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Fun topic. We moved from Austin 5 years ago now. Can't believe it has been that long. We straight up cashed out and sold our SW Austin (Oak Hill) house for a hell of a lot more than what we paid for it. Lady from California paid 30k over asking for cash. I wonder what it would go for today. Bottom line, my wife and I are both teachers and we were house poor. Between taxes, life, mortgage, and a kid we just couldn't get ahead. I miss my riding buddies in Austin. I get envious of all the trails. But I got to move to a cool small town and pay off a house before I turned 40. Yeah, the mtbing isn't Austin. But you make due with the cards you're dealt with. I wouldn't trade our decision at all. Austin is great to visit.

Not usual but I do like to take my full face to brushy sometimes when I’m trying to get creative. I have kissed the floor twice already in that trail luckily with nothing major happening . I always wear kneepads. I saw too many knee injuries in my life and I value my knees too much. It is not about a scrape more than the right rock catching the wrong place when I fall. I’ve lived enough not to care what people think about it

That trap is not new! I'm your age and people from our generation and even the generation before us got caught in that same trap. I lived pay-check to pay-check into my forties even though I made decent money. Discipline is the key, i.e. being able to separate needs from wants. I've never been able to do that myself, which is why I'll be working until I'm 70 vs. having retired at 55. Still, I have no regrets, as I've provided for 4 wonderful kids, helped 3 of them through college, enabled my wife to be a stay-at-home mom, have a nice home and other nice things, etc. Of course with the value of our home being what it is now in Cedar Park, I could possibly retire soon if I could convince my wife to move to Bentonville! Bottom line is that there are still opportunities for young folks, but they have to live smarter and possibly work harder than generations before them. My daughter and her husband are both mid-level healthcare practitioners who just opened their own anti-aging clinic, while retaining their regular jobs. Allied health professions can be targeted for good wages in medical imaging, physical therapy, lab testing, etc. I believe too that there is a huge opportunity for young folks to turn away from higher education and instead acquire a skilled craft, which could be leveraged to earn good wages or start a small business. Most importantly young folks will be more active in government / politics than we were, hopefully enacting positive changes for generations to come. The continued erosion of the middle-class is the greatest threat to our country, and the younger generations need to figure out how to wrestle a big chunk of the wealth away from Wall Street and the greedy lobbyists, schemers, and overpaid executives that to do "whatever it takes" to retain wealth and power. I have faith that the younger generations will figure out how to do this without destroying our free-market, capitalistic economy.

Death throws of a dying government. Average lifespan of a government being 200 years we're getting near the end and all the people with wealth already are trying to gobble up as much as they can in hopes of being able to ride it out until the next form of government comes along. The money grabbers need to keep in mind that you can't spend a confederate dollar anywhere these days. New Zealand just increased its minimum wage to $20 an hour. The increase is up a $1.14 from what it was. They also increased the tax base for the wealthy to 36%. We've all heard this nonsense of make America great again. America was great when the corporations were being taxed at 50%+.

YES! Interesting that you bring this up. My oldest son is now 18 and just this week began getting credit card solicitations in the mail. My wife likes to keep a clean fridge, but this is one thing we wanted to broadcast to our kids loud & clear. CC debt = death! Besides our house (which is now worth 2x what we paid 3.5 yrs ago), we have no debt and are doing our best to train up our kids this way too.

My need for fullface goes up as my speed comes down. 95% of my OTB events have been from going to slow for the terrain.

Glad you're okay man! Teeth get expensive. Wife gave me a bunch of shit for making pad up and use a full face when we were practicing drops. She ended up eating shit and came up with a helmet full of grass and dirt. After a bit of tears, she said "now I know why you wanted me to wear a full face". Thankfully they are getting way lighter with better ventilation than before.

Wow! Congrats in making it this far! Are you counting steri-strips as stitches? I count them. Out of my 3 siblings and I, I think I'm the only one that never got the split chin stitch or steri-strip, but I made up for it in plenty of other stitches/staples/steri-strips. Sorry about your accident. I saw a similar thing happen on Picnic. I was going W-E and this guy was going E-W, I was going to make room for him but he decided to go to his right. There's this little stump, maybe 2" in diameter max, maybe 5" above ground. Stopped his front tire cold. Thankfully he was OK.

