June Bug

Austin Ridge Riders' Pace Bend Race just popped up on the TMBRA calendar for April 9-10, 2022. No other details or link to Bike Reg yet.

A facebook update from Bikepacking Roots. Bikepacking Roots is working to make the language of this act be more specific to dirt routes (single track and 4-wheel drive roads) and exclude primarily gravel routes. "In refining this language, the BOLT Act will be more specific to dirt oriented, off-road bikepacking rather than paved or gravel trails. We recommended this change because we currently can create exceptional gravel and road routes without substantial land manager involvement, but singletrack routes require much more of land managers like the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management." Statement More details on the BOLT Act Updates and Announcement page on BikepackingRoots.org

This is fantastic! This area is across Hwy 183 from the Y. With the new pedestrian bridge over 183, this would be accessible by bike from the Southern Walnut Creek Multi-Use Path, or, if coming from the west, using the bike lanes on 51st street.

Sorry I missed your post. Did you find a bike shipping box? I have one taking up space in my foyer. North Austin area.

Bicycle House: New bike shop going in on Burnet, north of the Burnet/Koenig intersection, just past Lamar Middle School. Sales, repair, bike fit and will carry Giant, Liv, Scott and BMC. Not open yet, although they'll do consults on finding a bike. James Balentine and Thomas Miller are the principals, sounds like lots of solid experience, if anyone has come across them at Jack and Adams, Mellow Johnny's or the mtn bike/bmx race scene. Bicycle House - Who we are

Correct. I do a regular Tuesday morning social ride on the Southern Walnut Creek Multi-Use Path, out and back. A guy (Ted Siff) involved with promoting this project is going to talk to our group tomorrow morning if things are dry. I'll see if I can post a copy of the PDF of the current status of the Grand Loop. My current pet peeve. All iterations, north and south, of the Walnut Creek Multi-Use path have problems with mud/sand washing onto the path every damn time it rains. EVERY. TIME. Somehow, the design doesn't require the contractor to address drainage issues. Ridge Riders have spent many hours of volunteer labor trying to address these drainage issues within the park. There are also problems further along the paved path, both north and south of Metric. It's a mess.

This was posted to facebook today (Sunday, Jan 30, 2022) by Ronan O'Connor, Austin Ridge Riders Brushy Creek Trail Steward. #brushycreek Major Improvements News. This is a long post, but please read all of it so you know the ultimate goal when you see small changes over the next year. The new trail "The Bowl" should be open next week, thanks to the 50 people that came out and helped work on it yesterday. It will become the new lower entrance to Rim and Bob Ross. I'm just waiting for a final walk through by the county before i can open it. The Bowl is the first step in improving saftey at Brushy by reducing pedestrian/ bicycle conflicts. The biggest part of this project will be connecting several trails to make a 9-10 mile loop so mtb'ers won't have to get on and off the concrete BCRT to access trails. The loop will be: 1. Start at 1/4 notch 2. Double Down 3. Bob Ross 4. Rim Trail (lollipop route) 5. The Bowl (from the intersection of Bob Ross/Rim to the jeep Road) 6. New currently unnamed trail (from the jeep road to the intersection of picnix/Double Down) 7. Picnix 8. Picnic. The new connector trails will create more out and back options as well. You could ride 1. Picnic 2. New unamed trail 3. The Bowl 4. Rim 5. Bob Ross 6. Jeep Road 7. New unamed trail 8. Picnic. All without touching the concrete There are several other things happening during this project. 1. 1/4 notch will have a loop option. Halfway down the 1/4 Notch Bailout there will a new trail to the right that will lead to the " Cattle Trail" in the open feild near the start of 1/4 Notch. You will still be able to go to the end of the Bailout and access the BCRT or Picnic. 2. Large cedar fence chicane's will be placed at the end of the jeep road and the 1/4 Notch Bailout. This is been done to stop people entering the BCRT at high speed, which happens all the time and causes lots of conflicts with people using the BCRT. The chicanes are going to be big and easy to ride through, but you will have to slow down. They will be highly visible so people won't be surprised and ride into them. 3. The trail next to the pipe rail fence inbetween the jeep road and short trail leading to Rim (the one where you cross the creek at the end and can get air coming out of the creek) has been closed. This trail was unsanctioned and caused many conflicts when mtb'ers jumped out of the creek onto the BCRT. Pedestrians and runners haven been hit by mtb'ers in this spot. I know everyone liked the jump out of the creek (myself inculded), but in the grand scheme closing it is a small concession to create two loops at Brushy. 4. The short trail from the BCRT to the intersection of Rim and Bob Ross will be closed and replaced by The Bowl. It will remain open until The Bowl is approved by the county. 5. The kiosk maps will be updated to show the new trails. 6. The Map kiosk near the entrance to Rim will be relocated to either the intersection of The Bowl and the jeep road or the intersection of The Bowl/Bob Ross/Rim. 7. The intersection of the jeep road and the BCRT will be improved to have better visibility and reduce mud been tracked onto the BCRT. 8. The intersecton of Picnic/Double Down/ BCRT will be improved to stop mud getting onto the BCRT. These improvements will included a chicane and fencing. Once everything has been completed we will have, a safer trail system, fewer bike/pedestrian conflicts, more continuous dirt to ride, and more route options. There is alot of work to be done, so if you see a build day please come and help (no trail building experience required). If you see us working on the trail please stop give us a hand for a few minutes. If every rider stopped and helped for 10 minutes it would be a HUGE help.

