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So you are saying ultimately I was right the other day when I "accidentally" took the 3rd hole. That sounds bad. Whatever, I'm leaving it.

For you non-Facebook folks, here's some news. There is now a trail that goes from LaCrosse, close to the Veloway parking lot, to the north end of House Fire, utilizing a tunnel that goes under Mopac. You can now ride dirt, avoid cars on the street, and avoid the lights at Mopac and LaCrosse, to get to that point. https://www.strava.com/segments/27803515?filter=overall There are six tunnels side by side that go 150 yards under Mopac. Use the third tunnel from the north end. It has been cleaned up. The north half of that third tunnel is dirt/mud/rock free. The first tunnel was initially cleaned up to be used but the big rain event messed it up. That third tunnel was relatively clean after the rain event so I'm hoping that further rain events will just make it more clean. Any mud and rock that was on the north half of that tunnel was scraped to the south half of the tunnel

Invest in mountain bike skills classes. You will learn proper techniques for riding and how to practice the right way which will make you a better and safer rider. Gene Hamilton provides classes locally thru his company Better Ride. He travels all over the country doing classes. I have taken his skills clinics multiple times here in Austin. It's the best investment you can make in improving your biking skills ability and riding more safely. The usual advice given to novice riders is to follow someone faster than you and do what they do. Not only is this idea ill advised, it can lead to serious injuries when someone tries to ride beyond their abilities. I don't know of any sport you can become good at without learning skills and proper techniques and practicing them correctly frequently. The advice I hear constantly is "ride more." Like you will just figure it out and ride successfully (once you've done all the wrong things and crashed a lot).

Was actually pretty good and will be visited again, probably tomorrow. Sent from my moto g(7) supra using Tapatalk

Sometimes you see a headline that you simply have to click on! Two planes collide midair above Denver, no one injured Two planes collide midair above Denver, no one injured (msn.com)

https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/citrus-county/hummer-with-four-containers-of-gasoline-bursts-into-flames-right-after-filling-up-at-homosassa-gas-station/ Hummer with four containers of gasoline bursts into flames right after filling up at Homosassa gas station 😁 HOMOSASSA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Hummer burst into flames late Wednesday morning right after firefighters say the driver filled up several gas cans in Citrus County. Citrus County Fire Rescue crews were called to South Alabama Avenue near West Grover Cleveland Boulevard just before 11 a.m. Wednesday for the fire. When they got to the scene, they found a 2004 Hummer H2 on fire. According to a spokesperson for Citrus County Fire Rescue, the driver had just filled up gas cans at the Texaco Food Mart near the scene. Firefighters found four 5-gallon containers filled with gasoline in the back of the Hummer. Crews worked quickly and were able to put the fire out by 11:09 a.m. Firefighters say one person was injured but refused to be transported for treatment, against medical advice. They did not say what the injury was nor how severe. The Florida State Fire Marshal was called to the scene to investigate and will determine the official cause of the fire. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection was also notified and helped coordinate cleanup of the fuel spill. The fire comes as Tampa Bay officials urge people to not “panic buy” gasoline over fuel shortage concerns. Worry started to grow earlier this week when the Colonial Pipeline was forced to close due to a hack. Authorities say there’s no need for concern in Tampa Bay because Florida gets 90% of its gas supply from cargo ships.

Yep, on my list as well. I was thinking about doing it as a cubby/closet, incorporating a couple sheets of plywood , but now I can't afford plywood.

If/when you find yourself considering a feature that pushes what you’re comfortable with, decide whether you’re going to go for it, then do it or don’t do it- avoid heading into something feeling hesitant, then trying to back out when it’s too late to turn back your decision. Those crashes tend to hurt.

I'm not going to say "you're wrong", but I'd wager to say that 99% of us have used the "usual advice" to good success. 1. Ride with better riders. Yes, of course. See what they are doing. Notice where they are being cautious and where they are taking risks. Not saying you should try to follow a pro DH rider down the hill, but having someone push you slightly above your limits is beneficial. Just be aware that they are better than you and there is never any shame in walking an obstacle. 2. Ride more. Practice, practice, practice. I can't see how that is bad advice. The best riding tips I've gotten: Steer with your belly button. (aka "point with your pecker") Don't turn the bar or your head to steer. The bike will follow your hips. This works on all turn. It works on fast downhill sections, but it works especially well (and its impossible to over do it) on slow uphill switchbacks. Learn to feel and hear when your tires start to slide. There is a moment in between full traction and washing out. It sounds like scratching. You can feel the scratch too. mack_turtle makes an excellent point about tire pressure. It makes a big difference. Braking is really only effective when you are not skidding. Skidding is lack of control. Plus it tears up the the trail. Use both brakes. Most beginners won't use their front brakes enough. Bring post ride beers.

For sure. Battery pack work is super straight forward, but it takes the gear (spot welder, and supplies) and if you are doing anything other than rebuilds, lots of experience with pack design. If this guy does good work, I'll let folks know. I'm already looking around the garage at all the battery junk that I could have rebuilt instead of throwing away (looking at you NiteRider HID setup).

I found a local battery rebuilder who is going to rebuild some of my Kobalt lawn equipment batteries. He quoted me $140 to rebuild the 36v 14ah pack on the ebike. While I am not sure if the bike is powerful enough, if all I sink into it is $140, I am sure I can resell it working for more than that.

Yep, went ahead and took a gamble, and won. Seems lots of others had the same idea though, lots of riders out.

Gas station paninis, does it get any better than that?

Those paninis look pretty good. Are we sure they are lining up for gas?

is this what I think it is? [edit: removed video of sketchy Austin trail that's on private property]

LOL. someone did that to me recently. I took a bike that I got for free and put over $100 into it to make it fit my wife better and she still didn't like it. it was too big no matter what we did, so I listed it for $100 in a local neighborhood group. it sat for a few months until some guy from the other side of town somehow found it and contacted me. He told me this sob story about how hard it was to find a bike for his girlfriend and she was so excited to find this one. $100 cash and I felt good about losing a few bucks on the deal. He posted that bike for $350 on Facebook a few hours later, didn't change a single thing about it. I saw him a few days later at Frankenbike with a $350 price tag on that bike and could just barely resist saying something to him.