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Lonestar beer is sponsoring the event! so yes, BEER FOR YOU!

Wife and I finally made it out to Bandera for some practice before the race. Place has a lot of potential, staff were courteous and the views are pretty sweet too. Trails are typical CTX gnar but with some gravity thrown in for the fun factor. If you've ridden cat mountain then this place should feel very similar but with an optional shuttle for people who want to get the most out of their time there. We hit all the green/blue stuff and will head back in a week or so for the more advanced trails. Big and small jumps, doubles, off camber and loose steep stuff are the name of the game and there's a little something for any skill level. Wife was finally hitting some jumps for the first time. Race is gonna be suh-weet😎 https://www.instagram.com/p/B3mSZn9HPZP/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

BTW, after digging through the bits that came with the levers, that adapter is in there. I went ahead and ordered the GRX calipers. They'll be here Thursday. All I'm missing is the crankset, but I'm happy with what I have.

My wife reported that by yesterday afternoon, the east side was dry and very loose again. She had a bit of a low-side in the first part of the trail, got up, finished the lap, and did 2 more. She loves Peddlers Pass!

Wife is racing beginner class. Trails are super fun and most everything is rollable. You'll like it. Shuttle is worth the $$ if you're going to practice.

I'm racing in mens beginner. More participation than anything else. Hopefully my spine decides that it want to cooperate.

most people feel they are being adventurous, by listening to Rick Steves "The SATN Trails" while they ride

There is some traction on Facebook with the Houston and San Antonio peeps, but its been quieter this year for sure. I am at 70 registrations with a cap of 300. I have around $5000 in swag to give away. It's time for people to get to signing up. Yes it is $30, but compared to other marathons, that's cheap. And you can come in dead last and win the top prizes.

So tragic. By all accounts he was the nicest guy, was always giving back to the community, and did a lot of coaching with kids teams, too. And, of course, was one of the best freeriders in the world. He'd made a big turnaround in the last few years. I'll preface this by saying I have no first-hand knowledge of the situation whatsoever, but it's pretty well documented that Jordie had multiple severe concussions (including TKOs) through his career. I have to wonder if, because of that, what might have been a survivable head injury for some was fatal for him in this case. So sad.

Spent a bunch of time on suburban ninja (Brushy) yesterday doing this. I can understand why people are less adventurous. The work:payoff ratio can be low, especially when you have places to go and beer to consume. Early on a ride I am more adventurous but when you are already 15 miles in, the choice to hit something you've never seen before can fade. Also, if I am riding alone I am more inclined to try a new offshoot, but if I am dragging people along with me, that is more of a challenge.

Let me know if you have a free afternoon, I'll give you a tour.

Wrong place, wrong time I guess. My wreck was on a Sunday ride to teach new riders how to be safe on the streets. I was doing 5 mph turning left when another rider hit me. He wasn't paying close enough attention. I survived countless trackdays (had a few lowsides, etc of course) and 40 years and almost 800,000 street miles doing stupid shit. I almost got killed at 5mph, freak event.

I try to greet everyone I meet on the trails. It's easy, and it promotes a positive image for *us*.

Some random musings after my fantastic ride yesterday. Fantastic as the tread was just about perfect and the weather was perfect. -It would be worth a 20 mile drive just to do 45 Flow/South Bay/House Fire. That is grin on your face fun. And it's just getting better and better as it gets worked in. -Finally decided while riding that rocky part of South Bay that it's easier just to power over the 6-10" rocks than trying to pick a line. -Came up with a routing solution to prevent repeating trail when I want to do the loop of Firehouse out, 45 Flow/South Bay/House Fire back. (6.5 miles by the way. The same as the Valero Loop more or less. I thought that was interesting.) Anyway, there is a double track trail just south of Kiker Elementary that runs from Escarpment to south of the St Augustine University. I came out of DiscGo DiscGo, crossed Escarpment/LaCrosse, jumped on the dirt south of the pool, and went straight across to the start of Firehouse. -There is a tunnel under Mopac at the north end of House Fire. It is the same height as the bridge tunnel under LaCrosse that connects Phoenix East to Phoenix North and South. It will be just another option to access the Veloway trails. -I think the SATN Social is going to be a hoot. There wasn't a lot of activity yesterday because I was riding during the start of the football game. But when the trails are loaded up it is going to be fun. -I finally get why the downhill counterclockwise run in Bauerle is fun to folks. Someone has cleared a lot of the loose rock off of it so it's faster and not as hazardous to your bike. -I passed two bikers, without earbuds, that didn't even acknowledge me when I said, "Hi, how's it going?" Not even a reciprocal "the nod." So creepy. So now even I hate mountain bikers! Just kidding, but judas priest, how hard is this concept?

Nothing says Fall quite like a solid Amber Ale!

Coming up on 3-months post surgery next week and the prognosis is looking good. Sitting down comfortably is a non-issue now, and that had been one of my biggest concerns. Played 9 holes of golf with my kid this past weekend, and the PT told me yesterday I should start spinning around the neighborhood on my bike. I've been doing a wide range of stretching and strengthening exercises at home, and am up to 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training on my new machine. I think the key for me now is to listen to the doctor and PT and not try to rush back too quickly. My right leg is still much weaker than my left, and I really need to get back to full strength before I resume aggressive trail riding. Also the doc says that it really takes 5-6 months for that reattached tendon to really heal up completely. My goal is to be back doing my normal riding before Christmas, but in the meantime, life is good!!!