HTX Bicycle Tour Day #2

I slept on an air mattress that had a hole in it so by the time morning came I felt like I was sleeping in a hammock.  I first heard Henry scream around 6am and the kids first came to find me around 6:30.  Luckily Amelia still gives me 5 minutes when I ask for it so I got a bit of extra rest...but when Henry came in it was time to get moving!

We repacked all the panniers and I carried the bikes downstairs.  It's amazing how much you need to take care of a couple kids.  Strategically packing it into limited space makes you fully aware.  After putting our poor host's apartment back the way we found it, he came by and we talked for a while before saying our goodbyes and heading out again.  Transient life.

It felt good to be back on the street again.  We set Henry on the sidewalk while we attached the trailer and hitched the panniers.  I think seeing him sitting there was my favorite moments of the whole weekend.

We had breakfast at Coco Crepes just a block away and started outside but the weather started to turn so we made our way out of the rain.  There were only 2 person tables so we had to tag team it.  I took breakfast with Amelia and Kim fed Henry at a table next to the dessert counter.  Once I finished half our crepe I swapped with Kim and took over feeding the kraken.  It was a nice breakfast…everything was running smoothly this morning.

When done we went out into the rain, loaded the kids and headed into downtown.  Downtown in the morning is always interesting to me.  There is an overwhelming amount of evidence of people but nobody for miles!  We made it to the Metrorail station at Liberty and took shelter from the rain while waiting on the train.

As it drew near we lined up and made a game plan for loading.  I had a bike and a trailer to fit in there and Kim took her bike and Amelia.  Amelia got into the marching formation and when we went for it, I swear we got into the train in under 4 seconds.  It was flawless.

We took the North/South train all the way up to the Lindale Park stop and rode a couple blocks to Liz and DK’s.  It felt so easy this morning!

The rest of the afternoon we lounged around Graceland, watched McFarland USA and ate Pizza/chips/guacamole.  It was really nice, especially since we haven’t spent the afternoon there in quite some time.

Around 4pm DK gave us a ride home.  All four of us were dozing off at one time or another!  The crazy weekend finally caught up with us!

Once home I’m not even sure if we had dinner.  We just passed out. 

All up I wish we could have taken a bus home to finish out the weekend unsupported, but maybe the lesson here is sometimes you have to ask for help.  It was appreciated. 

HTX Bicycle Tour Day #1

After a late night of solving the world's ills with the neighbors over too many beers on the back porch, Kim shook me at 6am telling me to get up.  It took me a few minutes but I got up and started packing knowing it would be twice as hard once Henry woke up.

We packed the panniers, 2 for each bike, then loaded the trailer with kid supplies.  Blankies, toys, books and a lot of cold water.  It was about 80 degrees but would likely be 95 degrees by the time we hit our destination.

Kiddos were excited to go.

With the bikes packed and ready to go we handed packed in Amelia and Henry and set off down Mason Creek at 7:30am.

The Neighborhoods (4.5 miles)
The first section of trails was familiar as it's the route I take to work.  It's a section of trails that line the bayous that run through the neighborhoods.  They snake their way north east until you hit Kingsland road which has a sidewalk you can take straight into George Bush Park.

George Bush Park (3.5 miles)
George Bush Park is a 7800 acre resivoir that is meant to capture flood waters from the Buffalo Bayou.  It is mostly dry with trails running throughout, but after a heavy rain the entire park fills with water for weeks.  A 30ft levee was built on the North, South and East sides of the park to catch the floodwaters and on the outside of the levee is a popular trail.

While it's nice to have so much bike trail, it's boring and there's no shade.  It isn't very long but it feels extremely long!

Terry Hershey Park (6.5 miles)
Terry Hershey Park is roughly 500 acres of green space that runs along the Buffalo Bayou between Hwy 6 and Beltway 8.  In high school I spent a lot of time riding the mountain bike trails on the south bank and loitering around the giant dirt ramps called the Anthills.

After college we spent some time paddling the bayou and now, finally, we are riding the running/biking trail on the north bank.

Looking back at the day, this is absolutely the most beautiful stretch of the ride.  The trail twists and turns and rolls up and down the banks of the bayou.  For Houston, any bit of elevation change is welcome.

Along the way we stopped to let the kids out to run around and make sure they get some water.  Amelia ran like crazy and Henry did what he does best...ate a whole bag of dried fruit and crackers.

Picnic in Terry Hershey park.

Before we knew it we were at Beltway 8 and making our way into more urban landscape.


Beltway 8 to Memorial Park (9.5 miles)
From the peaceful rolling trails in Terry Hershey to the feeder of Beltway 8, we weren't too psyched about this section but had to get through.  Memorial drive snakes through some really lovely neighborhoods with huge houses but the trails are crap and the drivers are fast and unpredictable.

We took it slow, had a couple drink breaks but for the most part it was unremarkable.  It wasn't until we go to the San Felipe crossing of Buffalo Bayou that we got our excitement back.  The Buffalo Bayou Regatta begins here and we have a lot of good memories of it.  Next year Kim and I will be taking first place in the mixed tandem category!

