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Go ride now, it's hero dirt. I got rid of the "jump" after the rollers. The berms are now bigger with a larger radius, it's a lot faster. You can now carry all your speed through these berms. It flows so much better.

Yes, The Ski Lift is the jeep trail... To get to the Meridian Bowl, there are at least 2 ways that I can think of. You can come down what's called School Daze, which is found going down 1826 at the end of 45. See the map. From Stroller Roller in the middle of 45, you can go into the golf course and get to the bowl. Just stay left at every chance and you'll get there. You'll be very close to riding on the actual golf course at one point, but that's how it goes. You'll cross Alcanza and then you'll be on Meridian Dr. Go in where the big square rocks are and either go left to hit Dam Straight or go straight which will take you around Bear Lake to the entrance of Four Ledges and all the other segments on the hill there. Hope that helps...

Here's an image of the trails 'almost' as they are today. There is one new little trail that goes from the bottom of Up or Down, across The Ski Lift and down a pretty big/fun ditch, then up to Rim Shot (take a right to go to the bottom of it...going up Rim Shot sucks, it's doable, but it sucks). Off of Four Ledges, there are 3 new little pieces that provide another way down the hill. And I think those are the parts that Carl's most concerned about. You can now session the two smaller drops on Double Drop and the bigger one on the right (as you go down DD) by going up and around Up or Down. There are tons of different ways to put all these segments together. From the highest point on Four Ledges to the bottommost point, I'd say it's about 85 feet, so you'll be doing some climbing if you do lots of laps. Totally worth it... There is also a fun jump off a big flat rock by taking the second spur off Four Ledges down the hill. You land on a slight decline, so it's pretty sweet...you can bypass the jump easily, as well.

I am Sustainable Texan!

I have never found this to the be the case unfortunately. If it's a trail on public land, everyone is going to assume that it's there for them and we have to share it responsibly. If it's on private land, the trail is there for whomever the land owner wants it to be. I'd say that the same rules apply that we should use on every trail. Just be careful and pay attention. Just consider what you'd do if there was a three year old playing in the trail around the next corner.

I agree with Greg's last sentence. I think there is a very simple answer to the concern of collisions on those trails. Everybody should ride within their ability to brake or turn to avoid collisions. It is up to YOU to avoid collisions. There will *ALWAYS* be other riders or hikers or children or dogs on the trail. You must be able to handle the situation. At all times and under all conditions. If a hiker with earbuds gets in your way - is it the hiker's fault? Really??? Does it matter? History shows that the biker will be blamed. What about children in your way? Or dogs? The biker will ALWAYS be blamed. Trails are not closed to hikers - they are closed to bikes. There will always be changes to the trail as rocks move or trees fall. YOU must be able to handle the situation. At least in that situation there is no question of who is to blame. It is the biker's fault. So ride within your ability and there should be no problem.

Are you saying I'm an endangered species??? Maybe I can start riding behind some fences!

It depends on the size of the feature and how hard I want to hit it. Also I do trigger my dropper 100 times a ride probably. Usually it's all the way up or down, but if I'm in an extended rock crawling section I'll just drop it an inch or so. Once you get used to it it's not just about descending, you use it to get low in hard corners too. And to bunny hop higher. Everywhere really.

While most everything we talk about is subject and a matter of personal preference, I could not disagree more with this statement after recently starting to ride with one. No matter how capable I am of adjusting my body on a bike, nothing changes the fact that the saddle is in the way for maneuvers like dropping off ledges or hopping over logs. As recently as a month ago, I also though that dropper posts were overrated and not worth the downsides. Like many who swear by them after running with one, I think it's the best upgrade for most trails we have around Austin.

The guy with bitch tits?

Well said loop_out! You can't put the body where the seat is due to some silly rule of physics. Dropping the seat offers more options for keeping the CG exactly where wanted, rather than compromising. A static seatpost makes a rider work around the seat in any given situation with fewer options regarding where their CG can be. Then, there is how those pesky baggy shorts can sometimes hang up on a fixed seat when trying to get back over it ... this is yet another problem for me that a dropper addressed nicely. Even off the bike a dropper can be pretty handy while loading bikes when there is handlebar-seat interference or any similar fit issue involving the seat height. Rather than adjust/remove the seat and post, just press the magic button and lower the seat. Granted, it's not for everyone. Still, there is no denying how useful it can be for a rider who appreciates the multitude of options a dropper offers.

No, I"m Sustainable Texan! -CJB

Well, I pulled the trigger. Dropper seat post is on the way. 👍

I'm doing my best to counteract everyone buying new bikes and parts. I've been upgrading my indoor training setup.

Shall we call that species the Rosy Cheeked Seatpost Warbler?

I just don't get these new fangled steam engines. I'll just keep on plowing my field with this ole mule. If you find yourself not using your dropper much, that's great news. It means you have that much more potential to get faster by better utilizing your equipment. Droppers allow you to lower your center of gravity. You can corner and descend faster with a lower center of gravity. It's science.

