Archbishop Fiorenza Park

Main area with parking lot

 It was a beautiful, overcast and cool morning, so I headed Northwest from my house, not that easy when you are avoiding main roads.   I did a lot of right-left-right, etc turns from neighborhood to neighborhood and only spent two blocks on Synott (my wife pronounces it snot, go figure) before turning into Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza Park, located on West Park, between Hwy 6 and Eldridge Parkway.  This is one of many nice parks in Alief.

One of my e-maps shows the Southern trails to be future, but all trails exist and are asphalt and fairly smooth.    There are two man-made hills here, my 7 speed Schwinn and I avoided them, but I guess you can get a workout if you want one.    There are also exercise stations along the trail, Dan was doing well just to pedal!   Maybe next time!

Archbishop Fiorenza Park is part of Brays Bayou.  It and several other parks West of Beltway 8 have been built to give Brays Bayou a place to rest during flood events so that my friends down stream don't get flooded so often.   Brays Bayou crosses under Hwy 6 and flows into the lake that the park was built around.   A trail branches off from the park, goes under the highway and follows Brays Bayou West for some distances.   I will take this trail some other time.

At a scenic spot on the back end of the park, I found this swinging bench.   I tried to get a selfie, but I guess I am too old for selfies!   It's rather comfy!

The parking lot, playground, and clean restroom are on Westpark Dr, just West of Eldridge Parkway.   This might be a good place to park and ride, if you want to continue on to McClendon Park and even farther.   Bring your own water.   Both water stations I saw were out-of-service.

This might be a good time to discuss who runs this park.   Harris County Precint 3  is responsible for parks all over West Harris County.  Because of gerrymandering, Precint 3 is also responsible for Brays Bayou Greenway Trail from Gessner to the railroad tracks west of Stella Link    Other agencies who also control parts of these trails include Precinct  1, which has a small sliver just west of Gessner, and a good bit of trail east of the railroad tracks. The City of Houston (Keegans Bayou) and probably other groups I have not seen.

Steve Radack, commissioner of Precinct 3, has more constituents (population) than the governors of about 10 states.   He has almost total control of the budget for roads, bridges and parks in our precinct.   See www.pct3.com     An interesting fact is that our state constitution established that each county (I have visited all 254) is governed by 4 county commissioners and a county judge, regardless of size or population.   Loving County has about 100 residents, Harris County about 4.7 million!  Go figure.

   Commissioner Steve Radack has been in office for three decades.    His name is on park signs and county structures all over West Harris County.   At www.pct3.com, I found parks, dog parks, trails, community centers and two senior centers.   All carry his name.  An older park, just across the street from "Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza Park" is "Bishop Joseph Fiorenza Park", and the sign was cast of concrete,   I guess, long before Steve Radack was elected, because his name is not there!The park page on the pct3 site shows this as phase I with the bigger park as phase II.  A sign that I wonder about are the numerous signs that warn of alligators!   Maybe why they say no swimming.

Two other places, that Dan thinks SHOULD have Mr. Radack's name on it, are the signs at the toll booths announcing a toll of $1.75, and in front of the empty Astrodome, but now I'm just bellyaching!   Mr. Radack was responsible for a world class soap box derby track, and a permanent home for Houston Area Live Steamers (HALS.org)  in Zube Park.  Mr. Radack is not running again, so I wish him well.

My ride in the park was very nice.   The  trail is patched asphalt and is not near as wide as the more heavily traveled main trail along Braeswood from Gessner to Mason Park, but was scenic and restful.   Next time, I think I will drive there and bike farther west along a part of Brays I have never seen. 

Riding East from MacGregor Park

 My friend Don and I drove over to MacGregor Park, off of MLK Blvd and just South of University of Houston.  We took the bikes down from the car and headed East.    Note to everyone:  MacGregor Park offers parking right by the trail.  Also available are restrooms (presently clean porta-potties), water, and A B-Cycle station, so if you want to rent a bike, you certainly can.   This portion of Brays Bayou Greenway Trail is fairly new; Google maps still show bare earth in many places.   I wanted to see this first hand as the trail dips down under the Metro line and does a cloverleaf up and over the bayou to a beautiful entrance to University of Houston.   By the way, right by the corner of UH is the fifth air pump/bike maintenance post that I have seen on Brays Trail.    Air the tires before you go much farther.  This is a great idea, and I imagine this is part of our tax dollars at work, but it, and the occasional water stations, sure make for a nicer ride.

We were curious, as several of my online maps, and the city's trail map, show several points on the trail, that go under road bridges, to be closed for construction.   The suggested detour is over 3 miles long and takes one along Hwy 90a (Wayside) North of Gus Wortham Golf Course before you get a chance to get back to the trail.   Now, I am a law abiding citizen (mostly) and I have been known to do what I am told, but as a Texan, if you don't want me to drive down a perfectly good road, you better dump a load of dirt in my way or dig a big hole, or both, or I am going right around all those "road closed" barriers, which I did.    

The first signs, around Telephone Road were bypassed, with no adverse affects.   There was no construction (on the way back I could see piles of dirt, etc on top of the bridge, so.....) and we sailed right along.    This part of the bayou looks rather natural, not a lot of concrete embankments and a serious effort is being made to grow native grasses.

The second set of barriers was a different story.   The Lawndale bridge over the bayou has been torn down and construction really is ongoing.   Did that stop us?   Nope.   We took a short detour left, then crossed Lawndale, intending to follow it West and around the golf course, but we spotted a family going around the construction on the other side of the street, so we bumped over a little dirt and followed them back to the pathway.   Not crowded (many people minded the signs, I guess)  and we rode on to Mason Park.   There are two bridges that will take you to the South side of the bayou and to Mason Park.   This is an old city park (est 1929) and actually has something that resembles terrain!  One of the bridges has a dedicated bike lane, the other is an architecturally interesting foot bridge.   We biked to what is truly the end of the trail..    A railroad trestle stands in the way, but work is being done to rebuild the railroad and extend the trail several hundred feet to a final section of the trail that is pretty much not accessible at this time.

