Dirty Rails and Newts' Tails

The Trinity River Pack has been on two outings in the last two days.  I've crashed on both trips and am beginning to think I might need to put training wheels on my Sidewinder.

For the first time in months, I actually had on a helmet.  That turned out to be a good thing, because the tree I encountered wasn't interested in giving way when I smacked into it.

I was tailing Andrew, who is still in the learning phase, and riding at reduced speeds.  Another cyclist came up behind me, and I moved off the trail to let him pass.  The soft dirt and leaves on the trailside yanked my front tire hard enough to pull me in the wrong direction.  Next thing I knew, I was hitting a tree then scrambling in the dirt.  The passing cyclist kept riding, but did ask if I was okay.  I'd have said I was fine even if I'd broken something.  It was a tiny bit humiliating trying to untangle myself from my bike, lol.

For the record, I didn't break anything, and didn't even dent my helmet shell.  However, I can admit to my ego being a bit bruised.

As I said in the last blog, I lost my little Sony while touring the Fort Worth Stockyards with some friends recently, and trying to get decent photos without it has proved to be a hot mess.  I bought another, higher end Sony, for my sister a few months ago, so she could have it as a back-up on photo shoots.  She does raw photography in the Wabash Valley, and has a very good camera, but, as cameras go, when you take a lot of photos, a back up is always a good investment. 

Skywalker and I had come across some impressive Sony's in a shop recently, while bike browsing, and I have intentions of purchasing one from there, but haven't made it back to the shop yet.  In the meantime, I needed something to take with me on pack rides, that could serve as a decent alternative until I decide which new Sony to invest in.  I picked up an inexpensive little Vivitar, on which the packaging stated it has a telephoto lense and recording options, as well as a motion inhibitor.  It's compact, purple (they didn't have a green one), and the packaging assured me it was (in simpler terms) blonde-friendly. 

The Vivitar "Fail-Cam"
For only $19.99, the joke will be on you.

As the good Bishop McCool would say, "LHM!"  That translates to, "Lord have mercy!"  No kidding, I'd been flat out duped by what I read on the packaging.  The Vivitar is absolutely the worst camera I've ever used.  No kidding, the poor thing is beyond terrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless you're into giving gag-gifts.  If that's your game, by all means, buy one of these.  You'll love it!

Other than my new crashing routing, and the foul-Vivitar issues, the last two rides have been fun.  We'd intended to ride today as well, but I went to bed with a migraine last night, and though I'd doped myself to the gills to get rid of it, I maintained it through the night, into the morning, and spent most of the day continuing the pain meds and lacing them with benadryl.  This evening, it's finally given way to "Ahhhhh - Relief!".  But, we're too low on daylight to load up and head out for a ride, so it will have to wait until next week when I'm off again, and hopefully headache free.

Trail-side above the Trinity, a few feet from the collapsed area, which is to my right.

Jared and Skywalker, checking the cliff side near the fallout spot.

We are happy to announce that Jared, our point-rider, is back with the pack after several months of being without a ride.  He's outgrown his Raleigh-Hybrid, and though he's been shopping for a new ride, he'd not yet found the one he wanted to invest in.  In the meantime, Skywalker and I found a used 28" Diamondback that's worked out well for him until he decides which new cycle to buy.  So far, the Diamondback's been holding up really well, so he won't have to be in a hurry to make a decision on a new purchase.  After he upgrades, we'll still have the Diamondback for a spare, in event we have a tall bike-less guest who wants to ride with us.

He was the first to check the new trail we'd found the day before yesterday, that we were in hopes would get us to the river edge, near the rapids.  But, he rode it through and discovered it's only a short trail that loops back onto the main trail, that leads along the cliff.  We've only seen one access to the rapids area, which is a hiking trail, that isn't cleared nearly well enough for cycles, and it drops nearly straight down, about 25 feet, through close brush.  None of us are willing to ride it, so for now, we're stuck with only viewing the rapids from higher up.  It's frustrating, because the ground below looks like it would be really fun to ride on.

Still no passable path to get below the tree line.

This sign (and a few others in the park) has been a thorn in my side since we first started riding Gateway.  It's a public park, funded by taxpayers.  Years ago, this walkway was put in, that leads to the Trinity River bank below. 

