CBaron

Had an electrical company come out to give me a per-job bid on this.  The cheapest was $688!  However, during my conversation with him on the front-end prior to the quote, I gleaned enough basic info to further my own troubleshooting.  With that and yet another YT video regarding GFCI outlets, I GOT IT FIXED!  The wife was impressed and thats truly all that matters.  (I wouldv'e lived without the electricity in the bathrooms)  🙂

Cheers,
CJB

On 4/20/2024 at 8:26 PM, CBaron said:

I rode a high power e-bike out at 4C last weekend.  Finesse is not one of it's strong suits.  

-CJB

Man, I really shouldn't have inserted myself into this discussion.  I don't have a dog in this fight...except for the fact that I spent the night at a holiday in once.

I don't know the names, levels, details, categories or anything as such for these bikes.  I just (think I) know that there are lightweight ones that give a little extra assist and then more robust heavier ones that have a higher output ability.  (I think there are also throttle ones, but that doens't seem relevant to much of this).  I was riding an Orbea Wild with the 750 watt motor, I think it weighed 52 lbs.  I was riding it on some of the most techincal trail I could find.  It was the day after a hard 70 mi ride for me.  All I wanted to do was putter around the steep ups and steep downs.  I was not trying to go fast.  I truly found the experience to be closer to the way I ride my KTM 250cc enduro motorcycle.  Bunny hopping was near impossible, lofting the front wheel took real effort and timing, getting the bike going on steep ups requires dirtbike type technique, and the extra power/velocity through the tight trees/tech makes this a skill all of its own.  YMMV.

I came away from the experience with the feeling that this activity was really a completely different sport all together.  It just took place on our local mountain bike trails.  And I'm not saying this as a hater, it was a fun experience, I can understand why people buy them.  But it was simple NOT the same activity that I've been doing there for nearly 20 yrs.  It was very much akin to if my FS MTB had a baby with my KTM MX bike.

Cheers,
CJB
 

I rode a high power e-bike out at 4C last weekend.  Finesse is not one of it's strong suits.  

-CJB

I've got a GCFI curcuit in my guest bathroom that keeps getting thrown.  I've replaced the receptical and a few other outlets that seem old or maybe problematic.  I've unplugged everything I know of from that curcuit and still can't get it all to come back to life.  I've reached the end of my troublshooting ability.  

Anyone have suggestions on an electrician recommendation?  I contacted a few already, but they want $300 just to show up.  I have a hard time swallowing that number, I just don't think I have a $300 problem.  I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks
CJB
512-694-1319

I know someone who lives in Burnet TX and they said, word on the street is to expect 50k people to show up in their community for it!  Some people in Burnet are selling parking spot on their land for $100 buck each.

Didn't know this was such a thing....

-CJB

Is this the venue where the 3rd race of the TMBRA series will be run?

11 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

That was the plan, but they have been trying for three years. Jumping from PT to spine surgery seems like a big jump. I love my PT, but it seems like this might be beyond their abilities.

Back in 2007 at the age of 35 my wife had C6-C7 fused and it simply went amazing.  She was in an enormous amount of acute pain and it was iimmediately healed and its been pretty trouble free outside of her getting reear ended in a car accident (which has lead to a few minor issues with the next lower disc).  

I've got a bigger longer story of how we got to this poiint and how the Dr alleviated my skeepticism very thoughtfully (and ended up being predictiveely accurate).  If yoou are interested then I'm happy to get on the phone with more details.  If it can be determined that THIS is whats NEEDED, then I'd highly recommend our Dr.

Cheers,
CJB

On 1/26/2024 at 3:34 PM, quixoft said:

I've only done single laps a few times and I always start at Camp Tejas and go counter clockwise. I've been thinking that starting at Cedar Breaks and going clockwise might be a tad easier though.

What's the route for the Dragon Slayer? Clockwise or CC? Is there a specific start point?

Are you on Strava?  The route has evolved over the years with the biggest change(s) at 2022....but then reconfigured this past year again.  Finding the Strava route (for any giiven year) might be the best way.  As for myself, I generally just ride a traditional LGT lap when I go ride out there (which I recall was the DS for it's first 2 yrs).  Additionally, it siwtched directions every year.  Historically I've ridden (& raced) it CW...but my 100 miler in 22' was CCW and I dug it.

