The Tip

Seriously, so true.

They actually have done this and they did it several years ago. They call it "suspension" and "shocks". It made the sport more fun and let more people do more things that, before the introduction of that technology, were not possible for them. I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I'm just illustrating that things are relative. Are dropper posts cheating? Are carbon bikes cheating? And the guy had a good point about "if you're not racing then does it matter?" I think the only real argument that can be made against mountain ebikes is whether or not they more adversely affect the trails. But these things don't have throttles. I don't think they are capable of rooster tailing a shower of dirt like motocross motorcycles can. No more so than a regular bike railing a berm can that is. And it's not a problem with them weighing more. They weigh what, 20 pounds more? I know for a fact that I weigh 20 pounds more than the majority of folks out there on comparable bikes. So that can't be an "ebikes are worse than regular bikes" argument. Don't be a weightist!

I'll strongly encourage safety glasses too. I have cracked three helmets, so I preach all the time to ALWAYS wear one. I won't ride to the mailbox without a helmet. But I think you have already got that message. But now I have to preach about safety glasses. I know they have saved me on multiple occasions but this past Thursday they REALLY saved me big time. I was hit in my glasses with a small sharp stick. It knocked my glasses off my head and then scratched my forehead. It would have been a serious injury without those glasses on.

Simple solution. I called ATX Bikes and told them about this thread and this problem. They called their property manager. The property manager didn't know about it. They said they would contact the security company and tell them that anybody with a mountain bike is welcome to use the parking lot behind ATX "as a clubhouse" if they want to. They did remind us to respect the Austin Diagnostic Clinic's parking lot and not park there. I think we MTBers have been doing pretty good with that. Crank and Drank lives!

Ditto. Jaguarundi:

Very interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a security car roll through there. I also have never seen a car back-up after seeing the group either. Maybe I'm blindish. I would have said to the security guy that I was shopping at ATX Bikes earlier and the guys said it would be fine for us to sit here after our ride. But then say, "cool" and pack up and leave and would get hold of ATX the next day. Since ATX has frequently set up their tent to encourage us hanging out after a CnD, then I would bet they might put a call in to the security to say leave their customers alone please. Orrrrr, to paraphrase our north Austin brethren, (sigh) The CnD is dead. 😉

http://www.bikemojo.com/speak/14-austin-voodoo/101112-mountain-biker-killed-today-cougar.html

The SATN hardly got any rain, if any. So we are good to go for Crank and Drank tonight.

What a beautiful and unusual trail marking sign!

A picture is worth a thousand words. My current beer cooler:

After an amazing discovery "test" ride last night, we are going to have a rescheduled Crank and Drank tonight. The trails were just about perfect so we need to take advantage of these conditions. 6 pm Behind ATX Bikes. Bring beer.

Bent at Angel Fire?

South part of the SATN

Me too. And video that we make doesn't ever do a scary thing justice either. A strange phenomena I think. Just makes you appreciate how truly gnarly the things in those awesome YouTube videos must really be. The things that make us go "whoa!" are really probably twice as big they appear to be.

There is a new trail that has a hundred yard section on it that I was challenged to describe to someone. It is rocky, but large rocks, not baby heads. But not ledges either. So there really isn't any technical skills involved to traverse it. The skill or challenge is really only picking a line to stay on top of the line of rocks and not fall into a crevice. Not exactly a natural skinny, but being able to balance helps. What do you call that kind of trail? Is it "technical" or is there another term?

I keep seeing the Strava rides and they are named "AF" Am I the only one that is confused that there isn't a word in front of those AFs? You know like, "Cold" or "Hot" or "Fun" Or "Hard?"

I laughed yesterday at someone's Strava ride title, "It was wring out your SOCKS hot." It really was, because by the end of my own ride I was thinking, "Why are my shoes feeling squishy? I didn't ride through a creek!" Maybe I should be, but I'm not scared of the heat. I put two bladders in my pack because 100 oz isn't enough water sometimes. And I'll stop and not "push on" if I start to feel anything strange.

And not one of those rigs has a cooler strapped on for beer. They call that mountain biking? sheez.

The SATN has not gotten any rain in the last 24 hours. All systems are go. See you behind ATX at 6. Bring beer!

Wheels down 6 pm. We might be riding some new trail. Bring beer!

With no more rain there is not a doubt in my mind that we will be good to go. Even if we get 1/2 inch tomorrow (20% chance forecast), if it happens before 2 pm, we'll still be good to go.

Went for a ride this morning. Circle C and Veloway were good to go. Barring any rain today Crank and Drank is on. Edited at 5:05: Never mind. It's raining on ATX Bikes right now.

I remember finding some keys on a trail one time and posted on Mojo that I had. The owner of the keys saw it and I eventually got them back to him. I thought that was very cool.

I really enjoyed the Mojo thread and wanted to keep it alive, hopefully. I wish that it could somehow all get copied and pasted here. http://www.bikemojo.com/speak/14-austin-voodoo/95861-apologies-jeff-foxworthy-you-might-trail-builder-if.html I thought about that thread when I was power washing some clothes outside just now.