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Ok, once again my little dude surprised me today. We were heading to Brushy to ride and when we get there he discovered he forgot his helmet and Camelbak at home. So we turned around and headed back the house. Once home, he talks me into changing bikes and riding over to the WC pump track to play around. I escort him over there, get him situated and then take off for a short lap of Windy/Servere/BMX. When I get back he said he's got something to show me.....holy cr@p! I sorta panicked inside when I first saw him hit this jump!

Guessing maybe '77 My full squish Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Poop bag Poop bag Poop bag Unleashed dog.

OK, I'll play. About a year ago I was riding on the GB and I had a massive pounding around my groin. So bad I could hardly finish. Dr. Google told me that it was 95% probability that I had a hernia. Iced it down and did not have a problem. Basically rode every day, did a hard riding trip to Bentonville and never had another issue. I knew I was going to eventually have to do something about it but I was lazy and kept putting it off because it never came back. Then, at the R&I in February it hit again. Hurt so bad I could barely drive home. Doc said hernia. Surgeon said yep, and scheduled the surgery. I was literally at the hospital for the pre-surgery meeting when I heard about the first confirmed COVID cases in Austin. Decided to press pause and save PPE and resources for those in need (big mistake). Surgeries reopened and I was scheduled. Literally 3 business days before Abbott decides to halt all elective surgeries (but not close the bars, that happened a day later). I thought I was screwed. 24 hours later the doc calls. Surgery back on. Yesterday I was there at 5AM check in assuming it could all go south again. Totally relaxed, no issue. They wheel me into the OR and my hear goes from about 70 to 150. Holy crap this is.... I think I was awake for less than 60 seconds in that room, the next thing I see is recovery room. Got some oxycodone to take the edge off and since discharge have been on Tylenol/Advil. Up and walking, walked the dog last night. Just can do anything strenuous or lift anything for a while. The pain is less than post Enchilada Buffet pain, more sore than anything. While they can't really point to the definitive cause, I have to think that years of steep climbing and singlespeeding do not help my situation. If any of you think that you might have one, get it checked out. The surgery is all done with robots these days, I think the whole process was under 45 minutes and the recover is a piece of cake (so far). Knowing how much pressure mountain biking puts on your abdomen, don't mess around with this, take care of it because the process is minimal and the recovery is fast. I should be on a bike in 4 weeks and I should be cleared for trails in 8 weeks (but COVID will probably keep me off trails for now.)

Finally hit it

I designed and printed a few cable guides for my dropper. Routing is pretty limited on this bike so the guides are needed to keep it out of the suspension, rear tire and pedals. Testing two styles, hopefully tonight if the weather holds up.

This thread is awesome. Allow me to introduce my little guy. 2 yrs 3 months coming down the alley at my brothers in Dallas this past weekend. IMG_1020.MP4

Reimers is officially open. "Travis County Parks has opened the new Reimers Ranch Flow Trails to public use, as of this afternoon. Bikers who use the Flow Trails should park in the regular Mountain Biking Parking Lot and bike over to the Flow Trails." Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Me and a few other guys did this in the hood a few weeks back. Posted on the neighborhood FB page and we tuned up ~30 bikes.

Ha! This is a great idea for a thread. My 16yr old son is an absolute natural on the bike but just doesn’t love it. I remember several times at Walnut as a 7 year old I wouldn’t be able to finish saying, “maybe you shouldn’t....oooook” and he’s already down it. I just ordered and received for my 12y.o. daughter a decent Raleigh 27.5” bike off bikesdirect. I did my normal ride the other day and then rode an additional 20mi with her hike n bike, peddlers, picnic, picnic x and she just sat in and didn’t complain or anything. I kept looking back and checking on her, but there she was, just keeping up. About mile 15 she was commenting how it didn’t feel like we had been riding for 1.5hr or so, and I responded that riding bikes is something she needs to do then when it doesn’t feel like work. Love teaching her shifting, obstacles, etc plus just all the wildlife we see. My son will ride if forced but he’s a pure tennis head.

I spent every spare minute of my time in San Antonio (2004-2010) riding BMX and shooting photos. we spent a lot of time exploring ditches, including that pipe: downtown someplace: somewhere near 410 & Bandera: Bandera & Guilbeau area: under I-10 at Huebner: If I still lived in SA I would still be riding a BMX bike. there is some fun terrain around Austin but San Antonio ditches are waaaaaay better.

