HoneyBadger

33 minutes ago, Barry said:

I've seen at least two people who got turned around at the second creek xing. They miss the tight right turn, and instead cross back over to where they came in earlier.  

The creek crossing by the new sidewalk next to Brushy Creek Road?

There are a few more fences i need to build that will help with people going the  wrong direction.

Peddlers has always been a one-way trail. This guy that said it is now bi-directional is 100% wrong.

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Peddlers has always been a one-way trail. This guy that said it is now bi-directional is 100% wrong.

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39 minutes ago, WhoAmI said:

I've ridden it all the way through; it's the epitome of trying to put too much trail into one area despite all the things you listed.  Those things don't make up for what I don't like about it.  And I'm not trying to put anyone's work down, either; I just don't like the trail.  "It's not you; it's me."   I know it's hard for builders to not take when someone dislikes their work personally.  I've been there.

I get that it's not for everyone and I don't take it personally. 

1 hour ago, WhoAmI said:

So, Peddler's Pass?  I get bored on that trail after five minutes.  Too repetitious for my taste, but I understand people like it.  And, no, "just go faster" isn't the type of challenge I like. 

Try riding it for more than five minutes...if you do you'll find there's multiple types of berms, rock gardens, jumps, wall rides, flat bridges, table top bridges,  natural wood features, rollers, a flow section, drops, flat turns, insloped turns, creek crossings, hand-build sections, machine build sections etc. etc. I'd say it's not very repetitious...love to know another 3 mile section at Brushy that has as much variation?

Did anyone have a chance to ride the berm i fixed on the eastside of peddlers next to Brushy Creek Road, across from the Gas Station? Didn't have my bike with me to test it when i built it.

I've never had someone not pull over and let me by once they realized i was behind them. 

On 3/27/2020 at 8:27 PM, TheSarge said:

Oh my gosh - long white haired motherfucker with no helmet?  I got stuck behind him a week ago.  He cut me off several times as I tried to pass.  Every time I hollered "I'm passing on your left" and he would swerve left as I came up beside him.  Finally got around him just before Parmer, but DAMN.  I had 2 others I was riding with and they had the same problem with him.  Somebody's gonna take him out by accident or on purpose and Willie Nelson's gonna wish he'd at least worn a helmet!

That guys been riding Peddlers for years. He's a grumpy sour puss. Never says hello and comes riding through our build area without slowing down. I haven't had the pleasure of riding behind him yet. I wonder what would happen if someone got around him and slowed down to a snail's pace?

1 hour ago, horncpa said:

Do you care if I do some today/tomorrow or would you prefer to do it on your own?

Works for me if you want to tackle some of it. Let me know how much you get done.

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Hey, I am wanting to take my leaf blower out to Peddler's Pass in the next day or so.   I'm sure the answer is yes, but would the trail steward have any problem with blowing the leaves off the trail.  It's getting pretty slick.   [mention=165]GreenMTBrider[/mention] [mention=141]HoneyBadger[/mention]

Coming in hot

The rider in the video doesn't seem to be lifting (properly or not) the front end of the bike... Just moving his weight back a bit and then letting the bike roll into the gap after the ladder. You can even see where the front wheel immediately drops below (or looks like it does) the end lip of the ladder right after clearing it. Just for my understanding... Is this how this type of feature is meant to be ridden/cleared — just kind of rolled at the right speed — or would a better approach be to have some lift (bunny hop type technique maybe)?

This isn't any type of criticism... Looking at the video just made me think about it.

And BTW... Having a video like this that shows a new feature and something of how to ride it, I think, is great. Thanks.

I saw the grade of the ladder yesterday. Didn’t seem any steeper than the end of the big mulligan “drop”. But I suppose looks can be deceiving. 

This wood ladder is the B-line. To do the main line you must clear the gap, its 8 feet down and 8 feet out to the lip of the landing, 10-12 feet out and down is where you should be landing. The b-line is not easy, the ladder is 45 degrees down with  the end of the ladder still 2 feet above the landing. Look at it before you try it. 

26 minutes ago, TAF said:

Nope, you did not. To me, the bigger issue is that current Wilco management seems to not longer support the trail system in general. Rugger - who initiated everything - seems highly ticked off. Maybe time that we stepped in and helped?

Wheels are already in motion.

