Biking with Bambi

Playing hooky from work on Friday morning is the best idea ever. I got up early, threw the bike on top of the Subbie and blasted out into the hill country. Sunrise, coffee and 80 mph down Hamilton Pool road is a great way to start your day.

Reimers Ranch: A bazillion acres of formerly private ranch recently acquired as a county park due to the unexpected conciencessness of Travis county voters. For $8 at 7:30 a.m. I become the park’s sole inhabitant. I’m setting up the bike and it’s so quiet you can hear the springs in the wheel skewers compressing as they are closed.

Part of the tradition of going to Reimer’s in a required visit to the Travis Loy memorial Port-a-can. My morning plan hits a little snag here: I’ve neglected to bring proper reading material. A quick check in my bag presents my copy of the AP style guide, which actually presents some pretty informative reading (You never abbreviate Texas in a date line apparently).

Then we’re flying down the trail. Reimer’s is one of those spot’s in the HIll country that’s not completely choked with Cedar. Oak savannah stretches out in front of you.

Moving fast through the grassland harkens back to our gazelle-chasing/chased-by-lions days on the African plains. Some old evolutionary switch goes off in your head and suddenly time slows down as the grass flies by.

The first half of the trail is climbs up and down the plateaus, the second half is a long sloop running downhill through the grasslands. I round a corner and surprise a small herd of deer who, because of the way the trail turns, are running beside me. Bike riding with Bambi as opposed to pushing a mouse. A wise choice.