JRIDER

Get a better wheel than the one he taco'd. Otherwise you'll be buying another one soon. A wheel with more spokes should help.

My goal was to finish under 11 hours, but it took me 14 hours. My biggest issue is that I suck at planning and not very good at navigating through trails with my Garmin. I wanted to pre-ride BCGB, Thumper and Walnut because I rarely ride these trails and wanted to get familiar with them beforehand. Only had a chance to pre-ride from the starting line to the end of BCGB. It took me over 5 hours to make it to the HOL during the pre-ride because I was struggling to figure which way to go and racked up several extra lost miles. I was able to cover this same distance in 3:40 the next weekend navigating through 10 miles of wet slippery rock in the BCGB. Other highlights. Very light rain from around 7:30am -10am which made for some slippery rocks on BCGB. But things cleared up and all the other trails were completely dry. The 3 road climbs were not too bad for me this time around. Either I'm getting better at climbing or the hills are shrinking I was doing good until Thumper. I read the directions and studied the map beforehand, but that can't replace actual wheels down experience on that trail. Ran into a guy at the top of Yopoun riding an Evil bike with flip flops. I'm guessing he was keeping an eye out for EBers. He gave me some pretty good navigational advice, always make left turns (Thank you thumper trail guy!!). I was mentally prepared for the Thumper struggle, but then snagged my BOA strap on a tree partially ripping it out of my shoe. After that I had too much movement in my shoe making it difficult to pedal and really hard to walk up the steep hills. Took me 2.5 hours to hike\bike 5 miles of Thumper. Started having knee pain on the way back to walnut from the extra movement in my pedal stroke (broken shoe). Then some kid (18-20 years old??) started racing me on the other side of Duvall. I was kinda pissed about my blown time so I dropped whatever hammer I could to stay ahead of him (one of my biking low-lights..). Started at walnut and got totally lost about 3 miles into the trail. At that point I just started looking for pieces of trail I had not yet ridden yet. There was one trail (log loop?) I could not find. With about 3 miles left I headed to Windy and the BMX trails and headed home with 79 miles. Next year I'll get some Thumper and Walnut rides in beforehand.

So the weather actually sucked this morning. Had to ride over 10 miles of BCGB on slippery wet rock. But all the other trails were totally dry and temps were great.

Tomorrow will be perfect EB weather. Hopefully I'll see some of you guys out there!!

I'm planning to ride it oct 17 and do the regular route. Looking into getting the BCGB pass or enter the park early enough so the pass is not needed. Also need to pre-ride thumper because I still have trouble navigating that trail.

I average a few hundred per month on bike related items. This month has been especially painful. Ordered a new rear shock, 2 sets of tires and some random smaller items. And the month is not yet over... I break\wear down lots of parts due to my weight and (lack of) riding style. 230# riding weight.

Check out the El Paso thread. Ended up doing the 25-30 mile loop. Not super technical, but great scenery and a bit of climbing.

You might want to consider a bigger vehicle for a family of 5 if you plan to spend a lot of time on the road. Each family member will have around 2 suitcases\bags, plus some totes for food\random stuff and an ice chest. Your 2 younger kids will need more stuff like cribs\high chairs. And kids will be fighting in the backseat even more so if they are crammed together. A third row is a great way to separate the kids. A used suburban or expedition el would be much more comfortable for the amount of gear you need to take. And the bigger vehicle will handle the extra weight much better. You might want to try loading up your pilot (family included) to see how much room you really have to work with.

Looking for an RV park in the hill country area (around lake Buchanan, Fredericksburg or anywhere in between). Looking for 50amp hookup and swimming pool. The water levels are too low for swimming in the river. We've done Canyon of the Eagles a few times so looking for something different. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

The 2.3 vs 2.4 tires will also make a noticeable difference, more so if the 2.4 has aggressive tread pattern up front. If you're planning to ride chunky trails often (brushy, BCGB, RPR,....), I'd go with 130-140 suspension and wheels that can fit 2.4-2.6 tires. My 130 suspension with 29 wheels (2.5 rear 2.6 front) is great for these types of trails. I have no idea what the geometry on my bike is.

Is this a bike for your girlfriend? If so I would recommend a mountain bike frame. Much more versatile than a road bike frame. You can ride all types of terrain on a mountain bike and they are easier to control. Older road bike frames usually dont have the clearance for gravel sized tires. Probably a small sized mtb frame (or 51cm road frame) fwould work best. Your girlfriend will either get hooked into biking or lose interest. You can always get a dedicated road\gravel bike if she really takes to riding. Good luck!

Just The Tip??

Salesperson basically said I need a new hub if the mechanic's assessment is correct. I've broken 2 bontrager hubs (pre line comp 30) before on brushy. Both were busted within 3 consecutive rides on that dang climb after swag rock. BSS built me a custom wheel with a dt swiss hub which worked until sold that bike. And I busted a cheap hub (Chinese carbon wheel) on last year's Das Hugel ride.

