The Heights

 On my last ride, I may have ridden too long.   I tried to fix that Wednesday.

I took the Park and Ride to downtown.   I managed to find an E Bike with a full charge (a first for Dan) and I kept it all day.    Here is a note about how the system works.    It's fine to check in and out all day with the standard B Cycle, but I now know that every time I checked this E Bike in and back out, the cash register went ding!   $8.64 for the day.    (B Cycle people, this was my doing, I should have known.)  Whatever, I worked about as hard as I do with the old 3 speed, but I went faster.

Monday, I had to go back home for my iPhone.   Wednesday, I reached into my backpack, and found that my insulated quart thermos of ice water was still on my kitchen counter!    Deal with it!  (By the way, as I write this two days after this ride, I asked a stranger to call my phone when I couldn't find it in the car.    It was on top of the car!   And we encourage this guy to ride a bike?)

I headed into the Washington Corridor for a few stations, then headed north to pick up the Eastern most Heights stations.  I rode through an old part of the heights, lots of old house, trees, and signs marking this as a historic district.  Bric-a-brac and wrap-around porches. and two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard, now everything is ........The Heights have so many cute little streets with cute little bungalows, and most of what I see is either restored homes, or new homes that try to blend in.   Three story homes no wider than the two-car garage seem to be the norm, but I see no McMansions.

Beach Park has an HEB water feature.   I may be 69 years old, but I hit the red button to activate the water jets, just as if I were seven!   

Where on earth am I?  The sign says 19th and Rutland and I thought I was riding through the Houston Heights, but I think I've been transported to downtown small town Americana!  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture.

I was ready to stop, and hey, here's Heights Central B Cycle.  Right here is Ike's Love and Sandwiches, so I parked my bike and ordered my sandwich, and now I don't remember what I ordered, but it is good, and I like it.  The bread is listed as their own Dutch, and it's very tasty.   The décor up in the ceiling is lunchboxes!

It's a school holiday for Yom Kippur.   There are a couple of boys just outside a park on the main MKT bike trail, and they are selling lemonade and cookies!   Good, too!   Ice in my cup.   It doesn't get much better than this!

I have passed three ice cream places so far today, all in the Heights!  but was too full to stop.    When I finished with the heights in Stude Park.   I found that the new connecting trail from Stude Park to the MKT railroad bridge is not quite open, so I turned East on White Oak Trail and on to MKT, into downtown, where I swapped the E Bike for a ride on Metro rail to Wheeler.   I climbed aboard 152 to Westwood  Park And Ride.   An interesting thing here is Bus 152 doesn't stop between Wheeler and Hillcroft  Transit Center, which made the ride shorter than taking Bus 65, which was also an option.   See what I have learned!

My trip Wednesday was a good two hours shorter than Monday.   Good plan.

5th Ward, Near North Side, UHD and a couple of miles too far

 Monday, October 3, I headed to the Park and Ride in plenty of time, only to find that I had left my iPhone in the house.   45 minutes later, I arrived at Park and Ride in time to see the last bus leave.   Fortunately for me, a commuter then chose to drive in, and by giving me a ride, she was able to use the HOV lane.   Worked out.

So, starting from a downtown station, I knocked out U of H Downtown.   Note that there is a back road from UH Daly lot to Burnett Transit center.  I had no idea University of Houston Downtown had become so big.   The lady who took me into downtown told me she went there for all four years plus her masters.   Nice, modern campus, easy walking or biking between buildings, and what looks like a very convenient shuttle from satellite parking lots.  

The Exchange at Hardy Yards doesn't look like anything on the map, but it's within walking distance of UHD and hosts the $5 million postcard view of downtown Houston!   These are beautiful apartments/condos that look to be the beginning of a livable neighborhood.   I missed the UHD Shay Street building, so I backtracked, and now I have earned my first badge.

From Shay Street I headed East past the Catastrophic Theater (what on earth?) and some other very quirky businesses in old warehouses.  Stopped to watch a train go by (lots of them, it turns out), 

I pick up Lyons Ave, which goes close to several stops in 5th Ward, but first I have to stop at St Arnold's Brewery.   I have been in Houston 18 years, and this is my first visit to the brewery.  I circled the parking lot and determined that the bier garten (German spelling) opens at 11:00 and it was almost that, so I had lunch and a beer.    Very good food and service.

Here is an observation:  When the Army sent me to Germany almost 50 years ago, Germany was busy consolidating breweries into just a few giants, and now, here in Houston we have little breweries all over the  city.   Go figure.

