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Had two crashes at the DH park wearing the alpinestars armor. First was just a stupid slow speed fall down a hillside and second was at speed casing a big gap that bucked me into a wall. On both occasions I landed on my left side leading with my elbow, then shoulder. Walked away both times without a bruise and just a little tenderness at my elbow. Can't tell you how happy I was to have it, even if i look like the fake batman from the dark knight😆 Also, this gear is DH only gear and would be MISERABLE for general trail riding.

I was very surprised to see that yesterday when I rode. Plenty of space to avoid it Or even just easily roll it. I got some courage together and cleared it. This section made me love walnut all over again! Super stoked and many thanks to the builders

Clipless helps prevent balding.

This has been a concept I have had for a long time, and is the basis of what we're doing on the Outer Log Loops: a log feature where there is dirt up, logs in the middle, and dirt down. You can optionally go slower and ride the logs, go faster and skim them, or pull up and jump them. On the first one (at the beginning of Outer Log Loops), we spent one 3-hour Austin Ridge Rider work day cutting and gathering logs, then another ARR work day building it (Jan 19): https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=467776887228151&id=278952176110624 https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=464574400881733&id=278952176110624 We intend on making more upgrades (like more dirt on the right side of the logs to hold them solid. (The little dirt kicker that was added to the top left side was an unauthorized addition, and I've had several conversations with the guy who added it. I'm going to re-do it further to the left, but not tearing what he did down until that time). There are also plans to improve the second one (after the 180 berm). So, basically, both will get upgraded to version 2.0. (The drawing says 3 feet tall, but right now, they're only about 2 feet tall). (The drawing has two features back-to-back, but on Outer Log, it's just a single feature.) --Cullen Austin Ridge Riders, Trail Steward, Walnut Creek Park

There's a "I'm a Huge Pussy Line" to the right. What's the problem?

I started out clipless (Crank Brothers Candy) when i began mountain biking 3 years ago. Fairly quickly realized I hated it and went to flats. Loved me some Chesters! Then I took up road biking (on a flat-bar rod bike) too, also in flats. Switched to clipless (Look Keo) due to peer pressure and also having bought a proper drop-bar road bike and was a convert. Road riding was new and exciting so i was off the MTB for a few weeks. When I got back to MTB, the very first little hill I went up had me thinking "uh-oh". My feet wouldn't stay on the pedals. I was used to making circles. So I went back to clipless on MTB (Crank Brothers Egg Beaters) and realized pretty quickly that a large part of my dislike of MTB clipless was actually dislike of Crank Brothers. I just never could get the hang of clipping in. I expected to be able to slide my foot over the pedal and if I hit it too far back, it would flip forward 90* and "help me out". It never did. I had to aim, step down, and then forward. SO I gave SPDs a try and they behaved like I expected them to. Slide your foot over the top of the pedal with a little downward pressure, and CLICK you're in. Never looked back. The only time I think flats might be better is sometimes when I try to rail a turn, my inside foot comes unclipped as I point my toe on the pedal into the turn. But I don't know if I should or shouldn't be turning my foot like that. I try to concentrate on stomping my outside foot down into the turn, but the inside foot has a mind of its own sometimes. -cls

You can actually use your frame or fork as a truing stand with a zip tie, or pencil and rubber band, or various other methods. The Peddler in Cedar Park actually has straight pull spokes they can cut and thread to may length. MJ's also has a large stock

learning how to control your bike without the assistance of being attached to your pedals is pretty darn helpful. I would not call lifting your pedals "cheating" at all, but relying on that attachment allows you to become complacent. you might hate it on trails, but practicing some maneuvers on flats could be worth the time spent doing so. I have no problem bunnyhopping over logs on the trail with flat pedals because that's how I learned to do it when I was 12. if you can't get both tires off the ground without being clipped in, you're denying yourself a useful skill that will open up a lot of options on the trail. some people say they can do this because they are clipped in and that's all that matters, but it's not the same thing and I can't explain to you what that means until you experience it for yourself. I just highly recommend learning to control the bike with flats and learn how to bunnyhop up onto a curb, at the very least. It will do wonders for your experience on the trail when you apply those skills to a bike with clipless pedals.

Part of where I got the idea from was Keystone Bike Park back in 2011. They have a lot of features built with cut tree logs, and the logs get exposed, either intentionally or not. http://www.bikemojo.com/speak/68-dh-urban-trials-bmx-dirt-jumping/90258-vail-keystone-winter-park.html#post1044056 I don't know where this photo was taken (from the Internet), but these are the size and straightness of logs that we'd ideally be using. Here's an indoor version at Ray's in Cleveland (although slightly different, with logs on the up and middle). Here's a flat ground version, but it shows the idea of jumping them. http://www.bikemojo.com/speak/14-austin-voodoo/95383-walnut-creek-wednesday-workday-june-19-a-2.html

Actually, I find this funny because, for many years, I liked being "that guy" who corrects everyone. It gave up. Not worth it.

I was part of the trail crew that worked with Cullen building that first feature. I can assure you that he is VERY cautious about what gets built out there and that it’s safe and fun for riders of all skill levels. In fact, he built up those features in phases to allow people time to get used to them and not surprise anyone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Most people go the other way. But since the City/PARD require that all trails go both ways - either way is OK.

CMC is having trouble logging on. So here is the official scoop on those jumps - The jumps were approved and installed on an official work day. Someone has taken it on themselves to modify the first one by adding a kicker. That may still be happening (not confirmed by CMC or myself yet). There is more work planned on both jumps. Both jumps were approved as "optional" since the rider can chose to ride/jump them or to bypass them since they are built off the side of the existing trail. There is more info and even pictures on the Walnut Creek Mountain Biking Facebook page.

For me, clipless on urban/gravel/etc, is a must. Just IMHO of course.

Made it.