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Bonus play!
Hey, I'm "in" computer games, so it's an easy phrase.
As you who read the previous installment will know, I ended up Tuesday night at San Angelo SP for the night.
In the morning, I took advantage of the trail network there.
The plan was to ride for an hour or maybe 90 minutes, have a shower, and hit the road. See some singletrack that I hadn't before, but not dawdle too long so I could get on home to those who were awaiting me.
Far be it from me to have a plan Survive Contact With The Enemy.
In this case, it would be the Divided Trails.
It would have been very nice had there been a real trail map available, as neither the attendant at the gate nor a period of Internet searching turned up anything worthwhile.
The trail network at San Angelo is extensive and apparently pretty well maintained, but it is definitely a busy network with lots of interconnections.
I cruised from camp across the road to the day-use area, and jumped in on the trail, following what was obviously a race loop, but backwards. I figured I could get a fair sampling of the trail but doubted the race loop would be more than 10-15 miles long.
Heh, that worked well right up to the point where I apparently zig'd when I should have zag'd.
After spending a good period carooming around near the day-use and camping area, I ended up on a long path northwards, and when I had finally been out about 30 minutes longer than intended it occurred to me to check my MAPPING GPS and see where I was.
Heh, guess trip fatigue was building up on me.
Anyway, I found I was MILES and MILES away up the park, apparently headed back to New Mexico.
So, realizing that I had already put in almost 20 miles of trail time, and that finishing the loop would mean I'd be spending another night away from home, I bailed to the road and cruised back the 9-ish miles to the park entrance that I had entered the previous night.
I must say, it is a fast rolling trail network. It took me a while to remember why I was not railing turns quite as I felt I should. It took me a while to remember that instead of the InifiteTraction Sand and Slickrock that I had been enjoying for a few days, I was now back in the Land of Loose Limestone, so I should not have been surprised at all the two-wheel drifting I was doing.
That, and my bike was still configured in full-travel full-squish Milagrosa Glory Mode.
What, me not ride the Quasi? Even with a failing chain? Phfa!
I would NOT precisely call the trail a technically challenging ride (particularly after some of the stuff I really enjoyed in AZ), but I did enjoy it and I surely came nowhere near to riding all of the trail out there so there could surely be some other stuff to hit.
I WOULD say that San Angelo State Park could be a really good location for a weekend getaway/camping trip for a group. The facilities were nice and clean and well maintained, the showers hot, the camping/RVing spots plentiful. There are group camping areas. There are cabins to rent. If there is enough water it is okay to swim in the lake. And there is surely a bunch of trail to ride, depending upon the group this could be good for two solid days of riding.
The trails are also very VERY beginner friendly, so if you have someone who doesn't ride much or is just getting into it, this could be a great place.
A real trail map would be nice. Somebody know where to get one?
Ride summary: 27.8 miles, 2700 ft climbing, max elevation differs < 100ft
The GPS tracklog is available in both GPS Exchange and Google Earth KML formats.
After riding and getting cleaned up (NIIICE hot shower), it was off and driving home. Mostly uneventful, except for that road-closing accident on Highway 29 that caused a re-route of an entire four-lane road onto what I affectionately call "Bob's Road" (movie references).
Tomorrow?
Well, this is it for my Winter Fling 2007.
Time to clean up stuff, give the bike some well earned "spa" time, catch up with Maria and the kitties, and, probably, just possibly, go riding.
I am a Biking Bear, and that's what I do.
Keep the rubber side down.
Morning in San Angelo
Defined as 9:30 am though, no early rising today.
Long shot view of camp
This is what they call "primitive" there, just so you know. Rudy's uses less complicated facilities to cook brisquet.
Trail shot on top of the levee that runs between the day-use and camping areas
Hmm, decisions, decisions.
Tasajillo Flats, did I pick the wrong bike again?
There should have been a warning sign.
A sign saying "you are now leaving civilization, turn back you fool, turn back!"
Okay, there IS a technical trail feature out here, at least one.
Note, if you were riding this the opposite way to what I was, this would have been at the bottom of a relatively low-grade but downhill straight and Significant Air could be achieved.
Interesting, explicit horse-biker segregation.
The Divided Trails cross back and forth each other quite a bit. Lots of confusion possibilities. There was at least one biker-hiker-only section completely pot-holed by horse tread when the trail was wet. Argh.
Light Metal Destruction?
I started noticing a drivetrain issue blossaming somewhere in AZ, but couldn't put my finger on it until Wednesday.
When I was 20 miles from the trailer. Naturally.
I wonder if my chainring is hosed. The cassette probably is (and is almost a year old anyway...).
Rush hour on "Bob's Road"
Visa Moment Addendum...
Calories burned : 28,001 (est., skiing, cycling and walking during rides) Activity Time : 58 hours 44 minutes (est., skiing, cycling and walking during rides) Miles ridden : 220 (est.) Miles driven : 4,008 (est.)
Sister's Kingma coining "Poodle Thunder" and "Jock-popper" all at the same meal?
Priceless.
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