Come and listen to my story about a cat named Seth A poor mountain biker, almost sold his bike for meth, And then one day he was shootin down a trail, And up through the brush appeared a wooden tail A whale tail that is, wooden kicker, texas gnar Well the next thing you know seths the trail steward The mountain bikers said "Seth build some trail downward" Said "the fall lines are where the trails ought to be" So they loaded up the tools and built the pussy

The biggest issue that I see is that Democrats and Republicans are simply two sides of the same coin and that coin is controlled by Wall Street and corporate lobbyists. In general, both parties are only worried about keeping the super rich happy and above everything. While we get hostile with each other in discussions about the party differences like gun control, abortion, immigration, etc, both parties continue to further expand the division of wealth. Nothing will change until people start voting out BOTH parties to enact change. But that won't happen because most people choose a hill to die on whether that's abortion or gun control. If I'm pro abortion, I'm going to vote a straight blue ticket. If I like guns, I'm going to vote a straight red ticket. Forget everything else, those are my hills and I'm either winning or going down in a blaze of glory. People are too damn lazy to actually research the entire platforms of the people for whom they are voting. My election ballot every election cycle consists of some red, some blue, some libertarian, and even some green every so often! I vote for the person and their ideas, not their party. But I always spend a weekend or two researching every single candidate, especially the local elections. I still can't fathom why people don't vote locally. Your local folks have much more impact on your life and situation than say the president. But people just don't care and that is why we in the state we are in. So until people get their heads out of the sand and actually start exercising their rights, we'll continue down the path we are. Getting hostile doesn't work. People need to research and vote these assholes out of office and that means both Democrats and Republicans. Don't get me wrong, I believe there are some good folks on both sides but I think there are far more that are just in it to win it for themselves and their corporate handlers.

Just got my COVID test back. It's negative so I'm free and clear!

kids skills area off Sam Walton Blvd. My 5yo had a lot of fun and got to ride most of All American and some of the new wooden roller features in "phase 2"

Didn't you know? Eagles eat snakes!

If you're too lazy to take off a shrader valve adapter you are definitely gonna be lazy to bunny hop a snake. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Tuesday Nighter 83/84.

Completed my chain ring switch out. Crazy how easy that was. Love the AbsoluteBlack Oval ring. Can’t wait to try it out tomorrow.

I grew up in Plainview, just north of Lubbock. This dust storm wasn’t shit. It didn’t even rain mud. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

82 degrees and cloudy/rainy on a Wednesday? I like to call that whiskey wednesday with friends. Whiskey: Friends:

The entrance to the trail to the trail loop Lawyer talk: This is at the entrance/exit of the Flow Trail loop: There are high consequences of fail on three of the gap jumps. Take a discovery ride down before you try to send it: The Starting Gate. 135 feet of drop in 2/3 mile on the Flow Trail: The first big feature. Gap on the left into a big berm, drop on the right into a smaller berm: The three features are signed. Even the blue bypasses need care to roll: Milton's Shortcut is designed for those wanting to do multiple runs of Flow Trail. It's all one way so sessioning features is not an option.

The Astros are really, really, pulling some strings to make everyone forget about their scandal. And it's working. Watch them get to keep the title.

No matter what side of the fence you’re on and who you’re personally blaming for the bulk of these countless issues, we are a complete fucking train wreck right now. I am looking forward to exercising my right at the polls in November.

Kids are friggin awesome sometimes^ Not exactly MTB, but got my youngest back on the bike after an 18 month hiatus. Had some re configuring to get it back to a normal bike, but we did and now she's all about that singlespeed life😁

It's a "weakest link" problem. Not a "when in Rome" kinda thing. I'm usually pretty good about seeing both sides of an argument. Here's where I'm stuck on the non-mask wearing side. When I decide to put on a mask before entering a public place like a grocery store, I'm saying "I care more about the health and safety of my friends, neighbors, and family more than the slight inconvenience, discomfort, or silly appearance of a mask" When someone decides not to wear a mask, what does that statement look like? Fill in the blank. "I care more about __________________ than the health and safety of my friends, neighbors, and family."

