Cycling NETT

Google Maps is such a great resource. Turn on bike layer, zoom out, and look for green because after all green means GO! Just northeast of Richardson, TX in Farmersville is ~80 miles of North East Texas Trail cycling "fun". It's starting to feel ironic how many cycling routes include a "Farmersville".




I talked with my friend and fellow adventure cyclist Holly and we came up with a plan. The trailhead is near "the onion shed". The shed was bustling with people for a festival faintly visible in the upper left background



Obligatory sign picture...



Things started off nice enough







...And then they started getting interesting. Trail research indicated rougher and less refined than rail trails back east. That's all in the name of adventure, right?



The multi-foot drop off and washout does not come through in this picture.



I was too busy trying to not fall between the railroad ties to get my finger out of the picture. Many foot drop on the bottom side and several places big enough to fall through.


This trip ended up being much more than I'd bargained for. I wasn't properly trained for the mileage - even flat smooth rolling - let alone the wilds of this trail. We usually hit 10-12mph on railtrails; today was 6-8. We bailed on the trail at Wolfe City I think and started riding roads. We found some backroads to meet a couple road runners and at least one dog encounter that almost got very bad.

One of my primary goals for the Texas trip was adjusting to hotter, drier, less tree covered, more desert like environment. More training is still required. I drank too much liquid (water/gatorade), didn't maintain balance of electrolytes, solids, and liquids, and made myself sick. Holly was kind enough to tow me for a while as I transitioned through multiple shades of green. Made me glad I'd given her a tow on an earlier ride.

Darkness set in and we were still miles from our destination. For the first time ever I hitched a ride vs just gutting it out. A good samaritan at a gas station agreed to run us up to our destination. For once I was glad everyone in Texas drives trucks. Destination, shower, dinner, bed. I hadn't been this wiped out in a very long time. Visits to the pain cave aren't always nice, but they give great perspective.

The guy who gave us a ride had an amazing story. I avoid blogging about other people because of privacy concerns. This guy had a rough go of it and was still as nice as could be. Thank you.

We were back at it the next day undoing most of what we did the day before. Starting point of attack was earlier start, stick to roads for smoother rolling, and periodic stops. We cycled south west out of Paris and back out on the road.

It still strikes me how differently the Texas landscape responds to water. Where I'm from water permeates the ground, plenty of deep mud and dirty water. In Texas the water runs off the landscape. As dry as things are, when it rains, it creates flash floods because the water just runs off. Even the creeks are clear because the dirt and water just don't mix. It's just different and impacts some fundamental assumptions.



Very little to see on the ride so moments like this were almost sufficient for uproarious laughter.



This is what I felt like for the last third of day one.



Not kidding. Decimated. In the middle of nowhere. Nothing around.



We rolled into a "town" planning for a solid sit down lunch at a place we remembered from the day before. Town looked more prepared for a gunfight than a welcoming lunch. The restaurant we had in mind was closed for the day so we survived off gas station food. One station at least served chicken fingers. Salty fried greasy deliciousness with a bread roll, gatorade, and air conditioning.



More desolate riding. Into a headwind that found us in the morning and persisted until we reach Farmersville. I told myself in the morning there was no way we'd have a head wind all day.... Another lesson in humility.

We were both done again. We started trying to hitch a ride again but were unsuccessful. Everyone else was going east and we were headed west.



Near the end we jumped back on the trail because it was shorter, and relatively tame, than the road route alternative.



And Holly picked up a pet for a few miles.



One interesting encounter with Texas wildlife - we saw several hawks along the trail. We road up to a rabbit that sat still letting us get amazingly close. We passed one bulging shrub and a hawk jumped up and flew off. The rabbit then scampered away. People > hawk > rabbit in the food (or fear?) chain.

We rolled into Farmersville as the sun set. Another full day in the saddle. We road the entire distance back arriving with a huge sense of satisfaction.



I was tempted to consider this trip (I)ncomplete because I didn't ride the whole trail, I used road reroute, and still hitchhiked on day 1. Finally back home enjoying a burger and beer that is all part of the "adventure". We met a great person and had a good day 2 showing.

