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I'm assuming that you've already taken your friendly MX lap around Emma Long and I'd love to hear your take. But IMHO its much more defiicult that 1/4 Notch. After all, 1/4 Notch was given that monikor for a reason. 🙂 Double Down might be more comparable but even then, City Park is unique in many ways. As someone who owns an enduro bike and has frequently (in the past) ridden out there on both types of 2 wheeled machines, if you are a competent dirt bike rider then its not too bad. I've always loved riding the super tech MTB stuff, so I found that 35HP with 12" of suspension and bike luggy tires made CP feel much more easy than pedaling around a 2.2" wide tire on a hardtail MTB with 80mm of suspension like we all did back in the day. All that said, in the moto world, City Park is the crazy insane stuff that only seasoned technical riders choose to ride (at least thats how that community views it). YMMV Cheers, CJB

Yeah, I was not recommending a motorcycle at WC. Although I have seen several over the years...

John, I'm gonna take the counter to telling someone to go ride his borrowed motorcycle at Walnut Creek or unmentionable trails. 😉 As far as the rain advice goes for CP, you'd know better than me b/c I haven't ridden it wet in over a decade. Like you said, though, it was pretty good back then. I guess not anymore.

NEED FOLKS TO DO THIS SURVEY !! https://www.lowercoloradowrap.org/ The main thing to comment on is to extend the lakeside hike & bike trail all the way to Webberville, maybe even Bastrop. It’s a big ask, but it’ll never happen unless local governments buy more land or easement rights along the Eastern Colorado River. On behalf of Austin Ridge Riders, I have attended a couple of the in-person meetings. There are folks who want to improve/protect the river itself (let's call them the River People); the Anti-Gentrification NIMBYs (who seem to want zero changes that might encourage more people to move further east); and then there are the Trail People. We need to make sure that there are plenty of voices in the survey focused on a long-distance riverside trail. Imagine: Lady Bird Lake hike & bike trail is continued all the way to Webberville or even Bastrop (but with separated bike and hike paths in key locations, or perhaps the whole way). Bolm District Park is built out with the bike park facilities in the vision plan (pump & jump track, skills loop, concrete skate/bmx park, etc.) The Treviño Park vision plan gets implemented, with trails.

I'm gonna take the counter on the rain comment. Back in the day I remember CP being the trail for riding post rain, I even remember being caught in a storm mid-lap and finishing with no issue. But the last time I tried it (~1-2 days post rain) is was a sopping goopy mess. Definitely not easily rideable. I actually found that WC was more rideable than CP after rain, sadly. There are other trails, non-mentionables, that are better post rain. And, depending on how well you pick your route, the greenbelt is amazingly resilient in some cases. But that is ONLY for people that really know how the trail reacts to rain. If you aren't aggressively monitoring both rainfall patterns and routes, then stay away from BCGB after rain.

City Park aka Emma Long is more ledgy with less embedded rock like Brushy Creek. The ledge heights range up to 6' (probably. I haven't ridden there in a while) depending on the line you take. Unfortunately, lesser skilled riders have blazed paths around ledgy areas, which then become ledgy, then those ledges got ridden around, ad infinitum, creating 20-foot wide "singletrack". These ledges are a large part of why trials riders like the park. As far as riding after rain, yeah, it's the best trail in Austin after rain.

So my friend recently invited me to go riding on his dirtbike at Emma Long. I used to ride dirtbikes in another state right up until kids and a knee injury pushed me into MTBs. Looking at the videos of Emma Long, it seems like it's on par with 1/4 notch? Or is it more like Double Down/ Deception? Trying to guage how out classed I'll be. Also, I think I read that it's ok to ride after rains? Yea/ Nay?

yea... was the last hold out with my posse of moto-heads... that changed as we were at PACE and was to be the only one without an e-bike. To my surprise... there with a big red bow... a new Levo with a card on it. A gift from my kid sister and nephew... they had secretly worked with my bud and TJ's. have to admit... it is a hoot... not the same, but fast and fun. now if I ride alone.. I'll take the Hightower ... but with a group of e-dudes it is a conga line through the trees.

Next weekend, there is an event for running (AM)/ biking (PM) in Georgetown. I ran a 5K with the same organization late last year and it was really well organized. Looking forward to trying one of their bike events. https://www.tejastrails.com/edge

Hit me up if you get to Salida this summer - I'm up there much of the year these days. I've ridden the Crest 30+ times - to be fair, it doesn't get any easier as you get older. I've got the whole thing divided into 45 min segments -- makes it mentally easier. Always a fun day out!

Good strategy. Out here it is now almost 50/50 on bike vs. e-bike and it feels like the shops are primarily selling e-bikes, so the regular bike base is stagnant to shrinking. But with 2-3000 feet of climbing, it's reasonable to consider a motor. I swapped from 32x50 to 30x50 and it was a nice little upgrade. My hardtail is 32x42 is a bit of a push on most trails. I think you'll find the lighter bike with the more aggressive gearing will be a significant upgrade for you. I think you'll do fine on Monarch Crest with your new bike, a lightweight XC bike should do fine.

