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Best Place to Mountain Bike

The Ant Hills

We know what you're thinking. Mountain biking? In Houston? Well, our famously flat town has its own version: bicycling the bayou. The best-kept mountain-biking secret in town is the Ant Hills, a system of ten-plus miles of trails and paths along Buffalo Bayou from Wilcrest to Highway 6. The prime off-road action follows the gully's southern side from Kirkwood to Eldridge, where it meets up with Terry Hershey Park. The mostly single-track trails of packed dirt and slippery silt twist and turn along the water's edge among thick vines and skinny pines, oaks and catalpas. The trails are intermediate to difficult, but they often split around obstacles, which allows a cyclist to tailor the ride to fit his abilities. A rider also can come up for air at several points to join the walkers, in-line skaters and joggers on the more peaceful system of asphalt pathways above the ravine. No, you won't see any mountains on this ride, but if you're not careful, you could come face-to-face with a more common Bayou City sight: poison ivy.

Best Place to Mountain Bike

The Ant Hills

We know what you're thinking. Mountain biking? In Houston? Well, our famously flat town has its own version: bicycling the bayou. The best-kept mountain-biking secret in town is the Ant Hills, a system of ten-plus miles of trails and paths along Buffalo Bayou from Wilcrest to Highway 6. The prime off-road action follows the gully's southern side from Kirkwood to Eldridge, where it meets up with Terry Hershey Park. The mostly single-track trails of packed dirt and slippery silt twist and turn along the water's edge among thick vines and skinny pines, oaks and catalpas. The trails are intermediate to difficult, but they often split around obstacles, which allows a cyclist to tailor the ride to fit his abilities. A rider also can come up for air at several points to join the walkers, in-line skaters and joggers on the more peaceful system of asphalt pathways above the ravine. No, you won't see any mountains on this ride, but if you're not careful, you could come face-to-face with a more common Bayou City sight: poison ivy.

Best Bobsledder

Meg Henderson

Six months of the year Meg Henderson is a med student at Baylor College of Medicine. The other six months she lives in Park City, Utah, training for the 2002 Olympics with the national bobsledding team. Meg's sister, Kate, calls her the Dot Richardson of bobsled (Dot took a year off her surgery residency to play softball in the '96 Olympics). Meg was a heptathlete who ran track at the University of Virginia. Working at the '96 Olympic games in Atlanta, she auditioned and made it into one of 11 spots on the bobsledding team. She spent the last two years as a brakeman (the person who sits in back of the two-person sled), but she just switched to being a driver this past year. "It's conquering my fear," she says. "I was scared of driving".There's a lot of consequences. If you mess up, you can cause thousands of dollars of damage " and you can get concussions and break people's backs. It's a lot on your shoulders." Sledding is harder than it looks; it's a rough ride. "It's not as smooth as a roller coaster," she says. "It's like you're in a train wreck the whole way." But the worst part for this Houstonian? She hates being cold.

Best Bobsledder

Meg Henderson

Six months of the year Meg Henderson is a med student at Baylor College of Medicine. The other six months she lives in Park City, Utah, training for the 2002 Olympics with the national bobsledding team. Meg's sister, Kate, calls her the Dot Richardson of bobsled (Dot took a year off her surgery residency to play softball in the '96 Olympics). Meg was a heptathlete who ran track at the University of Virginia. Working at the '96 Olympic games in Atlanta, she auditioned and made it into one of 11 spots on the bobsledding team. She spent the last two years as a brakeman (the person who sits in back of the two-person sled), but she just switched to being a driver this past year. "It's conquering my fear," she says. "I was scared of driving".There's a lot of consequences. If you mess up, you can cause thousands of dollars of damage " and you can get concussions and break people's backs. It's a lot on your shoulders." Sledding is harder than it looks; it's a rough ride. "It's not as smooth as a roller coaster," she says. "It's like you're in a train wreck the whole way." But the worst part for this Houstonian? She hates being cold.

