December 01, 2012 Bike Ride

 I had a very short amount of time for the ride today but I still had fun.

First stop was for coffee at Oasis.  BUT!  They were closed until 8AM.  Since I was rolling through around 7:30, I wasn't going to stick around.  Instead I headed north on Main.

It was a good ride, traffic low with no heart stopping drivers wanting to adorn their cars with me on the front hood.  Nearing San Antonio College, I decided to pull another chit from the bucket list and make the VIA offices a stop.  So I cut through Cypress street and took some photos of an older high rise building.  It's called the Aurora Apartments and is apparently a HUD backed housing project.  The building although older, looks lovely.  I understand there is some controversy about favoritism in this older housing complex in regards with a local representative.  I really don't know more than that.

 

Reaching the VIA center, I found the Fred Road Train driver running through his checklist before heading out on a practice run.  First passengers on the 17th he says.

All I could say was Nice Ride sir.

I headed out and zipped by Temple Beth-El on Ashby and headed back to Main aiming for St. Mary's St.  On the way I passed cyclists on their group ride.  Nice community!  We traded nods and hellos and I hooked a left going north on St. Mary's with the goal of Milagritos for coffee.

Damn!  I forgot cash and credit limit was 5 bucks.  I said my good byes to the waitress and headed to Brackengridge Park.

A quick pass through the #pearlbrewery gave me notice of the Farmer's Market.  I stopped by for a quick peek and cranked out heading south on Broadway.

There is always something brewing downtown and today was no exception.  I came upon Multiple Santa Claus.  It was likely a charity event but have no details.

This elf claimed to be a helper and not jolly St. Nick himself

In the end, I wound up 14 and a half miles on the odometer and burned about 900 calories.  A little extra margin for Chinese food tonight!

November 17, 2012 Morning Bicycle Ride

Taco Run 3.0

I had a great ride this morning with my wife.  We left the house around 8:30 AM with the bikes in the van.  I still have not convinced here that it's safe to take the bike lanes to the SA River trail.

Our goals:

• Check out the the newly opened section of the hike/bike trail
• Find a place to have a cup of coffee and a taco
• Spend some quality activity time together

Only 6.66 miles this time as our time for the ride was short.  (Yes, I know that's an eerie number Muaha ha ha ha!)

However the time was well spent.

Mission accomplished.

Our mid point was Oasis Cafe on Main downtown.

It's one of my old favorites from when I used to work thereabouts.  The owner and cooks there are so nice and the tacos and coffee were excellent.  There is no real place to park and lock your bikes but we left them by the door well within view from our seated positions.  We felt safe leaving them there.  I really recommend riding there and having a comfortable breakfast on your next nearby morning bike ride.

The photo recon was excellent as the location scouting efforts for this trip were well rewarded.  I will mark several of these locations down for returning with the DSLR.  There is an old abandoned grain company's grounds and buildings.  This location was famous for a rather cool and eclectic market and shops till contaminated dirt was discovered on the site and cause everything to be shut down.  I don't know what the current plans are for developing the site but it will undoubtedly be in character of the surrounding Southtown Art District.

Also on the trail is the underside of a Union Pacific Railroad trestle.  It's cool.  I never thought creosote covered timbers could be so cool.  To my joy, a train was passing over head.

I almost lost my eye due to a total f()@k^%ng idiot angler deciding that whipping his fishing pole with hook on the end inches from my face was a great idea.  I should have pushed you in the cold water moron.

Anyhow... (Pardon my tirade) Near the railroad bridge is a launching and recovery point for canoeing.  If you like water excursions, here is a great opportunity to brink you kayak or canoe down for some fun.  No rubber bottomed craft as the bottom may be rocky.

You really have to check out this place.  I wish I took more pictures but we were pressed for time.

See you on the road and be safe. 

More Photos of the morning breakfast:

Another Cup If You Please! 

TRIP MAP

River Walk Trail Opened

IT'S OPEN!!!

I am so pleased to share that the San Antonio River Trail north of Lone Star Blvd at Roosevelt is now freaking open!

