Miss your biking friends? Join this online Texas Gravel & Cross Happy Hour on Wednesday

Miss your biking friends? Join this online Texas Gravel & Cross Happy Hour on Wednesday

Heidi Armstrong, an injury recovery coach, is the guest at the first-ever Texas Gravel & Cross Happy Hour on Wednesday. Pam LeBlanc photo

Have shelter-in-place orders thrown off your cycling mojo?

Capital City Racing will host the first Texas Gravel & Cross Happy Hour tomorrow on YouTube, so you can commiserate with other grounded athletes.

“You join in and tell us something funny, make a snarky comment, ask a question or say hi to your friends. It’s all about cyclists getting together to chat, laugh, cry and enjoy a cold one,” the invite reads.

Hosts Austin Walker, Leslie Reuter and John Russell will talk with Heidi Armstrong, founder of Injured Athletes Toolbox, about how to cope with the social paralysis brought on by the coronavirus shutdown.

Heidi Armstrong takes a break while biking at Big Bend National Park in 2018. Pam LeBlanc photo

Armstrong helps athletes overcome the mental and emotional fallout of injury. She learned from experience – she had eight surgeries and spent four years on crutches due to cycling injuries. (Learn more about Armstrong and her work at https://www.facebook.com/InjuredAthletesToolbox/
https://injuredathletestoolbox.com/ or read my 2013 story about here at https://www.statesman.com/article/20130923/NEWS/309239710.)

“It’s the shit nobody is really talking about but every one of us experiencing – isolation, frustration, and a longing for a bike ride with our friends,” an invitation to the virtual happy hour reads.

To join, tune into https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yt2ZNcFkxU

at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

 

 

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I jumped in the lake at dawn today, and it felt great

I jumped in the lake at dawn today, and it felt great

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For the past 35 years, I’ve jump-started three-quarters of my days by leaping into water.

Swimming jolts me awake. It feels like a full-body hug from Mother Nature, and gives me time, inside my head, to think, subconsciously solve problems and even frame articles I’m writing for newspapers and magazines. It’s a magic elixir for me, and therefore no coincidence that some of my favorite sports – scuba diving, water skiing, paddling – take place in the water.

The suspension of my morning workouts at Western Hills Athletic Club, where I’ve been knocking out a couple of miles four or five days a week for years, plus the closure of public swimming pools, has made me a tad cranky.

But after five weeks out of the water, I’ve logged four swims in the past week. Friends – and in two instances complete strangers – have reached out to offer access to their home pools. I’m beyond grateful.

This morning, it got even better.

A friend with access to a private dock invited me to join him for an hour-long dawn swim around a cove in Lake Austin.

Stretching my arms out and watching my hands plunge through a blue-green veil of water as the sun rose sent shivers of happiness through my body. We circled the entire cove – nearly a mile – as the sun progressively lit the shoreline with light. No boats, no people, no sound, just brisk water and dappled light.

I swam a little more, popping my head out to admire the rocky cliff on one side of the cove, and the Volkswagen-sized boulder at the tip of a point reaching out on the other. A fish splashed. I bumped into some submerged sticks, then rolled over on my back and floated, staring up at the sky.

Nothing out in this cove has changed much since the shelter-in-place order. And that felt reassuring.

 

 

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Someone is trashing the new one-way signs along the Butler Trail

Someone is trashing the new one-way signs along the Butler Trail

The Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail was converted to a one-way route last week. Photo courtesy The Trail Foundation

Not everyone agrees with the new temporary, one-way direction of the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail.

The city of Austin Parks and Recreation Department converted the trail to a clockwise-only route last week, in an effort to minimize face-to-face contact among users.

Simple, right? Not that hard to follow, if you’re going to go against recommendations to steer clear of the trail during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Trail Foundation, the non-profit organization that maintains and enhances the 10-mile loop around Lady Bird Lake, spent $6,000 to make and install more than 300 signs noting the change. At the same time, the foundation has asked people to avoid the trail right now, because it’s difficult to maintain a 6-foot distance from other users at pinch points along the route.

Somebody has been removing and trashing the one-way direction signs installed on the trail. Photo courtesy The Trail Foundation

According to Trail Foundation counters, about 85 percent of trail users have heeded the one-way rule, which went into effect last week, but many of the directional signs have been reversed, ripped in half or left by the trash.

Come on, Austin, we’re better than this.

Now, foundation staff members are asking anyone who does use the trail to put back up any downed or misplaced signs. And remember, if you do use the trail, please wear a face covering.

“It’s been a struggle for us because it’s against our grain and mission to discourage people from coming. We love this place and it offers wonderful access to nature, but in this moment, it also presents some hazards,” said Heidi Anderson, CEO of The Trail Foundation.

Come on, Austin. We’re better than this.

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An Allandale scavenger hunt: Aliens, ducks, a giant spider and more!

An Allandale scavenger hunt: Aliens, ducks, a giant spider and more!

