Leaderboard

New bike day! I took it easy on my first ride today and adjusted components as I went.....and promptly got rained on. You’re welcome for all the upcoming rain we will get. Guerrilla Gravity Smash carbon. 29x2.5, Gx eagle, Hope pro4 hubs, Hope brakes, one up dropper. Bought the frame and had James (formally of City Limit Cycles and now part of Velofix) spec out and build it up.

I wish I'd forgotten it too. That hurt! The worst was the heat+humidity and the awful smell of those chicken coops toward the end of the ride. I came into this ride with lower fitness than last year, and for some reason I've been getting bad leg pain in recent rides. It could be a lower back issue. At some point the pain went away so I could push a bit harder. My sole motivation for going fast was to get it over quickly. I did something pretty stupid before the ride though...I went bouldering at the Austin Rock Gym for 2 hours for my first time ever on Friday. I was afraid about muscle soreness, but that turned out to be the least of my worries. The skin on my hands felt like it was going to be ripped off during the bumpy sections (tons of washboard this year). I still opted for riding the rocks and washboard instead of the sand on Sand Hill Road, and that made it much easier. I also remember running out of water last year and having to stop at a BBQ place. This year I chugged extra water during the stops and I stopped at both the stops which helped a bunch. Still, at the end, what held me back from going a bit faster were my hands. I also think I need to change my bars. I've just never felt comfortable with these cowchipper bars. That Bell's IPA, chopped brisket sandwich, and the fistful of pickles were the best after the ride. The other cool thing is the start is in the Lockhart City Park which has a splash pad. Every ride in the heat should end in a splash pad.

🤷🏻‍♂️

OK, it's definitely not the temp drops that caused the quiet days. Happy 1st day of fall y'all! Enjoy those pumpkin spiced lattes (iced?)

Ha! No worries at all. The intent is that the trails will be open to the public - some of them are just not ready for prime time. Also, I'm not sure I can adequately explain how to ride over there. Currently, if you're dropping in from the Peddler to SN, right after you cross the second ladder bridge (the one by where the fence stops) you pull off the trail where the fence stops and take the new single track to the left. From there, it's a mix of jeep road and single track that winds toward the church. There is a map posted at the Peddler, but I'm not sure it includes the new stuff. The trails coming from SN are very new and a bit rough, so riders are welcome to help bed it in. As mentioned earlier, we're in the early phases, so we will be adding more and more features. As to the trails at the church, just keep in mind that they are a work in progress and need refinement, so ride with caution - however, more tires on the dirt will help pack it in and get running better faster. As Cafeend said, this will likely take a bit of searching, but once you put it together, it's pretty easy to figure out.

Never mind, I retract the question... I've never seen this thread go silent for 4 days.

Not only are we going to have hero dirt because of the rain, but we are going to have another good citizen sponsoring post ride dining for Tuesday's Crank and Drank. Our fellow riders Curtis Storm and Janie Glos have convinced their company, Commerce Bank, to sponsor a PIZZA PARTY for us after tomorrow's ride. Commerce National Bank is a Texas Community Bank that has had a presence in Austin for the past 20 years, providing commercial and consumer loans, along with deposit services. They were recently acquired by Amarillo National Bank which is a 127-year-old family-owned Bank and huge supporter of the of the communities in which they operate. Sponsoring this ride is one way they are giving back to this community and saying “thank you.” A rider of our trails needs to give back to the community. There are several ways to do this. Trail maintenance is a big one. Being a ride leader or sweep is an easy one. But if you, or your company, gives us free stuff, that's a GREAT one! So thanks Curtis. Bring a chair, bring a beverage, and bring an appetite. 6 pm behind ATX Bikes. About 15 miles this week. Combination of SATN Social's south beginning and north's ending.

Pretty helpful function...

