A New Hybrid Mountain Bike for Me

My mountain bike was stolen last summer. Although I still have a road bike and a cruiser bike (and a unicycle), I missed having a mountain bike.

The urge finally bubbled over today and I walked to my local bike shop, Buck's Bikes, and I bought myself a hybrid mountain bike. I rode home to drop off the paper work, removed the plastic ring around the big ring, and added a water cage. Within 15 minutes, I took off to do some exploring on my new bike.

I rode towards downtown with the intention of looking at the art sculpture at the Baca Center. I thought I had read something about that, but downtown traffic was heavier than I expected. I cut around on Baghdad and rode by the Baca Center but there was nothing. I wasn't disappointed though. I rode around the back. Instead of riding into the parking garage, I rode my bike on the grass and around the back of the building. I was able to ride up onto the small stage and continue riding around the back of the Baca Center. I shot back under Baghdad and rode toward the dog park. I didn't turn left on that small road that goes directly to the park. Instead, I rode over the tracks and went straight to the three-way stop. I turned left there and enjoyed the pull of the downward slope to the bottom of the next intersection. This led me to the park and I rode by the dog park.

Past the park is the Colonial Apartments and I rode the utility road to it and at the locked gate I turned right. Someone had beaten down a path to the right so I use it for my bike. This leads to the scenic sidewalk that goes around the apartments to the right. Well, I saw a washoff area that was marked by a roll of boulders wrapped in chicken wire. Its some kind of flood control method. I walked my bike over that and then I rode down the washoff path. People use it, you can tell. It was still a bit soggy but I didn't fall. This leads to a creek section that has a cement waterfall. I rode carefully but my tire gripped it well. I was afraid it would be slippery. I liked that part. I shot out on the other side onto a large gravel road of caliche rocks, and they were loose under the tires. It lead right up a slope. I couldn't ride straight up it so I followed the curve of the hill to the left until I got to the top. It's that new section of houses that can be seen from A.W. Grimes, on its west side, after the Colonial Apartments.

There was a sidewalk and a new road. I Uturned and took the sidewalk as far as it went. It veered to the right into a new small public park. I followed the side walk for a bit and it was a very beautiful section of the creek. The sidewalk ended and it became that same loose caliche rock road. But this was the other end of the road. I took it all the way back to the cemented creek section to make sure. It was. I rode up the hill again and this time I rode past the park. From the sidewalk, there was an opening that led to the park; this time I just kept following the sidewalk. I could have just as easily been on the street.

The sidewalk ended at a barricade but there was a path around it on either end. It was a dead end street that lead me directly onto Green Lawn. I rode up the road a block or two and turned left on Logan, and I rode that all the way back to Ridge Crest Drive. That took me to a 3-way stop, but I was at the top of a steep hill. I turned left and shot down the hill and came up on that first 3-way I had ridden through before. (Last time I had ridden on Burnet and turned left on Deerfoot. This time I was coming from Ridge Crest and I had turned left onto Deerfoot which shot through that 3way. I passed in front of the public pool and curved left. This took me back to Burnet and downtown was a right and a left to the parking lot.

This was a good ride. I was surprised how much off road I could get in without leaving down town Round Rock. I'll have to log it, and create a map, and check the miles and invite some friends on this one. I hope this one attracts some people. I really enjoyed it.

Round Rock Social Cycling Rides

Last year, some friends and I rode the Austin Social Ride held every Thursday. It was fun but a bit hectic. There were so many cyclists and we had no clue where we were going or how we were going to get back to our vehicles. Their ride ended at a bar that had two kegs on tap for the cyclists. People left when they decided it was time to go home. It really was fun, but I like a little more certainty.

So began the idea to create our own social ride in Round Rock. I worked out a few routes and we had a very slow start. There were only two of us. Or three, but never at the same time. This year, we've managed to get up to seven riders going at once.

Here are the main routes I've worked out so far. The routes are meant to give us a look at different parts of Round Rock. All routes begin and end at the City Hall Parking Garage. We park for free, we ride, and then we hang out.  Things look promising. :)


No.1 The RR Social Original
I mapped this route because I wanted to check out the bats under the McNeil Bridge, but they usually come out later in the evening. It's a fun thing to watch but it hasn't happened for us yet.