Last Saturday before the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, I was tooling up Mission Rd. on my way downtown and came upon work crews cleaning up the sidewalk.  I talked to them and they shared that it would not be opened until next year.  I was a little incredulous because it looked so near to being complete.  They let me look in a little bit so I could evilly say I was the first to roll tires on the reconstructed path.  ;)

Although there is no press release regarding this on the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) website, it was open as of 5:30 PM today.  It may have very well been open for the marathon but I'm unsure.  Needless to say, it's open NOW.

Here is a photo showing that the long placed fence is GONE!!!

I'll be exploring Saturday with the hopes the fence does not return.  Let me know if  you are planning to try out the new portions of the trail. Take pictures and share!!!

Here are some links to provide additional information:

The San Antonio River Authority Website:

http://www.sara-tx.org/

This map needs updating but is is supposedly a rather recent revision:

http://www.sanantonioriver.org/documents/bike-trail.pdf

Behave out there!

http://www.sara-tx.org/parks_and_trails/trail_etiquette.php

San Antonio Bikes Website:

http://www.sanantonio.gov/oep/sabikes/

Construction Crew Cleaning Up Work Site

Ready to Walk and Roll

Press Event

BE FAMOUS AND GET ON TELEVISION!!!

I wish to let you know a Cycle related event for Friday the 16 of November.  I'm sure the press will be there and it will be a hoot.  Show up if you can.  Unfortunately, I can't.  :(

Here is the release info:

BEGIN SHAMELESSLY STOLEN RELEASE INFO

Mayor’s Fitness Council Press Event Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m.

State of the City Fitness Rally Please mark your calendars to attend our press conference on the steps of City Hall on Friday, Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m.  Mayor Castro will join us for what we're calling the "State of the City Fitness Rally".  We'll highlight the MFC accomplishments during FY2012 and unveil our new URL and logo for the website.  We need all of you there!  We'll ask you to stand behind the Mayor, Tony, our student ambassador and me as we share the good news.  You'll even have props! Wear your gear and stand up for cycling - Look forward to seeing you there!

Julia Diana, AICP

City of San Antonio

Office of Sustainability

1400 S. Flores, San Antonio, TX  78204

(210) 207-6321

END OF RELEASE

Let me know if  you went to the press event.  Take pictures and share!!!


Here are some links to provide additional information:

Behave out there!

http://www.sara-tx.org/parks_and_trails/trail_etiquette.php

San Antonio Bikes Website:

http://www.sanantonio.gov/oep/sabikes/

MPO and the Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee (BMAC)

Every so often the Bicycle Mobility Advisory Committee meets to discuss matters dear to the heart of San Antonio are bicyclists.  This past month, I was invited to attend had no readily available and plausible objections to showing up.  ;)

It's held conveniently at the VIA headquarters on San Pedro across from San Antonio College (SAC.)

After a quick bus trip, I was there.

Inside I was warmly greeted by the staff and took a seat.

I was expecting a boring discussion of legal nonsense but was pleasantly surprised to find much information about the trails around San Antonio and future plans for development of a more bike friendly community.

It was also cool to find that the organization received several great cash donations from the business community for the purposes of adding to both education and provisions to equip the community with bicycle helmets and lights.

At the end there was a raffle.  Unfortunately I did not win a thing.  I think it's rigged!  ;)

Síclovía: Fall 2012

My time at Síclovía on October 7th 2012 was marvelous.

I have a ton of shaky video which I need to stabilize before posting but I thought I'd share some images from the media.

Included are some of the more acceptable caps.  The rest are available on Plus or Picasa.

I will have to admit that things are indeed getting better here in San Antonio.  This city is making moves that ensure safety and create many more miles of paths free of autos.

What really impressed me was the controlled order of the event.  Police were everywhere to ensure the safety and well being of everyone.

I'll leave you with some sights of the event in the pictures below.  You can see more on my Picasa page linked from my Plus profile.

A fitting end.  Bombay Bicycle Club!