The Tip

Sure this is cool for us but I don't think it necessary. The dam crossing is bad now but it is possible to cross there. I would be happy with the fix they talk about. Just widen it. $12 million. Geez. That would pay the salary for 200 policeman for a year. Or..fill in the blank with your more utilitarian use of $12 million. Cities are always trying to build cool things to make their city more like Disneyland. But Disneyland costs $350 a day to "live" in! Of course I'll use this. I think the concrete bridge thing on the south shore is cool and I love the views and the vibe and the whole thing. I just feel guilty using it, like the bridge over Barton Creek, same idea. Maybe I'm scared of angry non-biking citizen in cars, with their pent up resentment of the money spent on cool biking toys that we've been getting. I imagine them all mad in their cars muttering to themselves, "I'll teach those money spending biker jerks a thing or too" as they "accidentally" brush me with their car.

That's why I was wondering about how the trend was going. I always suspected that it was indeed manufacturer driven. "Hey look! The newest and latest that you just HAVE to have!" I use to be an avid golfer. That industry is driven by coming out with "new and improved" stuff every year.

27.5 acceleration, 29 handling downhills and obstacles. Not a bad concept actually. Does "best of both worlds" translate into a good ride? Interesting

Found an article about sales comparisons. A year old but says 27.5 sales are declining mostly because 29er technology is advancing to solve all the previous downsides of the bigger wheel. https://www.bicycleretailer.com/product-tech/2018/11/21/rise-shreddy-29er

I'm curious how the industry is moving with 27.5 bikes. I know Giant at first went all in on it at the expense of 29ers. But then they gave into demand and came back with lots more 29 choices.

Do you mean to tell me that they deceived us with movie magic?!

I did not know that Paris had 3,000 feet vertical drop that allows you to go down 40 staircases. 😁

Since this is not you, and it's the lady that you know, not the husband, I feel okay in saying.. ...THIS IS TERRIBLE!!!!! Makes me appreciate my super understanding and accommodating wife all the more. Some years she lets me do TWO things I want to do!

Had to look it up. Cool. Never seen that before. What a great idea. The video didn't really show how the sleeve was secured in the handlebar though. https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/chain-tire-plug-multi-tool

I estimate that planning, flagging, and walking the potential trail takes about 60% of the total time of building a trail. Don't cut anything until the entire system is planned out. Newbies are always so eager to start cutting. Wait until it's all done and been walked multiple times and reviewed on your GPS (Strava etc) to start actually construction. Have fun. Jealous of course.

I thought it was new strain of weed. The video that The X posted makes it look so easy to install. Geez. Cush Core should monetize that guy's video by paying him to take it down!

The Ranch. Reading the article was interesting. The land is owned by the owner of Bicycle World and another guy that owns a pizza place. If I rode there I would definitely patronize their shops. What a commitment to a community!

😁 So...how was the event? It tore me up to miss it, but I was out of town. How did it go? Did anyone do the Social challenge or did everyone just succumb to lure of the Hunt? Was there a big turnout? WERE the trails and weather okay?

Just a bump and a reminder that next Saturday, November 16th, will be the SATN Social redo sponsored by the Bowie MTB team. Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bulldog-mtb-scavenger-hunt-satn-social-challenge-november-16-2019-tickets-77524420629 Annual Bulldog MTB Scavenger Hunt plus South Austin Trail Network Social Challenge November 16, 2019 All Scavenger Hunt and SATN Social Challenge Ticket Proceeds Benefit the Bowie High School & South Austin Middle School NICA Mountain Bike Race Teams SCAVENGER HUNT - Not a race and not a group ride, but a big dirt adventure where you'll check in at as many points as you can on the South Austin Trail Network (including beer, food and bragging). Over $2,000.00 in raffle prizes. Tickets are earned by riding in the event and can also be purchased. All skill levels welcome. Ride as much or as little as you'd like, as fast or slow as you'd like, just plan on having a really good time while raising money for our South Austin youth mountain bike racers! Family Scavenger Hunt - a free event purely for families with elementary age riders, a compact course within Circle C Metro Park. Strider Race - a free event for the young riders that don't yet use pedals! Kids MTB Race - a free event on a short course that stays close to the event venue, 12 and under only. SATN Social Challenge - A celebration of the South Austin Trail Network. There are three routes that all start and return to the ATX Bikes' parking lot. The north is 18 miles, the east is 15, the south is 25. Do all three for a 58 mile ride! Tickets towards the raffle will be earned by completing 1, 2, or all 3 routes. This is a self led ride following preset routes which can be found here- https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31330330 SATN SC riders can checkin starting at 8:00 AM. The cutoff for Podium classification is 3:00 PM. SATN Social Challenge will have it’s own Podiums with times based on your Strava.

