Walnut Creek Park

What a great ride today at Walnut Creek. Lots of shade, whoop de doos, twisty singletrack, fun descents and very few people out on the trail. The Ridge Riders have done a great job on the trails and just recently finished a new map. Check it out here.

Tips for Mountain Biking on Hot Days

Choose the Right Trail
If you're planning to mountain bike, choose a trail that has plenty of shade and that also has a swimming area nearby. Luckily, here in Austin we have lots of trails and swimming holes to choose from. If you need to stay in town, hit the trails at Emma Long or Barton Creek and then pedal over to Barton Springs for a dip. Rumor has it that Barton Springs is offering FREE admission today. And they have the best dressing rooms if you want to change into a suit. If you're willing to drive a little further out, my top pick is Mule Shoe Bend. The trail is super fun and has great shade. It also has a swimming recreation area right on Lake Travis. There's restrooms in the parking lot near the trailhead so you can change before swimming.

Ride Early
I sure do value sleeping in on weekends but with temps in the 100s, riding early is the safest and most comfortable time to ride. It's actually quite pleasant from 6AM-9AM. If you want to get a few more minutes of shut eye, pack up everything and load up the car the night before.

Use your Common Sense and Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Drink water before, during and after you ride so that you hydrate properly to avoid dehydration. I always ride with a Camelbak and have a cooler of ice water/recovery drinks waiting for me in the car. I pack the Camelback with ice so that by the time I hit the trail, the ice has melted and it's quite refreshing.

Just do it

IT IS HOT here in Austin. The last two weeks have brought back to back 100+ temps. Although I'm supposed to be "training" for a half-marathon and the days are long enough so that I can get in a nice long run or ride after work, I find myself heading indoors to stay cool and avoid dehydration. This of course translates into running on the treadmill (which I loathe but not as much as running in 105 degree heat), spin classes, or swimming. It's been weeks since I've joined up with my running group - bad Jen! I have chastised myself several times for signing up to do another half especially when the bulk of the training is during the hottest time of the year. Why did I do that to myself!

On a brighter note, by incorporating swimming into my so called training regimen, I am becoming a stronger swimmer. This is a source of great pride and achievement for me because when I began swimming again 2 months ago, I could barely swim a lap. My form, if it could even be called a "form", was embarrassing and exhausting. With the help of my awesome swim coach (and fiancee), my form has improved drastically and I'm swimming for 45 minutes. Of course, I'm nowhere near joining a Masters group but at least I'm looking forward to each swim instead of it being a source of stress akin to panic. And I don't get too intimidated by the triathletes in the lane next to me.

Again, I'm reminded of an Eleanor Roosevelt quote: "You must do the very thing you think you cannot do." (Hope I got that right). I never thought I could be a good swimmer or even swim for as long as I have been swimming but I'm doing it. Is there something you "think" you can't do? (Besides running in this awful heat - you know you can do that - you just won't feel great while doing it!).

Beat the Austin heat at Barton Springs Pool

Ahhh.. There's nothing like taking a dip at the Barton Springs pool during these 100+ days here in Austin. The pool is fed from under ground springs and is on average 68 degrees year round. Yesterday we headed to the pool to escape the heat and had a great time. The water was sooooo cold! It took a while to get used to it but once we did, it was great. It was a lot of fun watching people diving from the dive board and doing flips, cannonballs, belly flops, faceplants, back flops, and of course the occasional near professional dives.

We also made our way to Reimer's Ranch and splashed around in the Pedernales River. It wasn't anywhere as close to refreshing as Barton Springs unless you dive down about 7 feet. Just about every other river, lake, and pool felt like tepid bath water. Barton Springs is definitely the place to be especially at $3 per person on weekends, $1 during the week, free before 9am.

The pool is located in Zilker Park near Town Lake and has greenbelt access which means it provides the perfect cooldown after a ride on the Greenbelt, run around town lake, concert at the park, or after a game of disc golf. Seth and I live on the greenbelt and can mountain bike there. Just bring your suit, sunscreen, towel and a float. They have dressing rooms, concessions, and lots of shade trees.

The Orchard House in Concord, MA

Hello all! I'm back in Austin after spending some time with friends and family in Boston, Massachusetts. I had a wonderful time even though the weather was cool and rainy throughout my stay. It's all good as I definitely enjoyed a reprieve from the Texas 100+ days and brought some of that rain back home with me. On this trip, I ventured to Concord, Massachusetts to tour homes and sites of famous writers. I walked around Walden Pond, toured the The Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott lived with her family and wrote Little Women. She and her family were great friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thoreau.

It was sobering and inspiring to realize that Louisa was the best paid writer of her time - she earned about $150,000 for Little Women. It was very evident that her parents nurtured her and her sisters to be whatever they wanted in an age when women were not supposed to have careers or even their own desk! I kept thinking about how wonderful it was to grow up in such a progressive environment rich with talent, writing, philosophy, and ideals. The Alcotts were vegetarian and abolitionists. Louisa's father was a teacher and founder of "Transcendentalism" - he even started his own school of philosophy (see photo below). Can you imagine what the dinner table discussion must have been like?



More to come!

On hiatus until July

Hi there. I'm on vacation until July and most likely will not be updating this blog. However, there is some bad news - the Safe Passing bill was vetoed by Governor Perry. Stay tuned for updates and action alerts at www.biketexas.org.