Every now and then, the TOTs plan a trip somewhere other than Turkey Mountain. Sunday was one of those occasions and we met at Chandler Park to run some of the semi-undiscovered trailz in the westlands. I almost overslept, waking up at 7:04. Thankfully, I am a quick throw-on-the-clothes guy, and the only thing I forgot was my ankle brace(s). As I was heading out, there was a light rain falling and distant thunder--a bad sign for Chandler Park running. Some of the worst mud on the planet can be found in this six square mile area. Red mud, clay, epoxy mud, and quicksand. A small group made the trip. This weekend Tulsa Tough was going on, and a lot of our bunch were riding a 100 miler on road bikes. Many others rolled over and snuggled under the covers, which would have been a great idea. There were 4-5 fast runners, Me, Nick and Sarah who run a little and have also went with the walking group. And there was Brian. We sent the fast runners out on their own and wished them luck. Brian tossed out the notion that the trailz might not be all that bad--HAHAHA! I knew better. These trailz turn into instant leg weights if someone spits on the ground. In short order, we were squishing and slipping, trying not to fall.
Somewhere along here, Brian turned back. I thought he might have donuts and coffee waiting for us when we were finished, but no such luck. But after a half mile, my route took us into the woods and on some better mud. It seems that dark brown mud and of course rocks and roots are better to tread upon.
This out-and-back has a couple of loops to keep it interesting, and is part single track and part ATV trail. On a drier day, it is a pleasure to run. I played the part of tour guide to Nick and Sarah, which suited me just fine. We took our time and managed a good outing with no falls. We did get in some serious leg work at times with 10-12 lbs of mud on each foot.We'd pick up six loads of mud, and tote it down the trail and scrape it off on the first available rock or root.
We repeated this process several times and had a good time in spite of the gooky mud.
These were bright pretty shoes an hour earlier.
We got back after an hour, and called it a day. Nick and Sarah seemed to enjoy it.
I thought I'd do a little geocaching since there are supposed to be some interesting one in Chandler Park. But the mud and slippery slopes was a major snag. I was hanging on and scratching and clawing on a near vertical mudslide between the top and Avery Drive below, and finally gave up on one called "Drunk Slide." So, I just ran a little.
This is a good place to do a little climbing, rappelling, and boulder hopping. I have done two of the above.
I followed whatever trailz I could find, looking for a new one or one I did not know about. But I found nothing new. Good stuff though.
This little guy was the highlight of my bluff trail trip. He scurried around, and it took several pics to get one that was good. All of the above pics were taken with my iPhone.
Oh, I almost forgot. Nick, Sarah, and I found some faces in the rocks on our trail. Check out the ones below.
Well, when I got home, Dana and I headed for Turkey Mountain so she could get some miles in. It had evidently rained all night here, and after .4 miles, we decided to go back home and ride our road bikes. We rode 15 miles and cruised through where the Tulsa Tough crit races were going on. It was the Cat 2 finals, and I was amazed at the fierceness of the competition. Wish we could have stayed to watch the Cat 1.
Here we are about 11 miles into our ride. We had a fierce wind on the way home, and 15 miles ended up being all the workout I wanted.
It was a good Sunday. No ticks, no chiggers, and no snakes. Two other things I did get done: Hosed off the patio and bathed our dogs. Two things I did not get done: Visiting grandkids :-( (My bad!) Mow grass (it was wet so I kind of have an excuse.)
Somewhere along here, Brian turned back. I thought he might have donuts and coffee waiting for us when we were finished, but no such luck. But after a half mile, my route took us into the woods and on some better mud. It seems that dark brown mud and of course rocks and roots are better to tread upon.
This out-and-back has a couple of loops to keep it interesting, and is part single track and part ATV trail. On a drier day, it is a pleasure to run. I played the part of tour guide to Nick and Sarah, which suited me just fine. We took our time and managed a good outing with no falls. We did get in some serious leg work at times with 10-12 lbs of mud on each foot.We'd pick up six loads of mud, and tote it down the trail and scrape it off on the first available rock or root.
We repeated this process several times and had a good time in spite of the gooky mud.
These were bright pretty shoes an hour earlier.
We got back after an hour, and called it a day. Nick and Sarah seemed to enjoy it.I thought I'd do a little geocaching since there are supposed to be some interesting one in Chandler Park. But the mud and slippery slopes was a major snag. I was hanging on and scratching and clawing on a near vertical mudslide between the top and Avery Drive below, and finally gave up on one called "Drunk Slide." So, I just ran a little.
This is a good place to do a little climbing, rappelling, and boulder hopping. I have done two of the above.
I followed whatever trailz I could find, looking for a new one or one I did not know about. But I found nothing new. Good stuff though.
This little guy was the highlight of my bluff trail trip. He scurried around, and it took several pics to get one that was good. All of the above pics were taken with my iPhone.Oh, I almost forgot. Nick, Sarah, and I found some faces in the rocks on our trail. Check out the ones below.
Well, when I got home, Dana and I headed for Turkey Mountain so she could get some miles in. It had evidently rained all night here, and after .4 miles, we decided to go back home and ride our road bikes. We rode 15 miles and cruised through where the Tulsa Tough crit races were going on. It was the Cat 2 finals, and I was amazed at the fierceness of the competition. Wish we could have stayed to watch the Cat 1.
Here we are about 11 miles into our ride. We had a fierce wind on the way home, and 15 miles ended up being all the workout I wanted.
It was a good Sunday. No ticks, no chiggers, and no snakes. Two other things I did get done: Hosed off the patio and bathed our dogs. Two things I did not get done: Visiting grandkids :-( (My bad!) Mow grass (it was wet so I kind of have an excuse.)
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