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This has been a big wakeup call... My wife and I have been riding up and down the paved trails with our kids in tow in the trailer (at a fairly fast pace sometimes), no helmets. I know the risk isn't as big as when you're riding a trail, but I realized that I need to drop the 80s mentality that I grew up with and make sure everyone is always wearing a helmet. (including the kids when I have them in the trailer) Everyone already has a modern helmet (except me) but they're not doing anyone any good sitting in the garage. I owe you guys big for this advice. seriously. My entire family thanks you.

If you listen to nothing else, listen to this. You NEED a helmet more than you need a mountain bike. Even riding that cruiser without a helmet is a bad idea. You have exactly one brain and it’s super easy to scramble it beyond repair if you come off that bike wrong. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rode brushy today, double down was slick on the rocks, should be good by now. But my reason for posting was to say thanks to the folks that did Bob Ross. Well done.

No state income tax makes up for it.

I expect this bubble to last 5+ years. Aside from the general demand in Austin, here in Cedar Park we have Dell Children's breaking ground, Bell District breaking ground, and Lakeline Park in late planning stages. Our house in Red Oaks has great conveniences on Cypress Creek Rd, great access via Little Elm to Lakeline and via Bell to the 183A / 45 Tolls, and for me a mile ride to the Brushy Creek trails from my driveway. I'd love to get further out with an acre+ lot, but as you mentioned, there is no longer anything available. We could probably clear $300K on our house but would have to get on a waiting list to pay $700K for something further out that gives us everything we want. I'm not sure who's winning in this situation, other than maybe the folks from CA who view housing here as a bargain. They may be in for surprise though given the much higher property taxes here. For now I was able to take advantage of the peak low interest rates, refinancing at 2.5% while drawing out $60K in cash and keeping the term of my loan and my P&I nearly equivalent. Hoping I can squeeze a new Izzo out of those proceeds.

What you have there is an uncomfortable hat, not a helmet. I take a generous position on "is this helmet too old?" but that thing is trash. I don't recommend buying a used helmet. Get one from someplace where you can try it on or easily return it if it does not fit. $50–100 should easily buy a decent helmet. Your skull and brain are worth it. That Osprey pack looks terrific for your needs.

Caddyshack cleared now. For those of you who ride that section it would be great if you could keep an eye out for paths like the picture below coming down from trail to bcrt and block or re block them. There can't be any direct intersections from this trail or Snail touching bcrt. I blocked it fairly well up top. Haven't covered the visible path as I didn't have a rake on me. Thanks Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

Had to look up what kind of income gets $18k tax bill in CA. That's nice! 🙂 So the part that sucks about property tax vs income tax is that you can make $60k a year and now your neighborhood is gentrified and your $150k home is now worth $400k and you can't afford the tax bill so you have to sell and move out 1 hour away. I know we have a cap but 10% a year adds up really fast. It's a joke. In the end the differences between states/locations are not as huge as you would think once you add all the taxes up (income, sales, property). I live in CoA, Travis County, and RRISD. Maybe short of Rollingwood we may have the highest property tax rate in the area, but I think property tax is a messed up way to fund schools. If we had the same effective income tax rate as CA I'd pay roughly about the same per year as I'm paying in property taxes now. The difference would be 0.74% property tax adder and an extra 1% sales tax compared to TX.

Maybe it's bad drinkin'-at-the-movies news but good bicycle news that Alamo went into Chapter 11. New locations seem unlikely when 2 locations--including 6th street!--were just closed. If nothing else new construction will be significantly delayed. https://www.vulture.com/2021/03/alamo-drafthouse-bankruptcy-is-actually-a-good-thing.html ...too bad. They need to bulldoze that awesome Roller Coaster trail ASAP so I can keep my gravel bike KOM.

I had a state income tax in NY. It wasn't really that much compared to my property taxes. I think it was around $1500 a year. My last house there was 1400 sq ft on a 40'x100' lot. in 2004 my property taxes were $5600. Not much of a bargain considering how poorly kept the roads were. Potholes as big as your tires.

Pm sent Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Add me to the 10 speed cassette list after Manuel gets his. I also have beer to trade.

I happen to be a helmet lover, one saved my life.

Texas Hill Country Overnighter This was just posted on Bikepacking.com. It's a overnight ride that includes an overnight stop at Castell for supper and camping at the nearby Leifeste Campground. The ride starts at a campground on a private ranch on FM 16 between F-burg and Llano. I'll note that four years ago we did two rides starting at Castell and had planned to camp at Leifeste Campground. It was October -- I think this must have been just after the three-day Columbus Day weekend -- and the place was completely beat up; portapotties were overflowing. It was so unappealing we went to the Castell Store and found a little cottage rental with no kitchen. So -- we had beds to sleep in but we used our camping set up and cooked outside. Anyway, Leifeste Campground is right on the banks of the Llano, so a lovely setting. They are Leifeste Campground in Castell on facebook and the phone is 254-717-3305. Sounds like they have some electrical hookups now and call ahead to check on reservations. UPDATE: Leifeste Campground has gotten some love since we were there last. Sounds much better now.

Yea, this is not news at all. It's pretty much a done deal.

I scoped it out today and wow it took some effort for someone to do this. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a pissed off neighbor but instead some official. So it’s going to take more than one person to clear it. Let me know if you’d be up for meeting up tomorrow. I have a chainsaw that’ll make quick work of it.