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Fixed.. I forgot that even though I purchased a five year certificate, it has to be manually renewed every year. Annoying. Sorry!

I've found some pretty secluded swim spots there... 😉

I manually approve accounts in order to (help) prevent spammers from getting in. It's usually pretty obvious when someone signs up from Vietnam or China that they are not interested in talking about mountain biking in the Austin area. 🙂

I’m getting a warning that the cert expired yesterday.

I cannot unsee that in my mind.

People concerned with RPR, just take an extra 5 minutes and go to the gun range bridge on Graphite Mine Rd and drop a water cache. That's what I do now, since I refuse to were a full backpack. My 2L will easily get me to the back of the trails to the quarry/gun range bridge area where I can refill. 30.79165100460675, -98.35612447015619 I REALLY miss the granite pool at the pavilion that was the BEST after riding an RPR. I can't even remember the last time I was there that it was functional/with water 😞

I rode the Austin loop CW instead of my usual CCW so the lip was very noticeable. Incidentally I rode it this past Sunday which is when we had that monster pop-up thunderstorm downtown and the forecast was why I decided to ride it CW...and it worked out perfectly. I took refuge under bridges and garages when the lightning was prevalent. I tried to ride up Shoal Creek until, at the same time I notice water was coming up to the sidewalk/trail, someone was shouting at me from one of The Monarch balconies to hurry back. Went back under the bridge to warn homeless dude to get out and eventually made it to an open bar and just waited it out.

To answer the original question. Trails I would definitely avoid in the middle of a summer day: Reimers Ranch. Very little tree cover. Reveille Peak Ranch. Mixed cover, but the heat radiating from the rocks is brutal in the summer. Thumper - Any trails stuck in a valley with little airflow are sweltering this time of year. Lake Georgetown - Just, no. I'd get a lap in if I started right at sunrise, but would suck with the humidity in the morning. Probably others, but those are the ones off the top of my head that would be far down the list if I had to ride in the middle of the day. Most anything is tolerable for me if I start early enough (even with the humidity), but generally nicer if you ride late in the day as the sun is going down.

I enjoy the Juniper Ridge trail. Haven't been out there in a while, though. I think it would be pretty brutal this time of year. Yes, I did a 50 mile loop between Walnut Creek and downtown recently and the route goes through Govalle Park. Haven't done that loop in nearly two years, so was nice to see they finished the work at the park! They were still working on the Montopolis bridge, though and I had to ride on the sidewalk across it. I wonder when that will be finished? Kind of surprised it's not done already.

The water fountains at the 51st street bridge to cross 183 are operational, but the water looked yellow and it tastes nasty. The water spigot at the YMCA is gone. It looks like they're remodeling that hut. The good news is Govalle park looks to be finished and they did an awesome job! There's a fancy (stainless steel) water fountain with a bottle filler in it. At other places, it seems like water pressure is pretty low on water fountains. I've been just opening tickets using the ATX 311 App for that kind of stuff.

You have to admit, we are a thankless lot and a little unruly on our best days. Maybe we need to throw Albert some love? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

She muttered something about never returning to Midland...

I bet that rack is super stable.

Yep, I had the same reaction at that spot. In an effort to discontinue my derailleument of the drankin' thread, I've moved this here. This guy is a dozen different kinds of awesome. A multi-talented rider (mtb,dh,trials) stricken with diabeetus retinopathy that has basically degraded to mild light sensitivity in one eye and no sight whatsoever in the other, decided to get back on the bike, and interestingly trials riding was the one kind of riding he found he could get back in to. I discovered this guy listening to the excellent Bikes and Big Ideas podcast on Blister. This particular podcast is by their bike editor, David Golay, who is an old bicycle buddy of mine from my days in NY. Lots of time on the trail with that dude. You can do a deep dive with a long interview on the Blister podcast, and check out a few of this rider's more presentation worthy (not busting his ass) videos on his YT channel. This is probably his best:

You're putting too much faith in the tail gasket for my liking. One fart could depressurize the suit and end the monkey.

That looks like a perfect way to celebrate your last day in New Mexico. Safe travels home, amigo.

"Fully rigid was *generally* great for climbing, but the descent was punishing. Imagine Rocky Hill Ranch - loose rocks, sand, pine needles, with an elevation like Lakeway. All of the way up I keep thinking "this is gonna be so much fun to bomb down" but then when I started the descent, from the top, I REALLY wished I had my FS carbon bike." I talk about being able to "harvest" the effort put into a climb with a fun downhill run payoff. I dislike having to work going up and then work going down too. That's why I sing Phil's World's praises. EVERY climb had a great payoff. After I realized this during my ride, I started looking forwards to a climb, knowing that a big smile would soon be plastered to my face. Also I feel your pain with having to choose a travel bike. I have been taking my third string bike on our trips to not worry as much if it gets stolen. I did take the first string bike to Moab where we were riding every day on "real" trail. That was worth the risk for the return. I took a tarp to cover it to keep it out of sight as another layer of protection.