At 67 years old and with much younger friends getting into eBikes, it would have been logical for what should be my last bike purchase to be an eBike. Instead, I decided on a lightweight, performance-oriented race bike. Monarch Crest is a true test, and the one time I rode it (27 mi with more climbing than I ever expected given the elevation we started at), I was on an 11-spd with 30X42 being my lowest gearing. I was in pretty good shape, but it was sheer punishment on the climbs. This bike will definitely help, and I may even try to get back to Salida in Aug or Sep this year to test it out. I'll definitely swap out the 34t chainring for a 30t though to give me the full advantage that I need, i.e. 30X52 = 19% efficiency gain over the 30X42 that I've been riding for the last 9 years. So I guess that I'm viewing this as my form of an eBike, and at 24lb, it will be SUPER fun to rocket around on.

Glad to hear you are back on the right path. Heart/circulatory stuff is never fun. Was flying from LAX to ORD this afternoon and the alert came on "is there a doctor on the plane..." Interestingly, there was a convention in Chicago and the plane was full of cardiologists, so everything worked out. I have to be more careful based on my cholesterol. My cardiologist has me on a strict regimen, and since I moved to CA the post ride beers have dropped substantially, it's different out here. Stay healthy and remember that the key is being able to ride again tomorrow.

Congrats on the new bike! Glad to hear you’re back riding again- it’s amazing how fast you can start feeling really shit if forced to be inactive, without adding anything else in life being stressful. Once you start feeling like you’re rotting it can be tough to escape that feeling. Hope you’re fitness keeps coming back!

Found a Marin 24/26 Riftzone Jr frameset on ebay as NOS. The older version seems to be better for trail and xc riding than the new overly built kids bikes. I have daughters and they wanted a pink bike so I rattlecanned it. This is one of those builds we do to satisfy our own bicycle obsession. The kids don't really care as much. I found some non boost NOS hubs on ebay for like 20 bucks then handbuilt the wheels.

Well first, glad to see this site is still here and that at least there is still some activity brewing periodically. Second, most of us have a story to tell and mine isn't all that special but perhaps can provide encouragement to anybody struggling the way I have over the past 3 years. After my second episode of pulmonary emboli, learning of a dilated ascending aorta, and dealing with MAJOR stresses on the job, I had all but abandoned the sport I had grown to love after taking it up in my early fifties. Instead of that evening ride to decompress after work, I was drinking anywhere from 2-3 beers plus 4-5 whiskies per night. I was making trips to the store just to get candy bars. And the cycle was worsening, as these escapes only temporarily removed me from the stressful situation at work. Bottom line, I had fallen into depression, maybe not so deep to be classified as such clinically, but I was definitely on a downward spiral. I quit my gym workouts too and put on 30lbs of mostly belly fat. I was totally out of shape and attempted MTB rides became punishment instead of pleasure. Then in January, just over 3 months ago, I ended up back in the hospital after overdoing it on an MTB ride. I felt like I was coughing up blood and thought maybe I was having another PE. They thought I was having or had a heart attack in the ER because my troponin levels were very high, generally a marker that heart muscle is being damaged. After 3 days in the hospital and many, many tests, including a full Right-Left Hearth Cath, they concluded that my ticker was just fine and that my aorta hadn't dilated any further since my last hospitalization in 2024. My attitude while in the hospital a few months ago shifted from "let's just let this be the one and get things over with", to "let's knock this shit off and get back to living". Since I was discharged on Jan 14, I have not had a drop of alcohol, have started regular gym workouts again, have gone back to a very healthy diet, have dropped almost 20 pounds so far, and most importantly, am starting to feel like a beast again on the bike, with regular rides and progressive improvements even at 67. I've also set boundaries at work and that are making it easier to cope and that should get me through to retirement, which has been planned for Sep 2027 when I become pension eligible. Honestly though, with the new outlook and balance in my life, I could possibly work until 70 using my ample PTO wisely. BTW, sorry about the rain but I rewarded myself with a new bike. Part of my new vision is to prepare myself for 70+ XC racing. I had been looking at the Canyon Lux and Pivot Mach SL but couldn't find a reasonably priced build with SRAM Transmission and Carbon Wheels. Then suddenly an ad pops up on my feed from Contender bikes, selling a top-line, brand-new 2024 BMC Fourstroke 01 One - an $11K build for under $6K. The spec and geo are perfect for me. @AntonioGG will I see you at Warda - haha? Looking to give it an inaugural run in Cat2 60+ next month!

Sounds like a good R&I, sorry to miss it. Will try to hit one in the fall when I am in Austin.

Not quite a pump track, but saw this is new at O. P. Schnabel Park:

Another one for San Antonio

Well shit. Now I’m cutting my climb short, heading home and picking up my bike!

John, we'll be celebrating Dawn's birthday at the R&I today with Key Lime Cheesecake, key lime pie, banana bread, sausage, Debbie's potato salad and pickles, and Deak's Lecso among other things. It still happens, just not exactly like it used to. Also, I'm jealous of your riding.

You guys need to put the effort into it, it can't die. While my trails are off the charts great out here, the Thursday night post ride really sucks. My wife and I joke that the Strava PRs that everyone is bragging about is how fast they can down their beer and get rolling. I really miss 2+ hours of hanging out with everyone and having a beer, but that just never happens out here. This trail is closer to my house than Walnut was, actually probably closer than BCGB, it is one of our regular Thursday night ride locations: And I still carry a bit of Austin for the post-ride activities, even though there is never enough time for the beer to get warm before people are heading out: You can't see it, but the Pacific is right over those peaks, we're right above Malibu.

Round Rock is getting something? KOM Trails is building in Northwest Round Rock: https://www.facebook.com/komtrails