Continued East on Lyons picking up 5th Ward.    I can see some gentrification, and some houses that have been renovated, but I also saw run down homes.

Anybody know the story about this brick sculture on Lyons?

Crossed Buffalo Bayou and up Navigation.  From the bridge I could see some of the East River Project.   I was getting tired by now, so I just noted the sign pointing to the Houston Maritime Museum.   Maybe next week.    Cruised into EADO and struggled through downtown to Smith, where there is a stop every two blocks for my P&R bus.   It was right at 3:00 so the the express   buses were running.

Some random thought about the whole experience.

You don't want to be in a hurry.   Look around, there are many places we have never seen before.

I think most of us are checking a bike in, and immediately taking it back out, or taking out another, so we can get credit for the B Cycle station.   Give yourself a couple of minutes before you try to take the next bike, as the system needs a minute or two to reset your account.

If you run into problems at a station, call the service desk.   Many call centers want you to recite every number you know, including your Mother's maiden name, Daisy just needs your name and location, and she will fix any problem.

I ran across two B Cycle techs on the road.   Joshua bailed me out when I questioned whether that out- of-service station was really out of service.

And finally, whether you plan to hit all 153 stations, or just a couple of neighborhoods, I hope you have a great time, as I am.

Tour de Bicycle - I get started!

 I headed to 5th Ward after church.   I decided there were a few stations too far from the others for a full day's ride, so I headed to Mickey Leland Park.  Zero bikes.   Cross US 59 and go to Henderson Park.  Large Live Oak provided a shaded parking spot for the car.    Checked out a bike and headed back to Mickey Leland Park.    

Leland Park has a very nice memorial to the late congressman.   It is also the trailhead for Hunting Bayou Trail, so I rode down the trail, crossed a couple of bridges and came back to the station.   This is a very nice, paved trail that may someday go all the way to Buffalo Bayou.

Back at my car, I decided to scoot over to Moody Park.   Crossing the Metro tracks can be interesting, the park had families engaging in numerous Sunday afternoon activities.   Took a bike to Quitman nearnorthside Metro, then on to Leonel Castillo, where the station and I had some misunderstandings that the nice lady at the service desk helped me with.    One slot would not lock, and another slot would not unlock, so once the lady manually got me a bike, I decided to head back to Moody Park.

It was a nice day to ride.    Hopefully, we are done with high heat for a bit.

  

Be Positive

 I will get back to bike riding for my next post, but I wanted to share this:

One of my weekly activities is reading to small children every Thursday at our church's preschool.  I am really not sure who is having more fun with this:  the children, or me!    

I brought a couple of books about fall today.    I also brought a box of Autumn décor that my wife had gathered over the years.    I spread strings of silk leaves around, and over the children, and set a small, decorative hay bale on the floor.   It had ribbons and silk flowers, and had, at one time, been a centerpiece.  A herd of two and three year olds descended upon my meager decorations.   Four of them gathered around the hay bale as I attempted to share a pumpkin counting book.   At least one of the children has a tendency to cry, so as long as they were quiet, I wasn't going to bother them.    After a while, I looked down to see that these little angels had disassembled the hay bale and the flowers, and there was now hay all over the floor!  The older children found bits and pieces everywhere when they came in!   

For all the negativity in the world today, I can still find pure joy in the faces of preschoolers!   I think I could read the phone book to them (is there still one?) and have them interrupting me to add something that may or may not pertain to anything we are discussing, but they sure want to share!   I have long since learned never to bring up birthdays, new shoes, or puppies, if I ever want to finish reading the story!   But, I saw pure joy today, and believe I looked into the face of God!

Next week I will read Jeanne Titherington's  Pumpkin, Pumpkin, compleat with a bag of pumpkin seeds and some pumpkin cookies.   Not sure if I will be brave (or dumb) enough to cut open a pumpkin while they watch.    

Anyways, this is my best therapy.    

Houston Tour De Bicycle 2022

 

I know it's been awhile since I posted anything, but let's see if we can get back on this horse.

Houston B Cycle, you know, those bike racks with colorful, sturdy bikes all over Inside the Loop?

Well, Houston B Cycle is hosting a fun activity for October.    We are being challenged to visit all 153 bike stations during October.   That is quite a challenge.    By my estimates, I will need to hit the trails at least 10 times in a month/    There are prizes, but more importantly, here is an opportunity to see parts of Houston we may not have seen before.  Here is  their website:  

https://www.houstonbcycle.com/tour-de-bcycle2022

I registered and very quickly got an email from BCycle.   Among other prizes are a free month of bicycle rental, an aluminum water bottle that doubles as a place to put the badges (Badges! We don't need no stinkin Badges!  Name that movie). the requisite T Shirt, and at some point, you could even get a whole year of bike rental, and maybe put your name on a new bike (without getting in trouble!).   

