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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/10/2019 in Posts

  1. Tonight, I attended a public meeting for El Rancho Cima, the former Boy Scout camp on the Devil's Backbone between San Marcos, Wimberley, and Canyon Lake. There is a very promising opportunity for Hays County to purchase a 500+ acre tract of the property for a public park with access to the Blanco River. Other than the riverfront, which would be open to public swimming (by reservation only), the other 500+ acres would be set aside for conservancy habit for Golden Cheeked Warblers with limited trail access on the existing Boy Scout trails during non-mating season. Unfortunately, everyone I spoke with at the meeting, including the woman who presented the master plan for the property, were less than open to the idea of allowing single track to be built in the park. I'm not going to preach to the choir here about the benefits vs. impact of allowing singletrack on public park land. As I was making my case in that crowd, I started to realize that I was sounding like a crazy crackpot spewing rebuttals to arguments that hadn't yet been made yet, and I didn't even have the fact to support my side. What I need is help from the MTB community who have taken up this fight already here in Central Texas. I've never been one to stand or organize a fight for something like this and really don't know how to accomplish it, but it is something I'd like to try. I plan to contact the County Commissioner who is leading the charge for this park. I didn't have a chance to talk to him directly, but the story he told to open the meeting was about driving by the property with his 10 year old daughter on the way to New Mexico for a ski trip. Family, outdoor recreation is obviously dear to his heart, so focus will be on how mountain biking can offer healthy, family-oriented outdoor activities. I need to back it up with facts about 1.) Success stories of communities who have grown stronger due to mountain biking. 2.) Studies supporting the idea that trails can coexist with wildlife, especially the GCW. 3.) Examples of how ARR and other groups have worked with other local parks like Pace Bend or Pedernales Falls. I know there is plenty of fodder on here and MoJo about all this. Can y'all help me remember where the best published articles and studies are? How else can I drum up support? Right now, it seems we are on the outside looking in to a chance at an incredibly beautiful piece of park land with some gnarly terrain.
    2 points
  2. This came up on here a couple months ago when Delta announced that they were going to allow you to check a bike for the price of a regular bag. I don't know if anyone has posted an experience, so thought I'd share. Last week I flew Delta to Boston and took the bike. I packed the bike in a box I got from Peddlers. The Transition box is bigger than others I've used so packing was easier, and it still met the dimensional requirement of L+H+W<115". Weight limit is 50lbs, which I didn't think would be a problem, but my Smuggler+helmet+camelbak+box came in right at 50lbs. Leaving Austin, initially we tried to go to the skycap, because who wants to drag these big ass boxes inside, but he doesn't work for Delta and had no idea about the new policy. So, we dragged the big ass boxes inside. We got lucky at the counter and the first agent that was available knew about the policy and checked us in without any problems. We then dragged the big ass boxes over to the oversized baggage area and we were good. Returning from Boston, we skipped the skycap and went straight inside. After dealing with some logistical differences in the check-in process, we got to the front of the line and had one agent yelling at us "You can't check that, those are oversized, we don't take bicycles, you can't cut line" (she was actually working with another customer and just chose to share her opinions). The next agent that opened up (thankfully not bitchy lady) hadn't heard about the policy but he listened to our explanation and pulled up the policy. After that he was very friendly and checked the bags for us. We took them over to oversized baggage and all went well. A couple of notes - 1) In both directions TSA cut open the boxes to verify the contents. Nothing was missing and they actually did a better job taping up the boxes than I did. But be aware, that is not the place to stash your weed. 2) It should go without saying, but make sure the guy picking you up at the other end has enough space for bike boxes and passengers. We had measured beforehand but it was still a really tight fit and I'm pretty sure the passenger in the back with the bikes was not traveling legally. Finally, I highly recommend the riding around the Boston area and Kingdom Trails in East Burke, VT. It was an amazing week of riding!
    2 points
  3. Got the Sofirn SD05 mentioned earlier. Have not had a chance to ride with it yet, but it's impressive. Under $50 on Amazon, comes with a battery and charger. Features I like: Massive 21700, 4000 mAh battery. Most lights use a single or pair of 18650 cells, and many are not easily replaceable. The 21700 has a longer run time. It also comes with a plastic spacer tube so you can use a more common 18650 cell. Magnetic ring on the head for changing settings. No rubber buttons to mash. This was designed for diving (so it's quite waterproof) and probably designed with thick gloves in mind. Just drag your fingers in the general direction and it'll click on. Holy ffffff it's bright! I'll probably never use the high beam mode. The emitter is actually four tiny emitters in a group. Fits on my helmet with a rubber strap. Does not get much simpler than that.
