TAF

15 minutes ago, Albert said:

Of all the trails, Thumper is the one where pre-rides would help me the most as I'm the least familiar with that trail.  Will the Green Belt route be described anywhere so we don't have to depend on tape that could get taken down? 

There's a gpx of last year's route available. Not everyone uses the same names, so I may well get corrected on this, but the current route is Main Trail, turn right up Rudy's, left down Wall (?), back to Main Trail, cross the creek at Roots (?), climb EZ Up to the gravel pit, down Jedi (?) and Mulch Hill to the dam, climb out at the HoL. Not sure what happens if the creek is too high to cross - maybe someone can post up with a simple re-route option - perhaps involving the new concrete path, if needed?

Starting a new topic for EB pre-rides. Cody will likely lead Thumper pre-rides, and anyone who wants to lead (or request) others can post up here. We will be marking the turns in the Green Belt with yellow bio-degradable tape as soon as it's dry enough to do so. Some tape is already up.

- Tony

25 minutes ago, Yosmithy said:

According to Rugger, Williamson County doesn't allow them.

Believe me, Rugger should know.

4 minutes ago, tatternutz said:

It does and I've locked apple pay and reported it lost.  I love it because it is an extension of my phone, text messages, music, etc.  I guess I can now just eff that shit and focus on riding even more.

BTW, I finally have a Stella Ti.. the first time I saw yours I have been drooling for one.  

Sweet! I'll look out for you on the trails.

4 minutes ago, tatternutz said:

Haha.. nah man no wipeout.  I can't believe I didn't realize it wasn't on my wrist.  It took me until I got home and was jumping in the shower for me to realize "where the hell is my watch"...

Bummer, man - I don't wear a watch, but does it have any kind of 'locate me' software?

3 minutes ago, tatternutz said:

SOS... lost my Apple Watch yesterday somewhere along my ride. Peddlers Pass, Picnic, Mulligan and Snail Trail. If you find it please post up. I went to back track after work but water from the sky kept me off the trail.  Thanks!

Must have been quite the wipeout - got any video?

5 hours ago, AustinBike said:

And electrical tape, wrapped around my pump. 

Yeah, I miss the old Mojo sometimes. Handy tip, though! (OMG stop it stop it)

10 minutes ago, Albert said:

I've broken two rear derailleur hangers over the years.  First time was at Lake Georgetown, and I was close to Russell and parked at Cedar Breaks when that happened.  Fortunately a park ranger was sitting in his pickup truck at the parking lot there and offered to give me a ride back to Cedar Breaks!  After that I started carrying a spare derailleur hanger.  

Then a few years later I broke my rear derailleur hanger again, this time in Colorado.  However, I could not loosen the bolt holding the broken derailleur hanger in place.  Thankfully we were near the end of our ride and had already done the bulk of our climbing and descending.  So we turned the bike into a single speed and limped back into town the remaining several miles. Brought the bike to a shop and even they were finding it impossible to get the bolt removed.  They even had the damn frame in a bench vise!  After some 30 minutes of trying they finally got the damn bolt loose and replaced the hanger.  Which is good, since we still had additional days in our trip!

More recently, as in a month ago, I was riding with AustinBike at Barton Creek Greenbelt.  As we were ascending the rocky, technical climb on Jedi before reaching the top of Mulch Hill, all resistance suddenly gave way as I was conquering a large rock.  My chain and rear derailleur got sucked into my rear wheel.  At first I thought the hanger had snapped, but it turns out the bolt holding the hanger worked its way out.  We reattached the derailleur, but the screw was stripped, so it could not be tightened.  Also, the rear derailleur was bent pretty badly, and I could only use a few gears.  We descended along the (newish?) singletrack along Mulch Hill and then rode back to 360 on the main trail at a slower pace than normal as I didn't want to put too much pressure on my drive train.  We were near the end of our ride anyway.  Did make it back, then brought the bike to the shop to get them to replace the rear derailleur and give the bike a needed tuneup.  And I bought another rear derailleur hanger since I didn't have one on me, much to my surprise. 

 ..Al

If you rode a single speed, there would be no need for this lengthy post.

Weather permitting, anyone going to be there tomorrow?

Spinistry marks their route very well. Rather light on post-ride festivities, but perhaps they will improve on that. Mrs Spinistry makes a mean salsa!

