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Jul
11
Back Issues of Davis Mtn Bike Adventures
Posted by jeremy | Filed Under Mountain Biking | Leave a Comment
Let’s start with Ohio.
Alum Creek near Columbus - Tight, technical and very wet. But about the only mountain biking anywhere around Columbus in the way of single track.
Denison University Nature preserve - Only certain trails, but years ago they did let you mtn bike a good portion, just stay on the trails and respect any signs, this is a nature preserve first, but the riding was open, with some good down hills and climbs. It’s located near the university which is located in Granville, Ohio.
San Antonio, Texas
My home for the past 2.5 years, there is 3 good rides right in San Antonio.
McAlister park, open, fast, fun, and some tight technical spots, but a lot of good open single track.
O.P. Schnabel Park, is incredible. Right near our old house, and it is got a pretty nice network of trails around the park and along the creek bed. Minimal elevation, mostly quick technical up and downs, and all around lots of areas to play for all levels of single track fun. There is also the rollercoaster, which is a section that is exactly like it’s name, a sort of compact moto cross inspired network of up and downs and turns, it takes a while to learn where/how/what, but it is a lot of fun.
Government Canyon, this park has 2 main breakdowns. What they call front country and back country. The Front is a bit more like McAlister, open, faster, good intermediate single track in respect to technical manuevering. But the back country is simply a beast. Pretty new park, so not beaten down yet at all, the back country is a test of your limestone up hill and down hill skills. We are talking about short and long climbs at times, and some of which you have to navigate some serious rock garden sections. The downhills are a blast though, but this is hiking trails also, and lots of people do hike it, since it’s only open for long weekends. So be aware, there is great concern about maintaining mountain bike access here, so most riders want you to really stay in control and completely stop when you encounter hikers and do the whole smile, say hi, etc. You know make them feel like your not evil bikers trashing the land and risking their peaceful stroll kind of thing. I honestly don’t take this too far myself, I still think I have a right to have fun on public lands as well, but it doesn’t hurt to balance it out some. (Smile and wave boys, smile and wave 
)
Memphis Tennesee
My best friend and a person we work with a lot lives there, so we all scope out the riding there, and surprisingly, it’s not too bad. Better then Central Ohio.
Shelby Farms - is a big multi use park, but they have a nice, decent length single track loop. It is not technical at all really. There are some fun parts, and depending on how fast and what line you take, staying in some of the ruts can make for a challenge, I personally know of crashes due to those little ruts. But it is a good ride, with some wooded twist and turns and some open climbs.
Skanky Creek - this is a gem to me. There is a section here where the local kids do some bmx jumping and such, with a small moto cross inspired area. More one jump at a time kind of thing then O.P.’s rollercoaster, but that isn’t what I enjoyed. The trails through the woods are fast and fun. Climbs up and down and plenty of fun technical spots and drop offs, and folks have kindly located some jumps and ramps throughout that make this a lot of fun. There is a couple logs with bridges over them too, and all around just a good time. I like a good curvy but fast wooded ride that has just enough technical sections to pop up and make me pay attention, and this park has it. So I highly recommend. Also there is a big log, that you ride come off of, ride up another, and then jump off a drop off. If you find it, try it, but be safe. I did it once, and couldn’t seem to conquer it again.
Moab Utah
Wife and I have went here twice, and I hope to go back again soon. I love it there. The biking is wicked, and the town is just the kind of town and people I like.
Porcupine Rim - You google it, everyone will tell you it is epic, and hardcore. We agree. It took us 7 hours, and that is with the shuttle up. We were tired to start with, but we also acknowledge we could definately be in a lot better shape. But I would say any out of towner should expect it to take a while. There is a lot about this trail, so I won’t say much about it, other then if you ride a good amount, you should go do this, but full suspension is best. Wife did it on her hard tail, but she takes a slower/careful line through a lot of the rock gardens, if you like to see how much you can ride over and how fast, full suspension is a must.