First of all, some of us were dependant on drugs and alcohol before COVID-19. Next, there has to be a compromise. This attitude of "you can't tell me what to do. I'm not wearing a mask. fuck it and fuck you too" is the farthest thing from a compromise. How about this. Acknowledge that this is a virus, and it will spread indiscriminate of race, political affiliation, or other social factors. Then the other side can acknowledge that we all have to go on with our lives and work and socialize. We all should work as a community to at least do the minimum. Wash your hands. Wear a mask for the 30 minutes that you are in a store. That's the minimum. If you really want a solution and not a political platform, the answer is to keep living your life as you feel appropriate, BUT with some concern as to what others feel is appropriate. It's called compromise and compassion. Realize that small businesses and the economy as a whole needs everybody to participate. As a small business owner in an industry that has been hit very hard by this, I know I'm going to do everything possible to make my customers feel safe. It's really a shame that everyone who wants the economy to get back on track does not share the same outlook and are unwilling to at least do the minimum.

I think wearing a mask hanging off of one ear is the new style equivalent of wearing overalls with one strap down. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They have better health care. You know, the kind they keep telling us we cant have.

Really like this from fellow Austinite, lifetime Longhorn, and former NFL member E. Acho. Plus, he uses analogy from biking we can all relate to!

I can't imagine 9 kids. One boy is enough to wear us out at times. I have always been into biking, so would have been disappointed if my kid didn't show interest. It was a surprise hearing from coming across so many parents that said their kid never wanted to bike until later in life. Glad I didn't waste money on the first bike I bought. Turned out the first balance bike I picked up (just after he was born) had a higher stand-over height than a Strider, so we borrowed a pink Strider from a friend as my son's first bike. He was obsessed with it before he could walk, and is now on his 4th bike. He is putting to use the old XTR v-brakes I had been hanging onto from my past, and so much fun to go on rides with. 20200415_170837.mp4

Went for an afternoon ride yesterday and my 6yo wanted to join! She did all of Picnic out and back (except the drops). Her bike is great but I can't wait for her to have some gears and rear AND front brakes.

More shocking is that 84 people are willing to pay to see Vanilla Ice.

Now that this thread has bubbled back up to the top.... Thanks in no small part to much of the talk earlier in this thread about potential for being 'healthy' but still having some sort of heart/circulatory/bloackage issues, I decided to get myself a heart CT calcium scan. This was back in February and due to a little procrastination and the Covid, even though I had the prescription I neglected to get it scheduled. However, mid-Covid probably in later April our next door neighbor (who is 50, plays tennis REGULARLY, eats well and his slim) had a mild heart attack. He goes in to find out he's got 100% blockage in 2 arteries and 75% in the other!!! Three days later he's having quadruple open heart bypass surgery! He's all done and everything is going very well for him. But the Dr said if he wasn't such an active person, his family would have found him face-down in the flower bed due to how bad his blockage was. (I can explain more of that if needed, pretty interesting stuff) But that occurrence made me even more concerned about myself. I have a family history on both sides and have been treated for mild-hypertension for past 2 yrs after putting it off for about 5+. However, my test results came back perfectly good! My score was actually a zero, which is the best that could have been. My entire family breathed a sigh of relief (wife, kids, parents). Thank you all who have banged this drum so loud in this thread for getting checked out. Even though my results were good, who knows??? I'd put myself on fairly equal pairing with my next door neighbor, and his outcome was much more potentially tragic. Thanks again, CJB

Now here's a little story I've got to tell About a bad trail you know so well It started way back in 1990 With rocks, trails, trees and me I had a little bike named Rockhopper Just me and my hopper and a bottle of water Shredding across the land roosting up sand TMBRA's posse on my tail 'cause I'm in the lead One lonely Cat 3 I be All out front without nobody The sun is beating down on my Specialized hat The air is gettin' hot the water cans are empty Lookin' for an oasis I ran into a guy His name is Fat Chuck., I said, "Howdy" he said, "Hi"

I think whats really depressing is the reality that lies beyond COVID. Regardless where you fall on the issue of masks or COVID, the right cannot deny that the economy is in a freefall that will easily surpass depression level poverty and disparity. The left has to acknowledge that poverty and the virus is spreading like wildfire and their proclaimed leaders have done little more than virtue signal. It's a sad reality that we as a country have allowed ourselves to fail each other. We have managed to not only crash the economy, but also explode the virus as well. I used to quote a friend who said "only the russians could fuck something up this much" and now I feel like it's our turn to be the great disappointment. There are more than a few parallels to be found in the collapse of empires and it's not encouraging. To nobodies surprise, the one thing we have achieved during this crisis, is a massive redistribution of wealth upward without any accountability. That was the first priority, not people. Now we as people sit and argue semantics while rome burns. That is the cruelty that we seem to refuse to acknowledge. To me, this is the strangest thing and why I have hostility.