Cheers,
CJB

3 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

 So is Church Hill.  

Ehhhh forgot to mention that I turned around on Church Hill because of it being wet.  

Nice bumping into you guys tonight.  

-CJB

5 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

Is Walnut Dry?

Yes, I rode it lasst night.  Today should be pretty ideal.  But little water in Marks Art crossings, and along the latter part of the chainlink fence is pretty muddy.  I did not ride BMX or windy

-CJB

On 11/22/2023 at 11:42 AM, Cafeend said:

Thanks!  Good read. Ive been watching from a far and was curious how this kid pulled this off. Pretty cool

Me and a friend lead a (young) men's Bible study at my house on Monday nights.  We often have 20-30 guys attending and this summer Rhett came over a few times.  We chatted MTB'ing but I didn't fully understand the scope of what he was actually doing.  Seems to be a solid kid.

Cheers,
CJB

On 10/18/2023 at 11:02 AM, CBaron said:

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Figured it out!  LOL

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On 9/28/2023 at 9:36 AM, WhoAmI said:

Some history: A developer went bankrupt right as he started developing the land during a real estate bust.  It sat for a while with trails on it, and in the early to mid 90s, the city pitched making it park/preserve land through a city bond.  They stated that current use cases would continue, and when it became public land, they bulldozed a 20' path around it and erected a chainlink fence then restricted biking altogether and restricted hiking during nesting season to permit only groups of three.  They used several endangered species as the argument, but the golden-cheeked warlber became their super hero.

 

They also made an effort to acquire serveal thousand acres of endangered species habitat, whcih including allowing developers to pay a mitigation fee of (IIRC) $2,500 per acre to develop habitat if they also found a substitute parcel to sell to the city.  One of the substitute parcels was DK Ranch, which also had trails on it.  Really, the thing was about enabling development of endangered species habitat.

 

They claimed the bird species (also the black-capped vireo) were "harmed" under the Endangered Species Act, whcih has a very broad definition of harm to include when a bird is flushed.  We, i.e the mountain biking community backed by ARR and Hill Abel, who I think was the president of IMBA at the time, tried to present a study conducted at Ft. Hood of the impact of having mountian bike trails near live and simulated weapons fire that showed no effect on the nesting habots.  They representatives of the city, county, etc., would literally withdraw and try to hide their hands when you attempted to give them a copy of the study.

I'm sure others here have things to add to this, and I look forward to hearing from them.

Yep, I lived through all of this and attended many meetings trying to do my part in representing the community and helping to make a difference.  No Such Luck.  The bureaucratic minds had already been made up long before hand.  The Ft Hood study was powerful and compelling.  The birds litterally flourished in a war-lick simulation setting.  FYI- half dozen years ago me and @cxagent did a deep dive trying to locate the report with no success.

IMHO DK Ranch trails were some of the best single track I'd ever ridden at the time.  Back in early 2000's it had everything you could ever ask for in Cen-Tex trail.  Fun off-camber less traveled miles of trail with some TTTF that were rare features back then.  The trail system was not easy at all...but it wasn't so hard that it seemed impossible.  It was a rowdy goldilocks level.  I truly miss what it had to offer.

Back on the Forest Ridge topic...
At the public meeting where they made the formal annoucment to close the trail (99'?), they said that they would revisit the habitat in 10 yrs to see if things had improved/changed enough to re-open.  10 yrs later at THAT meeting, they said they didn't have enough funding or resources to do the new updated study!  Thus needed to keep it closed.  (this was the one where they Ft Hood study was offered up as a proxy study for FR).

Cheers,
CJB

I ebb and flow with regard to riding to the trail(s).  I'd say my primary determinant is fitness.  Once I get a base of fitness I prolly ride to the ride about 75% of the time.  The times where I don't are usually because the trail system is a bit further than the OVERALL time alotment I have for the day.  All that said, every place we've lived (or bought a house) in Austin over the passed 25 yrs. we have factored in road & mtn bike routes from home (to the trails or group rides).  Its not the #1 factor, but its in the top 5 for sure.

