Though, not on this day, it being a January day. January is not a warm month.
I appear to be sweating in this selfie photo taken with my antique, long gone, Casio digital camera.
I don't think I have done any sweating in Texas in January, especially at the location of this photo.
With that location being the mountain bike trail that begins in Rockledge Park on Lake Grapevine, in the town of Grapevine.
I have not been on a mountain bike trail since moving to my current Wichita Falls location.
When I moved to Texas I thought my mountain biking days were behind me, what with Texas being a bit scarce in the mountain department.
I soon learned I was once again erroneous.
A couple months after moving to Texas I took a long drive to far east Texas, known as the Piney Woods Region. I was quite surprised to see that the Piney Woods Region looked a lot like the forested zones of Western Washington.
I drove in a park called Tyler State Park. This is a big park. I soon was seeing people on mountain bikes.
And then I came to a big parking lot, located where there were multiple trailheads for multiple mountain bike trails.
I was looking at a big sign with a map of the trails. A couple other guys were also looking at the map. I remarked to them that I was surprised to find mountain bike trails of this quality in Texas, that I thought I was not going to be mountain biking in Texas due to the lack of mountains.
One of the guys asked where I was from. I told him. He then asked where I was located in Texas. Haslet, said I, a tiny suburb of Fort Worth.
Fort Worth? Says the guy. So, you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Well, there are many real good mountain bike trails right in the Metroplex, some of the best you can find anywhere. The guy told me to go to a Bicycle Inc. store where I could get a map showing where all the trails are in D/FW.
I did so, the following week, and was amazed to see the number of mountain bike trails in D/FW. Over the years I think I biked each of them, at least once. And some dozens upon dozens of times, like the Rockledge and Horseshoe Trails on Lake Grapevine.
Another favorite was what are known as the DORBA trails in Cedar Hills State Park. Great biking and hiking trails are in that huge park.
Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association is where that DORBA name comes from. There are three loops to the DORBA trail in Cedar Hills State Park, with the third loop labeled as EXTREME.
Because it was not easy. I only biked the EXTREME trail once. On that EXTREME trail I had my one and only in the wild rattlesnake encounter in Texas. A big rattler, off the side of the trail. I heard it shaking its rattle before I saw the snake curled up, ready to strike.
The week previous to that rattlesnake encounter I'd been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, so the rattle noise was fresh in my memory. I think I almost overdosed on adrenalin when I passed that snake, and soon thereafter the trail entered a sort of marsh-like, tall grass section, which greatly heightened my snake anxiety.
But, I saw no additional reptiles that day.
Fort Worth has a couple mountain bike trails. The Gateway Park mountain bike trail was close to my abode, so I biked that one frequently. The Gateway Park trail is a fun one. It has a sort of roller coaster feel to it, in places.
Arlington's River Legacy Park has miles upon miles of mountain bike trails, some marked difficult, which were too difficult for me to master.
In River Legacy Park I had multiple snake encounters, but never with a rattlesnake. Several copperheads, though. And bobcats. Lots of bobcats. And armadillos. Including baby armadillos, If memory serves me accurately I think I put at least one photo of baby armadillos on the River Legacy Park webpage I made years ago.
All this mountain bike talk and remembering how much fun I had in those various D/FW parks, it is making me a bit nostalgic.
There is a mountain bike trail here in Wichita Falls. I have hiked part of it, accessed by crossing the suspension bridge in Lucy Park. Soon after crossing that suspension bridge one comes to a section of the mountain bike trail called Alligator Alley.
When one Googles Wee-Chi-Tah Mountain Bike Trail in Wichita Falls one finds a lot of websites with information about this trail, including a Facebook page.
A short description of the Wee-Chi-Tah Trail from one of those aforementioned webpages...
"Explore this 12-mile loop in Wichita Falls along the Wichita River. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This is a popular trail for mountain biking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime".
I think when Spring arrives I may take up bike riding again, maybe even braving Alligator Alley and the rest of the Wee-Chi-Tah Mountain Bike Trail...
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