Biking With Fallen Trees & No Zombies In Gateway Park

Handlebars Pointing at FWMBA Trail Sign

Today I decided to get my first Wednesday of June, mid-day endorphin fix by pedaling the Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association (FWMBA) Trail in Gateway Park.

I last biked at this location last Saturday, on the first day of June. At that point in time I found Gateway Park infested with Zombies.

Today the Zombie infestation was completely cleared out.

At some point in time since Saturday a tree has fallen across the FWMBA Trail, almost obliterating the directional arrow. I had been at this location previously so I knew which way to go, even if there was no arrow pointing the way.

I assume all the fallen foliage is wind caused, but, I do not recollect a strong wind blowing since Saturday.

I really don't think all this fallen limbage could possibly be Zombie related damage. However, this location is a very short distance to the west of where I came upon a Zombie attacking a water supply.

Despite the air being a bit humid, I had myself a really fine time spinning my wheels. Most of the trails are under the shade of big trees, which makes for cooler trailing than one is subjected to under the direct rays of the unshaded hot sun.

Speaking of the sun. I was up well before its arrival this morning. Which caused me to have a really fine time having a really long swim in the increasingly warm pool, very early this morning.

I just heard the lunch gong go off. I am fairly sure that lunch today is Jalapeno Cornbread Casserole, Rice, Chicken and some sort of Green Salad, the nature of which I am currently not remembering.

Going With Frita Fremont To Gateway Park To Mountain Bike Ride

This 1st Saturday of the 2nd month of 2013 is the first time my handlebars have been back on a mountain bike trail in quite some time.

For weeks, it seems, either ailing with respiratory woes, or the air being way too cold, has left me with no desire to do any pedaling.

But, today, with me feeling fine and the temperature in the 60s, I took off to Gateway Park to ride the Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association (FWMBA) trail.

It is beginning to become just a bit spooky how many times, of late, I leave my abode to find my mobile telecommunication device making its incoming call noise, to discover it is Frita Fremont calling.

I am starting to wonder if Frita has me under some sort of surveillance. Perhaps a satellite view letting her know when my motorized vehicular transport is in motion. Frita is quite the Smart Phone guru. Is there some sort of spy app tech geeks can avail themselves of?

Whatever the explanation is for Frita's uncanny calling, Frita talked me all the way to Gateway Park, with one short intermission to get gas.

I usually call my mom when I get gas, but due to the fact that I had to cut Frita off, in mid soliloquy, I said I'd call right back after I was done pumping.

I called back a couple minutes later which had Frita exclaiming that I was a fast pumper. I really did not know what to say, so I simply agreed that I am a very fast pumper.

I was very pleased at how well the bike riding went. I must have been pedaling at a high rate of speed, due to it seeming as if I reached various landmarks very quickly.

Now that I am back in bike mode, I must make a habit of it again.

When I was done spinning my non-motorized wheels, I spun my motorized wheels to Town Talk. I thought it would be exceptionally busy today with Town Talkers stocking up for the Super Bowl. However, I suffered no being crushed in a crowd sensations.

I think I am totally ready for my Super Bowl Party.

Now I just need to go to the bother of finding out who is playing. I know Beyonce is doing the halftime show. I am not a fan. I do not think I could name a Beyonce tune. I would prefer it be Nicki Minaj. Now, that would be some reliable entertainment. She could start by taking off with her catchy Starship song.

I currently have my computer room window open.

It gets old, this weather pattern in Texas in winter, a few days cold, a few days not cold, a few days running the furnace, a few days with the windows open.

Mountain Biking Through The Dark Gateway Park Jungle With Indian Soul Food

In the picture you are looking over my handlebars deep in the dark jungle of Gateway Park on the Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association (FWMBA) mountain bike trail.

It has been awhile since I've bi-pedaled on a mountain bike trail. I think it is well over a month since I got a flat front tire on the River Legacy Park mountain bike trail.

The flat tire happened around the time my allergy respiratory woes went into high gear.

Today was the first cool day I've been biking since I got a new bike. By cool day I mean cool in the sense of the word that refers to the temperature, although it being a cool day, temperature-wise, is making this particular Thursday a cool day in the other meaning of the cool word.

Whilst biking the air was cooled to a cool 60 something. Now, an  hour later, a couple minutes past one in the afternoon, the air is still relatively chilly at 70 degrees.

Swimming was very refreshing, early this morning, at 52 degrees.

Enough with the temperature reporting. It is time for lunch. Chicken Samosas with Cilantro Chutney, plus Collard Greens and Re-Fried Beans with a lot of Cilantro added. Basically lunch today is Indian Soul Food.

I Did Not Climb On Tarzan's Treehouse In Fort Worth's Gateway Park Today

No, that is not part of Tarzan's treehouse in the African jungle you are looking at in the picture.

What it is that you are looking at is part of one of the two "CLOSED TO PUBLIC' boardwalks in Fort Worth's Gateway Park jungle.

Both of Gateway Park's boardwalks have been neglected, with rotting floorboards, I think, being behind the reason for the "CLOSED TO PUBLIC' signs, that are easily walked around.

I stopped at Gateway Park on my way to Town Talk, intending to go on a short walk under the tall trees which render shade which, for the most part, blocked the sun from reaching me directly.

There were a lot of mountain bikers biking the FWMBA mountain bike trail today. Usually, at most, I'll see one or two, maybe three. Today there were, maybe, dozens. It's hard to count such a thing. Maybe all the mountain bikers were in some sort of Autumnal Equinox celebrating mode.

