Seg #48 Trinity TrailFt. Worth, Tx Homatex 9/18/14

Seg #47 Trinity Trail Ft Worth, TX  Homatex 9/18/14 

Start	NE 23rd St	N 32.78602  W 97.33838	N-S miles 9.7
End	Dirks Rd	N 32.64684 W 97.42847	Trl lgth 9.7 Ride 13.4 mi

Ride hr 1:19

AVS 7.6

MXS  mph 13.5

DST13.4 mi

Tmp 83

Kcal 500

After a super room and a great night's sleep in Dallas, I drove to Ft. Worth through all kinds of road construction and rush hour traffic. It reminded me of driving through Memphis, Tennessee  in 2006 on our way to Augusta, Georgia. Too much traffic at race track speeds. As far as I am concerned these cities are worse than Los Angeles.  

Like all the other trails I have mapped out before leaving home, I used coordinates ascertained from Google Earth going directly to Trinity Trailhead  north. This trailhead was sort a desolate location without parking or toilet facilities. There was one building, Precision Tools, nearby so I went in and found a single person working. I asked him if I could park in his small lot. He was polite fellow and kind to let me park my car. He gave me a business card with the correct address to give the cab driver to transport me back to the car. 

This photo verifies my bike at the
north end of the trail. I peddled  9.7
miles south of here on a nice trail.

Some of the Ft. Worth skyline from the
Trinity Trail. The beautiful  parks
associated with the trail makes the
condos, across the way, expensive

 The Trinity Trail snakes along the Trinity River for six or seven miles, making for a flat and pretty trail. If not for the headwind, I think I could have averaged more than nine miles per hour. As it was I was able to get to the south end of the trail just after lunch time. A taxi ride back to Precision Tools recharged my motor. I was headed back to Iowa by three o'clock, making it to Perry, Oklahoma Thursday night and rest of the way home by Friday evening. There was a lot of driving, 1843 miles, for one fellow but the whole trip went very smoothly. Next ride will be to fill in the gaps of latitude riding trails in and around Clarksville, Tennessee. The gaps occurred due to my inability to get to North Carolina riding the beach in the False Cape State Park (see segment #37).

These bike rent stations are becoming the rage, especially along trails within
major cities. I saw similar bike rental opportunities in Minneapolis, MN and
Madison,WI. You insert your credit card and it unlocks a bicycle. You
then either ride to another station a park or ride back to the original station.
I didn't have time to determine the cost of credit card rental but I understand
it is free for the first thirty minutes, $1.50 for the next thirty and $3.00 per hour.

Seg #47 Cottonwood, White Rock Creek, White Rock Lake & SantaFe Trails Dallas, TX 9/17/14 Homatex Trip

Start	Cotton Wood Trail	N 35.47863  W 97.38841	N-S miles 12.3
End	Tx State Fair	N 35.43511 W 97.37061	Trl lgth 17 Ride 18.8 m

Ride hr 2:11

AVS 8.3

MXS  16.5

DST 18.8 mi

Tmp 83

Kcal 835

After Katy Trail # 2 in Oklahoma, I was off to Dallas, Texas. I drove to Richardson, Texas and parked the car at Creekside Baptist Church. I didn't have water in my bottles so I ventured inside the church and called out, "hello, is anyone here". There was a car near the front door so I figured someone was there, but no one answered my call. I went into the restroom and filled my water bottles.When I came out of the restroom Lo and behold there was a gentleman setting up a circle of chairs and the end of the sanctuary. I jumped in surprise and so did he. I apologized for the scare and said I had called out earlier but no one answered. He forgave me and  wished me well on crossing the country on trails. I am forever grateful to Pastor Cargile for his kindness, fresh water and well wishes. 

This verification mugshot serves to validate my "Beem There,
Done That" at the Cotton Wood Trail Head.

Beautiful clouds float over White Rock Lake, a 1,254 acre
reservoir only a few miles from downtown Dallas. The trail
skirts the west side of the lake making for a cooler ride.

