June Bug

Did a little ride from my house to the HEB at Parmer and MoPac to recycle plastic bags as an excuse to get out and ride a few miles, incorporating part of the Northern Walnut Creek Multi-Use Path. Got home right around 9 and it had that "it's starting to heat up" feel even that early. Tomorrow (Sunday), in addition to being a total blast furnace, is an Ozone Action Day.

Be careful out there, y'all. Even you sweat hogs. The forecast is in the danger zone - 105 or 106 today, somewhere around 108 to 110 for Sunday and Monday.

I'm getting a 2011 blistering temps - relentless drought vibe. There are a few days of 105 in the forecast

Sorry, it's gone. I had also posted on NextDoor, and someone must have come by in the last hour or so and Hoovered it all up.

Edit: No longer available: Yakima Space Case and bike trays have gone to a new home!

I got a long sleeve Swiftland Running T Shirt from REI for sun protection. The wispy fabric is astoundingly light and incredibly ventilated, so I got another one. REI Co-op Swiftland Long-Sleeve Running T-Shirt - Men's

Could be, but remember that humidity drops significantly in the later afternoon and into the evening. Today, the relative humidity at 7 am was 87% and will be at its lowest (34%) at 7 pm.

Some family members are doing a 2nd retirement in Asheville. She went to high school there and has some elderly family in the area, so it's not new to them. It has more serious winters than SE Texas though.

There's a Tom's deodorant that smells like roses... Just made a donation to bikepackingroots.org and then clicked the tab (out of habit) for the 10-day forecast. For mental self preservation, people, DO NOT CHECK THE 10-DAY FORECAST! Robert Earl Keen, Not a Drop of Rain (final stanza) The wind and dust are dancing like the devil 'cross the lake I could try and find a bottle or try and find a breeze Salvation won't be traveling either road I take So I turn my collar to the wind that echoes this refrain It's been a long, hot summer, not a drop of rain Edit: I was on facebook literally a minute after posting and this thing from Lumē Deodorant addressing something no one has brought up is RIGHT THERE: "All crotch and butt smells come from bacteria digesting the fluids on our skin and creating odors. Lumē stops them from eating so they can’t stink. Now they are polite bacteria!" A cheerful mom in a video is telling us that Lumē is the best thing for all those cracks, folds and crevices! But it's also for guys! lumedeodorant.com

Awhile back I did a r**d ride with friends on our regular ride out of Dripping Springs - a lollipop route with a fork at a creek. On the way back I was overheating and stopped to dip my entire jersey in the creek, thinking evaporative cooling would provide a nice cool down. But no. It was too hot and such high humidity that evaporative cooling didn't work. Gack. It was just a nasty hot clammy slog the three or four miles back to the car. This morning I zipped over to Walnut Creek for a quick ride -- Inner and Outer Log Loops, and on the little climb back up to the detention dam by the Lincolnshire entrance there was no shade and it suddenly felt like a blow torch on my back -- it was only 9:45 am. Just kept pedaling onto Lincolnshire toward home and and had a nice collapse in the AC. Health issues and some new meds might be creating a heat sensitivity, I don't know. Or maybe it's, you know, so ******* HOT.

I've never been one of those "ride cold for the first 20 minutes and you'll warm up." Put on everything you own, ride until you feel like a hog in a sauna, and then start dropping layers as needed. A riding jacket with zip off sleeves works well in this regard.

Specialized Austin Grand Opening at RPR Specialized Austin is now offering demo experiences at Reveille Peak Ranch. Riders can demo some of the latest analog and e-bike mountain bikes including Stumpjumper, Stumpjumper Evo, Levo, and Kenevo SL on some of the best trails in Central Texas. Reservations are available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting June 17. See SpecializedAustin.com for more detail and to reserve a bike. Hours of operation on-site at RPR are 9- 3 Fri - Sun. Rentals can be multi-day.

Boggy Draw is lovely and now quite extensive trail system. We just rolled into Cortez. It's a bit on the warm side, so likely we'll head up to Boggy Draw tomorrow.