I learned something about the heat. My core temperature reached a point and I was emotionally transported back to my previous bad experiences with heat as a boyscout, then as a teenager, and the most recent in my first half ironman. My experience as a teenager was the worst. I remembered the day, the people, minutiae of the work, and the ride to the hospital. Some science suggests a heat stroke leaves permanent physiological change. I may not be able to change that, but I can change the emotional response so I don't get triggered and then make bad choices. Not easy, but doable. Not complete, but I have a new approach for next time.

And pay it forward. +1 for humanity.

Cycling White Rock Lake Trails in Dalls

Finally back on two wheels! The cyclocross made the trip to Texas with me. Turns out the Prius makes a pretty good work bench:




With two new tubes it's time to ride. Google Maps cycling layer shows a nice green track around White Rock Lake




There's even a "cyclist parking lot" great for setup. Parking is scarce. There are multiple lots along the frontage road if the cyclist lot is full.



Trails around the lake are great. Many parallel or overlap with the road. Traffic calming makes it particularly nice for cycling. This is a nice contrast to my other running experiences in Dallas where I find few sidewalks and have literally jumped into yards to avoid oncoming SUVs.



There is a nice late evening shady section on the west side of the lake.



Recent storms in the area have been pretty intense - bringing down lots of limbs on the trails as well.



I was saddened and surprised to find a tree of this size blown over on the trail. Most trees are more like shrubs and pretty scraggly. This was a rare specimen.



Corner Bakery is one of my favorite places to visit when in Washington, D.C. Odd to see the name atop a building with no cafe in sight.



Beautiful mission-esqu building along the trail heading north away from the lake.



An awesome round about at the northern terminus. "keep right" and ride a large leisurely loop. This is at the end of a new section of trail that doesn't yet appear on Google Maps. This trailhead is very close (2 blocks?) to another trail that heads further north to Richardson and Plano. Nice job Texas getting on board with connecting trails to make complete systems!



It was an emergency that I stop and get a picture of this sign. I've seen these on several roads, typically associated with gov't installations, but never on a bike path.



The trail follow White Rock Creek. Generally the creek bed is pretty unsightly. This section was kind of nice.



Nice to know a location for 911 - and even better to have starbucks sign within view of trail... Trailside temptations! There is a promising looking Taqueria at the other end of the same building...



After a good afternoon ride I was rolling back toward the lake as the sun set.



And finally done... Two hour ride around the lake, then up to the northern terminus, then back to the lake. Great to find a cycling haven in Dallas. Lots of cyclists and runners. Even water stations and bathrooms around the lake. Lots of playgrounds along the trail for little tikes. Sailboats and paddle boats on the lake. Great recreational area and nice to see so many people being active and tacking advantage.

And great to be back on two wheels.

Hello Texas

Part hello, part test post. Longer post held up due to technical difficulties.

Disc golf at Rockwall City Park

Dreams

A few ruminations:


Have my own dream.

Lean towards it; don't chase it.

Welcome others along on the journey to my dream.

Wish them well when their journeys diverge.

Be aware that I play a part in the journeys of others and treat their dreams with respect.

A Morning in Oswiecim

In various history classes I studied World War II. In high school Schindler's List really left an impression. I entered college dating a Jewish girl and she and her family significantly changed the direction of my life. Thank you Stacie Garnett. I learned to walk a little softer and gained friendships across many cultures. I really appreciate when others share their culture. There is culture on display at monuments, there are carefully chosen culture icons, there's a day in the life, and occasionally a culture is represented by something from OUTSIDE the culture. I think this is the case with Auschwitz.

It's a chilling place literally and figuratively. We happened to visit on Survivor Remembrance Day. A quick tour was enough for me and a political ceremony with the president of Poland and foreign dignitaries start at noon. Navigating a foreign country without speaking the native language is tough enough during "business as usual". We'd already had one encounter with police and closed roads. I wasn't excited about trying to navigate the world of exceptions when national and international dignitaries were present.