Wow. I did not know this was going to hit the forums yet. Yes, we cut in some trail before we went to Whistler for the summer. The trails are still rough and need work so if you ride, ride appropriately. Christ Church gave us (FR512) permission to build on their land and we will be adding much more (when it gets cooler - still haven't acclimated back to TX heat). In the meantime, if you ride there, please be respectful, don't ride/park in the parking lot. Enter either from Suburban Ninja or by the fire station. Having trails there is new for them and we want this to be a positive experience for them. We're still figuring out logistics. As it grows and we get more features in, we will be doing skills clinics and possibly Wednesday Night Rides with the Peddler. We have already had machines out there, but we would like to do much more. If there's interest, we will set up a Go Fund Me to accelerate our building and perhaps organize some dig days if anyone wants to pitch in and help. There is a lot of potential out there and we're excited to have progressive park-type trails so close to BC. BIG THANKS to Christ Church for making this available.

So we can't have this?

Shimano XT RD-M8000 Derailleur Shimano XT CS-M8000 Cassette, Silver 11-46T Shimano XT M8000 11-speed shifter $200 new through Amazon, used less than 2 months (less than a dozen rides) $100 cash takes it all

I’ll be doing it...in bentonville

Well at it is forecasted to be cooler than yesterday. We were in Scottsdale over the weekend and it was more pleasant in AZ than here Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

The washboard roads last year almost killed me. I would have been better off riding my XC bike.

I was less than a month away from turning 15. Lived in San Mateo at the time.

Not the whole path, just the strip of flex base (crushed limestone). Vegetation will never take hold in crushed limestone. They could do this in 2 days if they set there mind to it. The "sidewalk to nowhere" on adelphi gives kids a safe path to school. The apartment complex scammed their way out of improving the road to current standards and the sidewalk program had some money at that time so the neighborhoods jumped on it. It would be nice to extend it for sure, but almost all of Waters Park road is in the floodplain. The city isn't ever going to upgrade it.

That sounds fine, but it looked like the Milwood NA initiative linked by the OP is calling to have the whole path ripped and replaced. Commuting, I just use the sidewalk on the south side of Duval. Not ideal, but it's not for very far and there are almost never pedestrians on it.

I've not tried a lot of different drop bars, but I've used Salsa Cowbells for years with no issues. They are short, shallow, and have just enough flare to make them stable on unpaved surfaces. I have a medium CX bike with a 70mm stem. Top of handlebar is just below level with the saddle. The short reach + moderate drop makes a good balance of comfort and handling for me. TRP brake levers are comfy too.

As a regular commuter who travels that area frequently, as a PSA, I wanted to chime in and say that taking the south side sidewalk from Mopac all the way to the RR tracks is a very safe and viable options. There's very little ingress and egress. Once I cross the RR tracks, I'm usually dropping into Balcones Woods and zig zagging south over to Jollyville. If I'm generally heading 'northern' on Jollyville, then shortly after RR tracks, I will move over to the West-bound bike lane (and occasionally up onto that sidewalk if its during rush hour). As usual YMMV. Later, CJB

I'm glad to hear Spinistry is upping the post-ride game a little.

I needed wider bars on my gravel bike and went with these. Affordable and pretty comfortable especially with the flat top sections. https://www.jensonusa.com/FSA-NS-Adventure-Drop-Bar

Could be a bike fit issue. Our bodies are changing all the time and a refit should be done every couple of years. If it's your knees it's probably a saddle position issue to high/low to forward/aft.

That's a sweet ride! Happy for you. I know you have waited a long time for her Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Nice ride!

Nice steed. I didn’t know they had carbon frames. Seems like not long ago they were all aluminum.

Beat the shit out of my EXs on several bikes including my old cross bike that had 38c tires on it. That cross bike spent most all of its time on MTB trails, including the brusy creek stuff with many trim strikes without any dents. Came up short on one bunnyhop and my brand new MK3s looked like this. The 2.35 EVO racing ralph tire was completely fine, thats how soft those MK3 hoops are.

Not an official EB ride but... Riding tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Leaving from the Walnut pool parking lot at 8am sharp. Taking the road to City Park and doing a lap in the new (clockwise) direction then riding back to do a lap at Walnut. This ride will include Courtyard, Jester, and Yaupon road climbs. Not a fast ride (walking some climbs on my single speed), but not a babysitting ride either. This is a good way to see the new City Park direction, all major road climbs, and the full Walnut loop. Post up if you are interested.

Sold!!