More PinkBike in West Texas

More photos from PinkBike's feature on West Texas winter cycling. Here's another gorgeous shot from Devon Balet of the team's ride at Big Bend Ranch State Park.  

PinkBike Digs West Texas

Our organization helped bring the team of Chris Reichel, Devon Balet, Dejay Birtch and Josh Smith. to Far West Texas and now it's featured in PinkBike! Thanks to all who helped show the world what great mountain biking we've got! Photos by Devon Balet. 

Hiking Hints from Britain, 1933

We just thought this was tons of fun....

#30DaysofBiking
And as we say goodbye to our April feature - cycling assets of our Texas Mountain Trail region, we want to give an additional shout-out to some friends in El Paso....

GeoBetty.com maps mountain biking trails in the Franklin Mountains and other destinations around El Paso

Velo Paso is El Paso's vibrant and growing bicycle and pedestrian organization, working hard to make alternative transportation, easy, fun, healthy and safe. 

Color of Marfa's Grasslands and Mountain Biking in Big Bend

The colors are...wonderful.  Marfa's light, and the effect of that light on the grasslands north of town rarely disappoint.  Similar views can be seen from Hwy 17, the road between Marfa and Fort Davis. Come on out and see it for yourself!

#30DaysofBiking

Yesterday, we asked you to note the dates for the next Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest, a terrific mountain biking festival in Big Bend.  Today, we want to encourage you to ride your mountain bikes in Big Bend Ranch State Park anytime...don't wait for the festival to give the park a try?  Sauceda Ranch is the middle of Big Bend Ranch State Park, a perfect launching spot for long (adventurous) days on your bike.  And if you're a beginner, you can stick to the dirt roads in the park...and have a GREAT time, too.  Click here to download the park's biking guide!

The many roads of Big Bend Ranch State Park offer mountain biking adventures to even (prepared) beginning mountain bikers!  For more experienced riders, the park has been named an EPIC ride by the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

Red Flag Warnings and Mountain Biking Festival!

Photo by Luke Stewart Billingsley

Our friends at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center is flying a new red flag at their entrance on Hwy 118 just outside Fort Davis. The red flag denotes that we are in a Red Flag Warning. 

So what is a Red Flag Warning? The National Weather Service issues Red Flag Warnings to help alert people to the potential danger of critical weather and low fuel moisture conditions that could lead to wildfire. This could be due to low humidity, high winds, dry fuels, or any combination of these. CDRI hopes that flying the red flag will help remind people that Jeff Davis County remains under a Red Flag Warning.   And they thank friend, Stewart Billingsley, CDRI member and Jeff Davis County Fire Marshall, for the photo and for all you do for the area!

#30DaysofBiking

Save the date for one of the best mountain biking festivals just about anywhere, the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest, February 12-14, 2015 in Big Bend Ranch State Park, and West Texas trails.  This festival is a benefit for trail development in Big Bend.  There's always something for everyone, experienced riders, beginners, even kids!  Click here for more information!

 

Historic Holland Hotel

 

Alpine's historic Holland Hotel (1928) sits across from the train station, which made it convenient for travelers in the early days, and for Amtrak passengers today!

Designed by the Trost and Trost firm, which was responsible for other hotels in the area (Gage Hotel in Marathon, 1927; Hotel Paisano in Marfa, 1930; Hotel El Capitan in Van Horn, 1930), the property is now completely and lovingly restored and open for visitors.

Click here for a list of historic hotels and related sites in the Texas Mountain Trail region. 

#30DaysofBiking

A great, but little known, mountain biking route is waiting for adventurous riders in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on the Williams Ranch road.  The rugged 4x4 road is open to just two vehicles at a time through locked gates, and keys can be secured by the park rangers at the visitors center.  The road is 7.3 miles one way, and is rugged enough that it takes a vehicle about an hour to get to the ranch house.

The road even follows the historic route taken by stagecoach on the Butterfield Overland Trail and overlooks the salt flat, the source of the historic 1877 Salt War of El Paso.

Click here for a historic overview of Williams Ranch.

Our Ride for Reading Deliveries Shared by Bike Texas

Our friends at Bike Texas have helped us share cycling news from the Texas Mountains, and they graciously published our article on last month's Ride for Reading deliveries in Fort Davis, Terlingua and El Paso on their website.  Here's the link the article on their site (and we invite you to poke around and see what this great organization has to offer Texas cyclists!) and below is the article in its entirety.

Texas, Let's Ride for Reading!

