Friday, June 21, 2013
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.
Monday, June 17, 2013
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 ;)
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 ;)
Saturday, June 15, 2013
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.
Life is good... event in Texas ;)
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
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 ;)
Sunday, June 9, 2013
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 ;)
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...
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 ;)
Monday, May 27, 2013
Rocky Mountain National Park, Pikes Peak, and Mount Evans in Colorado
Made it a few times to Colorado but never took the time to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. My friend C and I decided to close this gap over Memorial Day weekend. We landed Friday morning. The weather was simply exceptional, not too warm, not too cold, blue sky and sunny... The only disappointment, at least for me, was no wind :( Had in mind to play with my new power kite.
We stopped on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park in Loveland, CO for lunch and realized we attended the wrong high school... Loveland High School has direct access to Lake Loveland. Beach is sandy with a few trees for the shade. I have seen worse settings than that for students...
Was kind of late to start a long hike when we arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park so we decided to drive to Bear Lake and check it out. In a cultural learning spirit we decided to keep our flip flops for the short walk around the lake ;) Cannot say it was a full success...
Dinner was at the Nepal's Cafe in Estes Park. Excellent!
I was very motivated on Saturday and went for a short run to start the day (never, ever happens in real life...). Retrospectively it was a mistake... I am not talking about the bull elk who started to chase me after I inadvertently ran to close to him. The main issue was more the bike ride we decided to do when I came back from running. The plan: 2-3h mountain biking, the reality: 6-7h... What did we learn? Never trust the super-fit guy in the bike store who gives you a hand-made map as a suggested bike tour!!!
Do not get me wrong... The tour goes thru some very scenic areas. It is just that you must be ready for an Iron Man, or at least in better shape than I am, to finish it in 2-3h! It did not help that C got a flat at the highest elevation and had to walk his bike down :((( His repair kit had a tube for a different size wheel... and no patch. We agreed that I would ride back to the car and pick him up in Glen Haven (next to my finger on the map). In the process I found it entertaining to crash in a tree... and suffer from heat exhaustion as I was going thru the 2 climbs separating me from the car. By the way map states 15-30 mins, that is for EACH climb... Map also conveniently omits the name of this road, Devils Gulch Rd! Anyhow, I was kind of feeling bad I took so long to pick C up but it all dissipated when I saw him sipping a cold drink and eating ice cream on the side of road...
We left Rocky Mountain National Park by the Trail Ridge Road on Saturday night. What a stunning road! Scenery is spectacular. Drove knowingly across the continental divide for the first time... We stopped at a small liquor store along the road to get some... water. Turns out the place was 1/2 restaurant, 1/2 liquor store so we decided to stay for dinner. We were a bit puzzled when they said they could not serve us beers... I mean we could see 2 tables away the shelves with all kinds of packs of beer!!! Well, there are laws. Ok, so can we buy beers from the liquor store and drink them at the table? No. Can we buy beers and drink them on the porch of the restaurant? No. Diet coke, please...
C had never been to the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, CO so we went there on Sunday morning. I really like this place although it was somewhat crowded the few times I went there.
We spent most of our lunchtime in Manitou Springs, CO looking for our next destination. Pikes Peak is nearby... Done deal. We did take a bit more time than Nobuhiro Tajima to go up...
but we probably saw a bit more of the scenery than he did! We stayed a bit at the top at 14,115 feet (4,302m). It is not everyday that one drives that high! Must admit that I felt lightheaded for a while. Not sure C felt much better... On the way down we felt the need to give a break to our brakes... so we stopped here and there.
We even found a nice spot to kite just a few turns above the brake check station! Was so happy. Did not carry the kite for nothing...
Doing some reading in the evening we discovered that Pikes Peak is not the highest road in the neighborhood... so we went on Monday to Mount Evans 115 feet (46 meter) higher. The road is not as scenic as Pikes Peak but the summit is definitely more impressive...