They spent some impressive taxpayer money to build the thing, and then they've let it sit, cordoned off to the public (who pays for it) because they won't maintain it when flood water dumps debris onto it.  At this point, it's been sitting for so long, the dirt deposited from rain has built up on the lower end, high enough to be level with the guard rails.  In parts, the entire ramp is totally under foot after foot of hard dirt, with weeds growing up between the foot boards.  Someone recently tore down the "caution tape" that was stretched across the opening.  It wasn't us, but I admit I'd not have minded if it HAD been us.  Someone else just beat us to it.

Gateway Park is (for the most part) fairly well manicured.  It's the only park in Tarrant County (that I know of) that provides off-road cyclists both intermediate and advanced trail areas to ride on.  The soccer fields have awnings in the bleacher areas.  They also have a sizable fenced in dog park, and even frisbee-golf areas, with paths through the woods to give the game a bit more interest and challenge, but I've seen no bathrooms or water fountains in any of the areas I've been in.  Also, there are large stretches of walkways in the wooded areas that are fenced off.  Big signs are attached to the fences, like the one in the photo above, to keep people away from the loads of collapsed concrete walkways that have fallen away towards the river below.

If officials aren't going to ensure that the park is maintained effectively, then they should stop collecting taxes to pay for it.  People are willing to volunteer to pitch in and help, but not if they're having to pay to have the work done, and still spend their own time, doing the work themselves.

That makes as much sense as hiring a lawn service, who sits under the tree sipping lemonade and watches you mow the lawn you've paid them to mow for you. 


Lukas and Andrew were looking at the Trinity, past the end of the fenced in walk, when Lukas said, "If I were a millionaire, I'd BUY Gateway!"  I appreciated his sentiments because it's a truly beautiful spot in Tarrant County, and much of the scenery off of the main paths is stunning.  If I ever produce enough best sellers, I might buy the place myself, and just give it to him.  It's a good guess that if the boys were turned loose with some machetes in this place, they'd have the largest mountain bike park in the U.S., with mile after mile of awesome trails.  They're the generous sort, so they'd ensure the walkers, joggers and horse riders had plenty of areas to have fun in as well.  I'm not so sure they'd be inclined to not plant loads of trees in the soccer fields, but, since park trees keep getting torn down by the acre to accommodate soccer fields, I'm not inclined to feel bad about it. 

Andrew and Lukas

On the plus side, these are McGuyver's kids.  I have no doubt if Gateway were left to their disposal, mountain biking in Fort Worth, Texas would be taken to a whole new level.  These guys would be adding swinging bridges and ravine jumps, and only Heaven knows what else their big imaginations would come up with to include.  Andrew would probably design the entire thing on Minecraft first, then pass out his blueprints saying, "Make it so .... " 

If you're a gamer, and have never played Minecraft, my advice is DON'T!! It's horribly addictive, and once you start, you'll have a terrible time pulling yourself away from it and back into the real world.  Andrew is a genius with this game, and has even updated a texture pack for the game that has to date been downloaded over 5,000 times. 

Click the picture logo to get to Andrew's texture pack download.

The guys presented this game to me a couple of months ago, and no kidding, it really is as addictive as I've emphasized.

A bend in the river at the end of the wooden ramp.

The boys and I have found all sorts of garbage discarded into the Trinity River throughout the park area.  Much of it is heavy stuff, and we've no idea how they even hauled it in to get it to the site where they dumped it.  It leaves me wondering again, how wildlife survives in the water with so much pollution in it.

It's a shame for more than financial reasons.  Gateway offers an abundant area that would be an exceptional learning ground for students on field trips, or even a simple walk with their families through the park. 

There's a huge amount of wooded areas, where small forms of wildlife are present. Numerous variations of flora are easily accessible, and of course, it's a superb place to learn how to ride a bike. (Grin!)

Maybe the Trinity Pack should invest in tee-shirts declaring, "Clean Up Gateway!"  It's a thought, but I'm almost certain I couldn't get the rest of my pack mates to agree to wear one.

As for "fauna", Andrew and Lukas discovered a teeny-tiny life form hopping around near the path yesterday.  In fact, it hopped right into Andrew's glove.  The picture was taken with the Vivitar-Fail, so my apologies that it isn't more clear.  My replacement cam is on the way, but hasn't arrived yet.  Once it's here, I promise to be again providing better photo coverage of the pack's outings.

Our new friend, the Blurry Newt! (Compliments of Vivitar's fail-cam.)

That's it for today's post, and our thanks to you for the read!

God bless you, enjoy the trails, safe riding, and don't forget to thank a Veteran at your next opportunity!

femmeflashpoint