Later,
CJB

This question feels like the same type of "what would be your dream car if money was no object"?  I simply don't enjoy playing in those kind of (mind) spaces, its just not real.  So my reply is going to be based in reality (of which, my 'dream answer' would lie around there too).  I absolutly love the BCBC type of trail riding.  I love tight techy narrow off-camber single track that makes you stay focused.  The stuff that you have to thread together 2-3-4 moves in a row so that you can keep progressing down the trail.  In this same category, I have to give Thumper the nod also.  When the weather is really nice, the trail bed is perfectly tacky, and the canopy is clear...I luv, love, LOVE, riding Thumper.  There I said it!!....  LOL

It'w worth noting though, when I go to Bentonville and ride some of the fun, machine-built, fast and flowing stuff (ex: deep into Little Sugar)...I find myself getting to the bottom to pause and laugh out loud at how much fun those sections of trail can be.  Simply put, good single track is good signle track.

Cheers,
CJB

Back in the HH days, some customers (who were friends of mine), would have occasional gear-gatherings.  They'd show up to the shop (which sat on a 1/2 acre) with their bike loaded down with their setup.  It was a show and tell of sorts to help newbs and each other with ideas and best practices.  Addtionally, I know that frequently their shake down rides would consist of heading out 'into the wild' of Austin trails and simply spending the night somewhere...CP, BCGB, etc..  

I've not really done legit bikepacking (even though I followed the sport closely), but on a few occasions my teen son and I would throw a hammock into our pack, grab a burrito and muffin and ride off into some of the 'unmentionables' to spend the night on the side of the trail in some obscure spot.  We'd setup hammocks, eat burrito, talk about stuff, sleep, wake up, eat muffin, and then take the scenic route home....it was essentially a basic S24O with my son.

@sherpaxc @Mattlikesbikes@GFisher

On 8/16/2023 at 7:49 PM, Chongo Loco said:

The original bike with the rohloff he had was an old racer-x I think. Wasn’t it him with the chain of half links…freakin apocalypse setup!

Yes, It was a first gen Titus RacerX 29er (in red).  And correct it was a chain of halflinks.  He loved that you could change(dump) gears up and down under pedlaing load.

On 8/16/2023 at 6:50 PM, AntonioGG said:

Did Huckleberry have that Tallboy with the custom carbon fork crown?

That was not Huckleberry.  I can't recall the customer's name but I bumped into Tallboy/carbon crown guy at BCGB a few years back.  The Tallboy you referenced was actually fitted with a carbon lefty and he found some eastern Eurpoean company that manufactured a carbon steerer for the lefty.  He brought it in to the shop for us to intall and we politely declined.  Scetched both me and the mechanic out a bit.  I beleve his goal was to get the bike under 22 (maybe 21??) pounds.

Cheers,
CJB

20 hours ago, Chongo Loco said:

I always thought a 9 or 10 speed rohloff hub with belt was the perfect setup for a hardtail or commuter. Had a few at the handmade bike show here years ago I was drooling over but they were a bit out my price range at the time. Like AB said the issue of buying it was always servicing. Doubt there’s 2 mechanics in the whole area that have taken a rohloff apart.  

Back in the HH days, I'd bet we did more Rohloff builds than any other shop in TX.  We prolly had 6-7 under our belt.  The reliabilty of those things was off the charts.  They were German (over) engineered and supposably capable of running 10k miles before needing servicing of any kind.  Back then one of our best "use-cases" for building them were actually all-mtn/enduro type bikes.  These bike owners care less about weight, wanted something durable that could take a beating, and when crashed or thrashed didn't have any dangly bits to get messed up.

Anybody remember Huckleberry from Mojo?  The 2nd one we built was for him because: 1) he was an engineer that loved the geekery of the concept,  2) he often tore stuff up.  He was one of our bigger advocates.  IMHO the primary downside (besides weight and price), was that in 1  of the ratios you could sense  some friction drag in t he  drivetrain and that  would bug ME as an owner/user.