By Beth Nobles
Executive Director, Texas Mountain Trail

I’ll say it: “It is the best thing I’ve done on a bike.”
Last month, it has made U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke feel like a “rock star.” It made kids, teachers, and scores of cyclists from El Paso, Terlingua, and Fort Davis very happy. What was it? Ride for Reading deliveries in Far West Texas.


Ride for Reading’s founder, Matthew Portell, says this:

During my first year of teaching, I asked my students to read for 15 minutes at home each night. One student replied that he didn’t have any books at home to read. It didn’t take me long to realize that student’s problem wasn’t unique. According to the Handbook of Early Literacy Research, the ratio of books per child in low-income neighborhoods is one age-appropriate book for every 300 children. I felt compelled to do something to help my students and others like them — so I combined my passion for cycling and reading. The result: Ride for Reading.

Simply put: Ride for Reading provides a way for donated books to be delivered to low-income elementary schools BY BICYCLE. Local cyclists are recruited for the deliveries, and books are donated locally or provided by Better World Books through the Ride for Reading program.


Our Texas Mountain Trail non-profit got involved with a call from one of our best partners, El Pason Don Baumgardt, who operates a mountain biking website for Far West Texas, www.GeoBetty.com. Don asks, “We’ve got one of the best mountain biking photographers, Devon Balet, coming to El Paso with his crew, Team Ride for Reading. Would you like them to visit the Davis Mountains and Big Bend and help you with your promotion of the area? And, oh yeah, would you like to do this Ride for Reading book delivery?” A few clicks online and it was a no-brainer for us. Soon we had the elementary schools in Fort Davis and Terlingua onboard too.


We recruited volunteer cyclists to meet at a central location not far from the school. There we packed the donated books into backpacks and messenger bags by age level, and then we rode to the local elementary schools, where the kids were excited (and cheering!) to be able to pick out a book (or two) to take home as their very own.


Ride for Reading promotes healthy, safe, vibrant activity and reading. Each child receiving a book must pledge: “I promise to read my book twice. I will never ever throw my book away. I will pass it on to a friend, family member, neighbor, classmate or someone else I know. And I promise to be the best student for the rest of the year.”
Don Baumgardt, organizer of the El Paso delivery in January, “I think the riders got as much out of the day as the kids. We were all so gratified by the response we received at Hart Elementary. When we rounded the corner two blocks from the school on our bikes a roar went up from the students. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.”


U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke participated in the El Paso delivery and addressed the kids, "I always wanted to be a rock star, because I wanted to come into a stadium and hear the crowds cranked up...people cheering with pom poms and signs...and today when I rode my bike here, I finally felt like a rock star!" That's right, cyclists...Ride for Reading can make you feel like a rock star!”


Want to organize your own Ride for Reading delivery in your own town? Ride for Reading would LOVE to schedule more events during Ride for Reading Week, May 5-11. They’ve even received a commitment from Better World Books to provide books for every delivery scheduled that week, and they’re excited about expanding the program in Texas.


Founder, Matthew Portell: “I can honestly say one thing, the saying ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ is very true for the Ride for Reading deliveries we had in January! As the founder of Ride for Reading, it is truly amazing to watch such a little concept gain so much momentum. I dream that one day there will be a book delivery via bicycle in all fifty states, but it starts with the motivation of cyclists in every state."


We’re already talking to communities throughout our Texas Mountain Trail region of Far West Texas about adding events that week. As we learned and as our friend, Don Baumgardt reports, “the online resources from Ride for Reading made it very simple to organize the event.”
For information on setting up your own delivery for National Ride for Reading Week, May 5-11, visit the program’s website, www.rideforreading.org.


Ride for Reading deliveries are best if there are lots of community partners. Our partners for our January deliveries to Terlingua and Fort Davis include Friends of Jeff Davis County Library, Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce, Fort Davis ISD, Stone Village Tourist Camp, Davis Mountains State Park, Big Bend Resorts and Adventures, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Desert Sports (a great mountain biking outfitter), Terlingua CSD, Big Bend Chamber of Commerce, Brewster County Tourism Council, and our Texas Mountain Trail board of directors and volunteers, in addition to Team Ride for Reading, Ride for Reading, and Better World Books!

Terlingua's Ride for Reading Delivery

A happy student at Terlingua Elementary receives a
book through our delivery thanks to the folks at Ride for Reading!

We were most fortunate, as part of our efforts to share our region's tremendous cycling assets with travelers, to work with the WONDERFUL folks at Team Ride for Reading and schedule book deliveries to the Fort Davis and Terlingua elementary schools.  The book deliveries were part of a trip with photographer Devon Balet, who is producing a short video for us of our regional mountain biking opportunities.  Stay tuned for that!