And that's what I like about Danny MacAskill's videos. At the end they show all the crashes. Not only is that good for a "don't try this at home" thing but also a "yes we know this is a fantasy thing" that can't be done in the one take as it is presented.

Apparently suspension is highly overrated. Took me about 30 seconds to realize what he was riding.

I really like ice cream.

Good, support the local economy! Orange Seal is making an "Endurance" formula now. I don't know if it's just a marketing ploy to charge a little more, but supposedly it was designed with Texas summers in mind to stay liquid longer.

I try to educate people all the time about cooking vs. baking. Baking is a science. Cooking is an art.

This made me look around the internet to see what the general consensus it. The general consensus is that there is not a general consensus. You would think by now there would be a standard home brew recipe. When I first read Kyle's recipe I thought of the little flecks I see in Orange Seal. Then looking at different recipes I see glitter as an ingredient that I suppose replicates that aspect. All very interesting.

It's just about all gravel road from Bear Lake to Bernia/Espcarpment so that would be doable. Except for the single track that goes from the jeep track to Bernia. But on a ride, how would you get out to Bear Lake? Just roads? Yup, we are off for tonight. When I rode yesterday it was softer and more moist than I thought it would be with all the sunshine Sunday. As I rode I was thinking that if we get any rain at all it would put us out of biz for Tuesday.

Holy moly, what a great day. Unbelievable what shape the tires were coming back after the different segments. So clean. Actually hard to believe. Nobody counted, but the general consensus was that we had at least 150 people for the send off. An almost perfect weather day. Big shout out to ATX Bikes and Giant Bicycles. They didn't have to go all in with bar b q and beer like they did. ATX Bikes paying for 100 SATN Social tee shirts was over the top. They did NOT have to do that as they already showed so much support towards the SATN community. So cool. This event, with it's seat of the pants, less than 24 hour planning, turned out great. For all you folks that want a taste of it, sign up for the Bowie Bulldog Mountain Bike Team SATN Social Challenge. They have stepped up to offer a complete SATN Social to accommodate all the folks that were disappointed by not being able to attempt it today because of poor trail conditions. There were over 150 riders that showed up to ride the abbreviated version. We all know that there were a lot of folks that wanted to attempt the full 58 miles and were disappointed about not being able to. Here is where you sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bulldog-mtb-scavenger-hunt-satn-social-challenge-november-16-2019-tickets-77524420629?fbclid=IwAR1zWy6haXte1L_wZnXFu1IOQ5b_KRa496E7jCIUtZnd0YzlEYPCcPLF8zs Did I say what a great day it was?

Early scouting of trails has shown what we all knew. There is no way that a lot of the routes will be even close to being good to go. But the scouting that has been done has discovered that some of the trail WILL be good. So there WILL be an event. BUT it will start at NOON. This decision was also based on the fact that our generous sponsors, ATX Bikes and Giant Bicycles, have already bought and paid for the food and drink for a party. So let's have a dang party! Please continue to scout trails. They are improving hourly of course. Even Saturday morning go and look and see what can be ridden. Then at noon we will come up with the game plan. We'll go ride for awhile, then come back and eat and drink. ATX Bikes will put up their tents and have music going. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. No tickets or prize table this time. But the things that were to be given away will now be rolled into the Bowie Bulldog Scavenger Hunt. It is scheduled for November 16th. It too utilizes the SATN. Here's the link to sign up for that: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bulldog-mtb-scavenger-hunt-november-16-2019-tickets-77524420629 Saturday is going to be a beautiful day. It will be fun.

Early scouting of trails has shown what we all knew. There is no way that a lot of the routes will be even close to being good to go. But the scouting that has been done has discovered that some of the trail WILL be good. So there WILL be an event. BUT it will start at NOON. This decision was also based on the fact that our generous sponsors, ATX Bikes and Giant Bicycles, have already bought and paid for the food and drink for a party. So let's have a dang party! Please continue to scout trails. They are improving hourly of course. Even Saturday morning go and look and see what can be ridden. Then at noon we will come up with the game plan. We'll go ride for awhile, then come back and eat and drink. ATX Bikes will put up their tents and have music going. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. No tickets or prize table this time. But the things that were to be given away will now be rolled into the Bowie Bulldog Scavenger Hunt. It is scheduled for November 16th. It too utilizes the SATN. Here's the link to sign up for that: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bulldog-mtb-scavenger-hunt-november-16-2019-tickets-77524420629 Saturday is going to be a beautiful day. It will be fun.