I rode from the church through a quiet neighborhood that connected with the Cottonwood Creek Trail. The residential streets I rode were like many streets in Dallas and Ft. Worth with signage indicating one lane is for motor vehicles and the outside lane for parking and bicycle riding. Not all streets and roads are designated as such, yet groups of riders that give bicyclists a bad name, were out in droves near White Rock Lake, riding four and five abreast and holding up traffic. I think it is rude for these fanatics to hog the road especially when there is an eight foot paved trail juxtapositioned only a few feet from the road. Yes bicyclists have equal right to the road, but too often a group can be obnoxious as hell. Red-necked A-holes shouting out obscenities to small groups and single riders riding on the shoulder or crossing a highway. Since Chris and my ride near the Canadian Border, I have not heard one negative word---hope that continues. The Cottonwood Creek Trail changed to the White Rock Creek Trail ; then the White Rock Lake Trail and finally the Santa Fe trail. Over half of these trails ran through parks that made the ride very enjoyable sans the twelve mile per hour headwind. After reaching the southwest corner of White Rock Lake, the trail headed toward downtown Dallas. When I got to the junction of the of the interstate and several other major roadways, I took a picture of what appeared be a four level interchange like I drove when living in the Santa Monica, California. I am intrigued by the engineering skills needed to develop such a complex network of super highways.

Four levels of roadway is viewed from the Santa Fe Trail.
I was impressed with the art work shown to the right of the
trail. I didn't realize I was close to Baylor Medical Center. I
should have stopped to say hi to Brad Crump, periodontist.

  After I assured I had made it to the necessary latitude, I started to look for a good spot to call a cab to get me back to the car. I started riding toward the Cotton Bowl and found the back entrance to the Texas State Fair. I don't think I was supposed to be inside the gates but it was obvious the opening of the fair was a week or more away. There were a few people working to adjust lights, operate water fountains and cleaning buildings in preparation of a big event. This fair is largest in the United States and must be one of the largest fairs in the world, given it runs for four weeks and boasts an attendance of 2.5 million . The Iowa State Fair for example runs for ten days and has less than half the attendance. I think it would be fun to go to the Texas State Fair but I doubt Connie would be interested in such an event. I remember going to the Iowa State Fair to help my dad set-up displays of apples from our orchard. I know he received a few blue ribbons and several second place honors. It was enjoyable to see my dad's face when he saw the blue ribbons. I never saw him smile a lot but the ribbons, especially the blue ones were a treasure. .

My bike leaning against the barricade to the right is dwarfed by the mega
sign at the enterance to the State Fair of Texas. Everything has to be big in
Texas including a 212 foot Ferris Wheel and 500 foot observation tower. It 
took an hour to get a taxi back to my car. The cab was designed for wheel 
chairs which was perfect for hauling my bike. I don't think they charged extra.

Seg #46 Katy Trail #2 OKC Homatex Trip 9/17/14

Seg #46 Katy Trail #2 OKC 9/17/14  Homatex 9/17/14 

Start	NE10th	N 35.47863  W 97.38841	N-S miles 2
End	N MidWest Blvd	N 35.43511 W 97.37061	Trl lgth 3.7 Ride 8.7 mi

Ride hr 1:07

AVS 6.1

MXS  mph 14.4

DST 8.7 mi

Tmp 83

Kcal 397

After a nights sleep that was not that good---too much spaghetti and meat balls, I headed for the second section of the Katy Trail an hour later than I planned. Currently the Katy trail through Oklahoma City is interrupted by downtown freeways and rail-banked right of way. I drove to the head of Katy Trail # 2 that match latitude with the end of trail # 1 (see Segment # 45). I was an hour later than I planned due to a raving heartburn. Too bad I had eaten all the apples I had brought with me. An apple will knock a heartburn ten times better than antacids.  It was perfect riding weather to ride out four plus miles and then back to the car by 11:30 a.m. I was great to see gasoline prices going for #2.86 a gallon---I wonder if I will ever see gas below $3 again? I took a picture just in case. I remember the gas rationing of the seventies when we lived in Sepulveda, California. The price then was around S1.75 and folks were limited to so many gallons a trip to the station (ten I think). Cars were lined up two blocks or more in front of our house. Back then the government was promising us we would become self-sufficient within ten years. Hmm?!  I don't remember much about the trail or ride. Pretty routine I guess. 

