Texas Tough Crit Races

Last week I did a night ride with the bicycle club that used some roads and some trails to get to the American Airlines Center to watch the Texas Tough Crit races. This was a fun night, riding our bikes to see a pro level bike race with 20k in payouts and some sprint laps paid up to $2500. This was a gruelling race won by a Team Toyota rider from New Zealand who made a clean solo break away with 6 laps to go.
We also went to lake Murray in Oklahoma this weekend and stayed in a rustic cabin and rode to Turner Falls on our bicycles, I got over 100 miles in nice rolling hills with a bonus climb to The scenic overlook above the falls.

The first picture below shows our old cracked up back porch in the process of being broken up by us, we took the old cement to be recycled by big city concrete crushers.
We are replacing it with Oklahoma flagstone, this is a learning experience setting the stone and cutting it by hand to fit. We first layed down a couple of inches of decomposed granite as a base and then leveled it and started setting and fitting the stones. I think I will like this natural look.

I have more photos of our rides and the yard project but my camera will no longer transfer to the computer. Oh, the O'day 272 is ready to launch finally and we have been looking at marinas.

Sailing soon

Dennis

Backpaking the Cross Timbers Trail

I had day hiked a small part of this trail some years ago and have wanted to return and backpack some of this trail. Friday I drove to the trail head on Lake Texoma at Juniper Point and got there about 5:00 pm and set out . The trail goes up and down and up and down with some nice little hills, nothing to bad but not a lot of flat land as you walk along bluffs above the lake and have to go down and back up to cross every drainage.

I arrived at the lost loop campsite a little after 7 and set up camp for the evening, dispersed camping is allowed but since I saw no one else on the trail I used the designated campsite to leave a smaller footprint. The campsite looks to have seen a lot of use but there was almost no TRASH.

I saw a lot of the little plant below, but none was right on the trail but a little off to the side. If you don"t recognize this little plant, this is the classic poison ivy (leaves of three let it be).

Saturday I hiked back on a nice cool morning with a low of 66. This trail spends a lot of time along the lake with nice views and varied terrain, I plan on doing the rest of the trail soon but the 4.5 miles or so from Juniper Point to Lost Loop were nice and clean. The trail crosses the parking lot of a marina which is the only place I saw other people. Close to the parking lot at the trail head I did pick up 2 fresh empty drink cans, a DP and a V-8, they were not here on my way out.With a pack weight of 30 pounds and about 10 miles total I could feel I had used some different muscles than I normally use. Sunday we got up early and got a nice 25 miles in on the bicycles by 8:45 and had the whole day left to work on the yard project.


Proud people don't litter

Dennis Starkey

Copper Epoxy Bottom Job

We finally found some time and cooler weather and were able to work on the Boat, we have already put an epoxy barrier coat of 4 coats of West System. I found a product from Progressive Epoxy that is a kit of epoxy and copper powder and works as a barrier coat and anti fouling. Since the 4 coats looked a little light I re- sanded the hull did a little more fairing and put on two thick coats of Copperpoxy.Michele said it looks like a new penny, it did cover and flow good and I got a reasonably smooth finish. If I would have left it a little thinner is would have flowed out better after being rolled on.

We still have to do some work under the last bunk, but the end is in sight. If the copper epoxy doesn't work well as anti fouling I have lost nothing as I needed the thicker Barrier Coat and regular anti-fouling paint can be applied over it with light sanding for adhesion.

It was a light week on the bike, during the week it is getting dark earlier and has cut into the ride time, Saturday we rode 35 on the Tandem, and on the road bike only 30 miles on Monday and 21 on Tuesday. I was trying to save my legs for a overnight backpacking trip this weekend.

Yard work coming soon.

Dennis