bit too tired. Finished a lap (ex No Second Chance) and headed back to the bike shop.
A proper test and report of the new tires will have to wait.

With the crazy weather we had this summer, the weeds grew to huge proportions. Add in lower volunteer attendance, some sections of the trail are overgrown. I hope we get a good turn-out for the Trail Work Days the week of September 20th.
We need lots of help with trail maintenance for the fall riding season and preparations for the Psycowpath Race scheduled for September 26th. If are in the area, please lend a hand.

Five-Spot

The interesting flowers of baby five-spot, Nemophilia maculata.

Thoughts and Quotes on Art

As I see it, the world is made up entirely of photographic subject matter...with pictures you can say what you can't with words. Peter Sekaer

It seems that the artistic personality has a certain contrariness
to it. If you are conventional, than perhaps there's no impulse to create. Author unknown
Art comes from a desire to make sense of the world and one's experience in it. It's intended to make up for the separation that we feel between us as humans and beauty. The artist tried to recreate beauty...to make the world whole again. Author unknown

Cold-Blooded Spring

High Falls at Grand Portage State Park, MN. There is a lot of snow in the woods this spring, and thanks to a recent week of warm temperatures combined with a nice rain storm the Pigeon River opened up nicely a few days ago. However, winter is not quite ready to let go and last night cold temperatures returned to Grand Portage. The cold air meant that all the mist at High Falls was freezing to the trees, shrubs and grasses throughout the night and all day today, making for an amazing icy scene.