Oklahoma City and Tulsa sold the cheapest gas I have seen in the past decade. This station posted $2.89 but I saw signs

professing $2.86 as the lowest price. Thank goodness there have been inroads  made into alternate sources of energy. Wind farms and solar panels have expanded greatly with competitive technologies --- hopefully America will stop being

 held hostage to the middle east oil. This world is a mess having to deal with Islamic terrorists and corrupt leaders such as  Hussein, Bin Laden, Abu Bakr al-Baghadadi, Assad and on and on.. Hell's bells, I even support the Keystone Pipeline  Better to risk to the environment verses 911's, multiple wars and  beheading of innocent Americans. Oil dependence no more please! Bicycles Forever---no gas, no pollution, no noise, no congestion---a healthier population. Go figure and jump aboard.

Seg #45 Katy Trail #1 Firefighters Museum, OKC 9/16 Homatex

Seg #45 Katy Trail #1 Fire Fighters Museum OKC 9/16/14 

Start	I-44 OKC	N 35.53218 W 97.48346	N-S miles 4,2
End	NE 4th St OKC	N 35.47147 W 97.46997	Trl lgth 5.3mi Ride11.2mi

Ride hr 1:20

AVS 8.5

MXS  mph 21.5

DST11.2 mi

Tmp 85

Kcal 433

The cab got me back to the car with nearly two hours of sunlight available. Off I went riding the Katy Trail south. The feature of note on this ride was visiting the Oklahoma Firefighter Museum. Given I live just three miles from the Iowa Firefighters Museum in Coralville and Geoff's father-in-law Yoshiharu was chief of the largest fire department in Tokyo, Japan, I am more than moved by heroism these people espouse. An American that was trapped in the horror of 911, escaped New York City by renting a car and driving back to his home in Colorado. He saw a sign on Interstate 80 identifying the  Iowa Firefighters museum in Coralville. He could not help but stop and leave a letter of appreciation for all firefighters. What a moving piece of history enshrined  at the Iowa museum.

Oklahoma Firefighters Museum on the right and the memorial to the Fallen
and Living is to the left. I wish I had taken a close up of this sculpture that
depicts a fireman chopping a hole in the roof and pulling a child toward him.

Placards on the grounds of the Oklahoma museum commemorated the courage of these pro-fessionals. It was nearing sunset so I took some pictures and headed on down the trail. I was able to get to the proper latitude and then headed back to the car just as it was getting dark. 

Seg #44 Lake Heffner Trail & McArthur Ave, OKC 9/16/14 Homatex

Seg #44 Lake Heffner Trail & McArthur Ave, OKC  9/16/14 

Start	Lake Heffner (S) OKC	N 35.53141 W 97.60099	N-S miles 11.5
End	McArth&W'loo OKC	N 35.72595 W 97.62061	Trl lgth 17.4mi Ride17.3mi

Ride hr 1:20

AVS 8.6

MXS  mph 20.3

DST17.3 mi

Tmp 87

Kcal 1040

Several of the Oklahoma trails particularly in Tulsa
and Oklahoma City had interstate-like paths, where
non-bicyclists were able stroll on one path, while
bikes were free to fly down wide, well marked trails
as is shown above.

I got to Lake Heffner in Oklahoma City in the mid-afternoon. If I rode faster than my eight mile per hour average and called a cab to get back to my car, running out of light was not an issue. And that was pretty much the way it went. It was hot (89) but I had a tail wind so I made good time without becoming exhausted. In fact, I had enough light to do a section of the Katy Trail after Lake Heffner. In order to meet my goal of overlapping the next northern latitude, I needed to ride McArthur Avenue north of the Lake Heffner trail to Waterloo Road. Initially there was a small shoulder and sparse traffic but after a couple miles, the shoulder shrunk and the traffic increased. I had to ride four miles on a street that I felt unsafe. I was just glad I called a cab get back to the car. 

Here I am at a rural animal feed distributor. Milling around
this business brought back my farm days buying chicken
feed from the Carroll Roller Mills in Carroll, Iowa

It was fairly rural by the time I got to the designated latitude straight west of Edmond, Oklahoma. To get an address for the taxi, I had to ride back to D.C. Feeds. The cabby was from Bangladeshi. He joined the guys from Cario, Nigeria and Senegal. All of the managers and desk clerks were from India. What small world we live in.  

