AustinBike Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Missed the R&I this week, but still managed to do some cool urban riding in San Sebastian, Spain today. There was a train that ran through the middle of the city, and because they are such a bike-crazy town, they converted the trains and the tunnels into bike paths. Here is a video of that tunnel conversion: We only did about 9 miles, close to nothing for me but a full day for my traveling companions. We finished with pintxos and beer/wine, making it a true R&I. And then more pintxos and more wine this evening. Best day of the vacation so far. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chongo Loco Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Noice! ABWH approve the funding for a gopro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 No, it was an iPhone that I was holding while I rode. I love the 12GB data SIM for things like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manster Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 The US is also converting rails to trails: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 21 hours ago, AustinBike said: Missed the R&I this week [...] Then you missed having your ride cut short for heavy downpours and lighting storms. Looks like you had a cool ride though, albeit a little asphalty for my taste. But what's the deal with the shiny jagged walls in the tunnel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 That is a converted railway tunnel, so the rock was jagged rock. They basically created a "jacket" for it, and I am assuming that it was padded (never checked) as a bike crash into jagged rocks would hurt. The jacket covers the rock and keeps the trail clear of falling debris or water coming out of the rocks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 17 hours ago, Manster said: The US is also converting rails to trails: Awesome. Wish we had something like this in Texas. Growing up around Chicago we had the old Aurora & Elgin railhead converted to the Illinois Prairie Path, did thousands of miles a year on that as a kid, really miss it. http://www.ipp.org 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chongo Loco Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 There’s a couple in TX, but not close by. There’s one at Mineral Wells SP and another up at Caprock Canyon.I agree we need more rail trails! We used to ride the Tammany Trace on the North Shore of Lake Ponchatrain when the trails were too wet. Nice asphalt surface. Went right by the Abita brewery and the brew pub. [emoji4]Also rode a 40ish mi section of the Mickelson trail in SD. That one’s 100+ natural surface thru the black hills. I rode the segment that goes by the Crazy Horse monument. Beautiful Country. There was nobody out there, wish I had had time to do the whole thing thru the tunnels. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridenfool Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 (edited) There's also the 130 mile NE Texas Trail in the works. http://netexastrail.org/ More Rail to Trail conversions listed on this site. https://www.traillink.com/trailsearch/?state=tx Edited May 11, 2019 by Ridenfool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Magnet Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 We need to convert a few highway lanes to rail and then turn some of the rail into bike. It’s the natural evolution of things!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 Here in San Sebastián the bike infrastructure is awesome. Tons of dedicated bike lanes and trails, even bike specific stoplights. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cafeend Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 We need to convert a few highway lanes to rail and then turn some of the rail into bike. It’s the natural evolution of things!Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkIf only MoPac had a railway running down the middle....Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chongo Loco Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 One of the pie in the sky plans for CAMPO (i.e. the toll road folks) was to use toll excess $$$ to buy the rail corridor that runs down it’s namesake MOPAC and repurpose it. Don’t see that happening any time soon. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Bug Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 (edited) 22 hours ago, Ridenfool said: There's also the 130 mile NE Texas Trail in the works. http://netexastrail.org/ We thought about doing that last Thanksgiving but the towns and citizens along the way have to step up and start doing maintenance. I've read a trip report or two by people that have attempted it and it's not maintained well enough to be a predictable experience. The maintenance will happen when towns and locals realize the potential (or actual) economic benefit. It could be a wonderful experience in the fall and spring and easy enough to get to from a large population center like Dallas or Longview. We did the Mineral Wells rail trail (starting at the Weatherford trailhead) in the spring as an out and back in anticipation of our trip four years ago on the Great Allegheny Passage/C&O Canal (first week in June). It was a pleasant first mile or so until we all started getting flats. A new guy had just mowed the verge and thrown up all sorts of stickery things like little mesquite branches ONTO the trail instead of off to the side. We had to track down the WalMart in Mineral Wells to stock up on tubes. We had 7 or more flats between the six of us. It would be fun to camp at Lake Mineral Wells and ride the rail trail as an out and back from that end. Could be an enjoyable family outing. It's a longish but not unpleasant drive on Hwy 281. AB, here's to a strike-free Spain for the rest of your lovely holiday! Edited May 12, 2019 by June Bug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 Yeah, the strikes of one of our other trips have been replaced with protests. Since we have an apartment right on the main square we can sit on our balcony. There have been a bunch of Basque/ETA protests. This one was about pensions: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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