Bicycle info

Don’t forget the bicycle ride today, Tuesday, January 26. 

 

 We will caravan to Bentsen State Park, leaving the Sandpipers gate at 9:00 a.m.  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.  

Texas State Park admission is $5.00 per person.  Some people have purchased annual passes which allow entry for six people.  We’ll share those around to admit as many as possible.  As of this writing (3:00 p.m. Monday) the forecast calls for near steady temperatures in the low to mid 60’s (16 C) with light winds.  There is a slight chance of precipitation around noon but we should be at lunch by then.  The weather cancellation make-up date: February 2. 

With the shifting sands of time comes another schedule change.  This time it is the bicycle ride schedule.  The latest issue of the Friends of Laguna Atascosa Newsletter just arrived.  It included an announcement that Bayside Drive will be closed for Construction on March 1, 2016 and will not reopen until late 2016 or 2017.  We had scheduled our Laguna Atascosa bicycle ride on March 22 which obviously won’t work so we will switch the March 22 bicycle ride at Laguna Atascosa to February 9 with a rain date of February 16.  The bicycle ride at La Lomita Mission and Anzalduas County Park and Dam will be scheduled for March 22.

So here it is again:

                February 9, bicycle ride at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.  This is one of our best bicycle rides.  Bayside Drive is a 14 mile loop of which about 5 miles is along the shore of Laguna Madre.  The ride surface is about 60% paved and 40% gravel.  Most of the ride is pretty level there are just a few gentle rolling hills midway through the ride.  There are frequent stops to view wildlife, primarily birds but may include deer and Nilgai, a large Asian antelope.  Bring a sack lunch for the trip.  We stop at a viewing platform along Laguna Madre for lunch about half way through the ride.  Bring plenty of water, insect repellant, sunscreen, camera and/or binoculars.  The rain date will be February 16.