Here is the bicycle ride schedule for this spring. New format for the
schedule, just seven rides, every other week. Questions, give us a call.
Tom & Louise
Bicycle Rides – Winter – Spring – 2016
General Information: Line up on Main Street (on the N side of the street by the office, pavilion and bath house) ready to depart the gate at 9:00 a.m. We ride at a relaxed pace stopping occasionally to point out items of interest, sip some water and catch our breath. We travel with tools for minor repairs. Bring a camera, binoculars, sun screen, insect repellant, emergency medications, whatever applies to your situation. Dress for the weather, layers allow adjusting for temperature changes during the ride. We sometimes have pick-up trucks or other vehicles with additional room for bicycles if you don’t have a way to haul your own. Contact Tom & Louise, Lot 44, if you have space available or if you need someone to haul your bicycle.
Our Schedule: We are scheduling a ride on Tuesday, every other week for a total of seven rides. If a ride is canceled due to adverse weather conditions, we will use the following Tuesday as a weather make-up day. Strong winds, cold temperatures and rain may result in cancelation. There will be occasional times when there will be no make-up day for a ride. Our first ride is an example of that. Decision time is 9:00 a.m. on the day of the ride. If we are there, we ride, if we are not, we’ll go next week. I’ll start an e-mail list for those who would like an e-mail notice of cancellation. This will be done on short notice most of the time. Only a truly ominous forecast will bring cancellation the night before a ride.
Lunch following a bike ride has been a tradition. We will continue this tradition but it is by no means required that you lunch with us. Occasionally we have a ride that requires bringing a bag lunch. For some rides we stop mid-ride for lunch so a bicycle lock to secure your bicycle while we are in the restaurant is needed.
January 12, 2016, Tuesday, McAllen Bike Trail, Col. Rowe Blvd. (Free). We’ll ride 5 miles (more or less) on dedicated walking/running/bike trail, level, a few street crossings and usually a diversion into the neighborhoods along the way. We will eat lunch at Giatti’s Pizza Smorgasbord, Nolana and Second street before continuing the ride to our parking spot. Bring a bicycle lock to secure your bicycle during lunch. No weather cancellation make-up date for this ride.
January 26, 2016, Tuesday, Bentsen State Park, Mission ($5 per person). We ride about 6 miles through the park on paved park roads. We’ll stop to look at birds and other animals (bring binoculars if you want a close-up look). There is a short trail to the hawk tower and we usually walk to that. The tower has no steps, but a gently sloping ramp. It gives us a good overview of the area of the park and surrounding areas. Lunch at Bj’s Brewhaus. Weather cancellation make-up date: February 2
February 9 – La Lomita Mission and Anzulduas Dam and County Park, (Free). We ride about 4 miles on a little used roadway and on park roads within the park. We will cross the river levee at La Lomita and have a single large hill climb out of the floodway at Anzulduas Park. La Lomita Mission was established by the Spanish when they first explored and settled in this area. The only building remaining is the chapel. It has been restored in recent years and represents a bit of the early history of the area. The city of Mission was named for the La Lomita Mission. Anzulduas Dam is a power and irrigation dam on the Rio Grande. The park offers views across the river into Mexico and is a popular place for birding. We will cross the river levee at La Lomita and have a single large hill climb out of the floodway at Anzulduas Park. We will eat lunch at the Riverside Restaurant near La Lomita. Weather cancellation make-up date: February 16
February 23 – South Padre Island, (Free). We ride about 10 miles from the convention center to Isla Blanca County Park and return. The ride is level, no hills. We will ride Padre Boulevard, some backstreets on the ocean side and Laguna side to see some of the housing and the coast. We sometimes see dolphins from Isla Blanca Park, binoculars help. We will eat lunch at Blackbeards Restaurant on the return to the Convention Center. Bring a bicycle lock to secure your bicycle. Weather cancellation make-up date: March 1
March 8 – Mission Bike Trail and the National Butterfly Center ($5 per person Hidalgo county residents, $10 non-residents) This is a 10 mile ride on paved trail and little traveled roads. There are several hills along the way. We will stop for a short visit at the National Butterfly Center which has undergone quite a bit of development in recent years. While the Butterfly Center is a pretty secure area, you may want to bring a bicycle lock to secure your bicycle. Lunch will be at McAlister’s Deli following the ride. Weather cancellation make-up date: March 15
March 22 – Laguna Atascosa ($3 per vehicle) Our premier ride, we ride 14 miles on a loop that takes us along the Laguna Madre shore on paved road and then inland on a good gravel road for the return. There are some rolling hills along this route but nothing extreme. Wind conditions can make this a challenging ride as there is little cover to slow the wind. We stop for lunch at a viewing platform about half way through the ride. Bring binoculars to get the best view of birds along the way and wildlife including possible Nilgai (the largest Asian antelope) sightings. Bring a sack lunch for this ride. There are restrooms at the viewing platform but no drinking water so bring ample drinking water. Sunscreen, sun protection clothing, insect repellant, and extra water are advised. Weather cancellation make-up date: March 29
April 5 – McAllen Bicycle Trail on Bicentennial Boulevard (Free). This bicycle ride is on dedicated bike trails with several street crossing. The trail is a mix of old trail and a new section just completed in the last year or two. It is a level ride, there are no hills. We’ll ride about 8 miles. There is a scale model of the solar system so we’ll stop at each planet and the sun to talk and answer questions. Lunch at the Corner Bakery following the ride. Weather cancellation make-up date: April 12
