RIDING SAN ANTONIO AND THE MISSION TRAIL

​Visit San Antonio, Texas where the local folks are friendly, the beans and beef are almost as good as the beef and beans, and where you absolutely have to visit the Alamo. Whatever the reason for your visit, missing the Alamo would be like stopping for a day in Vatican City and not seeing that chapel. Really.

 

​Serious urban cycling is relatively new here. There are newly marked bike lanes, dedicated bike lanes and some of the main roads outside the city have well maintained  wide shoulders. If all you want to do while you are here is pedal around the downtown or see the historical Monte Vista neighborhood, find a B-cycle Station and use your credit card to rent a heavy duty Trek three-speed for $10.00 a day. That does not include a helmet or light. It does have a cable lock. Take a look at info@sanantoniobikeshare.org for more info.

​If you want to get in a few more miles bike the Mission Trail (about 16 miles one way) and bring your own bike (expensive unless you drive to San Antonio), or rent one from one of the several area shops. I like Abel's Bike Shop (abelbike@swbell.net). He rents hybrid, mountain and road bikes and will deliver and pick up rentals at the local hotels at your convenience. Each of his bikes comes with a helmet and the official San Antonio-Bexar County (say "bear" because down here the "x" is silent) Bike Map. Don't leave your hotel without it. Abel's rates start at $40.00 a day for hybrids.

​The first church on the Mission Trail is San Antonio de Valero, now known around the world as simply "The Alamo". The actual building was never completed and it is unlikely it was ever used as a mission church, but many in Texas consider it the most sacred mission site of them all. The others (in order going south) are Mission Conception, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan and finally, Mission Espada. San Jose has been in constant use as a place of worship for almost three hundred years and is in beautiful condition. Each of the missions has unique beauty, so take time to visit each one.

​Now be warned. I have a decent sense of direction but I had a difficult time finding my way around downtown San Antonio. Maybe that's because the original city planners were mounted on horseback. Today the pavement meanders a bit and both ends of the same street might not share the same name. Despite having three paper maps, two iPhone map apps and help from Siri, I was lost several times one day trying to get back to my hotel. But, frankly, unless it starts raining (it did) being lost here is kind of fun.

​Enjoy, and ride on pardner.