There will be a cutoff for the 50km event.  The Come and Grind it is the only gravel event I know of which repeats the loop - I too bailed after one lap this year.

50 minutes ago, The Tip said:

Ride, drink beer, eat something good. Get up the next day and repeat. Good stuff.

You drank so much beer that, frankly, I was rather surprised when you DID get up the next day.

Anyone going this week?

10 hours ago, MrTheCatLady said:

On what local trails would I need a dropper?

-cls

Pretty handy in the Green Belt, City Park, Thumper (of course), and other area trails on steep hillsides.

There's a separate forum for you to sell your used bits and pieces in!

4 hours ago, MrTheCatLady said:

Any of you ever go from a dropper BACK to a standard post?  Walnut Creek is my jam, and I ride twisty sections seated with my dropper about halfway down, and often leave it halfway down until I need to climb something.  I find the pedaling "efficient enough" with the post halfway down.  And although I put the post all the way down for descents (what descents there are at WC, that is), halfway down may also be "out of the way enough".  And I could probably stand on climbs - the practice would do me good, at any rate.

What's driving this is that I have a fairly light bike ('19 Santa Cruz Blur C, S build, 29er) and it bugs me to have the extra weight of the dropper on there.  Yeah, yeah this isn't the road bike forum, but MTBers can be weight weenies too!

I'll probably just take off the dropper this week and see how I like it...I never even rode the stock seatpost on my Blur so if I put it back on and just lower it a couple inches it may be just fine.  Anyway, I just wondered if any of you have ever gone back to a non-dropper - or even replaced a stock dropper with a non-dropper, since many bikes come with them stock these days.

-cls

You don't need a dropper at Walnut. Expand your riding experience to other local trails, and you may find it invaluable.

8 hours ago, MrMentallo said:

 

6 hours ago, The Tip said:

I bet someone made you say this.

I'm happy as long as we have the R&I thread. Fuck those Southie guys and their Wank n Piss thing.

4 hours ago, Albert said:

If you want to catch people at cheating, make them use a GPS device (which can be a phone) that records their track and distance and take a look at it after they come across the finish line..

That's exactly what happens, and is what should have happened a few years ago when a bunch of outtatowners came through town to show us how it's done.  No one gets accused of cheating, but you need have 83.5 miles on your GPS (or whatever it happens to be), AND no one protesting that they passed you multiple times, yadda yadda, to be in the clear.

7 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

I have done a few 100k gravel races. I am pretty wiped at the end of those. That's about 63 miles of "roads." 80+ miles that includes a lot of technical trail sounds like quite a task.

This is not gravel. The EB is a mental game. You need to ride each trail system independently, so you know what to expect, how long it will take, and where you are in the big scheme of things. For me, at least, the road connectors are a time to settle back, relax, listen to some tunes, and hydrate. Having said all that - yes, it's harder than a 100k gravel race .... but not impossible!

4 hours ago, CBaron said:

>I AM NO LONGER AFFILIATED WITH THE EB AND THUS HAVE ZERO INFLUENCE WITH THE OFFICIAL ROUTE.  

Not entirely the case, CJB - a small few of us are merely the keepers of the flame , and your voice is still a mighty one. The EB is still a great challenge to many in our area, but if the founders want to add a dessert portion - who are we to complain! We shall shut up and enjoy our pudding.

There will be rider numbers this year, largely to assist the Thumper Trail Angels in counting riders in and out - most people exiting Thumper can't remember their own name, or manage to give a different name than the one they gave going in.

While it's true that not everyone manages the full route - although most do - anyone vying for a Top Twenty position has to show the correct mileage on their GPS when they cross the finish line, and any subsequent protests are taken seriously (and conducted in private). A couple of positions were changed last year alone, based on protests and Strava tracks. If everyone uses a GPS and posts the track, it should be obvious if anyone missed a portion of  the route.

1 minute ago, csmceuen said:

Is the enchilada fake or actual food? That does not look edible if food.

You get what you pay for, at the EB!

Quite a lot of prep work has already taken place for this year's EB. Trail Angels have been recruited, the turns on the Green Belt have been marked, an additional water stop has been added, and the route is being checked to make sure nothing has changed since last year. Stickers and decent first place finisher awards have been made, tee shirt ordering is being worked on. Once everything is as final as it can be, and the weather has cooled off some, one or two pre-rides will be announced. Hey, you can go ride any of it at any time, though!