Slickrock - we’ve only done the practice loop, we scoped out the full thing, but the wife has a big aversion to heights, and we decided she wasn’t ready yet. Hope to go back soon and do the full trail with my good friend, so stay tuned. But the practice loop is still a blast, and I don’t think the name practice gives the right idea. As a non local, I would say it should be named the short loop. Cause it’s still a challenge, with lots of fun up and downs and technical prowess needed, it’s simply shorter then the whole thing. Time crunch folks, or people from out of town should feel no shame in pounding this ride out a few times. We have done it both directions, in the same day, and let me tell you, that is not a small task. And it’s a completely different trail clockwise, then it is counter clockwise.
Circle O - a new trail, have to find a newer guide to get info about this one. All I can say is damn fun. Wife had a blast too. Full suspension is good, cause this rock is a little rougher then the slick rock trail’s. A lot more pitted, and you are on it the whole time. Nothing but fun though.
I’ll come back around and add a bit to this and some links when I can…
Jul
10
recycling in Bartlesville, OK
Posted by jacq | Filed Under environment, green, recycling | 2 Comments
We always do as much recycling as we can. I store our recyclables in a compartment right under the oven. After one week on the road. We have the little storage space almost full of paper and plastics ready for recycling drop off. But when I found out from Bartlesville’s city website that the city has no recycling program, I was really disappointed.
But with a quick Q&A with a nice employee at Jude’s Health & Java, we found out that there is in fact a place for us who prefer to recycle to drop off the items. The Recycling Complex is located at 501 SW Virginia Ave, Bartlesville OK 74003. It is managed by the EmployAbility’s Recycling Crew. The crew is consist of a few of full-time and four part-time employees with disabilities. Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your hard work to make a difference!
I have copied some of the information regarding what they are accepting at the drop off location. Please be considerate and sort the items and clean them accordingly so that the crew can work safely and efficiently.
Items Currently Accepted At Bartlesville Recycling Complex
PAPER
- Cardboard
- Newsprint
- Phone Books
- Hard/Paperback Books
- Magazines
- Catalogs
- Office and Shredded Paper and Junk Mail
PLASTIC
- Plastic Milk and Drink Bottles
- Catsup and Salad Dressing Bottles
- Peanut Butter, Pickle, Jelly and Jam Jars
- Shampoo, Dish and Laundry Detergent and Cooking Oil Jugs (no larger than 1 gallon)
- Yogurt and Margarine Tubs and Plastic TV Dinner Food Trays
Please wash or rinse any containers that have held food or caustics, and discard caps.
METAL
Aluminum Soft Drink and Beer Cans
GLASS
- Clear and Brown Glass Jars
- Bottles and Jugs (no larger than 1 gallon)
Please wash or rinse any containers that have held food or caustics, and discard caps.
If you bring your recyclables in plastic bags, please dump the bag out into the appropriate bin(s) and take the bag home for another use. Shredded paper is the exception; it should remain bagged.
ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED
- Mirrors
- Window Pane Glass
- Blue and Green Glass
- Tin Cans
- Appliances
- Dishes and Glass Tableware
- Plastic Bags
- Styrofoam
They are not able to process these items. When left, their cost is increased due to disposal charges.
Receiving hours:
Aluminum Cans – Mon ~ Fri 8:45-2:30 $0.25 a pound**(rate subject to change)
All other items: 24-7 drop off
You can find out more detail information on their FAQ page.
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Jul
10
essentials for our full time RV lifestyle
Posted by jacq | Filed Under gadgets, lifestyle, rv | Leave a Comment
Thought I’d share with you a couple of items that we have purchased recently. Since we are now full timers, we can’t purchase anything that we don’t absolutely need.
A month ago, we purchased the Mr. Coffee 3 Qt. Ice Tea Maker . It has been used every day since we bought it. Saved us lots and lots of money from buying drinks from the store.
With enough ice cubes, planty of sugar and small amount of good quality tea leaves, you can have ready to serve ice tea witin 10 minutes.
