Woo it's hot. Milton Reimers Ranch Park

Milton Reimers Ranch park was recently purchased by Travis county from the original ranch owner. They are currently adding two to three bathroom areas and water/ electric to the area. 

It has around 18 miles of trails, if you take the Double diamond trail the entire time.

I tried to stay with the race loop the entire time, which follows the expert loop for about 5-6 miles then bails you out to the beginner loop.

Most of the first two miles, you can ride with out unclipping, but after that you come across some large uphill rocky ledges that are only navigable by expert riders.

The race/expert/pro loop will take you to the top of the hill, twice. Where you can get a great view of the surrounding area, but the way up is hard and you'll probably have to walk it up over a few ledges and rocky climbs.

Two great things about this place, first is its solitude. I was the only person there the entire time, and I'm sure it's like this most of the week. Second,  There's water in the river! You can swim here, very similar to perdanales state park. Except there is a road to be able to drop your things off instead of carrying them all down like the state park.

Overall, great place to really test some speed skills and put some mileage in. But stick to the trail, there's tons of mesquite, and prickly pear right along the trail. 

Post ride beer- have yourself a shiner down by the river under a shade tree. If you don't stick around, head back home and shake yourself a mexican martini, you deserved it because it's HOT.

My map for this ride
BTW the high for today was 103 degrees

Lakeway, A hidden gem!

Hamilton Greenbelt in Lakeway near Austin, Texas is amazing! This trail system is really close to the house and way better than anything around (just my opinion). This trail system is for mountain biking and hiking too! 

Mostly used by neighbors around the area, this trail is definitely a well kept secret in the Lakeway community.  We have attached a map down below, but today we made it all the way out to where the trail meets the water (usually). Right now it is a drought, so we mainly saw beached boat docks. Needless to say I was still REALLY excited to reach the end of the trail though..!! 

We forgot the real camera on today's expedition, so next time we will capture more photos of the trail terrain. This trail has many twists, turns, ups/downs, and plenty of shade!

  {Almost near the end of the trail is a viewpoint, which you see here!} 

Total mileage: ~4-5 miles

Long story short: Great trails, lots of shade, awesome if it was not a drought and the creek was full! 

-Lucy-

(map to come...from willy)

Walnut Creek (partial)

Today we went to Walnut Creek in Austin, Texas. This trail is pretty close to the house and great for mountain biking, hiking, running, and taking the dog for a walk. The whole trail is an off-leash dog area, yippee! 

There are many different trails winding through the park, however today we focused in on an area that we haven't frequented much. We saw a variation of ups/downs, straight aways, switchbacks, and flat ground. I tripped 3 times, but luckily caught myself each time. The roots can be dangerous!

Total Mileage: ~4.6 miles

Long story short: Great trail, great location!

Map of our trip!

-Lucy-

Muleshoe Bend...we did it!

Finished up muleshoe, only had to finish another 2.5 miles. So we totaled 6.52 today. 

As far for biking this course, Most of it is fairly smooth and unclipping is not needed for the first 3 miles. With-in the first mile there are 3 rock drops that can all be navigated by intermediate riders.

Apparently, runners are hard to take a photo of.

After you cross mile 4, the inclines start getting to you. They are sandy, and filled with small rocks. The difficulty increases around mile 5 with some large rock steps that more advanced riders may be able to shoot at, but I had to climb up on foot. 

Lots of small rocks.

And some rocky switchbacks.

As far as the last one and half miles, they are a cardio blast. Lots of sandy uphill switchbacks that keep you spinning for ages. Overall, its a great course, just bring plenty of water and make sure the weather is cool enough. Oh and don't forget to bring your 5 bucks for the ranger station for park entrance. Exact change only!

 

Lots of sand and dirt= dirty ankles.

Post ride beer- have some more water- then have your self a shiner, your in red headed stranger country.
Our route for this trail. 6.52mi
Muleshoe bend website.
 -willy-

Bluff Creek Ranch

Hardtails and singlespeeds rejoice:)

            Bluff creek ranch is a smooth,  quick flowing ride through piney woods and eroded creeks. It's located in Warda, TX (just above La Grange) The fee was eight dollars to get in which is pretty standard for the area. The bathrooms and other services were much cleaner then expected and much cleaner then rocky hill ranch in smithville.
Much of the trail is smooth with sandy corners and low spots. The trail has minimal ledge drops and no rocky areas. There are some root drops and climbs, but no more then a foot in height. 

Most of the trail looked like this for the first 4-5 miles, then on the back half it changes due to being on the edge of an eroded creek. The sand is pretty bad on the first half and does slow you down significantly. I got sideways on it several times so keep spinning through it.