But our Ride for Reading days were all about connecting kids with books, and reinforcing healthy active lifestyles and reading.  In fact, we are so excited about this connection, we're looking into scheduling more book deliveries during Ride For Reading Week, May 5-11.

Terlingua cyclists with backpacks full of books,
on the way to the elementary school for the delivery

Once we learned of the opportunity to organize book deliveries, all we had to do was ask....We contacted the schools and local cyclists to see if they'd participate in the program and we received hearty and enthusiastic responses, "YES!"

Our friends at Big Bend Resorts and Adventures (which
has its own mountain biking trail on property) was the meeting point
for the volunteer riders

Ride For Reading's mission is to promote literacy and healthy living through the distribution of books via bicycle to children from low-income neighborhoods. In low-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books per child is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children. *Reading is an integral part of education, and without books it is hard to build a strong academic base. Our children need materials to read at home and it is our goal to provide the means.

The pledge each child takes upon receiving a book:

"I promise to read my book twice.
I will never ever....
Ever, ever, ever....
Ever, ever
Throw my book away.
I will pass it on to a friend....
Family member....
Neighbor....
Classmate....
Or someone else I know.
And I promise....
To be the best student for the rest of the year"

L to R:  Marfa Public Radio's Kate Yoland, Team Ride for Reading's
Joshua Smith, Chris Reichel, Dejay Birtch, Devon Balet, and
Texas Mountain Trail Executive Director, Beth Nobles
Listen to the archive edition of the interview here.

What mattered to us was the enthusiasm the kids had for the
books, and for taking them home as their very own.

BIG big thanks to everyone who took part in the delivery days,
and everyone who supported this effort:  the riders, the Fort Davis ISD and
Terlingua CSD, Desert Sports, Friends of Jeff Davis County Library,
Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce, Visit Big Bend/Brewster County Tourism Council,
cycle-friendly Stone Village Tourist Camp, Big Bend Resorts and Adventures,
Davis Mountains State Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Ride for Reading,
Better World Books,
and the partners, volunteers and board of the Texas MountainTrail...y'all are GREAT!
Would you like to work with us on future Ride for Reading deliveries?
Leave a comment on this blog post!

We're bringing Ride for Reading to the Mountains!

We're looking for volunteers to help us deliver books to elementary schools in Fort Davis (on Thursday, January 23rd) and in Terlingua (on Friday, January 24) through the Ride for Reading program, with special thanks to regional partners (listed below) and Better World Books...

Here's a short video of a Ride for Reading book selection at an elementary school:

And another on the delivery by bicycle!

Would you like to join us by riding your bicycle to the elementary schools in Fort Davis and/or Terlingua?

Information on the Fort Davis delivery on Thursday, January 23rd is here and here.

Information on the Terlingua delivery on Friday, January 24th is here and here.

Many thanks to folks who've made this happen:  the schools in Fort Davis and Terlingua, Don Baumgardt of El Paso's GeoBetty.com, Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce, Stone Village Tourist Camp in Fort Davis, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Davis Mountains State Park, Big Bend Resorts and Adventures in Terlingua, and Brewster County Tourism Council, and of course, our own volunteers and members of the board of our regional Texas Mountain Trail non-profit organization.  Y'all are GREAT!

Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest in February

The terrific folks at Desert Sports and Big Bend Ranch State Park are once again holding a GREAT mountain biking festival for beginners through expert riders, the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest.  February 13-15, the trails in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Lajitas and Big Bend National Park will be explored with patient and skilled guides.  The event is a benefit for the Big Bend Trails Alliance, which does important development and maintenance work on the region's trails, so the modest festival fees are going to a good cause!

This year's ride menu is HERE.  The list includes kid's rides, rides on the state park's EPIC trail, short rides and long 2-day rides....there's something for everyone!

Want to sign up?  Sure you do!  Links to registration are on THIS page.

Last year, we enjoyed the interpretive ride (easy!) through the state park to the ruins of a modest ranching enterprise from the early part of the last century.

TPWD interpreter explains the significance of the homesite ruin
at Big Bend Ranch State Park along the ride route

Save the Date: Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest!

Beginner, intermediate and advanced mountain bikers eager to ride our great Big Bend trails--including Big Bend Ranch State Park's EPIC ride (rated as such by the International Mountain Biking Association)--should put the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest on their calendar for next year, February 13-15. 

