Biking

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by Christof Spieler

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* Sunset Boulevard makes for some great riding. After passing the northern fringe of the Village, you'll cross Kirby and find yourself in the yuppified surroundings of West University and Southside Place. The streets are all fairly empty and shaded by trees.

* The same counts for the entire area between Kirby, Rice, Montrose and the 59 freeway. The western end is a slightly less pricy version of West U.; the east end, near the art museums, is wonderfully quirky, a mixed neighborhood of old villas, timeworn wooden buildings and exuberant townhouses.

* Freeways generally serve as barriers to bicyclists, but the section of 59 directly north of campus is built in a broad trench, without any frontage roads or entrances. Local streets cross on a series of bridges. These are the best way to head northward. One of the best roads to use is Mandell, which branches off from Sunset just past its intersection with Rice. You ride first through an area of expensive brick houses and older wooden ones. Past the freeway, the area goes further downscale. Two blocks past Richmond, grey paint comes into sight and you find yourself on one side of the Menil Collection. Stop here for a bit, or turn right in front of the building and ride a few blocks past the Rothko Chapel to St. Thomas University, a small Catholic school with a striking modern campus.

* Downtown is generally dead and the streets are empty empty of traffic once the office workers go home. While this may make for a rather soulless city, it makes for great biking. Take a map, but the path is roughly this: From St. Thomas head a few blocks further east, then north on Garrott. Crossing West Alabama, you'll find yourself in Westmoreland, one of Houston's oldest suburban neighborhoods, with some grand old houses.

Just past the east gates is the beginning of Louisiana Avenue. Follow it north, through the "parking lot desert" which rings the downtown loop. Once under the freeway, you're in downtown. This street was downtown's great growth area in the early '80s, and it's lined with gleaming high-rises. You'll pass right by City Hall as well. Cruise the empty streets and admire the architecture, though not the urban planning.

* Houston's bayous may not be particularly beautiful as rivers go, but the bikepaths along them are great. Closest to Rice is Braes Bayou. The bike path connects to Hermann Park (it continues further to the east as well, but through somewhat dangerous neighborhoods) then heads west all the way out of the 610 Loop. It's beautiful going much of the way; the path dips down below road level for long stretches, and for a while Houston seems to disappear.

* Buffalo Bayou also has a bike path from downtown almost to Memorial Park, with some great views of the skyline along the way.

* For real mountain biking, try the trails in the woods alongside the Memorial Park picnic area. There's not a lot of territory there, but it's wonderfully rugged.

Otherwise, explore. Take a street map and see what you can find. There are a lot of discoveries to be made. -- Christof Spieler

This item appeared in the Features section of the September 1, 1995 issue.

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