Best Houston Comet

Sheryl Swoopes

By now you're probably familiar with the TV promotional campaign in which pickup hoopsters are told that the women of the WNBA are "better than you are." If you're like most guys, your response goes something like, "Yeah, right." In the case of the Houston Comets' Sheryl Swoopes, it's best to take their word for it. You don't want to play this woman one-on-one. Swoopes, a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team, combines speed, grace, tenacity and skill into a package that has helped the Comets' dynasty rack up four straight league titles. The six-foot-tall Swoopes, a former legend at Texas Tech University, is one of the few WNBA players that has a pretty jump shot, and her long, lean frame allows her to disrupt any team's offense. Heck, the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year is so good, she drove teammate and former MVP Cynthia Cooper into retirement.

Best Houston Comet

Sheryl Swoopes

By now you're probably familiar with the TV promotional campaign in which pickup hoopsters are told that the women of the WNBA are "better than you are." If you're like most guys, your response goes something like, "Yeah, right." In the case of the Houston Comets' Sheryl Swoopes, it's best to take their word for it. You don't want to play this woman one-on-one. Swoopes, a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team, combines speed, grace, tenacity and skill into a package that has helped the Comets' dynasty rack up four straight league titles. The six-foot-tall Swoopes, a former legend at Texas Tech University, is one of the few WNBA players that has a pretty jump shot, and her long, lean frame allows her to disrupt any team's offense. Heck, the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year is so good, she drove teammate and former MVP Cynthia Cooper into retirement.

Best Sports Columnist

Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle

No one is ever going to pick up the Houston Chronicle's sports pages for the sheer joy of reading; the best you can hope for is to get the basic information efficiently, unfettered by clunky current-events references ("The Astros fell to their knees faster than Monica Lewinsky") and free from tortuous puns. You're in luck if the columnist is Jonathan Feigen, who covers the Rockets and the NBA. Feigen writes in a clear, crisp style that sets a scene effectively, but he's not so in love with his wordsmithing that you have to search diligently for relevant facts. His skills translate well to radio, too; when he guests on the local talk shows, he brings a welcome air of common sense and moderation to the shouting matches.

Best Sports Columnist

Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle

No one is ever going to pick up the Houston Chronicle's sports pages for the sheer joy of reading; the best you can hope for is to get the basic information efficiently, unfettered by clunky current-events references ("The Astros fell to their knees faster than Monica Lewinsky") and free from tortuous puns. You're in luck if the columnist is Jonathan Feigen, who covers the Rockets and the NBA. Feigen writes in a clear, crisp style that sets a scene effectively, but he's not so in love with his wordsmithing that you have to search diligently for relevant facts. His skills translate well to radio, too; when he guests on the local talk shows, he brings a welcome air of common sense and moderation to the shouting matches.

Best Adventure Race Series

Texas State Championship Sprint Adventure Races

Some athletes are just plain hard to please. Take mountain bike riders, for example. You'd think traversing terrain that might cause a tank commander to rethink his route would be a sufficient challenge. But for people who compete in the Texas State Championship Sprint Adventure race series, risking life and limb on two wheels is clearly not enough. The brainchild of Troy Farrar of Houston's Terra Firma Promotions, the June through September series consists of seven races held on courses in Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City and New Braunfels. The competition is open to two-person teams that must endure a seven- to ten-mile mountain bike race, followed by a two- to three-mile trail run before canoeing for a couple of miles. The frequently brutal race is a true test of teamwork and tenacity, and the best part is that proceeds benefit Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation.

Best Adventure Race Series

Texas State Championship Sprint Adventure Races

Some athletes are just plain hard to please. Take mountain bike riders, for example. You'd think traversing terrain that might cause a tank commander to rethink his route would be a sufficient challenge. But for people who compete in the Texas State Championship Sprint Adventure race series, risking life and limb on two wheels is clearly not enough. The brainchild of Troy Farrar of Houston's Terra Firma Promotions, the June through September series consists of seven races held on courses in Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City and New Braunfels. The competition is open to two-person teams that must endure a seven- to ten-mile mountain bike race, followed by a two- to three-mile trail run before canoeing for a couple of miles. The frequently brutal race is a true test of teamwork and tenacity, and the best part is that proceeds benefit Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation.

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