The air in Gateway Park today seemed real oppressive, felt heavy. By the time I got to Town Talk I was clogged up with nasal congestion. Again.

I am remaining indoors, in air-conditioned comfort, for the rest of this first day of Fall.

Imaginary Snake Encounters In Gateway Park While Thinking About Getting A Smart Car

Today my handlebars were back in Gateway Park on the FWMBA (Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association) Trail.

I believe the temperature was in the low 90s when I started pedaling. A breeze and shade made for pleasant pedaling, until I'd stop pedaling to consume some H2O or take a picture, or both.

Stopping pedaling quickly starts the steam bath phenomenon. I try and make my stops brief.

In the picture, due to my inferior photographic skills, you can't really tell that my handlebars are on the FWMBA Trail, with one of the Gateway Park paved trails to my handlebar's right, with a wooden bridge visible in the upper right.

I don't know the cause, maybe it was watching the video I blogged about a couple days ago, part of which showed a Copperhead snake encounter on the mountain bike trail in River Legacy Park, but today I have been being spooked  by tree roots. On my way to the pool this morning I reacted to a tree root I've seen many times, thinking, for an instant, it was a snake.

Today, whilst pedaling through the Gateway Park woods, the snake root spook reaction happened multiple times. This sort of got on my nerves. Maybe I had a bad snake nightmare last night that I'm not remembering consciously.

Changing the subject from snakes to Smart cars.

A couple days ago I Googled Smart cars, curious was I regarding how much a Smart car costs and its gas mileage. Ever since I Googled Smart cars, as I browse around the Internet, I keep seeing Smart car ads. Smart cars look so ridiculous, but also look like they'd be fun to drive. Like a go-kart on steroids.

I see a Smart car almost every day, parked by Albertson's. That Smart car has a personalized license plate. SMART. Why would someone want a personalized license plate that is the name of your car? Is that smart?

I have no idea what my license plate's combo of letters and numbers is. If it were SMART I'd be able to easily remember it.

I think I'll go Smart car shopping now.

Tuesday Afternoon Chills After I Did Not Go Over A Cliff At Gateway Park Pedaling Past The Park's Armadillo Corpse

The sun had not yet heated the outer world to over 100 degrees, today, when I pedaled past the Gateway Park murdered armadillo corpse, on my way to the entry to the FWMBA mountain bike trail.

Due to trees and underbrush providing a thick jungle-like canopy, the almost total shade makes for a totally non-HOT mountain biking experience in Gateway Park.

On Saturday, when my sister who lives in Arizona went hiking with me on the Tandy Hills, she was lamenting about the lack of shade trees along her walking paths in the desert she calls home.

Shade is a good thing.

In the picture above you are looking over my handlebars at the Trinity River. Usually my digital camera somehow turns the Trinity River water into a color that makes it look much more appealing, and blue, than it actually looks.

I don't know what made the difference, but today my digital camera managed to accurately capture the actual slimy green color of the Trinity River, in its current state of being perfect for a bacteria-laden inner tube float.

In the picture it appears I am at the Trinity River's edge. In reality my handlebars are at the edge of a cliff about 40 feet above the river. Pedaling fast on the Gateway Park FWMBA mountain bike trail, if one were to make a wrong turn, at a key point, one might find oneself flying into the river.

As I sit here typing I've been noticing the temperature plummeting, as measured by my computer based weather monitoring device. In a very short time we have gone from being over 100 to a slightly chilly 88, supposedly with light rain, as you can via the graphic below. I must step outside and see if I feel chilly and slightly dampened.

Well, stepping outside I could feel the chill, but I felt no light rain. But, clouds have arrived and I can see where rain might be currently falling on parts of this great metropolis.

This has been a rather rapid invasion of clouds. When I was in the outer world a couple hours ago, at Gateway Park, I don't recollect seeing any clouds.

Dodging Disc Golfers While Finding My Way On Gateway Park's FWMBA Trail

I was pedaling fast on the Gateway Park mountain bike trail, not quite sure which way to go, when I came upon the very conveniently placed FWMBA TRAIL sign you see in the picture, with an easy to follow arrow pointing the way.

It was not yet heated to 100 degrees in the outer world when I left air-conditioned comfort today to go get me some endorphin therapy via excessive aerobic stimulation.

I only saw a couple other bikers today. I saw way more than a couple disc golfers. The disc golf trail and the mountain bike trail share trail in a couple locations. Disc golfers are sort of loud as they shout at each other whilst looking for their lost discs.

I saw one of the disc golfers had an interesting personalized license plate.

DISGOLF.

That seemed to me to be a bit of an unfortunate personalized license plate if your intention was to indicate your fondness for the disc golf sport.

FWMBA is not a word. I tried to pronounce FWMBA as a word and gave up. I believe FWMBA is shorthand for Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association.

Dallas has DORBA, while Fort Worth has FWMBA. The reason DORBA is not DMBA is because DORBA is shorthand for Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association.

Does Seattle have a SORBA or SMBA? If so, I've never heard of it.

I think I probably should take a day off of the excessive exercising, even if it makes me feel good. I was in the pool for over an hour this morning. And I did two loops around the FWMBA trail.

I am ever so slightly sore, but I think that may be from packing, into my abode, all the stuff I got at Town Talk today. I need to cease, for awhile, buying frozen things at Town Talk. My freezer is just about filled to capacity.

The outer world was not yet heated to 100 when I went biking in the noon time frame. Now, at almost 4 in the afternoon, we have passed the 100 degree mark, yet again, heading to a predicted high of 104, before today's heating part of the day comes to an end.

We are heading into a period of predicted day after day after day over 100.