June Bug

Yup, looking like a freeze is working its way to the west side of I 35 tonight. Last night I got up out of bed at 11:30 pm and pounded on the neighbor's door. I told them I'd been listening to their dog moaning, crying whimpering -- really, I'd never heard an animal in that kind of distress before --off and on for nearly 3 hours and to let the damned dog inside. It was raining with temps in the 40s. The guys said it was the housemate's dog and he apparently let it inside. I can't believe he couldn't hear it. This has been going on for about two weeks, but I could never place which neighbor's yard the dog was in, then realized it was NEXT DOOR. If I hear even a peep out of that dog tonight, there will be another visit and maybe a call to the police. Where was I? It's terrible weather for Texas. Bring your pets inside.

You're getting the hang of it.

Rode around barricades on the sidewalk and through Narnia! Told the guys working on the railing that it all looked beautiful. So yes, you can ride through. One dark note. I can see areas that have potential to dump a lot of mud on the sidewalk when it rains. This is a chronic problem on sections of both the southern and northern Walnut Creek Multi-Use Paths and it chafes my chaps to think that it might also be a problem on this section, because drainage issues should have been addressed in the planning documents from Day 1.

Aw...Just realized there's no heart emoji!

Are these trails at Camp Eagle in Glorieta (Glorieta Adventure Camps/glorieta.org)?

I've been a good citizen as far as boiling drinking water, not taking a shower or doing laundry. If there is no one around (no cars or pedestrians), I confess to (after looking both ways) sometimes running stop signs while bike commuting to the gym. #badtothebone

It's rather more of a lush oasis than a drainage pond; have you been there recently? The trail was lined with amazingly thick stands of wildflowers this year that changed as spring and summer progressed, until the bulldozers came. I always found it to be a pleasant interlude from pavement and traffic.

The guy we talked to also said that there was plenty of room for the sidewalk between the curb and the railroad track under 183, so no modifications required there. I'm guessing that will be the very last bit. AB, I was impressed that the rain didn't stop forward progress. I wish the same contractor was working on finishing the last two bits on the Southern Walnut Creek Multi-Use Trail. No progress on that for months. I'll be using that today to drop off some overdue books at the library on Amherst. Although the connector to Balcones District Park isn't in yet, one can continue up the canyon and then there's a steep up beside Duval to the sidewalk, then right on Amherst on the sidewalk or in the bike lane. ETA: There have been more sections added to the northern end of the WC Multi-Use Trail, including on the little connector that goes over to Scribe Dr. Amazingly, the dirt sections were quite dry. The canyon had a flooded section near the spring. I saw a person ride through it; they got their feet wet and it was at least bottom bracket deep. Clarify?

Degenerative neck issues mean I can no longer use a CamelBak type pack. The Revelate Mountain Feed bags hold an amazing amount of stuff, including a full liter Nalgene bottle. Mountain Feedbag I also have the little top-tube mounted Revelate Gas Tank (80 cu inches, max), but I can't fit very much in to it. The Mountain Feedbag can gobble up a lot of stuff; it's a much better bang for buck. Besides it's 1 L interior capacity, it has three little elasticized pockets (2 mesh and 1 nylon) around the sides that will hold small items, like Gu or snacks.

We just checked from the south end. Saturday, and a full crew was working today. We talked to a very cheerful guy who thought it would only be two or three weeks more, but who knows. There is one tiny section at the south end still to be framed and poured. I think they are working on a short retaining wall by the parking area along the elbow.

I'm assuming Narnia is the correct name. It's from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis. Four kids hide in a wardrobe and are magically transported to the land of Narnia. Riding under 183 and suddenly being on a bit of single track, surrounded by wildflowers with ducks on a nearby pond always has (had) a bit of being transported to Narnia vibe. Caveat: I have never seen a very large noble lion, other talking animals or a White Witch on this section of trail, but that door could open if one has the correct frame of mind.

Here's the naughty/not naughty, vaguely naughty, possibly slightly suggestive Pickle connector route: from the north end of Narnia, take Neils Thompson north, proceed through the south "Pickle gate (!)," along to Read Granberry Trail, and turn left ON EXPLORATION WAY(!) to the Braker/Domain intersection. Note: the south Pickle gate closes in the evening and on weekends, or when the research campus goes into lock down because of Code Red high alert terrorist danger situation. If the gate is manned, which it usually isn't, a UT ID should get you through. In this case, backtrack a half block, go east on Innovation Blvd to Burnet and ride along the verge on the west side of Burnet, all the way up to Braker. "Pickle connector" does not show up on Urban Dictionary, but there are other pickle-related terms. Chelsea Tractor is trending: "Any expensive 4 x 4 that is driven in an urban environment as a status symbol, typically for a school run, and will never be driven off road. 'Look, that Chelsea Tractor nearly flattened a kid!'" Taint is also trending, which seems adorably quaint, like it was rediscovered in 2017 and made edgy by frat boys. Side rant: When the Domain was first being hyped, it was touted as being the epitome of New Urbanism: high density/live-work/commercial/ped and bike friendly. It is currently a chronic traffic jam and a disaster for cyclists as a through fare. It is not ped or bike friendly because of high traffic load on very narrow streets. And little sharrow symbols on the pavement? I interpret those as pavement icons indicating "cyclists are screwed" because who in their right mind really believes that cars like to share? The only part of New Urbanism at the Domain that is true is high density. The Domain was planned and approved by the city with zero parkland. Zero. ZERO. This pisses me off because of the pressure it puts on WC. Then our city gave away a prime piece of real estate next door for a soccer stadium that could have been an amazing urban park with a dog park, in an area that is increasing in population density via numerous apartment developments already built out or going up in the immediate area, that are considered desirable because of proximity to the Domain. And yes, high income apartment dwellers would pay for a season or annual pass to access a really nice dog park with a water feature(s). And *steam comes out ears* the city is trying to get a bond approved to BUY MORE PARKLAND. I need to get out more. *checks radar*: Time for a walk!

