Back in the Bay Area for the weekend!

It is good to be back, even for only a few days... Weather is nice and sunny. Mountain biking and kiting in a few hours!!! Pictures coming.

Terry Hershey Park Hike & Bike Trails - The AntHills - Houston Texas

Went today w J to Terry Hershey Park Hike & Bike Trails - The AntHills - to try the demo bike I got for the weekend. It was awesome! Who knew Houston could be that fun... The trail system is pretty straightforward. It goes along the bayou either straight and flat for the most part or up and down with quick turns, small jumps and LOTS of roots. Both options are nice and shady for the most part. Parking is real easy. We met at the intersection of S Dairy Ashford and Buffalo Bayou bike trail on the south side of the bayou. There are plenty of spots in the shade.

We started going eastwards. Retrospectively it was a mistake... because there are right away some pretty serious intermediate/advanced trails. Would have appreciated some warm-up before diving in. Will probably  start westwards next time. Loop is about 9 miles (~15 km). On the way we went thru Terry Hershey park just next to N Kirkwood Rd. Trail ends on the East at Wilcrest Dr. If you happen to go further you will enter the BMX area... Was too chicken to try the 6'+ (>2m) jumps... Maybe next, next, next... time.

On the West we stopped at Eldridge Pkwy. Trail goes further to George Bush park but single track stops here. Will definitely go back there to play around!

Life is good... even in Texas ;)

The Boiling Crab

Went last night to The Boiling Crab with S & the Z's. Wait was on the long side... 45mins to 1h. Seems like it is pretty typical. There are benches inside and outside for you to wait. Not much to see nearby in Chinatown beside food stores and supermarkets while you wait. Also, starting around 8:30pm they only offer no guarantee tables as they stop seating people around 9:45pm.

Anyhow, as soon as you get your table they are pretty quick at setting up the stage for the carnage that is about to happen. Starts quite innocently with some lime and salt & pepper. When the paper towel and the plastic aprons arrive it is a bit more explicit.

Finally the bugs (thanks J for the biology 101) come... We opted for the whole sha-bang medium seasoning. Definitely put my mouth on fire but it is very tasty.

Overall, I think it is quite a nice place, a bit more expensive than other crawfish places I went to but nothing outrageous. Will have to go back to comment on the crab, shrimp and lobster options ;)

Somehow, after all this food, S and the Z's felt like having dessert... I have yet to understand how this is even possible! We stopped at Bambu, a new desserts & drinks place in Chinatown. It was remarkably crowded but we got our drinks pretty quickly. Not fast enough, though. S found time to walk to Chez Beignets, a tea house in the same shopping mall to get some beignets to complement the "lite" drinks.

Cannot wait to mountain bike tomorrow to burn at least 10% of the calories I ate on Friday night...

Life is good... event in Texas ;)

More mountain biking this weekend

Managed to secure this demo 2013 Giant Anthem X 29er 2 bike for the weekend (thanks Andrew et al. for the expert advise)!

I am pretty impatient to try it on the trails. May go to Cypresswood, Spring, TX or Sam Houston National Forest. Not quite decided yet... Looks like other options are too flat, too short or too far for a day trip.

Life is good... even in Texas ;)

All-vegetarian Indian restaurant in Little India

Went tonight to Shiv Sagar for a "lite" dinner... It is in Houston Press top 10 restaurants in Little India. Really good and cheap! Would definitely recommend it.

Life is good... even in Texas ;)

Afternoon trip to Lake Houston

Wanted to get out of the house today. S & Z joined me. We drove to Atascocita, TX on the shores of Lake Houston. I was less than impressed by the town but the lake looks more interesting. It started pouring rain just as we arrived... so it's hard to tell more about the area. We went around the lake and made a quick stop at Lake Houston Wilderness Park. Looks promising... They have bike trails, camp sites and some nice looking cabins. Will need to come back. On our way back home we stopped at Alexander Deussen Park on the south end of Lake Houston. Alexander Deussen was a petroleum geologist who donated a 309-acre site on Lake Houston to Harris County in 1956. Some geologists are more successful than others, I guess... Anyhow, I liked the park quite a bit. It is woody with quite a few shelters featuring grills AND smokers!

There are numerous open, flat spaces with short grass... Pretty ideal terrain for landkiting although it may be crowded when the weather is nice. Also nice when you have kids running around and want to see them from far far away ;) The kid playgrounds are covered by the way. I do not see that very often...

Time for late lunch. Z picked Thai. We went to Nara Thai Dining. It was pretty good!

Life is good... even in Texas ;)

Mountain biking and hiking near Smithville,TX

Spent Friday and Saturday mountain biking near Smithville, TX at Rocky Hill Ranch. That's a pretty cool place! I was pretty much by myself on Friday. Went for a warm-up loop... then opted for a siesta :)

Trails are numerous. Some are clearly more advanced than others... Fortunately I had no incident to report.

I was planning to sleep at the ranch. They have some camp sites. It was too early to setup camp so I drove to a nearby state park, Buescher State Park. It is not all that big but it is quite nice and their campsites are luxurious. That's without mentioning the clean, warm showers! Ended sleeping in the park... I just could not resist. I do not remember the last time I actually camped near the car. Went full out and drove to a grocery store 5 mins away to get some additional supplies. I prepared a feast for dinner. The Perrier was flowing. Quite an event for those of you who missed it! Besides, I could not believe how quickly Jetboil boils water at sea level. It is the first time that I use it at this "altitude". Anyhow, thanks again Mel and Cedric for this great gift!

It was also the first time I used my Outdoor Research Bug Bivy. It is roomy, even for my 6 ft and 2XX lbs. I liked quite a bit to open the eyes during the night and see the stars thru the mosquito net.

On Saturday morning I tried my mountain board on the low slope hills in the park. Was quite fun. Happy that no one saw me, though. Not sure I looked very graceful...

As I was exiting the park I saw that there was another state park nearby, Bastrop State Park. The 11-mile road connecting the two parks seems great for road biking. Will have to come back and try it. It is nice and shady for the most part. Bastrop SP seems much bigger and fancier than Buescher. There is even a golf course there! That reminds me... There is a canoe rental at Buescher.

Time to go back mountain biking at the ranch. There are a few more cars today. Looks like I did not read the memo about cars...

Another few hours of fun! Unexpectedly I also learned a bit more of the Texan culture... 

Came back to the car completely exhausted but quite happy about this fun outing. On the way home, I stopped by this BBQ shack. I would have paid to take a picture of the place when I entered and everyone looked at me and stopped talking. Customers were not too familiar with Frenchies, I guess!

Life is good... even in Texas ;)