Back At It!

I'm back! The past few weeks have been packed full of work, graduations, and weddings which made it difficult for me to get out much. Thankfully, last weekend (yes, an entire week ago! I'm so behind!) I had a wide open schedule that allowed me to get back out on my bike and spend a few hours on the water with a fly rod in my hand.

Saturday's are for Riding

 

On Saturday morning, despite the recent rains and possibility of pop-up thunderstorms, my buddy Nathan and I decided to take a little road trip down to Branson to ride the White River Valley trail system. This was the first time that either of us have had the chance to get back down to this trail since last summer.

 

Thankfully, the weather decided to hold off and the trail was dry enough for us to become reacquainted with this excellent trail system. We were pleasantly surprised to come across several improvements that have taken place in the past year that have made the trails more rider friendly and sustainable. Any mountain bikers living in the Ozarks should do their best to take a day and experience everything that White River has to offer.

 

After a couple of hours of riding we packed up and took a dip in the lake over at Table Rock State Park to cool off and clean up a bit. We looked like complete dirtbags, but who cares. Gotta do whatcha gotta do! After a quick change of clothes we headed into Hollister and grabbed a bite to eat at the Ye Olde English Inn. Really cool old inn and pub with awesome food and cold drinks without the Branson crowds. Definitely check it out if you're in the area.

Sunday's are for Fishing

 

I finished out my weekend on the James River with a fly rod in my hands and smallmouth on my mind. Unfortunately, I was unable to hook up with any smallmouth throughout the afternoon, but I did get into a handful of sunfish and a chunky Goggle-Eye (Northern Rock Bass). I fished with various colors of Clouser Minnows and Wooly Buggers, but I'm wondering if I need to get a little deeper or provide the fish with a meatier presentation. Looks like I need to learn to tie a few smallmouth patterns!

Until next time...

 

PEACE!

Bikes & Cameras Just Go Together

I've been itchin' to hit up the trails lately, but I was afraid the recent rains would make for unsuitable conditions. All of the trails around here seem to have different drying times, but I'm always afraid to make the drive out to a location and find the trails to be unrideable. After talking it over with Nathan, we decided to play it safe and headed to a little known trail system that is made up of mostly gravel access roads with some offshoots of singletrack. Our thought behind this was if we discovered that the singletrack was too muddy we could still get in a good ride on the access roads. Plus, Nathan had never been to the location and it gave him a chance to test out his new Nikon DSLR.

 

Nathan riding through a CRP field that underwent a controlled burn this past winter

I love the distortion that the GoPro gives the trees

The access roads were dry except for a puddle here and there and a few small crick crossings (yup, I said crick). The offshoot trails were a bit damp, but doable. There were plenty of spots that gave Nathan the opportunity to try out his new camera. Check out his Instagram page to see a few of the pictures from our ride.

Yeah, my arms are super pale. I wore a cutoff for a reason.

My favorite GoPro picture of the day. Crick selfie!

I completely forgot to start my Strava, but according to Nathan's our ride only consisted of about 5 miles. We spent quite a bit of time off the bikes messing around and taking pictures. It was just nice to get outside, do some exploring, and get in a bit of exercise.

Enjoying the Weather on Two Wheels

Ohhh man I can't get enough of this weather! Don't get me wrong, I love all of the seasons, but spring is just so refreshing. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and the fishing is hot. For me, the toughest thing about spring is deciding what I'm going to do with my free time. Do I head home from work and grab the fly rod or should I string up the hammock and chill out under the redbuds in the backyard? Chase turkeys on Saturday morning or hit up the local singletrack? Lucky for me, my decision on what to do after work on Monday was an easy one. On my way home, Nathan gave me a call and asked if I wanted to go for a ride on a new route he discovered here in town. ..Uh, yeah! I'm always down for finding new routes weather they be on-road or off. After a quick change of clothes I strapped on the GoPro and we hit the road.

Pickwick Ave.

We began our ride in the Roundtree neighborhood and then cut across Glenstone and proceeded East on Bennett. After a quick left on Barnes and we proceeded right onto Catalpa. Once we hit Catalpa Street the scenery began to improve. I started to see why Nathan liked this route so much. Catalpa Street is a low traffic street that is full of beautiful homes and great views of Pierson Creek.

East Catalpa Street

We took a quick water break near an awesome old log home off Farm Road 193. I wish I would have read the historical marker that was next to it. If only this old cabin could talk..

The Dryer Home

After our break we continued on to Cherry Street and then headed south on Farm Road 189 back to Catalpa Street.

 

Cherry Street

We headed back the way we came and wrapped up our ride in front of Pickwick House where we ran into a few friends who were playing music for the weekly Roundtree get-together.

Goat Milk Honey plus a few

According to Strava, our route was a total of 13.1 miles and took us just under an hour. Total elevation gain for the ride was about 530 feet.

If you are a cyclist or runner I highly recommend the app Strava. It is a very useful tool for tracking your workouts and finding new routes.

I have to say that this is probably my favorite road route that I have been on since I have lived in 417 land. This is an easy, low traffic route that I would suggest to anyone looking for a quick ride with some beautiful scenery. Although I'm not much of a road cyclist, this is a route that I plan on revisiting very soon.