Seg #43 On the Trail Again Sperry-Tulsa-Bixby, OK 9/15-16/14 HomaTex Trip

Seg #43 Osage Prairie&River Park Trail 

Start	Sperry. OK	N 36.29701 W 96.00507	N-S miles 23.5
End	Bixby, OK	N 35.94389 W 95.88714	Trl lgth 33.3mi Ride37.2mi

Ride hr 4:16

AVS 8.7

MXS  mph 21.5

DST37.2 mi

Tmp72-91

Kcal 1231

I am calling this trip of five latitude segments, the Homatex Trip in deference to two TAVRTO states, Oklahoma and Texas . I started out before six in the morning and drove from Coralville to Sperry, Oklahoma. After eight hours behind the wheel and six hundred miles of interstate and turnpike racing, I was ready to jump on the bike and head toward Tulsa. About four miles down the trail, in my rear view mirror I noticed someone coming up on me. The closer he got, the more I could see he was an old guy without the luxury of teeth. He had a stubble beard and an Indiana Jones-like hat. I took this fellow to be in his early nineties. But how in God's name was he keeping up with me? I was peddling thirteen miles per hour, yet he was right even with me and babbling a mile a minute. Inspecting his bike a bit more, I realized this guy was not even moving his feet. He was riding an electric motor bike. It was so quiet, I could not hear the motor over his chatting and a train in the distance. J.D. was his name and conversation was his game. I could not understand him between his southern drawl, his riding ahead of me and my poor hearing. J.D. wanted to take me to downtown Tulsa. but after I heard a few words about being robbed after dark, I broke off from him and headed back to Sperry. Apparently the burg of Turley, is full of renegade teenagers that like to rob bicyclists after dark. I pumped hard and got to the car with plenty of light to spare. I was comforted by the fact that I left the car at the Sperry police station. 

The next morning I called a taxi that hauled my bike and me to Bixby, Oklahoma. Actually I didn't need to go that far south so I ended up riding an extra five miles. That included becoming discombobulated in an exclusive neighborhood. After riding in circles, a nice gentleman helped me find the exit. This is one time Goggle Maps let me down. After riding back to the spot where I turned around the day before, I loaded up the bike and headed for Oklahoma City about noon. 

J.D. rode (coasted) up by me and
talked my leg off. I had to escape!

RAGBRAI XLII 2014

 

Here I am on the last day of RAGBRAI in Strawberry Point, Iowa---the  "World's Largest Strawberry"--- non edible of course.I turned around here to get the car. Chris kept going.

Since 1973 there has been a swarm of cyclists riding from the western border of Iowa to the eastern border challenging the hottest weather Iowa has to offer---the last week of July.  An official RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) crossing of the state calls for  immersing the rear bicycle tire in the Missouri River and then pedaling over four hundred miles eastward to touch the front wheel in the Mississippi River. (For you trivia buffs, you should know that Iowa is the only state that has two parallel borders defined by rivers and is the only state that begins with two vowels). The brains behind this border to border pilgrimage sprung out of a wager between two Des Moines Register newspaper employees; Donald Kaul, columnist and John Karras, copy editor.  In 1973, these two guys rode the first cross state ride with minimum fan fare; joined by five hundred intermittent "hangers on".  From this spartan beginning, RAGBRAI has become the oldest and largest bicycle touring event in the world. Today many countries of the world along with every state of this country are represented by peddling folks of all shapes, ages, gender personalities. What the exact number of participants involved is difficult to determine. The only number that is reliable is the number of cyclists that officially register with the organizing committee---8,500. With "hangers on" like Chris and myself, there is more than triple that number believed to be riding the route, especially by the midweek and last day of the ride.  Estimates of thirty-five  to forty thousand cyclists would be more accurate I believe. With that number of people moving across Iowa, there are bound to be thousands of stories to write a book; that is what Greg Borzo recently did, publishing RAGBRAI: America's Favorite Bicycle Ride in 2013.  Another book, Rumble Yell, by Brain David Burns was also published in 2013. There are other books about this "Mardi Gras on wheels" that capture the beauty of Iowa and the friendly folks who make up the native population.

Favorite stops for RAGBRAIers include ice cream makers, grilled pork chops on a stick, corn on the cob and homemade  lemonade. The ice cream vendor at this stop had long lines of customers. I was more fascinated with popping one cylinder  engineers that drove the churning paddles.  Stops like this are perfect for rest and conversation.  

These fellows are making ice cream
using one cylinder engines to crank
cream into tasty cones and cups of
cold desert---perfect for hot day.

