Category Archives: jogging

Big Dry Creek Trail

jogging

This land was Arapaho Indian territory until Denver gold seekers prevailed. The Church Ranch grazed cattle here until real estate ventures became lucrative. It is fortunate that the 12 mile Westminster off road trail system, and its slice of open space, was spared from development. Stepping out of the Westin Hotel is City Park. The Big Dry Creek bisects this park so head for the foot bridge and cross to the other side to join the route. It is generally flat and follows the creek with hard packed crushed rock sand. [ GPX ]

The Big Dry Creek Trail is the crown jewel of Westminster’s off-road trail system. The trail meanders nearly 12 miles, within Westminster, from Standley Lake Regional Park to Interstate 25 and beyond into Thornton. Big Dry Creek Trail crosses under most streets through underpasses, which are being beautified by local artists. The trail is located on more than 900 acres of Westminster open space and 200 acres of parkland along the creek.

crossing the ohio river

jogging

It’s kind of neat to jog two states all in one event. The Cincinnati Riverfront encourages this. I used the Roebling Suspension Bridge to visit Kentucky and then the, closed to traffic, Purple People Bridge to return. The Ohio side features a recent park redevelopment paved with concrete. Skyscrapers and sport stadiums serve as backdrop. The route is easily lengthened by including picturesque historic Newport. All that was missing are some authentic old time river packets.
[ gpx route ]

Anastasia State Park

jogging

Valentines Day brought warm sunshine to St. Augustine which inspired a jog on white, wide, flat, firm packed sand. There have been coquina quarries featured here for 300 years but these were obscured by massive ancient dunes populated with Sea Oats and hardy grasses on this beach run. At one point, however, the St. Augustine Light was visible between the mounds. Our spot was delightfully quiet due to an admittance fee required. 6 miles

Perrine Coulee Falls

jogging

The trick is to find the access to the Snake River Canyon. The view was spectacular from the rim of shear drop cliffs but the floor below beckoned so after a rambling jog on a wet rainy day I discovered a trailhead visitors center (despite the lack of signage) and began a decent. The objective? A spectacular 200′ water fall at the Perrine Coulee Creek terminus. The base of this fall is accessible by a short mud trail off of Canyon Springs Rd. The Perrine Bridge would also be a great walk / jog. Next time…

A Jog in Seward Alaska

jogging

From Resurrection Lodge to the Seward Depot. After luncheon, I ditch the group for a jog along the bay instead of a car ride. 8.45 mi

San Jose Guadalupe River

jogging

From the downtown Center for the Performing Arts to the Guadalupe River Park. This paved greenway starts in concrete jungle with freeway flyways for canopy but gradually assumes a natural original country feel toward the park area. There was some crossing on bridges back and forth confusion as the trail route flip from one side to the other before arriving at a trail detour (scheduled completion Fall 2010) due to a railroad realignment. Le skunk (pepe le pew) unabashedly crossed the path, tail raised high in defiant warning salute. As the sun gets low the downtown portion populates with street people, possible predators and idle youths some of them rough and tough looking. Suggest mid day to be safe

Bermuda – Coney Island Park

jogging

Not much to see here although you can view the Grotto Bay Beach Resort from across Bailey’s Bay. The park is a short distance beyond the Bermuda Rail Trail head so it’s a nice little extender if you have the energy. The adventure is in the main trail previously reviewed.

Virginia

jogging

The Norfolk Waterside is hamstrung by development built to waters edge. As such there isn’t room available for a dedicated point A to point B greenway. There is a disjointed Elizabeth River Trail however, which was worthwhile. Starting at Harbor Park Stadium the route passes waterfront businesses, small park areas with glimpses of Naval shipyards on Hampton Roads. The USS Wisconsin, on permenant display, is a point of interest. There are rewarding views in the Ghent District after crossing busy Brambleton Ave. One can view renovated historic homes of mariner and colonial architecture. This is a fashionable place to live.

Iowa

jogging

The urban renewal planners in Des Moines have made their inner city greeenway a priority. The city has a certain healthful vitality and I witnessed many users on the system. My route began downtown at City Hall and followed the Des Moines River where the Raccoon River forks. The end point was a loop trail around Gray’s Lake Park. These rivers were swollen from recent heavy rains necessitating minor detours for flooded areas.

current state of the art

jogging

FAQ: What do you use to keep track of and journal your outdoor exercise?

Use Nike Plus with an iPod Nano for repetitive routes. If you like, the iPhone 3G already has the receiver/software built in. You will still need to acquire a sensor for the shoe. Nike brand shoes are not required if you buy or fabricate a pouch to hold the sensor that typically attaches to shoe laces.

There is an excellent utility on the Gmaps Pedometer website. You can calculate distance by strategising beforehand or mapping your path after the fact — saving the route for future reference. These days high-end smartphones feature Global Positioning which means that an expensive Garmin or Magellan accessory for that function is no longer necessary. With smartphone software to manage GPS one can record a trek in real time. There are quite a few applications of this genre from which to choose. I use this app when I want to map a new trail I’ve not previously explored. This app uses the built-in GPS to track waypoints and even allows for picture snaps along the way. Tap a button and the whole shebang uploads to the cloud thusly.