HALFWAY BENCH

3/10/18

Hilly Ride

Adventure Location: Del Rio, Texas
Adventure Date: 03/07/2018
Click pics to enlarge

A ride to the lake on spur 454 shut down to motor vehicles road seemed like a good idea for a first real ride on the Teams bicycle. We think it was about 1 1/2 miles one way and the OFM was not sure how his body would take riding after so many months. He thinks he did OK for an OFM. But the details tell the true story.

In the beginning Sierra took the bike, the OFM and some of the Teams to the parking spot near the gate to the riding/walking portion of Spur 454. The bike was set on the ground and the OFM prepped for his adventure. Can you believe it, the OFM even remembered to bring AND USE the camera! Here we are getting ready. Notice the gate with the stop sign on it. That is where the ride starts.




Right after entering the area the OFM took a picture to show part of the road ahead. As of this water level in the lake, the road goes up and over two more slightly higher hills before getting to the lake. It is nice riding and quiet.




Frequently we were riding near the Ahh-Choo trees as the Boondork calls them. They are a really pretty color when the sun blasts them.




As we rode along the OFM regained his ability to sense what gear to be riding in and finally it came, more or less, automatically without him having to think about it. Anytime he has to think first everything gets slowed way down. Be assured that even though we were bike Meandering when we topped the third hill the lake edge was a wonderful sight.




We dismounted and were slugging water like crazy when a huge commotion in the water to our right startled the OFM and he got all choked up over it.

It turned out to be large carp in the 18“ to 24“ size messing around. Many were within 15 feet of the OFM and his camera. Here is two of them that messed around long enough for the OFM to get their picture.




Then suddenly they erupted in thrashing and splashing and moved back toward the deeper water.




This was happening all around the Teams for as far as we could see along the shoreline. 

Finally the OFM thought he could challenge the hills again so we took off at the speed of------------ a slug. As we headed back the OFM got it into his head to see if the old fancy gate posts we had located back in the trees years ago were still there. We think he really just used it as an excuse to rest when we got to the top of the first hill.

 Any way the gate posts were still there but the area was a bit grown up for our liking for tramping around the old homestead again. There is a small house foundation, a windmill foundation and some miscellaneous foundations we never identified before. Here is one of the fancy gate posts.




From there is was a nice pleasant ride most of the way back until we came upon a fisherman unhooking a small bass. He had walked and carried his fishing gear the 1/2 mile to where an old culvert went under the road and a slough came up through the culvert. We talked for about 20 minutes about fishing Amistad and especially about how little shore fishing is available on the lake. 

Then it was ride up the hill to the gate and Sierra waiting patiently for our return. It was a very nice ride and with all the excitement, it was a great effort at trying to have tooooo much fun.

No comments:

Post a Comment