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Mark Henneke was responsible for working with the city, designing, and building much of Walnut Creek. He’s an amazing guy, and 20 years ago had thousands of hours of trail work under his belt. If you ride up there you’re enjoying his vision.

Probably an e-uni.

One slight difference. Those of us that ride SS know that depending on the climb, if you have to stop, you're done. So there's a valid technical/non-ego reason to want to keep moving at a certain minimum speed. Other than that, there's no difference and I even made the point that bike vs hiker is similar. I personally try not to tailgate if there's no room to pass and I will also try not to buzz by someone or buzz their tire, but if we get to a passing area that's safe to pass and you're wearing headphones hogging the middle of the trail, and/or are oblivious, you may get buzzed. On the other hand, I also let people by when possible. I don't like anyone obviously faster tailgating me for an extended period of time.

My opinon on E-bikes has changed a lot over the last year. Ran into a guy at RHR on a full tilt 160mm commencal ohlins edition META power this weekend. He wasn't bombing anything, or riding our asses. Just a dude out riding his bike and having fun. I think thats the point isn't it? My buddy back in utah who was very anti E ended up with a turbo levo and loves it. He's mid 30s, fit and a capable rider and uses the levo to go to high elevation trails that would have required an overnight stay for a day trip. He sees it serving a purpose the same as his fatbike, trials bike and enduro rigs. IMHO, whatever gets people out of their houses, on bikes and to a greater extent singletrack, is a good thing. City leaders ETC see lots of people on bikes and that hopefully will drive expansion of hike n bike trails and singletrack. With that, I'm fine with all of the influx of new pandemic riders and e-bikes. They're no more detrimental to my MTB experience or the preservation of trails than strava or people blasting music from their bluetooth speakers. And we seem to be just fine with strava.

And that, to me, and I'm just debating and not calling anyone out, is a poor argument. You resent them for having more fun than you. "I worked to get up here to enjoy this fun down hill run and THEY didn't!" But they are not degrading your experience at all. You are not having to listen to their motors. You are not getting rooster tail flotsam thrown in your face. They are not rutting out your trail for future use. The only problem you are having is that "it's not fair." And again, I argue that the same resentment probably occurred when the hard tail rider scoffed at the "new fancy" suspension bikes, that made the trails easier. "Hell, ANYone could ride these trails on THOSE things!" I use to be ambiguous about them, but the more I have thought about it, I've decided I'm okay with them. I don't want to be the "stay off my lawn" guy, (lol) that resents the new thing. Logically I can't come up with valid arguments against them.

Jammer. Just before Satellite going E-W.

I have a RadWagon eCargo Bike. I use it for- 1. Running to local Grocery store when I need just a few things- 3.5 mi round trip 2. Running to the local pub to fill the growler- 2 mi round trip 3. Those times when I dont feel like pedaling but want the proverbial wind in my hair its fun to tool around on.

Retirement has its benefits...

Thought it would be cool for folks to post up on 1) Austin area trails they've yet to ride, and 2) willingness to lead a small group interested in exploring some of the trails you know well. I'll start by listing the nearby trails I have not ridden but would like to ride with somebody who knows their way around them. 1. Dana Peak 2. Cameron Park 3. Madrone 4. Flat Rock Ranch (not exactly nearby but still possible as an all-day trip)

Grrr, grumble grumble...e-bikes...grumble. I say bring it on.

I decided to stop drinking, at least for a while, as of late last night when I couldn't sleep. what a day to make that choice!

also 2 wheels or 4 wheels, on-road or off-road.

Once saw a mountain uni go up elephant's butt. For me that was the ultimate track stand. That guy rocked.

Jesus Christ what a day. I'm hitting the 100 proof vodka right now, sanity be damned.

It's not, they are just as bad. Basically I am out there to have an enjoyable day. Both the e-bike bros and the spandex racers bug me. And everyone, get off my lawn!

Rode SS for a bit and learned some hard lessons about momentum and totally agree on your point. Playing devils advocate, those that haven't or are new to MTB might think they're being tailgated and aggressively overtaken by someone with something to prove. Like everything else, seems to come down to the end user. Motor or not.

Ha. I felt like offering them the chance to repeat the climb using my bike, but then I would have been the dick.

That's just them being dicks not e-dicks. Tristan Uhl could have done the same thing with straight human power but I'm sure he would have waited :).

i run into lycra guys on shingle-speeds trying to prove their badassness on climbs all the time. Tailgating, bells ringing and all. How is that any different?

