March 31: At home in Warda.

We got a lot done over the first two weeks of the month in Kerrville and Comfort. On our way out to the Hill Country we stopped by the office in Austin to handle some business affairs. Things were pretty quiet as most of the staff was in Washington, D.C. for the National Bike Advocacy Summit. Then we pointed the Subaru west and drove into Fredericksburg, where we stopped by Hill Country Bicycle Works to meet with Lisa Nye. Lisa was very helpful in facilitating our various meetings with state and city park staff in Kerrville, as well as setting up interviews with the local media outlets. (Not to mention her generous help with some mechanical support that Susan needed for her trusty AMP bicycle!)

We spent the weekend camping in Kerrville-Schreiner State Park and conducting an evaluation of the trail system there. The park is beautiful with an abundance of wildlife, but unfortunately many of the trails were built straight down the fall lines of the hills, so erosion is a common problem. Lisa and her husband Adam Salladin have done a lot of work on the trails along with local cyclists to reroute some problematic sections and try to reclaim some of the old trails.

Sunday March 9 was spent doing a Paydirt work day at Flat Rock Ranch in Comfort, the site of the following week's NORBA race. Alan Sansome from BikeMojo had worked with land owner Jimmy Dreiss to target some areas of the race course that needed work, and a group of about 20 volunteers got to work with the clinometer and pin flags to mark a new route and clear brush and rocks from the new trail tread. Volunteers also did a great job reclaiming the old trail surface; some of the regular trail users didn't even know that they were standing right by the old trail while they were talking to the work crew! We also got to put the Baja through its off-road paces on the ranch, and it held its own quite nicely against the various 4-wheel drive trucks and SUVs out there.

Our two days off were spent visiting a really nice guy named Glenn Wilson at the YMCA Roberts Ranch about 20 minutes north of Comfort. Glenn has been the on-site manager of the facility, which hosts youth groups for hunts, hiking, and now mountain biking adventures. Several Kerrville and Comfort locals with trail building experience have worked with Glenn to design and build an 8.5 mile primarily singletrack loop that meets sustainability guidelines and is incredibly interesting and fun to boot. Even more exciting is the proposed additional 28 miles of trail, due to the size of the property that encompasses almost 1,100 acres. The trail is open to the public and is eager for more visitors, so please go check them out if you're in the area.

The remainder of the week was spent back at Kerrville-Schreiner State Park working with the rangers and doing media interviews. We even got on TV on the local news station!! From there we headed back to Flat Rock Ranch in preparation for the race weekend. The Subaru got very prominent placement in the main expo area, and we had a lot of people come up to ask questions about the car and check it out. Of course we spoke highly of it!

The last two weeks of the month were spent working around the home base in Warda, which was a nice change of pace. We met with folks from the Brazos Valley Mountain Bike Association at the Lake Bryan trail system and offered some techniques for repairing water damage on the trails. We also spent time at Lake Sommerville State Park meeting with the rangers and touring the property to determine what trail work can be done once the lake level recedes a bit.

The weekend of March 22-23 was spent doing Paydirt work at Warda in preparation for the following week's race. A lot of work was done to get water off the trail, including installation of water bars, rolling grade dips, and cutting knicks and deberming the downslope sides of the trail. Several people told us after the race that the course was in the best shape they'd seen in a long time. Thanks go to Doc Nolan and all the racers who volunteered to help that happen.

Susan's parents also drove out from Florida to visit for the entire week and stayed for the race, which they enjoyed quite a lot. Many of our friends also got to enjoy the Stormer parents' hospitality in the form of lots of good home-cooked food and help with the farm/race chores. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Next up on the schedule-Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area (BLORA, a.k.a. Ft. Hood) and the trails in Waco.