Stopped by BSS and the mechanic believes the drive ring inside the hub needs to be replaced. The mechanic looked at the bike, but I couldn't talk to the mechanic directly. This information was relayed to me through the salesperson helping me outside. The salesperson did not think the drive ring can be replaced (would need a new hub). But that is the salesperson stating that, not the mechanic. If that is the issue, then the wheel should be fixed\replaced under warranty. I'll open it up tonight to see if Barry's or Mack_turtle's suggestions work out.

I love the engagement on the line comp 30 hubs especially with the upgraded 6 pawl setup. Dirt wasn't bragging too much about their hub engagement, so I might consider the i9 hubs they offer. Hub gave out last night and I haven't had a chance to take it apart yet. The cranks can turn the cassette but the wheel is not moving. Usually this means the hub is out. I'm gonna try to warranty these wheels since I've had them less than a year. These are boost 148 size axles.

I'm in the market for some new 29" wheels as my AL bontrager line comp 30 hubs gave out in less than a years use. If the folks at Dirt Components make good wheels (with strong hubs) I'd like to give them a try. I'll probably stick with aluminum, but really want strong hubs with high engagement. Anyone have experience with Dirt Components wheels? Of course other suggestions are welcome.

I'll take the extra weight with stronger sidewalls since we're riding pretty rough terrain in Austin. I also have 30mm rims and love my 2.5 rear and 2.6 up front. Much improvement over my previous 2.3 setup.. I'd even go 2.6 in the rear if my frame would support it.

Haven't ridden Brehrens or Wilco. Might try that part of the route along with CFT in the next week or so.

I tried to ride all the Deception and Suburban Ninja trails I could find. About 30 miles total plus 4 extra miles for a restroom detour at ymca. https://strava.app.link/yu7jBmCqc6 Rode Deception east to west from Mulligan to YMCA, back east on Picnic, then to Suburban Ninja. I'm not too familiar with SN so I'm sure I missed some trails there. Then back to the trails near Champion Park and finishing off at Peddlers Pass. Was tempted to try Wilco park as well...Next time.

I saw you coming out of Dave's Ditch and around the trail this morning. Noticed you didn't have water and just assumed you were a badass who can ride a gravel bike on Brushy Creek trails without any water.

I can help with whatever the solution needs to be. I do have some concrete available if that is what's needed.

Riding weight 235, rims 30mm on my Trek Fuel. I ran about 23 psi in the rear with 29x2.4 tires and about 20 psi with 29x2.6 in the front. That is my sweet spot for brushy and lake Georgetown. That setup is much better than the 30 psi I used to run. Just upgraded to 2.5 in the rear and trying 21 psi. Might go up to 22 psi.. I run around 25 psi on my hardtail with same rims and 2.4 in rear and 2.3 in the front. I'm also considering inserts, something like huck norris.

Haven't ridden Lime Creek Loop in about a year, but I didn't think it was that bad. I feel less comfortable riding Old Spicewood Springs than Lime Creek Loop. There are a handful of tight turns that you should be prepared for in the event that a car is approaching. But you can hear the cars approaching and should have time to get on the (very small) shoulder. The car traffic was noticeably lower on weekday evenings vs weekends. Some of my roadie friends have ridden it recently and did not voice any complaints on Strava.. Having said all that, driver behavior could be much different under the current circumstances.

Thanks to all of you that have worked on this trail system! This trail has been a godsend for me. I lost 20 pounds since finding this trail in 2014 and live a much healthier lifestyle now. I pretty much quit mountain biking when Forrest Ridge was shut down and didn't think there would ever be another awesome trail in the NW Austin area. And my riding style has resulted in many dollars being spent at local bike shops. I have purchased three mountain bikes from local bike shops and spent thousands (locally) in maintenance and repairs since 2014. Last Sunday I came across a group of young adults sitting in the middle of the trail near Ray's Collarbone. There was a strong stench of pot, so I'm pretty sure they were looking for an isolated area. They walked away after I told them they were in the middle of a mtb trail (not to derail the current topic, but their dog also bit my hand). I guess they can go hang out in the newly closed section now that the mountain bikers won't be there to interrupt them.

I mentioned the festival cancelation to the Richardson Bike shop folks at Hotter than Hell when the news had just come out. The guy I talked to was the Richardson Bike event coordinator and the cancellation was news to him. He thought I was joking. He did say that they would work to find other sponsors. Guess they didn't have any luck with that. Then someone else involved in the event mentioned that the other businesses in Terlingua weren't able (or capable) of planning\coordinating the event. Texas parks and wildlife released an article soon after the cancellation and expressed a desire to continue having the event. But they needed another sponsor to step up. I personally think that the Ghost Town vandalism that occurred on the last day of the event had something to do with the cancellation. That and the organizers had no way of controlling the number of folks who showed up. Was not aware that Peddler had something out there. I would have probably attended. I'd definitely be up for going next year if some other folks are going as well.