My "light visit" rapidly gained a few tons when we entered the front gate amid a group of survivors who were touring before attending the upcoming ceremony.



















I left feeling permeated by coldness and it wasn't our coldest day. I didn't sleep the night before and I didn't sleep for 2 days after.

The first thing I wanted when leaving was distance between me and this place. The second thing I wanted was coffee to physically and mentally warm up. Ice cream was furthest from my mind so the shop advertising ice cream in the parking lot felt quite offensive.




I only did a fleeting tour. The "Hall of Hair" was closed. I didn't see Birkenau. I don't have words for the experience of actually visiting Auschwitz. If you want to know more go or let's talk in person.

A few speakable noteworthy things do stand out. The site is in Poland; not Germany. It's like getting into a bad bar fight and someone else carrying around the scar. The camp was used for Polish and Russian prisoners of war, and basically anyone the Nazis condemned, early on. Documentation was meticulous at times. I'm left amazed at what can be made to appear "on the up and up". And chilled and pensive and sleepless.

Sunday in Zakopane

Sunday's 17 degrees F was a viable heat wave after 7 on Saturday so we geared up in our minimalist fashion and set out to sample the Tatra mountain range. We walked from the hotel to a trail and started up. I love how walkable everything was.



Signage for proof of location.



I've never been hiking in a really snowy environment, let alone in a real mountain range, so this was a beautiful new world to me. In typical noob fashion I snapped way too many pics of this new-to-me world.

The first sighting of a creek flowing through the valley.



Sarah giving perspective to rocky outcropping.



Interesting new experience - entering a national park on foot and paying for entry. The closest experience I have to this otherwise was paying to bicycle through a park that was part of a detour on my C&O tour a couple years back. No bikes allowed in the park but there was a bike reroute to the right.



Then the valley and sky opened up a bit. I really like this picture of Sarah walking out into the snowy unknown. I might have hung off the sides of that railing to get "the perfect vantage point" for another photo. Thankfully no splashdowns.



Looking up to more rocky ledges






Occasionally the creek peeked through the ice.



There were many recently cut trees along the path. It looked to me like they'd blown over and then been cut to clear the trail. In several places they were piled up and awaiting extraction. I get the feeling these were harvested and cut for lumber or carved. The wood grain is super tight. It looks like really beautiful wood for craftsmen of all sorts.



A closed off cave and nice ice waterfall. We heard these were closed off because of extreme cold inside.



The trail continues up the mountain.



Another peek at the peaks above.






This tree stood out to me at one of the hairpin turns heading up the mountain. The bark is clearly different from others. It was noteworthy.



After inventorying our situation we decided to turn back before reaching the summit. Kind strangers on the trail estimated another 1.5 hours to the top. We both really enjoyed the nature experience. And we were careful of limited gear and balancing other experiences. We peaked out right around 49.26453, 19.95197. We were a bit further up and I just forgot to drop a way point until we'd started back down.



Heading back down the sky really cleared up. Pictures don't do justice to the contrast of blue and white.






Here's one basis for my suspicion of downed trees getting cut and harvested. This root ball completely blocked the trail.



This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. Study it for a moment.


Now check the lower right hand corner. That's Sarah about to cross the bridge. Some perspective on this view.


Avalanche concern was another new experience. Maybe not much of a concern at this point. Shaking a tree still resulted in a nice deluge. It was all pretty and fun until ice and snow slid down my open collar!



I toured Zakopane a bit more rounding up provisions before heading out of town. This hillside was particularly picturesque. Houses in the local style sparsely dotted the slope.



And one final view of the mountains heading out of town.



Saturday night we drove to Oswiecim. The drive was an adventure by itself. We got off the beaten path a bit and saw more countryside and towns. We almost slid through an intersection when a stop sign didn't register soon enough on an icy road.

During the drive I reflected on the beauty of the countryside and connecting, ever so slightly, with the Tatra mountains. Natural beauty and connection transcends time and space.