June Bug

Denver airport has some type of train access to downtown, where you can connect to the Bustang system, a bus that heads west from Denver and stops in towns along the way on the Interstate: Frisco (paved trail goes over to Brenckenridge), Vail, Eagle, Glenwood Springs, continuing through Rifle, Parachute to Grand Junction. At least some of these little mountain/ski resort towns have invested in mountain biking trails to draw more tourists over the summer. These are big and very nice commercial buses; we were doing a credit card bike path tour from Frisco to Glenwood Springs summer before last and were able to tuck our bikes in the luggage compartments for the shuttle from Glenwood Springs to Frisco. Maybe you could Uber from Grand Junction up to Fruita. There's also a local bus service from Glenwood Springs up to Aspen. There were bike racks on the front of the bus, and a nice paved trail to ride back to Glenwood Springs, which is what we did. Not the right time of year, of course, but could be a possibility from early/mid July to through September. Bustang West Line

There's a rail trail from Mineral Wells to Granbury: Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway

Performance Anderson Lane still has 26" Velociraptors. Anyone? ANYONE?

We were at the Anderson Lane store about an hour ago. Still lots of bike, and lots of clothes that were 50% off. The only CamelBaks left were safety orange, probably Mules. Apparently, the south store is closing but is on a different (much later) timeline, so things down south are not marked down as much yet. Two or three bikes went out the door when we were there.

Was wondering if the Anderson Lane store was still open. Will stop by there today to see what's up. I had my eye on a jersey that I liked.

Good to know this works! The daily Austin American Statesman comes in a plastic sleeve. I've saved some and on the bike tours we've done over the past summers, I always put two in the panniers; in case we end up riding on a rainy day I could just slip them over the socks. Never had to use them, but nice to have a backup.

You had me at scent control!

So, this morning some friends invited me to ride from their house near the Mueller development to try the 80-layer biscuits at Confituras in South Austin. These biscuits are tall and puffy, but made with more butter than you think is possible. Just imagine a croissant with 20 x more butter in the dough. I know, I know, the biscuit thing, right up there with avocado toast at the tip of the hipster spear, but this IS Austin. Anyway, I finally just pulled on a pair of slightly fleeced regular tights over bike shorts; worked perfectly. Wool socks, running shoes kept the feet warm. Up top, two layers (base layer and medium wt smart wool top), light fleece vest, down jacket, light weight nylon bike jacket. On top, ear warmer and little nylon wind-proof beanie under helmet. Warm gloves. It was around 40 degrees when we started riding but I was comfy and warm; didn't start shedding upper layers (down jacket came off!) until south of the river. I saw bundled up people walking, bundled up people riding, runners in long sleeve tee and shorts, and hard core roadies not wearing much more than a long sleeve jersey, vest and shorts, because, you know....."40 degrees isn't even cold in Minnesota," or something. I don't do the "You'll be cold insanely f******* miserable for the first 20 minutes of the ride and then you'll warm up." I do the "Dress for the first freezing 20 minutes of the ride and then remove layers as necessary." Last week on Tuesday, which was nipppy, I did fleeced leg warmers with 3/4 bike shorts (knickers), which also worked fine.

I commute back and forth to Hyde Park Gym, usually three times a week: down Parkfield from Braker, crossing under 183 at Fairfield, down Grover, over to Guadalupe via Brentwood, then Avenue A. I never ride on the Guadalupe bike lanes south of 45 th St. A few months ago I saw a guy on a motorized skateboard on Guadalupe, just past Brentwood, using the bike lane. I was fine with that since he was already halfway down the block by the time I turned on to Guad. I start seeing scooters (both ridden and lying around everywhere) once I hit the Hyde Park neighborhood. Parking at UT is a nightmare; I can see the utility of scooters for getting back and forth to class from a close-in neighborhood with minimal traffic like Hyde Park. I also can see a scenario where UT employees park in a more outlying neighborhood and scooter in to work. Where I don't see scooters is at the UT bus stop at the Intermural Fields. I'd be interested to know UT's policy about scooters on campus

I've gone to spin class at Gold's Gym Tech Ridge. It was OK -- but small room crammed with sweating bodies was not so much my thing, especially because I'm pretty sure I caught a cold from *someone* (probably the instructor who was not as well as he thought he was) in one of those classes. Also, saddles on the exercise bikes at Gold's Gym Tech Ridge are insanely uncomfortable, mainly because almost all of them are set at a very weird angle. If anyone has gone to a spin class at Fitness Connection Tech Ridge 24 Hour Fitness near Parmer/I 35 Anytime Fitness in the same area please report on type of spin bikes, and general ambience.

Proud. It's the post-Blue Groove era.

I dropped in to post this same thing. Austin American Statesmen had an article on this in today's paper (yes, the one made out of actual paper). When something comes to the attention of the CDC and they decide to investigate, it's a public health issue that's reached the level of (potentially) an epidemic. ETA: AustinBike, you may be able to weigh in on the economic repercussions to these companies, but it seems the cost of insurance coupled with an onslaught of successful lawsuits over injuries would drive some of these companies out of business or just make it financially unfeasible to continue.