We're definitely beginners and we had a terrific time on ride, accompanied by Texas Parks and Wildlife rangers, encouraging mountain bikers themselves.  They helped us see ruins of candelilla factories in the remote areas of Big Bend Ranch State Park, and the ruin of a rock house dating back to the 1890s.  We can't wait for this year's festival!

The Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest is already on our Texas Mountain Trail regional events calendar...along with lots of other fun things to do.  From our calendar listing:

"The fourth annual Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest will convene mountain-bikers of all skill levels for three days of trail adventures and social fun at Big Bend Ranch State Park, Big Bend National Park, and the Lajitas Trails, February 13 – 15.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is partnering with Terlingua-based outfitter Desert Sports to produce Bike Fest as a fundraiser for the Big Bend Trails Alliance. Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa will host the event, with camping available at the resort’s Maverick Ranch RV Park. Post-ride fun each day will include keg parties, hooping, dinner and live music in laid-back Terlingua, and a chance to ride around on the Austin Bike Zoo’s fantastical bike creations.

With over 200 miles of multiuse and singletrack trails, including the only International Mountain Bike Association’s only “Epic” trail in Texas, Big Bend Ranch State Park has become a world-class mountain-biking destination. The Epic trail, which can be extended from 54 to 70 miles depending on a rider’s preference, is a favorite among Bike Fest riders. There is also a two-day Epic ride option, with an overnight stay and meals at the Sauceda Headquarters bunkhouse.

Bike Fest participation has grown year to year because there is something for everyone, and each day offers a variety of ride options, including the Rincon Loop ride, and the 18-mile Contrabando Loop and singletrack Dome Trail."

The fourth annual Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest will convene mountain-bikers of all skill levels for three days of trail adventures and social fun at Big Bend Ranch State Park, Big Bend National Park, and the Lajitas Trails, February 13 – 15.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is partnering with Terlingua-based outfitter Desert Sports to produce Bike Fest as a fundraiser for the Big Bend Trails Alliance. Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa will host the event, with camping available at the resort’s Maverick Ranch RV Park. Post-ride fun each day will include keg parties, hooping, dinner and live music in laid-back Terlingua, and a chance to ride around on the Austin Bike Zoo’s fantastical bike creations.
With over 200 miles of multiuse and singletrack trails, including the only International Mountain Bike Association’s only “Epic” trail in Texas, Big Bend Ranch State Park has become a world-class mountain-biking destination. The Epic trail, which can be extended from 54 to 70 miles depending on a rider’s preference, is a favorite among Bike Fest riders. There is also a two-day Epic ride option, with an overnight stay and meals at the Sauceda Headquarters bunkhouse.
Bike Fest participation has grown year to year because there is something for everyone, and each day offers a variety of ride options, including the Rincon Loop ride, and the 18-mile Contrabando Loop and singletrack Dome Trail.
- See more at: http://texasmountaintrail.com/events/big-bend-ranch-state-park-chihuahuan-desert-bike-fest#sthash.JxEsDvbq.dpuf

Check it out at www.texasmountaintrail.com/events

Travel Spotlight - the Rocking Chairs of the Historic Hotel Limpia

A Fort Davis institution, the historic Hotel Limpia offers
relaxing rocking chairs on every porch and veranda. What
better way to enjoy the quiet of the mountains!!

One of El Paso's Great Hike/Bike Trails

The winding, but relatively flat Lazy Cow Trail in Northeast El Paso in Franklin Mountains State Park begins at the trailhead at Chuck Heinrich Park to the roundhouse at Bowen Ranch and then returns along the same route. There are nice views of the Franklin Mountains to your west and the Organ Mountains to the north. This is a great beginner trip, but if it's too much for you, you can always turn around early to shorten the distance.

The trail is rated "easy" and while the full out-and-back distance is 7.4 miles, the elevation gain is only 280 feet.  Read more about the trail here! Are you a beginning mountain biker, and want a guided experience?  There's a PERFECT opportunity for you on Saturday, September 14th (click here for the info!) and Sunday, September 15th (click here for the info!)

Riding to McGuirk's Dream, Part 2

Mountain bikers were greeted
by TPWD's Linda Hedges
who interpreted the site

Yesterday, we started our report on our ride to the Contrabando Canyon's rock house ruin, the former home of H.W. McGuirk in the late 1890s.  We were there on a ride at the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest, a cooperative effort of TPWD, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Desert Sports, Big Bend Trails Alliance and many other dedicated volunteers.