There was an old trail in Travis Country. It has rocks, bumps, and chasms a-plenty. It will grate you like cheese, but when when discussing it, please: confide location with the cognoscenti.

Ditto! I really do appreciate your neutral, peacekeeping approach on this thread, helping others see opposing points of view. Like you, I wear a mask when I'm in a public place, not because I had to (until now anyway), but because I want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Like you, I don't harbor ill will towards those who choose not to wear a mask, but I do nod my head in wonderment. If bombs were dropping around us and civic leaders insisted that we take shelter, we wouldn't argue that our freedoms were being stripped from us. This is no different. There is simply no arguing that this pandemic is not real. We can certainly debate whether the cure is worse than the disease, but by wearing masks, we have the best chance of keeping at least some businesses open. If there's any argument against wearing masks, I think it should be simply over whether or not we as a society are OK culling our population. Instead, certain people want to hide behind a position of this being a media frenzy that is blown out of proportion or a world-wide plot to oust Trump. Seriously I would be much more accepting of somebody just stepping up and saying overpopulation is a problem, spending the majority of our healthcare dollars on old people and people with chronic health conditions is a problem, and this pandemic is the solution to those problems so let it run its course, i.e. "Survival of the Fittest". Even if I didn't agree with that position, I would be more accepting of it than the lame excuses that have been thrown around on this thread. It's easier though for folks to just politicize it. It's become personal for me now with several family members in Houston having fallen victim to COVID-19, including my favorite Aunt whom I adore. Rest assured though I won't be looking for individuals to blame no matter how bad things get. Like so many other issues across our society, I'll just hope for and vote for progressive change in the future.

Unfortunately I think that the most infectious thing we have to deal with is "stupid." Definitely a pandemic of that going on.

Let's not forget that the Spanish flu did not come from Spain, it came from <checks notes> some country called "Kansas." 😉 And, since the US is the super spreader, can any of the countries that got it AFTER us call it the "US flu" if it came from us? Asking for a friend. This is why calling it the wuhan flu is BS. It is meant to distract. We have 100,000+ dead here and we are trying to point the finger somewhere else. That is bullshit.

America is dysfunctional. Canada must be looking over at us like people who are renting an apartment upstairs from a meth lab. I think different groups always use crises as distractions from bigger issues. it's more complex than a simple conspiracy theory. it's a constantly changing, woven tapestry of BS that makes it hard to see how things are changing from one minute to the next. there is no smoke-filled room full of Jews, Illuminati, Antifa, Deep State, Q-Anon ... whatever tinfoil hat thing people tell themselves to make it simple enough to grasp. I subscribe Shock Doctrine perspective though. it does not take an elaborate conspiracy theory to see that people with wealth and power use crises to expand their reach, whether that is a government, an industry, an organized ideological interest group, etc. that's where we need to look. big pharma will use this to their advantage when they corner one aspect or another of the medical market and after fighting for access to life-giving treatments as the cost of lives and livelihoods for anyone who has two pennies to rub together. corporations will use this to break unions, push out small businesses and saddle borrowers with extraordinary debt. governments will create new forms of control and not relinquish them until a militant cadre of activists demand the power back. anti-science conspiracy nuts will sell ammo, snake oil cures, and books by peddling crazy theories fueled by the same debunked John Birch Society nonsense they keep using.