I’ve lived in the Allandale neighborhood for more than 20 years, but until the past few months had no idea we were home to an alien landing site.

Sure, I knew about the Spider Tree, but had never quite noticed the stump full of little ducks. It turns out that we’re home to all kinds of quirky and interesting distractions, from an orange-and-white cat that serves as mayor of one street to a bicycle that supports a mailbox on another.

Here’s a scavenger hunt to help you discover some new treasures in our neighborhood during the city’s shelter-in-place order. They’re all located in an area bordered by Loop 1 MoPac to the west, Burnet Road to the east, Foster Lane to the north, and Koenig Lane to the south.

Stuck? Email pamleblancadventures@gmail.com for the locations of anyplace you can’t find.

1. Bob the Cat is the mayor of his street in Allandale. He’s even got his own sign! 

 

2. Aliens have invaded this site in Allandale, and if you ask nicely, they’ll take you home with them.

 

A closeup of the aliens, which appear friendly but a little worn from their travels.

 

 3. This bicycle was repurposed as a mailbox support. And if you look closely, you’ll notice a tiny duck sitting on the top.

 

 4. The giant Spider Tree wears different decorations for different holidays. 

 

 5. A flock of little ducks makes its home on a big stump. 

 

 

 6. Everyone is welcome to sit a while on this colorful bench. Pam LeBlanc photo

 

 7. A wooden bike and pedestrian bridge makes it easy to get around our neighborhood. 

 

8. Huge mutant butterflies have landed on the side of a house in our neighborhood.

 

 9. This old cemetery in Allandale dates back to at least 1851. 

 

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People are creating their own home gyms while sheltering in place

People are creating their own home gyms while sheltering in place

I can’t swim with my team right now, but I can do pull-ups on the tree in my front yard. Chris LeBlanc photo

My normal fitness routine screeched to a halt early last month, when Western Hills Athletic Club suspended swim practices and temporarily shut the pool.

Since then I’ve been mainly riding my bike and running. I feel like I’m losing upper body strength that I worked hard for, though, so I’m trying to incorporate other exercises into my routine.

This morning I channeled my inner monkey, and after pedaling 15 miles on my bike, I did some pull-ups from the tree in my front yard.

With gyms closed, parks shuttered and trails off limits, we’re all entering new territory when it comes to staying fit. I put out a call this morning, asking people to submit photos of home gyms they’ve put together since shelter-in-place orders came down.

Here are a few of photos shared by readers…

Kiana and Iram Leon drag giant tires, do jumping jacks and hop off and on a wooden box to stay fit.

Iram Leon and his daughter, Kiana, have made their own outdoor gym complete with a gigantic tire for lugging and a wooden box to jump on and off. They supplement that with plenty of running (Leon is president of Austin Runners Club) and jumping jacks.

Sheila Reiter made a home gym by rolling out a mat and gathering up some hand weights and an exercise ball. She’s also got an indoor bike trainer.

Sheila Reiter, my Texas Water Safari paddling teammate, rolled out a mat and gathered some weights and an exercise ball to create her version of a home gym. She’s rides her bike before the sun comes up some days, but also uses an indoor bike trainer, because she’s finding it harder and harder to cycle while maintaining a proper social distance on the hills where she likes to train.

Al White borrowed equipment from his gym and still works out with a coach – virtually.

Al White says his gym, Infinite Fitness, let him take home whatever equipment he needed, and he’s now doing Zoom sessions with his coach to stay on track.

Emily Werbow turned a mini-tramp into a mini-gym.

Emily Werbow has arranged a mini-tramp, a bunch of hula hoops and an exercise ball on her back patio.

Dan Driscoll tunes in to virtual workouts, but his cat doesn’t care.

Dan Driscoll is working out with his friends virtually, too, but it looks like his cat just doesn’t get it.

Cate Brookes Sweeney transformed her back balcony into a mini-gym.

New mom Cate Brooks Sweeney rolled out a mat on her balcony, and put her laptop on a chair so she can participate in workouts virtually. When she’s done exercising, she uses the area as a toddler outdoor sensory area.

Courtney Lyons-Garcia is doing high intensity interval training sessions in her home garage, too.

Courtney Lyons-Garcia is working out in her garage.

Massage therapist Kiplimo Chemirmir set up what he calls his “Lil Warriors den,” with an assortment of rollers, kettlebells, balls and hand weights.

Jennifer Leduc does her Camp Gladiator workouts from home.

Jennifer Leduc is following her Camp Gladiator workouts from the comfort of her porch.

Christopher Maynard’s boys have created a ninja warrior course in the back yard.

And Christopher Maynard’s boys have created a ninja warrior course in the backyard that they change up daily.

To see all the submissions, go to the Pamela LeBlanc page on FaceBook.

 

 

 

About Pam

I’m Pam LeBlanc. Follow my blog to keep up with the best in outdoor travel and adventure. Thanks for visiting my site.

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