Nice work on paying off the house. You guys are probably some of the last ones through the gate and have grit. My boomer rant: My opinion on boomers v millennials has changed a lot over the years. As angry, cynical, genX we used to joke that we were the only generation equally disappointed in our parents and our children. I think that kinda still stands, but with open eyes. You really can't blame the boomers for behaving the way they did as young adults and beyond. They were raised on a steady diet of american exceptionalism and saw the most prosperous times in our countries history. They witnessed huge strides in civil rights and came together to help end a war. They also saw great unrest with the potential destruction of the world through nuclear war during the cuban missle crisis. Let's also not forget seeing their leaders gunned down on national TV. All the while the access to information was extremely limited compared to what we have now. Would you buy a house for 20k? Sure! Would you do ALL the drugs and alcohol you could and get behind the wheel? Sure! Would you treat the planet like it was your personal litter box? Sure! That's what everyone else was doing at the time. Once people reach a certain age they just kind of dig into their belief structures a little deeper and look at history in a way that is most palatable for them. We all do it, and really can't blame any generation for not adapting as quickly as we think they should, or understanding our plight. We go out of our way to avoid this and correct our kids any time they pull the ok boomer BS. Now, what really pisses me off are the millennials who are having multiple children, living off their parents and blaming the boomers for everything. They are more than willing to share their opinions on how screwed up the economy is, how much debt they have and how the planet is dying because of pollution/overpopulation. Cut to their hybrid with two baby seats. FK off with that hypocrisy. The zoomers/millennials can bitch about their boomer parents when they stop living off them, dressing like them, and listening to their music. The ruling class knows thats coming, and thats why all of our police have been militarized. Does Bastrop county need an APC? I don't fucking think so.

People used to tell me I didn't need all the gear I wore riding my Ducati on the street. I was thankful for every single piece of it when I got hit. Gear is a personal choice, and *need* to one person is not the same for someone else. No reason to judge people for it.

Hang tight, bud. I had a tough run at it myself finishing grad school in 2014 to enter the oil market and immediately get slapped in the dick with the 2015 downturn. Fortunately I was able to squeeze my way out simply due to knowing a few skills I learned working since I was young, but I was absolutely homeless through 2016 sleeping in my truck or on a random couch with my trusty wiener dog. I don’t think there will be much of a dip in the housing market, but I do think we will see a flattening of the curve here in the next 6-12 months once forbearance is exhausted for every type of situation and building materials stabilize.

I think they know full well and, like slavery, there's little they can do about it short of building a guillotine.

OK Boomer rant: when i was in my 20s, in the mid '00s, I was in debt because I was taking cash advances on my credit card to put it in my bank account so my rent check (cheap, in San Antonio) would not bounce. my wife and I were working full time (I had two part-time retail jobs with no insurance for a few years) while she was going to school. we had two cars, which was necessary at the time, and both were used and paid off. we later sold one of the cars and I rode the bus to work. we literally ate beans and rice and not much else. somehow we escaped from this without massive student debt and got to a healthy point now. if he had started a family (is anyone surprised that the birth rate is falling?) or had a serious medical problem, we'd be completely in over our heads 15 years later. I can't imagine we'd be able to own a home as we do. we managed to pay it off but it was brutal. the people who entered college just a few years after us have it much worse with the cost of school and paying to work at internships. it's drastically different and it's not young people's fault because they like avocado toast.

So much to unpack. I was thinking about this and the vaccine thread during my road ride (what else are you supposed to do on a road ride?!). I--like Cody--have thoughts but I think it would turn into a book. Wealth concentration to a few, and those few are stirring the pot telling everyone else it's X-Y-Z's fault (you fill in the blank) it's not the corporations or their fault. And they get an EMT making $16/hr (a travesty IMO) to feel angry b/c someone else wants to make $15 on a lesser job. It's nuts. My first job I got to work with a group of guys, most WW2 vets (one Navy sonar guy super deaf but super cool guy), they had already retired at least once. Some 2x. They loved their jobs. They loved working with the people. They loved bringing in new people. They had pensions from Collins Radio, then from Rockwell-Collins, and were eligible to retire again. How many of us think it's realistic to work a satisfying job for one company then retire to enjoy your golden years? That is all gone. My job could be gone any day no matter how good I am at it or how hard I work at it. It's all about the next quarter and the shareholders. Unfortunately not everyone is a shareholder.

Last time I got a gash was when I faceplanted and my goggles dug a big hole right on the top of my nose bridge. Doctor happened to be nearby at the trailhead. He told me there wasn't enough flesh to stitch it up; so he just filled it in with some surgical glue. The good news is that it permanently removed my unibrow. 😂

Don't look it up...

I got my 2nd Moderna shot a couple days ago. It knocked me the hell out for about 6 hours. Like, I couldn't move and sweat and shivered and was nauseous and had ringing in my ears. Then suddenly I felt better hour by hour. By the end of the day I was only fatigued. I went to bed early and woke up feeling totally normal and went on a hard ride later that afternoon and felt great. So strange. I never got Covid that I'm aware of. Being a public school teacher and in class from day one with a classroom full of kids I feel very lucky. I can't wait to go give my Dad a HUGE hug.