The area most in need of sidewalk? On Lamar between Braker and Parmer and that little section of W. Yager Lane from Lamar over to I 35. There is good infrastructure (big sidewalks and the potential to survive crossing the street) from I 35 east, but that little stretch of Yager is still a little country road barely two lanes wide. And Lamar by WC is hopeless. Were that fixed, I could ride my bike over to Gold's Gym without much problem. ETA: And people from the east side of I 35 could ride their bikes to WC!

Yes, the first picture is the new sidewalk, but it's the south side of the 183 feeder, so the photo is looking with the flow of traffic southeast towards the intersection with the end of Shoal Creek. The second pic is of actual Narnia. I've been really pleased with the speedy progress on this section. I use the Northern Walnut Creek Multi-use Path to get to the Milwood library. The right of way for the final two sections on the north end have been cleared and unfinished for many months.

Even CNN is on it. Various videos of flooding, including a bridge in Llano. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/16/us/texas-llano-river-flooding/index.html

On Thursday I decided to check the progress on the sidewalk replacing the singletrack trail connecting the north end of Shoal Creek and the little business park immediately to the south of the UT Austin Pickle Research Center. This is the little section called Narnia or Gnarnia that runs between a retention pond and the railroad tracks. There is also a substantially wide sidewalk going in along the access road on the south side of 183. I'm guessing that will connect to Burnet Road, but not sure what the ultimate connectivity is for that. This first image shows that big sidewalk, looking east. The next image shows the sidewalk replacing the single track (looking north). I'm glad the city is working on connectivity, but that little bit of singletrack had the most amazing wildflowers in spring and summer. My personal sacrifice was that while walking over to take the second photo, I tripped on a truly sneaky dewberry vine and went sprawling for my efforts. No work had been started in the little section where the access road loops under 183 and there's not much room between the curb and the railroad track.

Thanks for your continuing hard work on this, cxagent. You're the right person at the right time to be a bulwark against BCP encroachment and exclusion policies re: mountain bikers and trials riders, especially at Emma Long, but other riding venues as well.

Oh, Mike, I have felt your pain, but not at DEFCON 1. I was complaining of the lasting pain of 2 wasp stings, and I simply cannot imagine the agony of 13! So glad you were able to ride out of there on your own without having a big collapse.

Semi-related to the topic. The Montopolis Bridge on 183 will be decommissioned to traffic and transitioning to bikes/peds only. That's great because the railing along the attached sidewalk is way too low for cyclists and it's a long damn way down to the Colorado River. I can't find information if that transition has already happened or will happen in the future. Is anyone current on this? The next thing that needs to happen is a bike/pedestrian light to safely cross 183 to ultimately get to Govalle Park, which is the start of the Southern WC Multi-Use Path. The Castell area is fantastic for many miles of unpaved roads. You can contact the Chambers of Commerce in Llano and Mason Counties and they will send you a free map showing all county roads, if you are a paper map type person. Just be aware, depending on how long since it has rained, there can be a relatively short stretches of deep sand on some of those roads out there.

Todd posted a fb request for riders to hit this part of the Lake Georgetown loop in the near future.

Todd posted a fb request for riders to hit this part of the Lake Georgetown loop in the near future. Will post this as a XC thread as well.

I'm with Mack_Turtle on this one. Exactly same experience and recommendations. I've used Giro for 15 years or so, because they are a consistently good fit for my head shape and very, very light: three Xens, one Feather, and now a Hex (lightest yet). I wanted to go Giro MIPS on this last one, but the Giro MIPS helmets fit the tiniest bit lower so they are just at the tops of my ears and press down on the temples (the long piece that goes over your ears) of my glasses. I wouldn't have known this had I not spent time trying on MIPS helmets from my favorite brand. Find the brand that feels "ahhhhh, just right" for your head shape, and go from there. Could be a bazillipn dollar POC or Performance house brand. You'll know. Bell, Fox, Kali, POC, Smith, Performance, Giro and Monkey Wrench carries a brand I can't remember -- any others? One more thing. The adjustment mechanism. I hate cold ears and wear a head band/beanie if it's below about 65, so my helmet has to be able to adjust wider for that. Mr. JB wears a light skull cap to keep the sun at bay, so same deal.

Ditto!

I couldn't watch the entire video; she's too crazy. Great timing! According to Corps of Engineers, she was a contract worker and was "let go", so I'm sure she's looking for a job....

Cheetah lines -- best thing eveah.