No. 2: The RR Social Hill
It's really a very short hill ride, but it's pretty steep. It's okay to walk it. I think it's even better to stop and look back at Round Rock from the hill top. As a bonus, once we get up there, we get to ride down it! No stop signs or intersections.



No. 3: The RR Social - Red Bud
It's 16.24 miles which makes it a longer ride. Tried to avoid riding on Gattis School Road as much as possible but it cannot be completely avoided. It's a lot of fun riding down Red Bud. The road has a shoulder good enough for single riders. I discovered the connecting back roads last year that lead us to A.W. Grimes that lead us through an apartment complex back to Junior's. Hey, it works. Be warned, it is a hilly ride, so if you're not in shape, this ride is a chore.







No. 4: The RR Social Sam Bass 

Sam Bass is a narrow road but it is a fun place to ride. The neighborhoods here are also fun to ride through. There's always people about. I put this route together to ride part of Deep Wood and part of Sam Bass. I was trying to combine these two sections but there aren't too many roads. This route will probably change the most.


All of the rides are made to have loops added or subtracted, depending on the group that is riding. Over time, I'll plan out a few more sections of Round Rock. 

A Batty, Starbucks Ride with Tragic Toads and Snakes

Round Rock has a 4-story parking lot downtown, and it is a good place to start a ride. You can park your car for free and go enjoy yourself on a bike ride. I know, I know. Who drives their car downtown and then parks and rides their bike. Round Rock is not the small town it used to be; it's a bit spread out, so this gives us a decent starting point.

I had not seen the bats in awhile, but it's awful hot out; so, I thought it made sense to go watch the bats and then get a cold drink at the StarBuck's by HWY 35. Here's the route:

Again, I recommend clicking on the elevation button which takes you to the MapMyRide site. Once there, click on the "Watch Course Fly-By Video" because it's so cool.


A Few Pointers:
The ride is fun. From the bats, I take a lesser known/used road back to Mays. I'd say Mays is the most dangerous part of the ride because we're going uphill over the railroad tracks and there is no shoulder on Mays and by this point, it's dark out. As a safer alternate, there is a sidewalk that you could ride your bike on.


After turning left and getting past the schools and turning right, get ready for a steep downhill ride. It's easy and a blast to pick up lots of speed, but you are going into Memorial Park's parking lot, so watch out for cars and people. The park has lights, but they were not on when I went through. Incidentally, I ran over a snake on the sidewalk. It was moving slowly, I was going too fast, so by the time I saw it, I swerved but I think I was too late.  Also, a little toad freaked out as I rode by and I heard it ping off the spokes of my back tire. I really never meant to squash or kill anything. That was a bummer. So, while in the park, go slow.


I highly recommend riding to the top of the parking lot and back down. The building is lit so it feels safe (except for the top level where the lights have been broken and at times you may spot amorous mementos people have left behind).


Well, enjoy!


(Ironically, I'm writing about StarBuck's while I eat and blog from Star Co., a little cafe in downtown Round Rock. Good coffee, tasty breakfast tacos, free wi-fi. I've got a breakfast ride I do on Saturdays that ends here. I'll have to write about that route and include hot air balloon pictures.)

Don't Assume You'll Always be a Good Rider

I didn't ride outside today, but I did take down my road bike, pumped up the tires, and put on some bike shorts. It seemed like a good day to hang out in the man cave (my garage) and ride on the rollers. I had not done that in a long time.

My first mistake was putting on my cycling shoes. The second mistake was watching a movie to kill time. The worst mistake was making it an action movie. The Bourne Identity is a great movie, but I wasn't concentrating at all on the rollers. It was after the third fall that I finally quit. My knee hurts.

I was riding along with the sound track. It made me pick up the pace. I've seen the movie several times so there were no surprises: I knew he was going to kick ass in the embassy. But I still flew off the rollers. Then he stabs that guy with the pen... right. between. the. fingers. That time I fell to the right and into a pile of laundry. It was the car chase that did it. I veered left and smacked my leg and arm against the weight bench. (The dust on that thing cushioned my fall.)

Now my knee cap kinda hurts. Rollers take lots of practice, folks.

Wish I'd had my camera. I seem to have misplaced that thing and it's getting on my nerves.

Sidewalks, Shortcuts, and Station Wagons

I love riding by this bench. One of these days, it's going to fall over; or one of these days, I'm going to give in to temptation, and I'm going to sit on it.