The Meridian Bowl. Or Meridian Mountain. Or Little Spider Mountain. Call it what you want, but this is a special area, unlike anything in the SATN and pretty much unlike anything else in town. If you want to see if a lift assisted area is appealing to you, as in doing the same downhill trails over and over, then the Meridian Bowl would be a nice low commitment test run. The side benefit is that the climbing will make you a stronger rider. There are cross trails now that intersect the seven main trails. The good thing is that there are now untold combinations to get down the hill. It literally will take hours to ride everything, every way. But the bad is that the intersections can be potentially dangerous. An effort has been made to insure good sight lines, but a greater effort will have to be made to LOOK and use those sight lines. The area needs some rules to insure it's continued accessibility to us: -Be respectful to the homeowners. Thank them if you see them. Be pleasant. Don't give anyone any reason to turn against us. -Local rule: Yield to downhill riders at all times. Especially intersections. It will be very difficult for the downhill rider to stop when they are flying over a ledge at 20 mph! -Take those earbuds out while there. Sight lines are good, "Rider!" shouted by the downhilling guy is better. Be able to hear that. -Assume someone is coming downhill at all times. -Most trails are designed as downhill only. If you are riding uphill on anything other than Ski Lift and Up or Down, assume a rider going 20 mph is coming at you head on and be ready to bail. -Take care your first time down a run. Some big ledges pop up quickly. I'm concerned about someone getting hurt and making a stink about it. The liability thing is a big reason land owners deny access to their lands. Of course an HOA has insurance as there is a much greater risk of some kid drowning in a pool then dying on a trail. But still it's a worry. So if you do get hurt, suffer in silence! lol I was torn whether to post this or not. The area does not need promoting. One reason I have always pimped the SATN is to get enough wheels on all the trails to keep the vegetation beat back. That is not going to be a problem here. So my two concerns for the area are in conflict. Those being the need to promote safe use of the area but at the same time hoping that overuse does not cause access problems in the future. Did I mention the being respectful to the homeowners thing yet?

Ride now. Trails are incredible.

Obviously he was running flats Seth,, if he was clipped in that would never happen

I started a "novice linear progression" type weight lifting program with barbells in December and have had fun learning something new. Plus I'm fricken swole now bruh.

Thanks Greg! That is really helpful. I've been over there quite a few times already so this all makes sense. There is also access from Avana (where I live). It's hard to explain but there's basically a trail entrance on a culvert near the intersection of Bernia & Mundomar (entrance is on west side of Mundomar). You then take that to some jeep roads and ride the jeep roads to get closer to 1826, where the jeep road that turns into Ski Lift begins. If I could figure out how to post a Strava image, I'll post a track.

I would say whoever this person is experiencing an uptick in views, but there is no content.

Which is why I have the dropper that came on my Trek Stache for sale. Hopefully it can be used and appreciated by another rider. Three months of riding, I don't think it got used more than half a dozen times. KS Integra Lev 100mm 31.6mm $90 -CJB

I don't even know where it is!

I agree with this. I recently had to really think hard about how I descend so that I can teach that to my son who started riding trails with me. What I realized is that it wasn't so much about getting your weight back behind the saddle, but letting the bike move underneath you as your body (and therefore the weight) stays balanced/centered relative to the terrain. Sometimes the effect of this is that my body is behind the saddle. However, I am thinking this is just a byproduct of the terrain and the bike's movement rather than any conscious decision on my part to move my body that way. I think many of us ride this way and have done so for long time before droppers came on the scene (perhaps without even realizing it as was the case for me). Think about some of descents at City Park where your are rolling multiple small ledges and roots before dropping that last big ledge. I just think droppers make things so much more natural and fun for that type of riding because the saddle is out of the way and not constraining your bike's movement relative to your body and vice versa.

His name is Robert Paulson.

I rode out at Big Bend this past weekend where the trail is not nearly as technical as around here. To conserve energy, I purposely descended some of the jeep roads seated with the post fully-extended. Inevitably, when I got to the bottom of the hill, I would still stand up and hit the dropper lever to raise the seat (even though it was extended the whole time). Just sayin', old dogs can learn new tricks. Congrats on the new bike and new dropper. Drop it on a fast, flowy section and pretend you are kid again.

MTB 10 years from now:

I was out there with The Tip yesterday and we talked about his concerns about collisions and trail merging. I get his concern, but I also think he's erring on the side of caution. There may be a blind-ish merge or two, but overall I think it's going to be fine. True, there are now lots of connectors but sight distance is generally pretty good. My concern, as his is, that hikers with earbuds might get onto the trails and that could be a problem. I would hope that hikers realize these trails are built and for MTBs and I don't think they'd be particularly good to hike (then again, I don't really hike that much, so maybe I'm not the best judge). That said, I think it's going to be fine. Perhaps we just let things stay this way for a while and let people get used to things. I don't know how much COULD be added, but leaving it be for a while could be a good thing. It's really great now...so get out there, use your bells, make noise around corners and merges and have some fun. The last thing anyone wants is someone to get hurt and the neighborhood getting the willies and shutting the whole are down. Just play safely and we should be good...IMO

When I first moved to Austin, I bought a kayak. Of course what followed was multiple years of drought and dry riverbeds, so I sold it. I guess I need to buy a new kayak, you know, for all of us. I'll update y'all with the gofundme link shortly. Your welcome.