    2 points
  4. Hell yeah. Way to go man. Of course our ARR (get it?) forefathers would have the deets on stuff like this. I would also suggest Lakeway as an example of sustainable access. Maybe endorsement letters from their council members could help. Studies about Warblers at Fort Hood and tank traffic being compatible. Letters from LCRA about positive impacts from mountain bikers at various facilities. Even info from cough cough IMBA. Petition of potential riders/volunteers. Hays should know already about the successes/values of Purgatory and similar areas. Existing trails with mods may be the way to go even. I think it's more about what the county wants to do than the talking heads but I can't say that for sure. Reserved swimming says to me they are already making up their minds possibly. On the other side of the coin, if Spider Mtn folks acquired the land we could see another chairlift possibly and real access to the hill and the river. Heck campsites on that hill would be sweet. Bottom line, talk to Chardog and Leif. Public entities can be very frustrating to work with and take forever also so be patient. I'm sure many of us would write letters if it would help out.
    2 points
  5. Depending on your price range and what size you need, you should check out the Norco Sight for sale in the Marketplace section... Sorry, no firsthand knowledge of the Mojo 3.
    2 points
  6. I just went through the shipbikes process to see how much my trip to Boston would have cost. Without insurance or pick-up from the house, shipping came out to $118 each way. Delta charged me $30 each way. I'm willing to deal with a bitchy check-in agent for a $90 savings each way. That said, I recognize that you have to take into account the difference in ticket price between carriers. So, it's a case by case.
    2 points
  7. So - I've been out of the country, but will be back Saturday night. The trails being built by us will not have buildings put on them. The trails linking Christ Church to the Peddler and SN have taken into consideration future development and have been planned so as to avoid/minimize any impact. When I get back, we'll step up building and (sometime soon) organize a ride to give tour of the network. Stay tuned...
    1 point
  8. Why would I not be surprised if the power line down on Thumper WAS hot? That trail is going to make me her bitch again this year and I love it. Let’s rumble!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  9. I camped there as a Cub Scout in a Sam Houston Council troop, and I'll usually take a gander across the landscape there whenever I'm traveling the Devil's Backbone on the way to Madrone trail at Canyon Lake. That place could offer some wonderful trail opportunities.
    1 point
  10. i enjoyed riding all the ibis range during their last demo day, including the Mojo 3. its a capable trail bike. i would check with cycle progression or velorangutan to see if they have a demo available.
    1 point
  11. What kind of hardtail are you looking for? I might have something of interest.
    1 point
  12. I'd do the same for sure. Biggest frustration is just how uneducated the employees are on company policy, and that goes for businesses outside of the airlines as well. Try getting a price matched at blowes or the home despot sometime. Shipbikes has been the cheapest way for me to send stuff. I use them for freight on just about everything i can. It's essentially access to a fed ex commercial account for a fee. Looked at bikesflights but they were out of their minds. Sentinel + EVOC bag and gear was just under 70lbs so that has been the biggest issue for buddy flying on delta.
    1 point
  13. Yes, when I looked into bike shipping in a bike box to the PNW, it was close to $300 round trip. For $30 each way on Alaska, it was a no-brainer for me to buy the bag to keep and fly with it. I just had to ride ~3 times during my trip to come out ahead (bag + bagagge fees =$420 ) vs shipping ( $300 ). I've also rented bikes as well. It just depends on how much I am planning to ride. The other thing I didn't like about shipping, is how early you have to drop it off for you to get the cheapest price. Even one day later was a huge increase in price. I've gone with a huge bike box on Southwest airlines (well over linear size, and about 80lbs total) and I paid anywhere from $25 to $80 depending on the agent/airport. Travel was roundtrips Austin to Albuquerque and Austin to Atlanta.
    1 point
  14. Yeah, I was prepared to pay each way if they did upcharge me. I didn't weigh the case by itself, and my bike is no featherweight. I took all the tools and camelbak out when I was initially packing it, and it was still over 50lbs. So I just packed it heavy and hoped for the best.
    1 point
  15. I used to travel for a living. Whenever an airline changes their policy, print out the policy and bring it with you. Saves plenty of hassles down the road.
    1 point
  16. Yeah I have found as I empty the bladder I have to tighten the waist belt
    1 point
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