Turns out the city limit is right at the start of the Buffalo Bayou Regatta.

After the bayou we cut into Tanglewood and made our way down to the Galleria.  I love riding through here.  For years I lived and worked in the Galleria and really love that time of my life.  Even though it was a bit out of the way we spun by my old office at BHP Billiton.  9 years with them...lot's of memories.

Memorial to Midtown (6 miles)
We cut through uptown park, then up the bike path along 610 to Memorial park.  Our speed was picking up due to the excitement.  For me I was on my old bike commuting route and I had forgotten what a beautiful ride it is.  We made our way through the park and into Rice Military and stopped at a gas station.

At this point we had 4 32oz bottles of water and were dying.  It was 11am and the heat was beating down on us.  Kim bought an ice cold gallon of water and we nearly drained the thing.  Henry had been sleeping for an hour but he got up to enjoy the cold water.  We were bushed and didn't have much left in us, but had to press on.

We continued up the bike path along Memorial along the Buffalo Bayou.  It's not until writing this that I realize we followed it's banks almost the entire time.  We used the pedestrian bridge at Montrose Blvd. to cross the bayou, followed Allen Parkway to Taft, then up W. Webster to Midtown.

We passed right by my buddy Madhav's place on the way in and kind of feel stupid for not asking to crash in his guest room.  Next time.

Once in Midtown we met Brendan our host from AirBNB.  He's a sports reporter and looks the part.  He was really nice, showed us the place then handed over the keys and was off to Minute Maid Park to interview the train conductor (a train runs along the west wall when the Astros hit a home run or win the game).

I hauled the bikes up a flight of stairs and we crashed out on the floor soaking up the AC.  With all our might, 5 minutes later, we were back out into the heat looking for food.  We tried an old favorite, Christian's Tailgate, but it was closed for remodeling.  On to Little Woodrows and were turned away due to their no kids policy (that's a first) and ended up on Spec's Liquor.  Before you judge the downtown Specs could be classified as a grocery store with a decent deli in the back.  We could tell we were in the land of young professionals and popped collars from the lack people smiling at Henry.  That and being turned away from Woodrow's for having kids!

Bellies full we went back to the loft to put Henry down for a needed nap.  Didn't happen.  After a couple hours of trying we decided to get back out.  We called Liz and DK, who were already in Downtown and met up at Discovery Green.  The kids play and had an awesome time.

We walked to Phoenicia and it was packed with Cowboys from the Garth Brooks concert and people headed to the Pride Parade.  You couldn't get a stranger mix of people.  We had a great dinner, as always and said our goodbyes.  We loaded up the bikes once again and headed back to Midtown.

Dinner in front of Phoenicia.

Before bed I took Amelia to the pool and while the sun went down we swam around.  It was like the entire day washed off my body and I felt so good after swimming.  Amelia, in her words, had fun Fun FUN!!!

The final adventure of the day was getting a 2 kids to sleep in the same bed in a loft apartment.  I must have put Henry back in bed 20 times.  Eventually they crashed and while watching a movie so did I.

It felt like we put 3 days into 1.

Stay-cation Planning

As we approach another weekend where I should have run the Texas Water Safari, I’ve got an itch to get out and do something adventurous.  One bucket list item we’ve had for a while is a multi-day cycling trip.  I’ve been talking to Chris Lee about a ride from Katy to downtown, so why not add the kids? And spend the night?

The ultimate stay-cation is born.

Houston has changed across the board over the last 15-20yrs.  One way that hits close to home with me is in green space and bike trails.  Growing up on the border of the Woodlands we had the luxury of bike trails that could get you anywhere and parks everywhere.  After college I rode to work in Uptown Houston;  it was in the streets and a fringe activity that drew a lot of funny looks. 

 

West Houston and Katy Cycling Routes

But over the years I’ve seen the buffalo bayou parks get renovated and rebuilt and bike paths/lanes put in all over the city.  If you put the bicycle filter on google maps it’s impressive.  So impressive that I now live 40 miles out in Katy, TX and I can still get downtown on a bike path 99% of the way.  Time to take advantage of this.

We searched for some hotel deals downtown but couldn’t find anything under $120, so I switched to AirBNB.com and found a loft for $90 right in the guts of Midtown.  The bonus, and selling point, is the complex has an awesome pool.  So if the kids are hating us we can always just chill at the pool.

The general plan is to head out as soon as Hank wakes up.  We’ll stop along the way and chuck some donuts in the trailer before pushing through George Bush Park, then the  Terry Hershey greenbelt.  This is about the 1.5hr mark so we’ll take a break at the nearest playground.  After this we ride sidewalks along memorial, to San Felipe and into Memorial Park getting us on dedicated cycling paths again.

Memorial will take us to Eleanor Tinsley Park and right into the dedicated bike lane that connects north and south downtown.  The terminus of the bike lane is Discovery Green where we’ll let some very restless children run free at the splash pad and park.  This’ll be around lunch time, so we’ll probably pedal over to Midtown for a bit to eat and grab the key to the apartment. 