Later,
CJB

Saw on Twitter that  reports have ranged from 50-120 acres burned with about 50% containment.  It jumped 1431...but I don't know which side it began on.  At least 1 appartment building a total loss.  

-CJB

On 7/11/2023 at 1:05 PM, quixoft said:

 I had my A/C in my 20 year old truck go out right before that heat wave in 2011 and drove it through that heat and four straight years without A/C until I finally gave in a bought a new one because of other mechanical issues.
 

Once again...EXACT SAME THING!  My Honda Accord I had for 17 yrs finally had its AC go out in 2010 and I too went thru the 2011 ATX furnace without AC.  My wife doesn't see things (TX weather) the same way I do and that summer of 2011 W/O AC caused me to conceed to her that it was in-fact pretty damn hot and miserable.  Last summer (22') wasn't quite on that same level but I was having flashbacks to that brutal summer of 2011.

Cheers,
CJB

On 6/27/2023 at 11:36 AM, quixoft said:

A lot of it is just acclimation. I grew up working on my grandpa's farm in S. Texas summers. Ever baled hay in a barn and post holed fence lines all day every day when it's a 100+? You get used to it.

While I don't go out of my way to exercise in the heat, neither will I avoid it because it's "too hot". On the flip side I'm huge pansy when it comes to cold. I can't do northern winters. Spent a week in Chicago in January a few years back and thought I would die daily just walking the 10 minutes to my conference from the hotel. I literally thought my toes would fall off even with proper socks and winter boots. I will take 120 heat indexes over sub freezing temps every single time. 

I do like to mow the lawn in the mid afternoon heat.  It feels good to get a good a sweat going. No idea why,  I just like it. Probably a psychological thing from seeing my grandpa working outside in south Texas summers his whole life and he was always happy and just went about his work never complaining.

Funny, I came here to say nearly this exact same stuff.  ^^^

I too grew up in South TX.  My first car didn't have AC and I owned it for 3 yrs and drove it all over TX without giving it much thought.  More recently, I had a job that allowed me to bike commute to work.  I found that if I road year-round, I could pretty much ride in any weather...blazing heat and freezing cold.  Although I like the heat MUCH more than the cold.  I will say that as I get older (50's), I find myself a bit less tolerant of each extreme.  But I sorta think thats a product of me getting 'softer' over the years....I coudn't imagine have a car without AC for 3 yrs now.  🙂

Additionally, I do think our attitude towards (things) and our mental state about (most anything really) riding plays a strong factor into stuff.  Anyone here familiar with David Goggins?  I find his story facinating and try to use his philosphies to steer my own thinking a bit about riding, life and such.  I do think there are limits to certain aspects of riding (and life), but I tend to think we ease up LOOOONG before we ever really brush up against those limits.  YMMV.

On 5/25/2023 at 1:02 PM, CBaron said:

Well it seems my beloved Shenkey light is no longer avaialble at Amazon.  I bought a few of these over the yrs and really grown to love them.  Recently dropped one on the tile and it no longer works.  The other has been lost somewhere (prolly on a camping trip).  Thus I'm out light shopping currently...

If anyone out there has a recommendation for a low cost, light weight, rechargeable, compact LED light that I could run on top of my helmet....and use as an around-the-house flashlight, then I'm all ears.  Likewise, if any of you own this model Shenkey and do not use it much, I'd pay full retail price for yours.  🙂

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IHIMJRS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cheers,
CJB

My little Amazon light is back in stock after about 6 months of being unavailable.  I just ordered 2.

Cheers,
CJB

I've got a 4 bike Thule T2 that I'd swap you during the month of July.  But I may need it in August.

-Cody

512-694-1319

On 6/2/2023 at 9:51 PM, mack_turtle said:

Woodchipper is kind of a "drops only" kinda bar. You really can't set them up for level hoods with a transition from the ramps, and a position that works from the drops at the same time. 

 

There's a chance I could be missunderstanding your statement here, but I have woodchippers on my gravel bike (back when WC firt debuted).  I've got them setup nearly like 'road bars' with a great hood position and a quality drop position for my bike.  Its late, but I'll try to get a photo to show this tomorrow.  I dig them.

Cheers,
CJB