AustinBike

Went out and did a long lap today. Walnut is rideable IF you actually ride at a moderate pace AND watch where you are going. If you rail the corners fast you’re going to come up on mud that you cannot avoid. If you are riding carefully and paying attention then you will be able to pick a decent line (and not widen the trail.)

all bets are off if it rains a lot tomorrow. 

The creek by the maintenance shed is running fast, my feet got wet. Point 6 was muddy but there were places on the trail to ride if you were careful. The main creek was too deep, I needed to use the rocks to cross it. The approach on the other side was a real mess. Fence line was really bad, and I bailed on both BMX and windy because they were too muddy.

I saw a lot of bike tread marks in the mud. Give walnut a rest. If you must ride it, do it slowly and carefully, be prepared to get off and walk in places. 

1 hour ago, notyal said:

Those Japs sure know how to screw.

Not really, the biggest problem Japan faces is low birth rate.

In unrelated news, we are now up to 5 different scooter companies in Austin.

Zilker brewing has created "Scooter Apocalypse IPA". That totally catches the vibe of what is going on. It's not very good, but a great name.

Might try to ride it this afternoon as there is rain coming tomorrow.

We’re going urban from my place for a bit then over to taco flats for beer and tacos

Instead of trying to figure out how to get your bike somewhere, think about riding destinations and renting there. Yes, it is more expensive, but it limits the amount of transportation logistics issues and risk involved with taking your own bike.

In most places I have been able to find shops that will rent close to trail heads. Also, I have been very lucky with finding local riders who will bring me a bike to ride and show me the trails. This is why I am always the first to offer when someone comes to Austin - I have to pay back the karma.

Never been there to ride but there a lot on business. There are places to rent bikes and Bootleg Canyon is the popular place, when InterBike was hosted in Vegas that is where all of the companies did demos. I am sure there are other people with better info. I was never able to ride out there.

Found one on shoal creek. Probably a roadie but I figured I’d put the word out here anyway. 

1 hour ago, Anita Handle said:

The rumor is that you are a day early on your assessment.

Of course people will say meh and decide to ride anyways because "it can't be that bad" and "I just need to ride!!!!!".

Yeah, I assumed that people would say that, here is an example:

Out there right now. Bad news. Outer log loop has mud. Even in places that should be dry. 

Based on the fact that people worked hard after the rain I vote to not muck up their work. 

Oh, and the log loops on a 35cm tire are a bitch. 

Depending on how my day is looking on Tuesday morning I may take a ride up there to scope things out. 

Also found this video on the Pivot site:

I have kings on a few of my bikes, but if I were buying one, I'd probably go down the Cane Creek route. Have one on my squishy and it is fine. Kings are nice but have a hell of a premium for somewhere that you don't really notice the difference. Spend your money on things like brakes, gears and suspension where you can feel the difference.

The last song I hear before I get out of my car is the the soundtrack that rattles around my head all day on the ride. Last week I had Iggy Pop's "Lust for life" hit 1 minute from the trailhead. Score! But sometimes it is a slow song or something I don't like. That can create a crappy ride.

My guilty confession is that I have a USB memory key plugged into the car and I can use to do a last minute save to my internal soundtrack. But it is K-pop. Somehow it always seems to be Hyuna's "Bubble Pop." Can't understand 99% of the words, but by god I'll learn Korean one of these days. It's the perfect palate cleanser for the earworm.

I'll send in a requisition to AustinBike World Headquarters and see if I can get that approved for a January expedition.

I always use a percentage over actual pounds. I set my sag to 25-30%. I have no idea what the actual pressure is.

Anyone know where to get the rubber straps for a Glowworm battery? Their website does not have battery straps. I have the Velcro strap and it just bangs through the whole ride, would like to find the rubber straps.

Eh, the trails listed there are pretty pedestrian. 99% is between Zilker and the 360 trailhead. 99% of what we would ride is past the 360 trailhead.

But it is interesting to see office park on there.

11 hours ago, endo_ said:

As someone who has actually managed the ARR site for awhile, thank you to the three of you who visited! I really appreciated your support. Managing communication for email, a Facebook site,twitter site,Instagram site, mojo, arr website and a meetup page all for the different needs of the people is painful at best and to be honest not worth it. Consolidating forums had to happen. I suggest if you are adamant that ARR reinstate their site, join the board and take over managing the program. I’m sure Charlie and team would love some new blood and new ideas.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I can tell you as someone who manages a site, I would not want to touch discussion forums. Keeping up with content itself is time consuming. If it wasn't for the healthy salary from the AB world HQ I could not get by. I don't bemoan them going to FB but I do know that I do not use FB much because of their privacy issues (amongst other things) so there is a part of the population that they will not reach. All of it is a balance, and having someone to take on that task is difficult.

1 hour ago, crazyt said:

The city has explicitly said that cat cannot be "open to the public". Everyone who rides there is my personal friend or a friend of a friend. Also Freeride 512 has volunteered to help to patrol because of theft and other mischief on the trails. 

The point is that I can drive traffic on a regular basis to you. Posting a trail review and pictures with no location and a "contact these guys for access" link will help keep you in control. It is no different than the other places like RPR or RHR that charge you to ride, just a different arrangement. Without directions you limit the ability for someone to just show up.

I haven't looked lately but I get a few hundred people a day hitting my site, it's basically free advertising and free traffic if you want it. And anytime you are doing a membership drive or event I can put a notice up on my site. I don't charge for advertising because that would make it feel like a job and I am not vey good at jobs these days.

OK, my KS i950r was getting a little long in the tooth, dropped fine, but would not spring back. Even with service this condition has been a problem for most of its life. I was going to go have it serviced again (at ~$80-100) and then decided to try a PNW Components Cascade dropper. Holy crap, what a value. It is solid, well built and performs well. It is a bit slower than some of the other higher end droppers on the market, but that is something you get used to over time. I did 3 rides on it, 2 on the GB and one at Lakeway and it performed flawlessly. Not a huge fan of the lever but I can probably get used to that over time (they do sell an aftermarket lever that is an additional $60...)

We'll see how this goes over time, but I am real impressed with it. Not as cheap as the Brand-X but it comes from Canada and is sold through Amazon so I could get it easily, with prime shipping. Installation and adjustment were a snap, had it on and ready to go in about 15 minutes, including getting the saddle mounted.

You can shop for them here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XZ7TQ6N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For those of you that want the full run-down with pics:

http://www.austinbike.com/index.php/product-reviews/341-review-pnw-components-dropper-post

1 hour ago, Seths Pool said:

there is apparently a common misconception about cat mtn where everybody seems to think the place is nothing but big drops, crazy jumps, or scary features.. while there are a few of those sprinkled about, cat mtn is a great trail system as a whole and offers a shit load of variety. raw, technical, rocky terrain, steep, berms, catch berms, jumps, drops or varying sizes, lumber features, challenging climbs, g-outs, fast flowing trails, off camber stuff, narrow single track with exposure, big gap jumps, jump trails, you name it, its pretty much all there. 

 

but as I have mentioned before, cat mtn is pretty good about weeding people out who don't belong there. but for those who do seem to belong, people absolutely love it. its my happy place 🙂 

This is why I made my offer to you the other day 

I am thinking about a city park ride depending on how the rain goes. Haven’t been in a few months. 

2 hours ago, larlev said:

After being off the bike for 8yrs, I could use a area like that. Needless to say my jumping skills are going to need to be started from scratch. Some things are coming back, some seem lost. Haha

It’s just like riding a bike

Coler over blowing springs, every time.