So, with just a little caution, you really can ride from Braeburn Glen Park off of Gessner (parking) all the way to Mason Park    One more piece of the trail, and we really will be able to ride all the way to Buffalo Bayou!    And, I read that work should start this year (sure it will) on the Brays trail Northwest of Bissonnet, on to Arthur Storey Park, and maybe, on to Hwy 6 (several parks along the way already).

This is a well maintained trail, a little bit of ups and downs (as a 67 year old fat boy, I need to learn how to effectively use these gears!) and the scenery is quite nice.    I am pretty sure the bayou at this point is either brackish, or its salt water, as this ditch empties into the ship channel in about a mile, which would put this at sea level.     I saw one spot marked as a place to launch a canoe.   

Here, in the midst of a great urban area, and close to the super-busy ship channel, you can still see nature.   Wildlife

and not so wildlife.

Back to Cullinan Park

 My friend Don took Brays and Keegans Trails to my house this morning.   After a breakfast of coffee cake, eggs and bacon, we headed, via residential streets to Cullinan Park, just North of the Sugar Land Airport.   This was our second bike visit to the park.  A very enjoyable part of the ride is the Imperial development North of Constellation Park.   Lots of green space and many well-maintained paths.   

The picture of the deer was taken earlier this week, from my car.  Mommy and two fawns were not more than 50 feet from me, along the main road into the park.   They never bolted, but I was being watched as much as I was watching them.  This scene is less than a mile North of the airport, within the city of Sugar Land.

I thought we had learned our lesson the last time we were there, so we set out to follow established trails with markings and the occasional sign.   Sure.   What could go wrong?   Wide, civilized paths suitable for senior citizens quickly gave way to narrow tracks through and around saplings.   It was thoroughly enjoyable, but I did rededicate my life when we got back to the parking lot.   I don't have a picture of the blind, hard-left turn that dropped about 6 feet and ran across a rickety plank bridge.   Apparently, they couldn't afford railings, or for that matter, trimming of the underbrush.   Those of you who do not remember when bikes made-in-America will probably say "Again!"

I did take comfort in knowing there was a limit to how lost we could get, as the map showed water along several boundaries of the trail area, and I had not brought the floats for the bikes.  Sure enough, as we thought we were totally lost, we pedaled around a corner and found ourselves back at the main area.   

The website for the park and the conservancy offer maps and a glimpse at some rather ambitious plans.   This is a nice park that is close to civilization.

https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Cullinan-Park-64

Along Brays Bayou

I made a major goal Tuesday.    From my house in Alief  (Southwest Houstonm, outside the Beltway) , along Keegans and Brays Bayous, to MacGregor Park just South of University of Houston is 20 miles.    292 pounds of 67 year old couch potato made it!  MacGregor Park is one of the few spots along Brays Bayou with parking for those who DON'T live just a few blocks from one of these bayou greenways trails.   You can bike through the park, play in a pickup game of roundball, or bike on through the park and on farther down stream on the bayou.

Just a small mention of the Covid-19 mask.    My wife ordered me a set that are specifically for athletic endeavors.   Replaceable charcoal filters.   I can actually breathe while wearing one.   We won't mention that my wife recently found a review of said mask that said they are pretty much useless, because the inlet ports that give me enough air also move unfiltered air in AND out.   As Scarlett said, "I'll worry about that tomorrow, at Tara.   After all....."    

Between Texas 288 and MacGregor Park is a little bit of construction (eventually all bridges across the bayou will be rebuilt for flood control/survival), and a whole lot of very stately homes from many years back.   I smell old money.   The Brays Trail runs along both sides of the bayou.  On the South bank of the bayou, almost to MacGregor Park, is a high-quality exercise pavilion with bike racks, water, and a number of exercise stations.   Technically, it's closed because of the Pandemic, but.....   There are two foot bridges for bikes, so you can go down one side and come back on the other.  The Westernmost bridge is part of Colombia Tap Trail.   There is construction here right now.     I ignored the detour; probably shouldn't have.

Columbia Tap Trail just South of Brays Bayou Trail.    If you head South, across 288, and turn right, you can take a quiet city street to Parks and Recreation @ Brays Bayou.

There is a new H-E-B at the corner of Brays and 288.  At the corner by New Hope Baptist Church (historical marker) is a stop for Bus 4 that can take you to the TMC transit center and all the way the other end of Alief.   $1.25 

There are two Metro stops close to MacGregor.   I wanted to bike to the one adjacent to UH, but the trail does a cloverleaf down and up (which is cool) and my legs rebelled against even that slight incline by this stage of my journey, so I boarded at MLK @ Old Spanish Trail.   Went two stops, by the stadium and rode a block to my bus stop at Scott and Alabama, where, by the way, someone has placed something called "Rookies Cookies!"   I managed to avoid it - this time, but I see a side trip in my future!   Makes sense doesn't it?   End a 20 mile ride with ice cream and cookies!   Ask me why I can't lose weight!

Not sure how much farther we can go at the present time.   Website maps show Brays Greenway Trail is closed at Hwy 90a and the detour is not something I am interested in.   The problem with world class bike trails  -  it can be a mess building them., and the mess is there for some time.   I am considering driving to MacGregor and doing a fairly short exploration of the bayou from there.