On our way down we found another great kiting spot! Wind was stronger than the day before, probably in the low 20's mph (30's kph). Had lots of fun and a big scare when I almost crashed in a boulder rock while demoing to C how to make a loop! Each time I take people with me for kiting I tell them to release the bar as soon as they feel they loose control. Do as I say, not as I do...
We spent our last few hours in Golden, CO before flying back home. It is gonna be hard to top this trip... but we have a few ideas in mind.
Life is good... especially outside Texas ;)
We stopped on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park in Loveland, CO for lunch and realized we attended the wrong high school... Loveland High School has direct access to Lake Loveland. Beach is sandy with a few trees for the shade. I have seen worse settings than that for students...
Was kind of late to start a long hike when we arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park so we decided to drive to Bear Lake and check it out. In a cultural learning spirit we decided to keep our flip flops for the short walk around the lake ;) Cannot say it was a full success...
Dinner was at the Nepal's Cafe in Estes Park. Excellent!
I was very motivated on Saturday and went for a short run to start the day (never, ever happens in real life...). Retrospectively it was a mistake... I am not talking about the bull elk who started to chase me after I inadvertently ran to close to him. The main issue was more the bike ride we decided to do when I came back from running. The plan: 2-3h mountain biking, the reality: 6-7h... What did we learn? Never trust the super-fit guy in the bike store who gives you a hand-made map as a suggested bike tour!!!
Do not get me wrong... The tour goes thru some very scenic areas. It is just that you must be ready for an Iron Man, or at least in better shape than I am, to finish it in 2-3h! It did not help that C got a flat at the highest elevation and had to walk his bike down :((( His repair kit had a tube for a different size wheel... and no patch. We agreed that I would ride back to the car and pick him up in Glen Haven (next to my finger on the map). In the process I found it entertaining to crash in a tree... and suffer from heat exhaustion as I was going thru the 2 climbs separating me from the car. By the way map states 15-30 mins, that is for EACH climb... Map also conveniently omits the name of this road, Devils Gulch Rd! Anyhow, I was kind of feeling bad I took so long to pick C up but it all dissipated when I saw him sipping a cold drink and eating ice cream on the side of road...
We left Rocky Mountain National Park by the Trail Ridge Road on Saturday night. What a stunning road! Scenery is spectacular. Drove knowingly across the continental divide for the first time... We stopped at a small liquor store along the road to get some... water. Turns out the place was 1/2 restaurant, 1/2 liquor store so we decided to stay for dinner. We were a bit puzzled when they said they could not serve us beers... I mean we could see 2 tables away the shelves with all kinds of packs of beer!!! Well, there are laws. Ok, so can we buy beers from the liquor store and drink them at the table? No. Can we buy beers and drink them on the porch of the restaurant? No. Diet coke, please...
C had never been to the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, CO so we went there on Sunday morning. I really like this place although it was somewhat crowded the few times I went there.
We spent most of our lunchtime in Manitou Springs, CO looking for our next destination. Pikes Peak is nearby... Done deal. We did take a bit more time than Nobuhiro Tajima to go up...
but we probably saw a bit more of the scenery than he did! We stayed a bit at the top at 14,115 feet (4,302m). It is not everyday that one drives that high! Must admit that I felt lightheaded for a while. Not sure C felt much better... On the way down we felt the need to give a break to our brakes... so we stopped here and there.
We even found a nice spot to kite just a few turns above the brake check station! Was so happy. Did not carry the kite for nothing...
Doing some reading in the evening we discovered that Pikes Peak is not the highest road in the neighborhood... so we went on Monday to Mount Evans 115 feet (46 meter) higher. The road is not as scenic as Pikes Peak but the summit is definitely more impressive...
On our way down we found another great kiting spot! Wind was stronger than the day before, probably in the low 20's mph (30's kph). Had lots of fun and a big scare when I almost crashed in a boulder rock while demoing to C how to make a loop! Each time I take people with me for kiting I tell them to release the bar as soon as they feel they loose control. Do as I say, not as I do...
We spent our last few hours in Golden, CO before flying back home. It is gonna be hard to top this trip... but we have a few ideas in mind.
Life is good... especially outside Texas ;)
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