Today's ride on the New River Trail began at Foster Falls and went south to the Fries Junction and back. It was as pleasant a summer day as you could ask for as were my two riding companions. One of which was a Texas gal. As we came upon the Austinville crossing we had to do a very short road ride to the Stephen Austin memorial. The Texas Lone Star flag fluttered above as she paid Austin a salute. A nearby lead mine was at one time in Stephen Austin's family. It was lead mining interests which caused Stephen Austin to leave the area for Oklahoma and eventually Texas. As they say, "the rest is history".
Recent rains had me somewhat concerned about the condition of the trail but my worries were for naught. The trail was in fine condition less a few soft and wet spots. The river was running close to full tilt. I don't recall having seen it at this level before. All spillways at the two dams were being used. One of the dams had suffered the loss of a generator earlier this year in a flood. I hope that has been replaced since it has been a great year for water powered electricity.
I concluded my ride with a sprint to the finish from the tunnel above to Foster Falls. Any normal hot summer day would not have seen me do that.
No comments:
Post a Comment