The bike stations have been grouped by neighborhood.   When you check out the website, you may have a hard time reading the neighborhood list, and even a harder time printing it, but do not despair,  once you register for the fun, BCycle will let you download the list in wonderful PDF.

I'm a little analytical, so I have spent several days trying to figure out the best way to play this game.   I live outside the Beltway.   I plan to take Metro Park & Ride downtown during morning commute, grab a bike and head towards my chosen neighborhood.   I have decided on Near Northside and 5th Ward for my first foray, so I will check out my first bike in the County Courts area and head north.     On another day, I will take park and ride to the Medical Center.

The whole idea of B Cycle is to leave your car behind.    I stopped at a local supermarket service desk and bought a Metro Q Card so I don't have to fumble for change when I board the bus.     I will also study the Metro bus schedules.    It really is not hard.

I asked the nice lady at B Cycle about stations that are out of order.   She suggested I take a picture of the offending racks and send the picture to her, for credit on this treasure hunt.  I would not trust the map - the App shows the Castillo Communtiy center as out of service, but I found 4 bikes there, including an E Bike.  But, come to think of it, I did not try to check out a bike, so maybe......

Ah, E-Bike, the preferred method of transportation.   If you manage to get one, I would check it in and out from as many stations as possible, as long as the battery lasts.   Each time you dock or undock a bike, you get credit for that station.

Before you tell me you can't do it, you should know that I am a 69 year old overweight diabetic with other issues.   At the start of the pandemic, I could cycle 2 miles.    Saturday, my bike buddy and I did 24 miles, only a couple of those miles were because I cannot read a map!

Stay tuned,  I hope to start this ride on Monday, October 3.

Badges!   If you said "Blazing Saddles" you are either a Baby Boomer, or were raised by one.   If you said "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" you know your black and white movies!

Odds and Ends II

 Couple of quick thoughts.

As part of the Houston Citywide Cleanup, Neighborhoods to Trails Southwest (NTTSW) and Friends of Keegans Bayou will sponsor two cleanup sites Saturday,April 2, along Keegans Bayou.  10:00-12:00

Those working in the area between BW 8 and Wilcrest may either bike in, or drive and and park at Archer Collision Center, 11107 Southwest Fwy, North Bound frontage road.    We have been asked to keep the gate clear, in case a wrecker needs access.

Those working Keegans Bayou between S Gessner and Riceville Cemetery should plan on parking behind Fiesta Market.   We will start there.   I have not asked permission from Fiesta yet, but will early next week.

Volunteers should bring gloves and grabbers and sturdy shoes.   If you have big trash bags, please bring them.

Please email dannagel1@att.net or text 281-799-2673 to give us a headcount.   No  messenger pigeons, please, my pigeon flew the coop!

Dan Nagel

Self-Appointed third Assistant Resident Gadfly, NTTSW

Next thought:

You may know that my granddaughter is a barista at her neighborhood coffee cafe.  As Papa Dan, it is my job to provide an endless stream of "dad jokes" to include picking on all those people who order a Frappuccino with soy, turbinado sugar, a twist, and make sure the coffee is grown in America.    OK, you can tell I never order coffee.

But it suddenly hit me as I was fixing my iced tea:  decaf, infused mint, two yellow sugars, squeeze of fresh lemon and a shot of sugar-free raspberry syrup.    Yep, I'm trying to hide the taste of tea, just like the millennials are hiding the taste of coffee!    What's with that?

Double Standard

I'm going to invoke Arsenio Hall for a moment.   Sometimes you look at something and just go .......Hmmmmmmm!!!

I'm a 69 year old fat guy with diabetes and other problems.    I am noticing more and more, that pretty women are asking me very personal questions every day, like what is my phone number, my birthday, and one young lady at my doctor's office always wants to know my weight.    Even beautiful voices on the phone, like at my financial institutions ask me a lot of personal questions.    One even wanted to know my Mother's maiden name, and where my father met my mother!   (If you are really not getting it, these are my backup security questions!)

If I ever started asking these pretty ladies the same questions, I am sure I would be ushered into an office where some serious looking supervisor would tell me how inappropriate my comments are.   

So what is with that?

Hmmmmmm