Had a few movies from BlockBuster that I had to return: Marley and Me and True Blood, Disc 2. I didn't care for the dog movie, but I am enjoying the vampire series. Will have to get the next discs.

Anyway, traffic gets heavier closer to BlockBuster because there are so many stores in that area: HEB Plus, RadioShack, Papa Murphy's, and a few others. There's also an apartment complex. I decided to take a shortcut. Behind the row of houses -- sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the shortcut -- there's an asphalt trail and it looks terrible. It doesn't get me to my destination any faster, but I don't have to think about getting clipped by a car. When I come out on the other end, I'm on the sidewalk. I didn't get back on the street this time. I rode to the corner, leaned my bike into the turn, and continued on the asphalt trail that leads to BlockBuster. This all runs parallel to the road. Plenty of cars had passed me by.

Isn't it strange? Just knowing that I have a section all to myself completely changes the way I ride my bike. It was a quick stop, dropped the movies in the slot, and turned it back around. It was on the way home that I worried. The sun was in my eyes. Anyone driving behind me would be squinting, too. It was at a dip in the road that I heard a scrape of mud flaps and a white Volvo flew by me. The lady was talking on her phone and I could tell that she was weaving away from me. She had seen me too late, but she had been far over enought that I was never in danger. Lucky me.

(Something's wrong with my disc brakes. I'll have to tinker with them a bit. After I probably break them, I'll take my bike to the shop.)

We can be More Than Cyclists

A section of Hairy Man road, which runs alongside a creek, is going to be removed. With the recent rains, I couldn't help but think of that road. When this city was less busy, I used to ride my road bike down that road frequently. It's a bending road with no shoulder, the oaks and elms grow tall, and every season offers a wonderful view.

I wish the road would stay open only for cyclists. A few years ago, some repairs had to be made on the road. A long section was torn up and it took about two months before it was opened up. But I remember riding that road then. Long lines of web fell from the trees. Leaves covered the road, and everything was so still and peaceful. If that road was only for cyclists, it'd be quiet like that again. That'd be really cool.

Further down the road, there's a curve and a small section where cars used to pull off right by the creek. It was one of my stopping points on my bike, too. I'd take off my shoes and socks, wade in, and I would just stand in the middle of the creek. One time, a deer joined me out there. We both stood in the middle of the creek. It drank water while I stood there cooling off.

I don't know what's going to become of that section of road. I'm hoping the new section will have a shoulder to it. Because it's a low road and prone to flooding, I hope that keeps the builders away. Maybe I'll buy a kayak.

Not Biking to Work, Biking at Work

Riding to work is sweaty work, and there's nowhere to clean up properly. Yes, I can towel down by a sink and put on extra deodorant, but it takes my body a long time to cool down properly.

Tomorrow, I'm taking my bike to work, and at the end of the day, I'm jumping on my bike and riding around the park at the bottom of the hill. I affectionately call it the Duck Pond; it starts at the intersection of Great Oaks and Hairy Man Road.

I'll be traveling up the hike-n-bike trail where it borders on Parmer, then I'll ride back. More tomorrow, after the ride.

Use Your Bike Rack

Part One: Before I ride.

So, the plan is to ride to work sometimes, but I don't want to ride the entire way. I've done it, and it's not that far. According to Google Maps, it's just under 8 miles which is not bad, but still.


View Larger Map

This is where my bike rack comes in handy. I drive part of the way and then I ride part of the way. I mean, I cannot complain about stores and malls not having a place for my bike if I don't even have one myself!

However, Round Rock has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Hairy Man Road is not as safe as it used to be. Not that it was ever safe -- it doesn't have a shoulder and it's a curving road on which people have always driven over the speed limit.The road is simply used more and in the near future, the city plans to alter its course so it doesn't run along the creek the entire way.


Change is good, though. Change is good. A hike-n-bike trail and a parking lot were also built along Hairy Man, so I'm going to park my truck there and cut into a neighborhood via a sidewalk that leads from the trail to a street. I don't know where I'll end up exactly. The Google Map doesn't clearly show me a sidewalk where I guessed it would be. More later...


Okay, so it's later!