Sand Skills

 Yep, Longhorns on the trail. They are "friendly" but this was the closest I was going to get while taking a photo on foot. But while cycling I had to go about 5 feet away from them and a barbwire fence. No worries though, they just stared and keep on chewing away. After riding though the feild to back half you enter the slightly dangerous downhills of the eroded creek area. This went down about 50 yards and had a great dropoff to the right. 

One of several cattle guard crossing, Don't touch the fence due to a live hotwire. It is a working farm...

One of several bailouts, equal a few of them up and they'll cut out over a mile of trail.

 Once you get to the bottom, of course there's always the way up, luckily bluff creek gives you several bailouts. I didn't take any of them this trip because I wanted to see what my money bought me.  The signs along the trail are well marked, and there is pink flags you keep on your left the entire time.

The way down again.

And the way back up...again. Don't lean left!

 So hardtail riders will love this place due to minimal drops and rocks along with great traction throughout trail. Houston riders, This is your best bet for out of town rides.


Post ride beer- With all that sand, made me feel as if I were on the beach, make it a Corona extra, hold the salt. 

Bluff creek ranch main page. 

My Map on this Ride. 7.15 miles.  

-willy-

Turkey Creek Trail

 Turkey Creek Trail is a nature trail at Emma Long Metropolitan Park in Austin, Texas.

 The trail is inside the first entry gate to Emma Long Park, however before the gate where you pay the entrance fees! :-)

 This little trail is my favorite in all of Austin! I have been going here for about 3 years now, and the trail never lets me down. Let me just list all the reasons why I love this trail:

• Off-leash dog area, for the entire trail!
• Hikers only - which means I don't have to worry about Jackdog getting hit by bikers...(wouldn't be the first time)
• Out and back with a nice view at the top of the trail head
• Runs along a creek, which is really pretty when the trail has water (not now..)
• Only about 20 mins from the house, and just far enough outside of Austin to where the trail stays fairly quiet.
• Not next to a road, NO car noise! 
• Okay so the list is endless....but Jackdog loves it to. He can sprint the whole 3 miles!

So back to the trail description. This trail is what I call a "lollipop" route. Lollipop means that the trail is an out and back trail with a little loop at the top or far end of the route. So it kinda looks like a lollipop if you were to map out the trail. I think the entire trail is a little over 3 miles, so it makes for a good quick run. The trail crosses back and forth along the creek which when there is water, bring your wellies! Also there is some elevation gain at the end of the "lollipop"; so even though the trail is short, you can still work up that sweat! 

Total mileage: 3 and bit miles

Long story short: Favorite run in Austin, Off leash dog trail, hikers only. 

-Lucy-

Muleshoe Bend, to be continued...

This morning we tried out a new trail! Muleshoe Bend on Lake Travis, in Spicewood Texas. Muleshoe Bend backs up to Lake Travis which right now is more like a small pond...

The trail is mostly single track the entire route, consisting of about 6.5-7.0 miles. Shade covers most of the entire trail, however there are some parts where the trail opens up in a meadow type setting. This trail does not have the cool Lake views like we saw on Madrone Trail at Canyon Lake Park (we went a few weeks ago), but this trail does have less rock gardens climbs (which makes it a little easier on the bike). 

We really enjoyed the trail today, however...we set off too late and it was 10:30am before we arrived to the start. Needless to say, temperatures were climbing quickly into the mid 90's and we were scorching as we weaved through the cedar trees and up/down the hills. We made it to the 4 mile marker and I quit. With a heart rate of 200 and feeling the heat, I figured we could continue our journey another day when the summer heat was not as fierce. 

I rarely end a trail early, so instead of saying that I quit, let's just say "to be continued"...

 Here is Willy going down one of the "steep bits."

Myself at the 4 mile marker, "hot and bothered" as my momma would say!

After hitting the trail we decided to try out some new BBQ! Opie's BBQ was featured in Texas Monthly as a good BBQ joint, so we figured we should give it a try. The meats were delicious, but we especially loved the baby back ribs! Mmm..and with B.Y.O.B, you can't beat that! 

  

We ended the afternoon cooling off at Krause Springs here in Spicewood, Texas. A jem in the middle of today's heat! If you haven't been here while visiting Austin, this place is a must! Our new favorite hang out spot, because (can you imagine this) there is actually water here! Krause Springs is spring fed, so it maintains water levels all the time. Bliss.

{Click on the pictures to enlarge!}

Total mileage today: 4 miles (to be continued...)

Long story short: Hotter than hell run/bike, finger lick'in BBQ baby back ribs, cooling off in Krause Springs. 
Post ride beer: Tecate, Bud Light Lime, Jeremiah Weed Lightning Lemonade (what can I say it was hot and we got a little carried away) :-)

-Lucy-