That has been one of the toughest things for my wife to get past. It's the catch 22 of not having enough confidence to let go of the brakes for the fear of crashing, and crashing because she was going too freaking slow. Which only made her go slower. ANY crashes in CTX, particularly places with jagged rocks like some of brushy can be brutal. Not very forgiving when you get intimate with the earth.

Amen. Motorcycling history usually has me in an ATGATT mindset. There's no reason that mountain bikers wearing lots of protective gear should be judged. Better safe than sorry and risk tolerance is a personal choice. I'd rather see someone excessively geared up than not wearing anything.

There's a kernal of truth to this, but otherwise: OK, Boomer. guess who handed out those participation trophies. now the generation of old folks who ride e-mtbs are trying to get young folks hooked on those too. talk about gains you didn't earn!

Yes, listened to a whole thing about that on the radio. It's nuts. Thats just the new "free market" economy which includes more than it's fare share corporate welfare. Since Cliton, social welfare is nowhere what it used to be. Privatize profits, and socialize losses. Yay us!

I read an article investment firms are buying up whole neighborhoods from builders and keeping them as rentals... private ownership and Independence is becoming harder to reach... social welfare programs for All Is The New Normal.. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

I just added full face helmet to my needs list... went OTB at East entrance to gumdrop. Guy was stopped on top of drop face. Had to hit the breaks hard. Caught a stump and sent me OTB over the drop. Had to get stitches for first time in my life.

I have to drop my truck off to get some diagnosis done, and they are quoting me a 5-7 day turnaround time, as "a lot of people ae off sick" right now. Pretty sure I know what with, and I'll be wiping that interior down good and proper when I get it back.

Technically have already had my first dose seeing as I've had Covid. But yeah however it needs to get done.

I'm happy to note that this prediction has pan'd out! And better than I expected too, since even I have had my first dose. I'm looking forward fun weekend!

I just wish they offered something without their logo blazed all over it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well this escalated quickly. I shot some pictures over to i9 to get their opinion and within a hour they responded that they are going to send me a new freehub body. I’ve always heard they have great support but have never experienced it first hand. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Right! 17 yr old is realizing this big time. Between the cost of school and houses. Yea , would not want to be in her shoes looking at the future. The worst fears I had at 17 were over girls. Even rent , I work with about of people under the age of 30 and I feel for them just getting by in this area with a decent job.

I hate to disappoint, but the opening is years in the future. TP&W is glacially slow in opening new parks. They are still in the resource inventory and design phase and trying to raise 9 million (!) dollars. Too bad it's so far away; they are very happy to have volunteers participating in the process. Potential for a stellar mountain bike trail system is excellent, though. If you're a map or road nerd, it's just off State Highway 16, a few miles north of IH 20. Highway nerd alert: Highway 16 starts in Zapata by Falcon Reservoir on the border with Mexico, up to San Antonio and then through Helotes, Pipe Creek, Kerrville, F-burg, past Enchanted Rock, Llano, San Saba, Comanche, across IH 20 and then the new state park is to the left. State Highway 16 continues almost to Wichita Falls and that's it -- 542 miles.

Thanks for the info guys! My immediate need is over, did the big run today ☺️. Didn't end up needing a water stop today anyway, so we didn't confirm that the Zilker fountains were actually on.

I am way over 100 stitches in my life- first set I was about 3.5 yrs old and I tend to get them every 3-5 years since.

Yeah, I could understand that. I guess I'm biased because I have seemingly eaten less shit at Purg, haha. There have been some awesome additions to spring lake since I started riding there. Centipede is so flowy and a perfect trail to start on if you start from Lime Kiln Rd. The new descent they built on Grey Fox is super fun. Like you mentioned in your post, descending from that trailhead down Roadrunner is super badass! My favorite descent in the park is by far Blind Salamander.

Hadley sent me some fresh new ones after about two years. they were clearly worn:

Is it me or have I noticed (thankfully) a traffic decrease out at BC lately? People finally giving up this new found hobby they discovered? Less hikers and walkers and for sure less riders Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I agree, I feel like we had better examples back then. It may have just been my upfetchin' but my parents *seemed* smart about these things.

That is brilliant!

This is illegal. To be an internship you legally have to pay people. The fact that there are unpaid internships or that you would have to pay is incredible. People don't understand this fact and fall for it all the time. They are screwing themselves.