This pretty much sums up exactly where I'm at. I used to dislike e-bikes out of the fear that they would negatively impact trail access. However, I've since seen them in many places and I can sum it up by saying "...a motor does not the douche bag make." You're just as likely to find some asshat on a single speed hardtail as you are on an e-bike. If it gets people out advocating for more trail without degrading the experience of those already using that trail, I'm for it. E-bikes don't degrade my experience. Neither to one-wheels or hikers or dogs. Horses, might be another matter.

^^^^ This ^^^^ is wisdom...so much better than judgement.

Oh boy, let's talk about that now. it'll bring out all the self-important douchebags like no other topic.

Can confirm Cameron Park place feels like you are always climbing- I do like the Bamboo forest part. I like Dana Peak- there are tons of solid g outs and the swimming after is pretty cool. Flat Rock may be my favorite place to ride in the two hour drive distance from Austin. Madrone is hard.....

Oh, and get off my lawn!

Looking at April 9, there are already 23 of the 34 available sites already sold out. Is that largely folks doing this event? It seems if you're interested in camping for this, you have to jump on it.

gone

gone

Speaking of names. Who is Mark, of Walnut's "Mark's Art" fame? Did Mark put that part of the trail together, and it's considered art? Was Mark an artist, and the trail is a tribute to his art? Maybe someone was at a loss for a name, and that's what they came up with.

Thank you, I really want to do this..

The name of that trail may be “indirectly” my greatest contribution to the Austin mtb scene. Who knew the s-storm that Dewayne and my comments would create would forever be memorialized as a trail name. I’m so proud, even though Dewayne gets the credit for the initial opinion that started the debate. “Classic” mojo! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would think so. Dana Peak 254-698-4282 But they are closed for the winter. I haven't been able to get a hold of them.

Saw a haze over south austin mid morning and thought it was dust....... Nope just the cedar hellscape. Nuts

At Brushy today we pulled over to let some riders coming from the other direction pass. I grabbed hold of a cedar branch and unleashed a cloud of dust. Never seen anything like it, but doubled down on my daily Flonase dosage and seem to be no worse for the wear so far. Critically important of course to ditch the clothes you've worn outside and shower all of that crap off as quickly as possible.

Years ago, I bought my wife a Sig pistol for Valentines Day. I also paid for three hours of classroom/range training for her. *wisdom*

I'm probably missing something here. DD is my favorite segment of my favorite trail system around here, but is there really any controversy with the idea that those other trails are notably more difficult? DD has some really cool and rewarding features, but they can generally be overcome by executing one or two maneuvers at a time. To me, the difference with the other trails is that the features are such that you have to string together many maneuvers in a very short time period to get through them. As an example, EBD is a relatively straight forward obstacle once you figure out the required momentum and timing. However, if there were an obstacle or two just in front of EBD to affect either of those elements, the challenge would be very different. I guess all of this stuff is neither here nor there anyway, and the important thing is that we have so many interesting trails to choose from. Still, it's a fun topic, and for whatever reason, I think many of us just like the idea that we might be riding the toughest trail out there.

Yup fresh legs help. Sometimes I make the climb and then just sit and hold the tree right before the final punch. It helps to give legs quick break and also chart your path. But like gotdirt said....momentum is your biggest friend. Just need a bit more pull and then stand and shift action than when it was first built Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

EBD is the only feature I haven’t conquered yet besides the rampage drop on snail. My speed barely gets the front tire up and have nothing left to push my weight forward for a good shove. I need to go fresh and session it. I’m usually tired already when I get there

Perhaps a quarter notch?

Mountain biking means different things to different people. For me personally, it is about exploration, figuring out where a bike can take you given the obstacles that nature has put in front of you. For that reason, I've always felt like manmade jump lines are a departure from what the sport is for me. Don't get me wrong though, watching YT videos of guys hitting massive jumps at Whistler is awe inspiring, and I admire anybody who can pull off those feats. For me though, creating minimal lift using bump jumps off of natural obstacles on the trail is satisfying enough. Mastering drops has been much more critical for me simply because there are an abundance of them on the trails I regularly ride.

I think Cameron park is great but don’t recommend trying it in the summer months. You’re down in a valley and it’s crazy hot. The zoo smell sometimes creeps in which makes the air you can breathe smell like buzzard crap. However, riding around in the bamboo forests and crazy g-outs is worth a drive out there in the non-surface-of-the-sun months. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cameron Park is fifteen minutes away from where I live. It does have an extensive network of trails. I recommend a good map like trailforks to get around. Trails range from green to double black. It's all up and down, barely any level. It mostly feels up. I rode yesterday for 2.9 miles and had 358 feet elevation. Good trails, I highly recommend them.

Not too long ago. Hoping we have more fun in 21. ✌️.