9 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

That is why I was suggesting that you craft something. I would say there are several target sites like MTBR, Facebook, this site, etc. that would benefit from a proactive statement that addresses how the builders and the county are working together, etc.

The vacuum of low information is where rumors run wild.

Yeah, it sucks to be the point person on this one. I get a few angry homeowners and whatnot that harass me through my site because someone cut them off on their walk. I know what you mean about having to apologize for some idiot's behavior.

ARR is going to take care of letting people know.

1 hour ago, AustinBike said:

If you want to type up an "official" statement I'm happy to post it on my site.

Following the trail closure,  a plan of action is been formulated to strengthen the relationship between ARR and Williamson County Parks dept. The worst thing that can happen at the moment is for people to ignore the trail closure and keep riding it. No-one knows if that trail will be open again, but I can just about guarantee it won't if people keep using it. Think long term. If you see someone riding it explain their actions are making it more difficult to partner with Williamson County Parks dept.

Also, social media complaining is only going to make the situation worse. Local Land Managers do look at these forums, MTB facebook groups, and twitter to gather information about what's happening on the trails. I personally have had to apologize several times to a Land Manager for things mtber's (i've never met) have posted on line. 

If you ride Mulligan be careful where the trail crosses the low/ muddy spots. I started working on it. I dug small channels across the trail to release water from a pond that formed above the trail due to deadfall. Its going to take a while to finsh the work. Pics below are a before and after of the last low spot. I included a picture of the pond thats formed and the channel to lower release the water. The pond was the reason the low spots are remaing wet permanently. It was allowing a small constant stream of water to run down the trail keeping it wet all the time.

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There is a very effective solution I've used on Peddlers Pass 

1 minute ago, Barry said:

Man I hate ground level stumps, and I'm surprised how many there are locally. When IMBA visited us in the northeast, they taught us to cut in-trail trees at chest height, and then pole dance with them back and forth until you can loosen up the roots enough to pull/cut them out of the ground. Yeah, you dig a hole, but holes are easy to fill, and I never pedal smack a hole in the ground.  And with no rock, we had far deeper roots in the northeast than does CenTX. 

The problem we have here is the roots work their way around and through the bedrock, there's no "pole dancing" them out by hand. They are locked in place. Digging them out by hand takes forever. Firstblood worked on one for nearly two hours last week. Although, we do use that "pole dancing" technique when we have a mini-x. 

29 minutes ago, Ole creeky knees said:

I was surprised at how well the whole trail flowed in reverse. I thought it was a nice change. 
This was my first time to compete or even attend a MTB race so I don’t have anything for comparison, but I thought the whole event was well run and I really appreciate all the hard work you all put into this. 
my only suggestion would be to post Hard copies of estimated race starting times for each class.  I didn’t find those until I followed Endurarace on FB (after the race). 

Thanks again for all the hard work. 

Thanks for the input.

Last years times were posted on a board next the start chute, but we didn't make an announcement they were there,  so i don't think anyone knew. We'll make it clearer for the next race. 

The things that make this race different to other XC (cross country) Mountain Bike races are:

1. The course is shorter (2.8 miles), normally the XC races are 10+ miles per lap. 

2. The racers start one at a time vs. a mass start at other XC races. Typically, everyone in the same category lines up together and starts at the same time.  The Peddlers Pass race is similar to the format used at Enduro's or Downhill MTB races. 

3. Your racing against the clock vs directly against other riders around you. Your able to focus more on your riding/speed vs what other riders are doing around you. 

4. The racecourse has many more corners and features per mile such as berms, rollers, bridges, etc than other XC races, so bike handling skills (corninering) play a bigger part than other XC races. There are 161 corners  in 2.8 miles, that averages out to a corner every 92 feet. Over 100 of the corners are bermed, I need to go and count the exact number. if you want to go fast on Peddlers Pass, you've got to get comfortable cornering fast on berms (sometimes it's hard to overcome the natural instinct to tap the brakes when flying into a berm) and learn good flat cornering technique. I'm not a fast XC rider, but I have been able to catch up to fitter/faster riders on Peddlers Pass by having better cornering technique than the person I'm trying to catch.

5. Full Gas on Peddlers Pass bridges the gap between XC and Enduro racing due the combination of race format, fitness, number of trail features, and cornering skills.

For those that raced Peddlers Pass

What did you think of the backwards lap? Is it something that should be kept for future races?

What could make the race better?