We took one of the easier rides, an 11+ mile trek to the rock house.  When we arrived, TWPD's Linda Hedges told us all about the ruin, and guided us through an illuminating look at the site. 

Continuing our information from TPWD:

"The roof was constructed with wood timber framing (vigas of cottonwood) as rafters gathered on site, an ddesigned with a shallow pitech to shed water towards the canyon below.  Both the original section and the addition of small fireplaces for cooking, with very nicely constructed chimneys indicating that the work was undertaken by experienced craftsmen.

 

The rock house ruin's many rooms
shown here

 

Remnants of a corral in the foreground

Immediately adjacent to the residence is a series of small, ribbon-like stone fence enclosures, no more than 3 feet high, that were likely used to protect small livestock.

 

 

 

Riding to McGuirk's Dream, Part 1

TPWD's (and TMT board member) Linda Hedges
leads an interpretive hike to Casa Contrabando
during the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest

Recently, we participated in the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest down in Lajitas and Big Bend Ranch State Park.  We took the Festival's Contrabando Ride, 11+ miles in the state park, led by volunteers and knowledgable TPWD interpreters.  We headed north from Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center on Hwy 170, the River Road, up single and double-track trails into Big Bend Ranch State Park.  Halfway through our ride, we ended up at Contrabando Water Hole and the ruins of H.W. McGuirk's stone house from the late 1890s.

From TPWD:

"H.W. McGuirk began ranching in the area around 1885.  He expanded operations and moved his headquarters here to Contrabando Waterhole about 12 years later.   But water contamination in the spring, possibly poisoning, soon forced him to abandon this site and move to the Rio Grande, where he founded the community of Lajitas.



fireplace in the stone house ruin

Begun sometime during the late 1890s, the dwelling at Contrabando Waterhole began as a "patio"--a cleared area enclosed by a short, stacked stone wall.  The building was constructed within these defining perimeter walls, and consisted of 4 rooms built over the course of at least two building campaigns.  Both the original dwelling and the attached addition emply the same mazonry wall construction techniques, utilizing locally-collected native Boquillas flagstone in a random-laid patter, with a minimum of earth mortar used to stabilize the walls. 

 

There is evidence that, as the structure fell to ruin, efforts were made to reconstruct some of the walls using smaller rocks, tightly packed.  Though very little of the wood framing remains, one can see the location of the window and door openings."  

 

We loved visiting the Stone House ruin
on the Contrabando ride during the
Chihuhuan Desert Bike Fest.
Thanks to all, including Stonewear
Designs, for your rugged Echo Top!

Our BIG BIG thanks to all involved putting on the Festival, from TPWD and its staff from Big Bend Ranch State Park, Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center, and from across the state, Desert Sports, Big Bend Trail Alliance and many other dedicated volunteers and willing organizations.

 

 

When you say, "You'll go back in time," how far back is that?

 

 

Any traveler to the region will tell you:

 

We've got--

 

Wide Open Spaces
Freedom

Frontier

 

And not many people---

 

A lone participant in the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest
contemplates the ruins of a candellia factory in
Big Bend Ranch State Park

Our population density is VERY low.. the latest census in Brewster County (where Big Bend National Park, Terlingua, Alpine and Marathon are located) counted 1.49 people per square mile. 

 

In Presidio County (Marfa, Shafter and Presidio), there are 2.03 people per square mile. 

 

And in Jeff Davis County (Fort Davis and Valentine) there are 1.03 people per square mile.

 

And those numbers, by a simple measure used by the federal government (fewer than six people per square mile) is FRONTIER.

 

How long has it been since your hometown has been "frontier," or this sparsely populated?

 

So you live in Austin?  When was the last time Travis County had a comparable level of population density? Answer:  The earliest census numbers we could find were in 1850, and by that time, Travis County had 3.07 people per square mile.

 

Dallas? Dallas County had 1.75 people per square mile by 1860, the first census number we could find; and by 1870, it was 7.77 people per square mile.

 

San Antonio? Bexar County already had 4.81 people per square mile by 1850.

 

So when you're looking at landscapes like ours, you're looking at a time long before there were cars to take us around.  That's why we love events that put us out in the landscape, and why we think getting around by horse, by foot, or by bike gives you a better idea of what the "frontier" is all about.

Last weekend, riders in the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Fest were treated to "epic" rides in Big Bend Ranch State Park, and because of the involvement of many volunteers and TPWD interpretive staff, they learned quite a bit about our land and our history.

Participants in one of the Friday rides line up at
Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center

Riders on the Contrabando trail complex in
Big Bend Ranch State Park