Friday Morning Ride Report: Urban Exploration

Hey there and welcome back to Mountain Bike Chuck.  I know it’s been more than a year since my last (and first) post, but hey, you’re getting what you paid for here, folks.  Anyway, today I decided to head out on my Salsa Vaya for some (mostly) inside-the-loop, Houston-style, urban junglecross.  I decided to stick to the roughest roads I could find, hit as many bikeways as I could, and also do some exploring of some of the hidden off-road gems our fine city has to offer.  Pretty much everything the Vaya craves.  My route can be found here.

As for the rest, I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking here.

The Vaya, ready to roll.

First, I headed north from my apartment into downtown.

Found the Buffalo Bayou Walk down by UHD.  Mountain Bike Chuck gives this trail 2 thumbs up.

Definitely one of the more scenic bayou trails in Houston.

Had the trail to myself this morning.

Since the Buffalo Bayou Trail is under construction west of the skate park, I headed up Houston Ave and picked up the White Oak Bayou Trail. Another nice one.

Did a big loop up into the Heights and popped out on the TC Jester Trail. Here's the Vaya taking a breather.

More TCJ.

Off the beaten path: a nice little section of dirt. The geometry of the Vaya is perfect for this kind of riding.

Word.

Junglecrossin' it.

The view heading back into town.

Moar gravel!!

Getting closer...

Nice Rails-to-Trails over by the Jail.

Headed into the East side of town. Gritty. Dirty. Dangerous. This is Houston, and it's a helluva fun place to ride.

Railroad bridge by the ship channel.

More East side scenery.

Road this little gem over by Mason Park.

A little hidden gravel to play on.

Cruisin'.

Back into town via the Brays Bayou Trail.

Dig the view.

This is going to be really nice when it's done.

Some yummy new gravel through Hermann Park.

The new trails at Hermann Park are really nice.

Flyin'.

Nice way to finish up a ride. Gobbled this up and soft-pedaled the last 2 miles home. It was a good day.