Due to the amount of tea we drink and the rate we drink tea. I found a local store in San Antonio that offer great selection of tea for us to try. Camille’s Tea is an online store that you can easily order anything from organic teas, flavored teas, FAIRTRADE certified teas, herb and fruit teas, green teas and lots more that will blow your mind away.
The Spearmint Herbal Tea is awesome with a little bit of sugar, on a hot summer day. We drank lots of that while remodeling the house. We bought total of 19 different teas to stock up and try. It should last us a least 6 months… 
The second item we knew we would need to purchase to support our tea drinking is a portable ice maker. After extensive research and looking at reviews. I have decided to buy the EdgeStar Compact Portable Ice Maker ( IP210TI ).
It is still a little big for our limited counter space, but it fits comfortably between the sink and the stove. It makes ice quite fast, but we have to put the ice cubes in a freezer zip lock bag as soon as they are done and store in the freezer to prevent them from melting since the ice maker is not a freezer.
So far, so good!
Life in the RV is awesome.
Ever since we arrive Bartlesville, OK. It has been a good experience. I will keep everyone posted with what else we are up to!
Jul
6
We are here!
Posted by jeremy | Filed Under lifestyle, rv, travel | 1 Comment
Quick update, we are at our destination for the next couple months!
Also the new truck is beautiful, it pulls a million times better then the old one, got about 12-13 MPG so far, which is far better then 7 MPG on old, and rides like a cadillac in comparison. Short bed is a bummer when totally loaded up, for cargo carrying, but is great when manuevering with and without the rig. The long truck was much harder to handle when it came to parking with and without the rig. Especially backing into back in camp sites. 35 ft trailer combined with the long truck was challenging. Also telescoping large mirrors are worth their weight in gold.
Now we just need to get some work done, and more clients to pay the payment
Jul
5
Day 3 of RV full timing
Posted by jacq | Filed Under boondocking, lifestyle, newbie, rv, travel | 2 Comments
Well, here’s the overall update of our first couple days of full timing. A lot has happened in the last 60 hours.
We left San Antonio for Dallas on Wednesday around noon. Decided to take 281 North instead of I-35 for the scenic route. Jeremy drove all the way. Around 5PM we were about 5 miles north of a little town called Stephenville. The truck made some noise and just stopped working… it just died on us~ Jeremy tried his best to steer our rig to the side of the road with the little bit of momentum left.
Well, our AAA Texas - Plus RV membership actually came in handy for this. Called their toll free number for Roadside Assistance… the lady did not seem to understand what a Fifth Wheel was~ but the Tow Truck company came about 90 minutes later and was able to tow our truck with the Fifth Wheel on the back to the closest GM dealer/service center – Bruner Motors, Inc. We will tell you more about what we did while waiting later~
We boondocked at the employee parking lot of the Bruner Motors GM service center and was able to get in first thing in the morning for them to take a look at the truck. The service was very good! The staff was friendly and helpful.
The thought of upgrading the truck has always been on our mind. But we were thinking of later this year or early next year. But with the truck broke down,
it really made us think that we might have to do it a lot sooner than planned. So we went over to the Bruner Motors GM Used Truck dealership across the street to look at what options we have here. It came down to a 2007 Ford 250 4×4 and a 2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT. Both of them are diesel trucks, which is one of the things we wanted for the upgrade. After the test drive, 2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD was definitely the winner. It handles much better than the Ford and it was cheaper.
So, guess what… Yes, we bought the 2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4WD SLT crew cab short bed and traded in our old GMC Sierra 3500.
It has everything we wanted and more:
- 4WD
- Allison six-speed automatic transmission
- Duramax 6.6L turbo-diesel V8 engine
- Front Heated Seats
- Front Memory Seats
- Leather Seats
- Automatic Climate Control
- Signaling Exterior Mirrors
- Remote Keyless Entry
It even has a cool digital fuel economy monitor calculating average MPG while you drive.
Today, the dealership is suppose to switch the hitch from our old truk to the new and we should be ready to get back on the road again.