My mind edits this to Propane Hygiene every time I see this thread title. FWIW: Fezzari's La Sal is getting huge positive reviews and is an Editor's Choice Bike of the Year from Bike Rumor and Bike Mag. Fezzari La Sal

With the loss of trails when part of the Rocky Hill property was sold, Paul Uhl reports that a lot of new fun, flow-y, bermy trail is still being built and will be ready for race day.

What is the saddle currently on the stationary bike that she likes? Alternately, put the harder saddle on there that is comfy for you and get a gel saddle cover for her use.

Semi tech-ish. I had posted on the Pay it Forward thread looking for a Surly Open Bar or similar. After making my own spread sheet with information on 7 handlebars, I ended up just ordering another Open Bar through The Peddler since I know that works for me. @mack_turtle posted a link to an amazing carbon bar from Carver, but the sweep wasn't quite enough. Of course, Bikepacking.com just posted a page with a long discussion of comfort-oriented (alt) handlebars with a list of all available handlebars, noting width, sweep, rise and clamp for each one along with a photo. Most photos are the bars installed on a bike; some are just the bar. You can check them out here: LIST OF COMFORT MTB HANDLEBARS (ALT BARS)

Osprey was bought by a company called Helen of Troy in December, so hopefully that won't change things. From the Cortez paper, Dec. 10, 2021: The Osprey Packs story: Its roots, success, sale and its future in Cortez I have a "thing" for Osprey. I lived a few blocks away when they moved into a dilapidated building in Dolores in 1974 and set up all their operations in house, and hired and trained Navajo seamstresses to sew all of their packs. Osprey history Fast forward a few decades and we just closed on a lot in Cortez last week not too far from their current headquarters in Cortez (9 miles from Dolores). I give the company huge props for staying in Cortez. It's not near any transportation corridor in an area with a depressed economy in the best of times, dependent mostly on tourism, some ranching, Forest Service, and now retirees and others moving into the area who have been priced out of Durango and all the other mountain towns. But maybe Osprey was prescient, since the area (Cortez/Dolores/Mancos) is getting "discovered." Although Osprey moved production overseas at one point, they still provide good jobs at company headquarters. Sadly, real estate prices in the area exploded in the last year, so living there is no longer feasible for a lot of people. "Exploded" meaning equal to or more expensive than Austin.

@Ridenfool posted updates on new trails (Jan 19, 2022) being added the to Rocky Hill trails inventory.

...and just like that, the 2022 TMBRA spring race series begins on Feb 19-20th at Rocky Hill near Smithville, TX. Sat: Kids Kup and 1st time racers clinic Sun: Races! Registration + race and event information

Because sometimes you find a surprise in the forecast:

Good point, AB. 100% agree. I posted the link to the article to emphasize how organized and "professional" these theft rings are. It's not a chop shop model, breaking down the bike and selling parts on CraigsList. It's a smash and grab, get the entire bike to Mexico and sell with zero fear of repercussions. Although we sometimes think of Mexico as the poor neighbor to the south, there are plenty of wealthy people with discretionary cash wanting to buy high end road and mtn bikes and these rings are stealing enough bikes that the cumulative worth is hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars. True, there have been two prolific lone wolf burglars in Austin who eventually got caught. One guy integrated himself into the cycling community and would use the information on fellow riders to steal their bikes. He stole a LOT of bikes, eventually got caught and did some time in the gray bar hotel. The second guy was the prolific cat burgler. Literally, he stole around on little cat feet, while people were home asleep, and stole their bikes. He was also arrested, but I don't know the disposition of his case. But these organized theft ring guys are different and could be gang affiliated or even some cartel **** since there's a Mexico connection and money to be made -- a relatively low risk, high return revenue stream. Eeeesh.

North Austin near Walnut Creek: Looking for a Surly Open Bar if anyone has one lying around unused. Would love to have something similar in carbon, but I don't think anyone makes one with that dramatic a bend. I have lots of bike related stuff that needs to go to a new home. Will post up when I have a bit of extra time.

Just came across this detailed article on a pipeline of high end mountain bikes stolen in Colorado being sold through Alexander's Bikes in Juarez via facebook. Report reveals pipeline of stolen Colorado bikes ending up in Mexico These are very sophisticated theft rings targeting bike shops in a way similar to the (literal) smash and grab at the Peddler. Targeted bikes stolen from individuals and bike shops in Texas are most certainly being fenced in Mexico. This really is big business with a huge payoff over time for the thieves.

Damn! Thanks for the update. I've edited the original title and post to reflect the cancellation.

Sorry folks, it's been cancelled!

Opie's! Did you have the tater tot casserole? It's to die for, literally, but you die happy.

I hope the city accommodates your suggestions, because it's very likely that some trail user (walkers/dog walkers/cyclists) will at some point cut or tear down the fencing, leading to more conflict and aggravation for the the contractor. In addition, unapproved social trails will be generated.

That's an American Classic for sure!

Sometimes you just want to Chuck everything and ride your bike!

Gene Hamilton, the Better Ride Clinic guy, has suffered with debilitating back pain and recommends this simple exercise: Mountain Biking and Back Pain: the Final Piece of the Puzzle This article has links to other exercises as well. Mountain Biking and Back Pain, The Final Piece of the Puzzle!