For the fourth time I decided to join son Chris and ride   the last two days of RAGBRAI XLII. We were going to start north of Oelwein, Iowa but it was raining cats and dogs so we started in Olewein where the rain had stopped and rode about seventy miles of the eastern Iowa route. I was self designated as the ride back guy so after riding fifteen miles east with thousands of riders, I turned around and rode back to the car. There is an advantage riding against the RAGBRAI grain. I got to see numerous goofy dressed bikers and unusual cycles; including a guy riding a plastic Big Wheel trike. Two young fellows with better stamina, back sides and perseverance,  rode Big Wheels four hundred thirty five miles; the whole way from Rock Valley in the west to Guttenberg, Iowa in the east. Now that takes some doing if you ask me! I didn't see anyone riding a unicycle or bone shaker this year but have seen them in the past. In case you are not familiar,  a bone shaker is a eighteen hundreds bike with a six foot or more, diameter front wheel and a small back wheel. The rider leaps up on the seat in a gymnastic maneuver and simultaneously pedals the big wheel forward. These cool looking cycles are better to look at that ride. They absorb every bump in the road---a shaky experience just for a few feet let alone four hundred miles across Iowa! Road bikes are best but Chris and I joined the two or three per cent mountain bike group; slower and more energy sapping, but safer. 

These beautiful work horses belong to Amish farmers that live on the bike route. Iowa has approximately 7,000 of
these simple God fearing folks. The Amish group near Hazelton is the largest of the three Iowa locations. 

Chris feigns for the camera as the Amish kids wonder about us. They only wanted me to take
 a picture of the horse--oops

"64 in 64" Will and Kathy Visit on their way to 50th Class Reunion

Will and me at Center Point railroad station. We did a twenty
mile ride on the Cedar  Valley Nature Trail  and a fourteen mile
Iowa City area trail the day before. Will is training to complete
a five hundred mile chunk  of the Continental Divide Trail in
 July.  It looks to me like he's ready to go with zero body fat.
Looks like my fat puts me out of his league. Good luck Will.

Back in February or March we were delighted to hear that our long time friends from dental and medical school days would be back in Iowa for their high school class reunion. Will and Kathy lived directly across the street from us in Stadium Park; a married student housing complex so named because it abutted the football stadium, today known as Kinnick Stadium. On game day it was only fifty steps from our front door to gate 13. We could wait until the national anthem was over and then leisurely walk to the stadium and be in our seats before kick-off. Those were the days, given parking in the spot we had now costs many thousands of dollars. Who would have thunk we were living the good life back then.

In 2004, after hiking to the top of Grays Peak in training for my trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp, Chris, Geoff and I stopped at Will and Kathy's house on our way back to Iowa. Good grief that was ten years ago! It was more than twice as long for Connie. She figured it was nearly twenty years since she saw our favorite Coloradans. They graduated from Sibley High in 1964 with a class of 64, therefore the title of this post, "64" in "64". These guys are incredible, having accomplished so many things in their lives. First raising three wonderful children that have given back so much to society. The concept of Sustainable Living is pervasive throughout the whole family, a way of living Connie and I embrace, but unfortunately don't practice. Will has given hundreds of hours of volunteer doctoring through out the world, Thailand, Africa and New Zealand to name a few. Nate, a Peace Corp volunteer and middle child, has come a long way since the time he tumbled head first into a flower pot. I guess because Nate didn't cry, Geoff thought he would watch to see if Nate would sprout out of the pot. At least that is what Will said in disgust as he frantically turned the pot over and shook out his son. Another Nate-ism was a skiing/tubing trip we did with the family at their ski lodge at Breckenridge. Chris and Geoff were probably age eleven and eight and Nate around four. We went to an awesome tubing run in the forest. It was a fast run with all kinds of moguls and turns. The bigger one was the less out of tube experience you got, but when little Nate hit a bump, he would fly two feet out of the tube and then land back into the tube, just in time to take on another wallop.  The Glenn Maze boys have had many breath choking belly laughs reminiscing  that trip.

A "selfie" of departure day. Hope we can get another selfie
in front of the earth ship.

Connie and I are so impressed with the sustainability concept but it makes us tried just hearing about their family constructing a house with straw bales and then another structure; an earth ship home. Goodness! homes made from bare hands and strong backs. I can't imagine hosting eight hundred used tires over eight feet, filling them with soil to form the main wall of the earthy abode. Eight hundred tires---come on! I am dead tired just thinking about it.