AustinBike

I have fresh Ardents that I have been waiting to put on. Gonna go all in about a week before we leave, get 2-3 rides on them just seat them perfectly, then let loose on mostly fresh rubber

It wasn't technical per se, the issue with Ledges was that the rock (shale, I believe) was chewing up sidewalls.

I have never ridden Ledges. From what I hear, it shreds tires. Everyone I ride with refuses to ride it now because of that. Buyer beware. As for back 40 I cannot remember if we did it counterclockwise but we might have.

Probably stayed at those

Tunnel Vision is a section, and Little Sugar is the system, as I understand it. But, Tunnel Vision is the bulk of the trail in the system.

You may also want to post something on MTBR in the region's local form. I find that if a biker is in town and reaches out for help, someone local tries to lend a hand.

Looks like your loop is ~17-18 miles when you take off the to and from. That is the perfect distance for a solo afternoon ride where there are stops to take pictures.

Check with your local library, sometimes they can be helpful in these situations. Normally they should have all of the USB ports disabled for security, but it is highly likely that libraries in small towns are poor with security. Also, a bike shop might be able to help you. A 6-pack goes a long way in that regard.

I am going to study the little sugar. My plan is fluid at this point. Monday arrive mid day and hit Fayetteville. Either Kessler or Fitzgerald depending on the plan for when the other guys arrive. Tuesday AM is railyard, followed by little sugar, then over to the house to wait for the other guys to show up.

That was my biggest issue with the early droppers. If I am hitting something that requires a dropper I want my hands on the bars, not fumbling around between my legs. Especially if it is on an unfamiliar trail.

Having ridden a fully rigid steel bike on this trip I am starting to think that maybe I need a dropper for for. Might be time for a pine. If I can't have shocks, at least get me some clearance so I can do the switchbacks a little better.

Leaving NM tomorrow, gotta be sure to stock up on beer and chasers before I leave.

Was midway through my ride and turned a corner right into this guy. It was well over 5’ long. Luckily it was a gopher snake. After I washed out my chamois I continued on.

This trip has not sucked. Dale Ball trails, Santa Fe, NM.

So is SoCal. The places we are looking are loaded with tons of trails and tons of gravel opportunities. The fact that it is 72F most of the year is not a bad thing either.

Great article. And after the Liverpool match is over this afternoon I'm going to be calling shops here about renting an e-bike. For my wife. So that we can ride at the same speed for the same distance. Not on trails. I'm all in favor of that, it's a valid use case. But even though I know I could rent an Orbea ebike and hit the trails, that holds no interest for me.

The short answer is that if you cannot manage the subtleties than you kill the category. This is an issue for the industry. They could have worked out the details amongst themselves, come up with some good marketing and marking for the bikes, and come out on top. Instead they chose hands off and let someone else decide. It is like crypto currency- the “true believers” didn’t want anyone telling them what to do. Now they are facing regulation. Either accept that your product is part of an ecosystem and try to work with people or just ramrod it through. It’s your call. Too many people took the latter.

You are not wrong

Saw this on a trial this morning.

Shuttle me up baby!

Yeah, it was a climb but nothing like Winsor. Gonna try the lazy option and take the shuttle up this morning to explore the trails at the top of the ski hill then just bomb down Winsor when I am done. May do another up and down before I leave, especially since my crank had to be swapped out and I went from 34T to 32T.

Nice! Being on a fully rigid bike with 2.4's really prevented me from even considering that stretch.

Droppers are the biggest game changers in the sport.

Yeah, normally I put bonito flakes on my congee in the morning in Japan, so the beer had a faint taste of breakfast for me.

Imagine a trial that wipes you out after just one segment. This was a great ride, met up with some Austin guys and rode it for a couple hours today. My cranks broke on the way down. Might head back because so far I only covered ~5 miles (10 miles out and back) of the 45 total miles.