Twitter today: @EvilMopacATX: This week Austin is going to feel like a Honduran jungle had a three-way with an iron smelter and the core of a nuclear reactor. We bought an acre lot in Cortez, CO (southwestern CO) in Oct., but even putting a small modular home on it is going to be crazy expensive - realistically minimum $175,000. Just hooking up new utilities (gas, water, sewer, elec are all at the lot line) is ~ $15,000. Finding a renter for the winter months would be easy, though. The housing stock is low and everything is crazy expensive -- think the equivalent of Austin housing prices in Cortez and abt $100,000 higher in Dolores, 9 miles up the road and 1,000' higher in elevation. In a bit we're driving up there to check out a fully furnished "condo" (apartment in a house) to rent for Aug - Oct. in Cortez. Hawkins Preserve for hiking (also bike-able) is literally out the back door and I noticed some other trails/paths very close by. Geer Natural Area has some hills with a mtn bike trail system on the north end of town. Phil's World is about a 12-minute drive and at some point, a bike/pedestrian path will go from Cortez to Mesa Verde National Park entrance. That path will go right by the fairgrounds, which are across the highway from Phil's World, so connectivity happening. The economy in Cortez has always been driven by tourism and they are very aware of the amount of tourism pulled in by mountain bikers and other outdoor pursuits. Buying a "previously gently owned" travel trailer and living in it in a shady RV park might be the better option for three or four summer months, then store it for the winter in Cortez or Farmington.

...or pre-emptively hitting you up for state income tax...

I haven't had a chance to try Turkey Springs, but it's on the list.

I'm usually a weather eagle and know the 10-day forecast, but it caught me by surprise when a friend posted this insanely hot long-term forecast on fb today. It doesn't matter which trail, these are danger zone temps -- between 102° and 104° starting Monday and going through the following Sunday. Who knows after that. Even if the forecast drops by a few degrees, crazy hot.

Paul Uhl tells me that Hwy 518 from Las Vegas to Mora and Hwy 434 from Mora to Angel Fire is open. He drove to Angel Fire using that route a few days ago.

Speaking of hydration, the Target store in the Arboretum/Gateway area (183 @ Great Hills Trail) has Nuun tablet (various flavors) Skratch in single packets and small bulk bags Honey Stinger waffles (gluten free and regular) and chews. It was somewhere in the sports/yoga section.

Update from BikepackingRoots.org: BOLT Act update! A couple weeks ago, the Biking on Long Distance Trails Act took a big step forward in the U.S. Senate, advancing out of committee as part of a small package of public lands bills! That means the next step for the BOLT Act bill is a vote in the Senate! Why are we excited by this? This legislation will help propel forward the creation of new long-distance bike routes on public lands. Bikepacking Roots has been working with @imba_is and @adventurecycling to refine the language of the bill and push it forward, a collaboration for which we're grateful. What can you do to help? Submit a letter of support at the link below - there's a bit more background on the bill there, too, as well as a link to our advocacy toolbox where you can learn how to write a powerful short letter! BOLT Act update and announcement

But back to Angel Fire. It's about 13 miles from the northern extent of Hermit's Peak fire to the beginning of the Angel Fire development. The fire doesn't seem to have advanced to the north over the last week or so and shows no thermal hotspots. The fire on the right is the Cooks Peak fire, which doesn't show as a named fire on InciWeb or ARCGIS so maybe it's done?

(Gah! I totally missed the reference.) *Raises drink* Sláinte! The little turquoise squares are cabins and other structures. The pinkish area with a red outline is the extent of the burn. The map doesn't show any active thermal hotspots, so still safe for the moment. The fire, which is now 300,000 + acres, may not be out until July, if the monsoons start.

Deleted.

Mornings have been lovely, almoooooost on the cool side! Are y'all doing a long road trip this summer to escape from the heat?

Two different friends have cabins in the Angostura area by Hwy 518. The fire was within 2 miles when the winds changed yesterday and they were spared for the time being. ETA: Today (Saturday) about 1.7 miles away. The north end of the fire is now 15 miles due south of Angel Fire.