From there I hope to (pending the mood of the kiddos) walk to the metro rail and head into the museum district.  I figure we can spend the afternoon at the Museum of Natural Science, roll down the hill at Miller Outdoor Theater and ride the mini-train.  Since we are so close to Lindale Park, Liz/DK/Jordan will hopefully join us.

We could possibly stay for the Symphony at Miller Outdoor Theater, but it’s not likely  since the kiddos will be bushed.  We can head back early to the loft, put the kids down and watch a movie with the volume low.

Sunday morning we can walk to get some coffee, maybe head back downtown for some breakfast tacos, then head home.  I imagine we’ll find a pool to go swim in J

Alright, for those wondering what we’ll pack for an overnight cycling trip, here is the short list.

Food  (aka Safari supplies!)

Gatorade

PB and J

Bread

Clif bars

Gu

Kid snacks

Tools

Pump

Patch kit

Phillips

15MM

10MM x2

Multi-tool

Misc

Phone/phone charger

Cash $40

Blanket

Umbrella stroller or baby bjorn

Bike lock and cables

David (riding with LS blue shirt, spandex, khaki short and cycling shoes)

Jeans (skinny for less weight)

Flip flops

Undies

Casual dress shirt

Toothbrush/floss/toothpaste

Deodorant

Vitamin E

Sunscreen

Bathing Suit

Book: 

Kim (riding in running shirt, spandex, camo short and tennis shoes)

Khaki shorts

t-shirt

Undies

Flip flops

Toothbrush/floss/toothpaste

Bathing Suit

Book:  Rosemary’s Baby

Amelia

Toothbrush/floss/toothpaste

Bathing Suit

Undies x3

Shorts

T-shirts x2

Books

Doll

Henry

Bathing Suit

2 swim diapers

6 diapers

Wipes

4 pacifiers

Sippy cup

Truck

Onesie x3

Pantsx2

Shoes

Hat

Throwing in the Towel

Well Dan never said quit, but I found out he already booked a 3 week family vacation to Cape Code on July 5th so we would have to take time away from that to race.  He's very committed to this race, but for the sake of his marriage I don't think he's coming.

For me I looked at the the new timing and it's really bad for work.  I delegated as much as possible and would have to work through the holiday weekend prior to the race and it was still very tight.  So tight my vacation request was rejected for the first time in 10yrs (with good reason).  I still tried my damnedest to work an angle but there is no way around it.

I talked with Kim for a while last night trying to separate the fatigue from organizing this race from the monetary investment and the dream of finishing it.  We tried to distill it down to the raw reality which is:

-  I'm going to burn some bridges at work if I go.

-  I'll be going alone. 

-  I'll be going in a boat I haven't trained in.

If there is a storm system in the next 2 weeks it will keep the river in flood stage.  The directors cannot maintain insurance if in flood stage so the race will be cancelled.

I feel like I'm 100 feet from the peak of Everest and a storm is coming.  I know the smart decision is to turn back, but I've already come all this way...

I spoke to Dan and we decided to call it quits for the 2015.  I'll still head out to San Marcos and volunteer if possible.  I called Chris Paddack our mentor to break the news and he told me there is a lot to learn watching the elite guys...always positive, always giving advice. 

I thanked him and told him I'd see him on the shore.  

2015 Texas Water Safari Postponed....Again...

Today I was going to get this blog going so Kim could update during the race as we were finally in the last stretch of preparation.  Then around 5pm today our mentor, Chris Paddack, texted us to say the race was postponed.

Over the last few weeks I've become acutely aware of how dependent I am on people for this seemingly independent endeavor.   The original appeal of this race was that I could rock off in a canoe for three days for some peace and perspective.  But as things evolved I teamed up and trained with a partner, worked with my wife and mother-in-law Team Captains and coordinated with my Dad and Step-mom to take care of the kiddos.

I originally imagined myself tackling the frontier all on my lonesome, but I'm happy that this has turned into this massive logistical challenge that has brought us all a little closer.  Happy that is until they postponed the race from June 13th to June 27th.

The first postponement had us scrambling to change reservations, verify everybody's plans and make a few tweaks on equipment rental.  Dan I think had it the hardest because he is currently in New York with his family and cut the trip short for the race.

Now it's been postponed again due to prolonged flooding, especially down south of Victoria.  I came home after hearing the news to discuss with my primary team captain.

"First order of business: this sucks and I wish we had a beer in the fridge...OK, Dan...call Dan."  Dan had earlier texted me some creative conjugations of swearwords that oddly expressed my feelings perfectly.  He is working with his family to figure out if he can make the new date.  I gave him a rundown of my situation:  Work is the biggest obstacle, will put the change in tomorrow. Ma e-mailed and is still in as co-team captain.  Mary is in, but will need help as Dad is out.

TWS also e-mailed and we have the 27th to make a change to our team if one cannot make it.  More to come.