Had to use MapMyRide.com to create the route. I'm liking that program more and more. It even shows the elevation. Maybe climbing 157 feet is not much elevation for some but it felt like I was riding uphill for too long. It didn't help that I did this at noon. (Memo to self: Self, don't ride at frickin' noon o'clock.) Here's the route:


Once I got to school, I meandered around a bit. I noticed few kids (or some adults) had their bikes locked up at the bike racks at school. Two of them had U-locks attached to the front wheel, and that was it. Near our school is the Brushy Creek or Cat Hollow (IDK) M.U.D. Rec Center. It's a loverly place. They had these strange bike racks which looked like egg beaters and your only choice was to stick your front tire in there, and it looked like everyone who had locked up their bikes only locked up the front wheel. (That's a horrible sentence.) I'll have to take a picture of them.

There's a bike trail behind this place -- a fun trail! It pretty much runs west and downhill the entire time. It leads to O'Conner, right behind the HEB on 620. The trail did break off so I turned back to ride that one. It leads to a residential area: I ended up on a street called Liberty Walk. I back tracked again to the main trail and rode back to my truck. Like I said, it was hot out so I didn't try to figure out if there were any other roads.

When school starts, those roads, particulary Great Oaks Drive, are going to be packed with cars. But, there is one good thing. I get to ride downhill at the end of the day. :)

About a Dog

Leah stopped for a lost dog the other day. It was meandering and hopeless, crossing the street repeatedly. We've been watching the dog, looking for a 'lost dog' sign, and yet hoping he might get to be ours. The last two days he's been getting more and more anxious to go for a walk.

So today, I hopped on my bike to go buy a leash at HEB. I've ridden to BlockBuster before because it's in the same shopping area as HEB, but I never noticed a bike rack anywhere in the area. How can such a large area not have a bike rack? Stores continue on both sides of this place: BlockBuster, RadioShack, a haircut place, a pizza place, a bank, Mangia Pizza, Panda Express, and a few other stores.

The point is this place is huge, and the bike rack? It shouldn't be the palm trees near the entrance, although someone was using one. Past the exit doors, I found it! It is a meager 3-bike holder. It was next to a giant stack of plastic outdoor chairs.

Round Rock leaders and some of its citizenry are working on some city plans to make some areas more pedestrian/customer-friendly. You can see their presentation report here. I'm glad they're doing all that work and thinking of the future. Someone has to do that stuff.

Some cyclists will probably want bike lanes in that plan. Me, I'd like to see more bike racks at the various business malls around town.

Biking for a Book

I was surfing on the web and came across a video featuring Michio Kaku. He's a physicist and futurist who happened to be discussing civilizations. He's a good speaker, so I looked him up on Wikipedia to find out some more and there was a list of his books. A sudden impulse came over me. I had to get one of his books! I grabbed a few things, jumped on my bike, and rode up to Half Price Books. If luck was on my side they'd have a book there at ... gee, half price!


View Larger Map

It wasn't the best ride: head wind, uphill, and lunch-hour traffic. And it's hot at 1 o'clock in central Texas. Traveling south on Mays Street, however, seemed the fastest route, so I took it. I did stop once, after the first "hill" just past the intersection of Mays and Main Street. No, there wasn't a breeze, but it felt good to just sit there under a tree. A few people stared at me as they drove by.

One thing I don't like about Round Rock is the lack of bike racks. Half Price Books is part of the Renaissance Square, like a mini-mall. I had to lock up my bike on a handicap post. The public library has one, and it's great because there are so many places to walk to downtown. Just the other day, I was at the library and decided to have a beer, so I walked over to Junior's. They had a good selection: Guiness, Fat Tire, Fireman's #4, Blue Moon, and a few more. But anyway, I was three miles south of the library at Half Price.

I was sweating profusely and I slowly paced outside to try to cool down. The funny thing about sweat is that it dries faster outside. In the building it just gets cold on my shirt and stays there. Not a good feeling. Well, long story short, I browsed the science section hoping to spot Kaku's book. It was not there.

It was no great loss. Back on the bike and crossing over for the trip back, at least I knew I'd have a tail wind going downhill. I was able to keep up with 30-mile-an-hour traffic! That was a blast. There is a spot on the road though that has Herpes Simplex 13: two globs of warty cement jut out and if you hit them, you could hit the pavement and lose a body part.

The library had Kaku on CDs, and I also picked up The Dancing Wu Li Masters, An Overview of the New Physics -- in cassette! I'll have to dig up my boom box to play these.

Next to the library is a corner store, P & A Snack Center. I had to get a Snickers candy bar and a Gatorade. Glad they're there.

Hot day to be riding.