I'm sure that "who's vaccinated" will be a prevalent fire side conversation. I want to make sure folks know that you don't have to be a camper to come out to ride. We have a Saturday morning group ride planned. The Dana Peak Facebook group will have some volunteer ride leaders coming to show us around. Different distances and paces that they'll declare so you can choose who to follow. Meeting up at 9 am near the campground restroom. Roll out by 9:30. Community camp fire will be at site #8 going by 7 pm at the latest. Make a day of it. There is plenty of parking outside the park. I'm pretty sure that you don't have to pay to ride to the camping area.

there is a fountain at the pool after cheesegrater

100% this. Fools and their money will soon be parted. My mortgage company was strong arming me to refinance and offered 1.5% drop from where i'm currently at. After all their bullshit closing costs and fees, it would take me almost a DECADE to end up exactly where I am currently on my principal. Worse yet, was during the beginning of the pandemic when mortgage companies were offering deferment for 6 months with NO terms. They wanted people to just sign on the dotted line and then come up with all the money at the end, or be forced to accept whatever terms are offered and start the approval/refinance process all over again. I asked what the terms were going to be and they said that has not been decided and asked if i wanted my agreement mailed or faxed. I declined. F the banks forever. You're right, it is nuts and sounds like you guys have a lot to decide on. Sucks. I like Austin and all, but it's no NYC, SF, DC or LA. All of those cities have a geographic advantage that will always preserve their values no matter how bad things get. We have BBQ ( i jest). Big tech will do exact same thing to austin as they've done everywhere else.

With the privatization/evaporation of retirements, home ownership was the last way the average american could create any actual wealth. That's not gonna happen in places like here. Best bet is to say f it and move/buy somewhere cheap and just adapt. Life's too short to spend all your time jerking off to a fallacy.

real talk: what can we as a society do about a class of people gobbling up all the real estate and renting it out to everyone else, further stifling the market for people who want to buy their own homes? young people can't build wealth, at least not in the conventional way, if all their income is going down the toilet to rent. Perhaps that's the free market doing its thing, but it does not sound sustainable. it's a death spiral.

we did our whole backyard late one spring (May/June) in 2016. Most back-breaking work i've ever done. 7 cubic yards of dirt, I think 7 pallets of grass. Went to visit my brother in Portland (super nice in July), forgot to turn on sprinkler system. All dead. It was already an iffy proposition due to the heavy tree shade and we didn't help. I think doing this right now and with plenty of sun and water you'll be fine.

Read currently 1/5 homes sold in TX are to investors. There's no way the average millennial or zoomer will ever compete with cash buyers and investors to purchase 500k plus homes in any viable market. There's going to be a landlord class ruling over them for the rest of their lives. To further this, the only millennials we know who "own" homes were either given a home, given the money, or had massive help with payments and construction/renovation. Zoomers are just doomed

Thanks. I'd just feel freaking guilty if I got someone sick and don't know what I'd do if someone died. F that. It is a bit of a drag as I'm self employed and when I'm not working, I'm not earning. So far, so good though and it's given me a chance to finish up some projects around the house😆 *Update to an earlier post where I mentioned that nearly everyone at a dealership got covid. GM was hospitalized and things didn't look good for him but he seemed to have made it through. He is coming home today to spend an undetermined amount of time on oxygen. Rest are back to work this week and seem to be okay.

you left out 4:20. I can think of a few people who are on that departure.

I'm excited about this whole thing but wanted to wait until it was closer to start the chatter about it. WELLLLL, it's only a month away now. So let the chatter begin! 😄 All the RV sites are now reserved. By my count we will have 35+ people. That's not assuming better halves are coming, which of course some will. I'm also sure there will now be people deciding, "sure, why not" and will be coming. That's great. Yes, I thought we should organize some group rides. Friday afternoon, Saturday morning (time?), and Saturday afternoon(time?)? Does that sound right? I would like to find some ride leaders that know the park. Hopefully maybe three at least, and someone willing to lead a lower impact ride too. I thought of reaching out on the Dana Peak Facebook page. Knowing the mountain bike community I'm sure we could get as many volunteers as needed. Or, do we want to "keep it in the family" and not bring in strangers? Strangers that will be our friends after the ride and two beers though. I'm planning on one more ride Sunday morning but by then everyone will know the park and know what they want to do again. So that's an on-your-own thing I would assume. If anyone has decided that want to come now, say something here. The park has liberal rules about how many can tent camp on each site. So having a place for you shouldn't be a problem. We just need to be sure everyone has a place. Some folks are tenting on our site so they can use our water and electric. Remember, the few tent sites still available to reserve, have no water or electric. Our spot is number 8. It has lots of room around the fire pit to enable a big group with social distancing. It's also the closest space to the bathroom. That will be convenient for our evening Imbibing/Dranking!