Thanks for that elaborate post and specifying this is how you feel and see things. I appreciate it. I think COVID19 has affected groups of people differently. The more white collar our job is, the more we can work from home, the less it has affected us. There are groups of people that are being affected disproportionally. Pretty much anyone posting here in this thread is not in one of those groups. As to mask effectiveness, I don't care if people re-use their mask and it has their spit/snot in it. I re-use my homemade mask a few times before washing it. I keep it in my car where it's nice and hot and I only have to go into work once a week at most (though 3x this week). That's the point. To keep that spit from getting everywhere. It's not the goal to 100% absolutely block the virus from everywhere (even health care workers with better masks than most people wear are getting sick). It's a statistical game. You reduce the chances of someone getting sick, and you reduce the chances of more people getting sick at the same time. That's all. I'll repeat, wearing the mask is not protecting you, it's about protecting everyone else. The no shoes, no shirt, no service is a good analogy. Same thing with hairnets (beard nets too!) and gloves for food preparers. Come to think of it, why didn't we require food preparers to wear masks even before COVID-19? Think about all those E-Coli outbreaks that could have been prevented! ...but I digress. I will also grant you, many people will end up getting it before a vaccine is available, probably over 50% of the population. The primary goal is to keep those hospitals below capacity. So far we've done a good job. We'll see how some places (Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta) will do in the next few weeks. We'll also start seeing how the more rural areas with not great coverage of healthcare will do now that the've started getting it. As to mortality rates and comparisons to the flu, yes, the mortality rate is not that high right now. The mortality percentages are approaching an asymptote as more data is obtained and more testing is gong on, but keep in mind that the mortality rate is not linear once the healthcare system is overrun. It's only going to stay linear as long as healthcare is not overwhelmed. There is one huge difference between SARS-COV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and the influenza virus. In general, the flu is not infectious until people start running a fever, so people tend to stay home when they're sick. My kids' school district required kids to be fever free for 24 hours before they're allowed to go back to school. As some of you have pointed out, this virus has some people with no symptoms at all and they are shedding virus. Even the people that get sick from it eventually, they start shedding before they get sick (this is why I think taking temperatures when coming into a store is only to make people feel better and more safe, kinda like TSA about flying). This is why it's a pandemic and not just a flu season. Yep, you're right. Sadly as far as I know there are no coronavirus vaccines. I think in the past work was stopped for MERS and SARS since those outbreaks were contained. I do believe we will have a vaccine for SARS-COV-2 now that we must have it. I also think we'll continue working on coronavirus research. This will not be the last one. It will not be the most deadly, or the least deadly ether. There are millions of different coronaviri out there that can mutate and cause something new. If we're having this discussion right now about whether the measures have been too severe or not, about whether we should be re-opening or making masks mandatory or not, it's only because we have benefitted from the pretty good social distancing, school and restaurant closures, and other measures that flattened the curve. I'm glad y'all are re-hiring. I know as far as income, I'm lucky I have the job I do. I'm lucky I have savings which allow me to not worry about having a job for a long time. But, when I wear my mask, I keep in mind those people that don't have a choice. They don't work and they don't eat or they have to go to the food bank and may loose their home. We go shopping, we get packages, we order food out, we go to the bike shops, we still need first responders, USPS/FedEx/UPS, plumbers, AC techs, pest control, auto mechanics, etc.. The people working all those jobs have to work. I don't want them getting sick so I wear my mask for them. I also wear my mask for my fellow citizens that are immunocompromised.

I have been tempted to stop by a head shop and look for one of those gas mask bong setups. 😎

https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Study-100-face-mask-use-could-crush-second-15333170.php I'm sorry for calling people names. that's not helpful and it was rude of me, especially to JMR. I appreciate your independent spirit and your skepticism. However, I am just at my wit's end with people who accept the obvious at this point. if people were questioning how useful all the masks, stay-at-home, social distancing, etc three months ago, I'd agree that there is good reason to be skeptical. at this point, however, the science is clear. it's not up for debate anymore. if you refuse to take simple measures to help slow the spread, you are part of the problem now. think of people like my friend's grandfather in NYC, who marched with Reverend King in the 1960s. He died last month from COVID-19. or people on this forum whose family members have compromised immune systems. every risk you take is a risk for them more than it is for you.

Wife did a beer run to HEB. Good job wife, good job.

I totally don't get this. Why in the world would you resent someone for wearing a mask? It has zero impact on you. This represents the depths of stupidity to me. Is it a political thing? That is the only explanation I can think of. What makes way more sense is for her to yell at him for NOT wearing a mask. "You are trying to kill me" is something people could get very upset about.

Not a bike, but saw this on Ninjas today.