I think the biggest misconception with droppers is that they are only useful on extended downs. There is no "fiddling". The lever is just a thumb swipe away and intuitive to use (if mounted under the bar). You can raise or lower the post way faster than a shift, and how often do you grab a fistfull of gears per ride without a second thought. In g-out whoop sections, I'll lower the post for the down hill part and pop it back up right a the bottom so I can immediately get back on the pedals. And not just downhills. Swoopy corners, jumps, drops, and even just getting on and off the bike. I basically drop the post anytime I'm not actively climbing. A lot of dropper deniers will say "I have no problem getting back behind the seat", but that is really not good form. It was just the only technique available at the time they learned. Think about it as getting your weight low, not back.

You're one of those who really likes to push the envelope, aren't cha? Adding anything "new" to a bike counts toward increasing the potential rain index result. This question of adding specific wet riding accessories falls out of the realm of new bike / rain correlation and falls more squarely into the realm of Murphy's Law. Paying for and installing any equipment to address a specific situation will be met by Murphy no longer providing that situation. Thus making the purchase seem a waste of both time and money. Therefore, doing so would likely have the reverse effect, and simultaneously increase the rain index quotient (because NEW), effectively resulting in a nullification of both.

alternately they are keeping their seat too low for ideal climbing so they can improve their climbing times by raising their seat to the optimal height.

Use a dropper, don't use a dropper....that's totally your call and no one should care but you. I'm just asking if you've tried using it and investigated if it benefits your riding style. For me, it gives me more confidence and comfort which translates into more fun on my bike. I rode without one for a long time and did the same trails so it won't suddenly change what you're able to do. That being said, I'd happily take my bike out if someone cut my shift cables. However, if my dropper is not working, I'm going to have a maintenance day.

We have a pothole in my neighborhood near the trails that I use as a handy rain gauge/trail condition indicator. Judging by the amount of water in the pothole, I thought the trails might be OK yesterday. I rode Double Down and counted only three small puddles that were easily avoidable without going outside of the defined trail. I am often surprised by how dry Double Down is even after a day of rain like we had on Tuesday. I am obviously not advocating riding wet trails, but I generally find that Double Down is good to go sooner than one might expect.

Same. Had the day off yesterday and squandered it like a BOSS.

Two words. California migration. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Whatever works for you. I understand I am in the minority on this subject. The only reason I had one is that it came with the bike. I tried but decided the best upgrade was removing it. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

720 is definitely NARROW by today's standards. I recently started using a dropper post for real. I can ride the same stuff with a regular post, but it sure feels nice to get the saddle out of the way for short bursts of twisty trail, drops, and jumps. My old dropper is for sale too.

trail work, daughter-led yoga nightly, mtb, swimming in Lake Travis, coaching volleyball, gymnastics spotter, lots of marital relations.

MTB when possible (weather has sucked for all of us the past ~6 months) so lots of road/gravel and single speed otherwise indoor soccer and volleyball a couple times a week but no weight training unless drinking beer counts.

Where were you riding?

But considering that their bottom bracket on the takeoff I am going with the fact that there is 0 momentum to be had here.

IIRC, the rules clearly state that no more than three new parts can be added/assembled per week to restrict the natural rain reaction to only being raised to an overcast/cloudy condition. No more than one new part per any 24 hour period can be added. Any previously used part may be added at will with no effect, unless it has been restored/painted/refurbished to a "like new" condition, then it will count as half a new part towards the rain reaction index for that rider. There are some allowances for starting a screw or bolt, but not tightening it, and, for holding a part in place to measure or inspect fit will not contribute to precipitation unless photographed and/or viewed by more than three riders.

I’m with stupid! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I rode past some newly poured concrete that was part of the Violet Crown Trail a couple of days ago. The city had a guy sitting in a truck guarding it until it was dry enough to not screw up. Not exactly watching paint dry but a hell of a job to have anyway. But at least the powers that be realized the level of stupid out there and tried to prevent harm to the new concrete.

pm sent EDIT: I didn't end up grabbing this one, but with a $1650 retail + tax = $1785 + cost to convert to tubeless this is a great deal. Basically $500+ off an essentially brand new bike.

Did you guys get to see this Crankworx entry? Hilarious satire piece on a guide to trail building. So funny!

Damn, I assumed the rain on Tuesday had left everything a mess. Now I can't get back out until Sat and it's supposed to rain again.