Saw two guys on one scooter today. It looked a little dicey and they were having trouble getting going.

Santa last year consulted with Joe at Monkey Wrench, who thought that Stan's Flows with 29 x 2.35 Maxxis Ikons would look great under the XMas tree. I like them a lot and it really does make a positive difference. Ya need to have wheels with a wider rim when you go to wider tires; that's a key element of what makes 'em work.

It was a stupid idea to ever allow unleashed dogs on the trails at Walnut Creek and City of Austin knew that this was a bad idea from Day 1. Scooters on the trail around Lady Bird Lake is a bad idea, and it won't get better. There will be collisions, because on certain days, the trail is packed with walkers, runners, dog walkers and bike riders. The tiny wheels on the scooters will also get bogged down and the scooters won't be very stable in some places where the trail is unpaved and they can go way too fast on areas of the trail that are paved. Oh well. I was at a Bike Texas meeting a few weeks ago and Robin Stallings was falling all over himself about how wonderful e bikes are because he owns one and uses it to commute, so Bike Texas (essentially a lobbying organization with Robin as the lobbyist) will be pushing hard for access for e bikes on paths.

It was indeed awesome in every way! 151 number plates were issued, so great turn out. Took a few minutes very early on to get sorted out with the Parks people that they needed to move barricades at Mud Cove so people could have a place to park. Huge shout out to Jeff who did all things food related. I liked how people could eat from early afternoon on, instead of doing a big feed at the end. Tamales, pork or chicken tacos with fixins, with an option for veggie burgers. The snack table had lots of tasty goodies, the weather was perfect (light cloud cover and very little breeze) and the participants were happy!

It's always the Saturday after Turkey Day! Put it on next year's calendar. Pretty sure I know who you are, WhoAmI! Looking forward to seeing you there.

Hopefully reproduction is now out of the picture for this guy; he doesn't seem like the sanest role model.

Light rain and sprinkles in the vicinity of Walnut Creek RIGHT NOW. You need to be more contrite, or maybe feel bad/not bad. Update: Raining harder now.

That bad boy should have been snoozing in his den by this time of year.

Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is in south central Utah. From BikepackingRoots.org on facebook: Bikepacking Roots Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) needs your help! Our mission at Bikepacking Roots is to advocate for the bikepacking experience and for the landscapes through which we ride. As such, we are urging bikepackers to submit comments regarding the threats to the future of GSENM. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the federal agency that manages the monument, is seeking comments between now and November 30, 2018 on a draft management plan and environmental impact statement. For a brief background on this process, instructions for submitting a comment, and Bikepacking Roots' recommended talking points, please visit www.bikepackingroots.org

Weather should be perfect; many days of no rain mean the trail should be as well!

Buck's Bikes has also been around forever; weren't they originally up in Round Rock? Anyway, they carry Giant and I can't remember what else. Giant has a light, inexpensive flat pedal that I like and I got mine there. Also, some of these shops carry inexpensive bikes and are more like neighborhood stores. Buck's is somewhat in the middle of a bike-shop desert.

I was at Harbor Freight last year and the guy at the register asked each customer for their CELL NUMBER and everyone dutifully complied. When he asked me, "Can I get your cell phone number?" I said "No!" and he continued to ring me up without a pause. Just outrageously harvesting personal information! Anyway, the Performance Store on Anderson Lane is closing everything out, including CamelBaks and helmets at 30% off. I have an Ortlieb M size seat pack on hold at the counter, and will zip over and get that today. Ortlieb Seat Pack - Medium 30% off makes it almost $45 cheaper. You can get about the same deal online at REI right now (maybe $5 more), but you get a rebate at REI, so likely it's a wash. Anyway, German, incredibly well made, waterproof and light as a feather. Ortlieb has been in the bike touring game forever, so not a big step for them to develop bike packing bags. On the downside, we have $21 in Performance Points on our acct, but can't use them at the Anderson Lane store because....wait for it....they are going out of business. South Lamar store will not close. Anyway, they aren't pushing bargain basement prices, because whatever inventory they don't off load, I assume will just get added to another store's inventory. That said, this might be a great opportunity to get an entry level mtn bike for slightly better than one of their usual sale prices. (sorry, can't seem to get ride of the bolded text). I've always enjoyed the Anderson Lane store; the store manager is a mountain biker and a few years ago he was bringing his tan lab incredibly mellow puppy to the shop, so it was great for a bit of puppy therapy when I dropped by. In summer it was a great mid-way stop to top off my water bottle, get a little package of SKRATCH if I'd forgotten mine and and a snack (gluten-free chocolate Stinger stroop waffle) and enjoy the ac for about five minutes before heading back into the inferno. RIP Anderson Lane Performance Bike.

Head west, young man.