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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

by | Apr 28, 2020 | Blog

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.

 

 

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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I found some new Austin murals by bike this week

I found some new Austin murals by bike this week

by | Mar 23, 2020 | Blog

This 12-story mural on the side of the Line Hotel in downtown Austin commemorates the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Chris LeBlanc photo

I’ve been spending a lot of time on my bike lately, and this weekend I zipped downtown, where I got an up-close view of some new murals.

My new favorite? The huge mural on the west side of the LINE Hotel (formerly the Radisson) at Congress Avenue and the river, where Canadian artist Sandra Chevrier collaborated with American street artist Shepard Fairey, the artist who illustrated the Barrack Obama campaign poster a few years ago. The 12-story mural, part of the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation’s “Writing on the Walls” series, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Even better, it features one of my personal heroes, Wonder Woman. (I once rappelled down a 38-story building in downtown Austin dressed as Wonder Woman, and have raced several 5K runs in a Wonder Woman costume.)

This crooning cowboy adorns the east side of Native Hostel. Pam LeBlanc photo

And a mural on Native Hostel’s north side honors Austin band the Black Pumas. Pam LeBlanc photo

The Native Hostel at 807 East Fourth Street has repainted several of its walls with fresh murals. The north side features a painting honoring the band the Austin-based band the Black Pumas (I love that song “Colors”), and the east side features a cartoon image of a singing cowboy.

Can you name all the vegetarians in this photo next to Mr. Natural on East Cesar Chavez? Pam LeBlanc photo

I stopped to admire a huge mural of a bunch of vegetarians next to the Mr. Natural location at 1901 Cesar Chavez, but couldn’t correctly identify everyone in the scene. (The restaurant, which opened in East Austin in 1988, is offering curbside service in these pandemic days.)

This small mural on Waller Street is tucked in the gateway of a private home. Pam LeBlanc photo

I got one more surprise – a small-but-really fun Austin-centric mural in the front gateway to someone’s home on Waller Street, a few blocks north of the river.

What are your favorite murals?

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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Spider Mountain Bike Park suspends operations during pandemic

Spider Mountain Bike Park suspends operations during pandemic

by | Mar 19, 2020 | Blog

 

Spider Mountain is suspending operations starting this weekend. Pam LeBlanc photo

Spider Mountain Bike Park in Burnet is suspending operations starting this weekend.

Officials at the chairlift-served mountain bike park say they will continue to follow federal, state and county guidelines and assess a reopening date on a day-by-day basis.

“The COVID-19 crisis compels us to make difficult decisions for the well being not only of our guests and employees but also of Texans as a whole,” said managing partner James Coleman.
Check for update on the park’s website, spidermountain.com. Spider Mountain’s accompanying lodging, Thunderbird Resort, will continue its normal operations.

Read my story about Spider Mountain at https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20190228/how-chairlift-from-new-mexico-is-changing-things-for-central-texas-mountain-bikers.

The park is located 60 miles northwest of Austin.

A cyclist rides the lift to the top of Spider Mountain on Feb. 9, 2019. Pam LeBlanc photo

Bike Creek Road in Dripping Springs for a rolling, beginner-friendly ride

Bike Creek Road in Dripping Springs for a rolling, beginner-friendly ride

by | Mar 9, 2020 | Blog

The cattle along Creek Road stopped to check us out as we pedaled past on Sunday. Pam LeBlanc photo

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It turned to spring a few days ago and my bike was clambering to get out of the shed, so my husband and I loaded our wheels into the truck and pointed toward Creek Road in Dripping Springs.

If you’re looking to spend an hour or two on a classic Hill Country route without much traffic and plenty of goats, sheep, cattle and llamas to make things interesting, consider riding this scenic out-and-back route. The terrain rolls and flows past barns and kitschy wedding venues, and you’ll see plenty of ranchers out managing their stock or driving tractors.

Park at Roger Hanks Park, 195 Roger Hanks Parkway in Dripping Springs. If you pedal all the way to Creek Road’s dead end at Texas 165 south of Henly, then turn around and ride back, you’ll log 17 miles. The road snakes alongside gorgeous Onion Creek, and the main route not-too-hilly, beginner-friendly terrain.

If you want to add some hills and another creek crossing (take it slow, moss grows on the road and I’ve taken a digger here) to make a nice loop, hop on County Road 195 and head toward Mt. Gainor Road.

(Pro tip: I once stayed a night at the charming Mt. Gainor Inn, an old German farmhouse-turned-bed-and-breakfast at 2390 Prochnow Road, and rode 45 miles to Johnson City and back the next morning. For more information go to mtgainorinn.com.)

Texas flag flying along Creek Road in Dripping Springs on Sunday. Chris LeBlanc photo

Sunday’s ride reminded me that I haven’t spent enough time on my bike this winter. That’s about to change, because the next few months are the best time of the year to ride in Central Texas.

Coming soon? My annual ride on the Willow City Loop near Fredericksburg.

 

 

 

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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For mountain biking bliss, head to Slaughter Creek Trail

For mountain biking bliss, head to Slaughter Creek Trail

by | Feb 24, 2020 | Blog

Pam LeBlanc rides at Slaughter Creek Trail on Feb. 23, 2020. Chris LeBlanc photo

Austin’s a mecca for mountain biking, but sometimes I feel like I spend more time getting off my bike to avoid the gnarly stuff than I do actually riding.

My favorite place to ride when I want some moderate terrain that’ll challenge my intermediate skills without leaving me in a sling? The Slaughter Creek Preserve in South Austin, where a 5-mile single-track loop serves up stair-steppy drops, rock gardens and flowy, rolling inclines.

The trail doesn’t require the technical skill that you need to navigate the bumps and grinds of parts of the Barton Creek Greenbelt or Emma Long Metropolitan Park (City Park), and it doesn’t attract the big crowds of Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park.

I made two loops of the circuit this morning, and it felt great to get my cycling legs back under me. I swim almost every day, but now and then it’s good to mix up the routine.

Chris LeBlanc rides down a rocky ledge at Slaughter Creek. Pam LeBlanc photo

The multi-use trail cuts through a 100-acre swath of land owned by the city of Austin and set aside to protect water quality. (Cyclists ride clockwise; hikers and equestrians head counter-clockwise. Cyclists should dismount and pull off to avoid startling horses.)

Confession: About five years ago, I busted my ass on a rocky incline near the start of the trail. (Limestone is sharp, people!) I wound up at the minor emergency center, but it didn’t keep me from coming back. And the good news is the trail’s been reworked in that section, so you can avoid the hazards that took me out.

I especially like this trail in the spring, when wildflowers are blooming. I’ve spooked up deer on occasion, too.

The Slaughter Creek Trail winds through groves of cedars and oaks, and includes flown sections over rocky terrain. Pam LeBlanc photo

The trail is doable for beginner and intermediate-level cyclists. I’ve made it through every obstacle on the loop, but I’ve never made an entire loop without dabbing a foot down at least once. You’ll find about seven or eight nice ledgy drops and climbs.

Not up for the entire loop? You can take a cutoff trial that trims about 2 miles off the circuit and still includes the highlights.

The trail is open from dawn to dusk daily, but closes after rain to prevent erosion.(Check here for closure information.) You have to drive through an automatic gate to get to the parking lot and trailhead, which is next to the old Trautwein homestead at 9901 Farm-to-Market 1826.

Chris LeBlanc rides the Slaughter Creek Trail on Feb. 23, 2020. Check the park’s Facebook page before heading out to make sure it’s open. Pam LeBlanc photo

 

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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