WhoAmI

I got a bad case of poison ivy at the first trail I was paid to build, and the rash required a steroid shot.

When I was building trail in Wisconsin around 12 +/- years ago, I was made aware of wild parsnip and what it does to skin after getting on skin and then being exposed to UV rays.  Don't google for images; it can be pretty gross, as it casues a chemical burn.  Anyway, my arm brushed up against some, and to this day I get a spot on my arm that itches then bleeds pretty much from spring to fall.   The weird thing is that the spot has moved upmy arm from my wrist toward my elbow by about four inches.

21 hours ago, Barry said:

I really thought I would come down for this (and EB), but I'm trying to find new ways to push my miles and my efforts. 

But interesting post...and you've been putting some good longer efforts together over the past year or so. Are you considering giving DS a go next year?  

Unless they move the event back to September, I'm not likely to make another attempt.   While this last event has great temperatures, I don't like cold weather, which is very likely to happen in December.

Also, in my Texas opinion, this event should take place in August b/c you're "dragon slaying," and dragons generally (not all) are fire breathing.  lmoa  Plus, fall weather typically is wetter, and I really don't like riding wet trails regardless of rock content.

How many laps did you ride?

Did you like the route?

Have you done this event before?

How about that weather?

I'd love to hear some recaps.

On 11/4/2023 at 11:54 PM, AntonioGG said:

I’ve had creaking from the multi-part Shimano cassette.

Do you also have a Shimano chain ring?  It could be that.  They used proprietary security torx chainring bolts that loosen easily and squeak like a BB.

19 hours ago, CBaron said:

 

.  FYI- half dozen years ago me and @cxagent did a deep dive trying to locate the report with no success.

 

While not specifically the study we're mentioning here, scroll to page 144 here.   From the paper: "The methodology used here was modified from the methods used for PVAs of the
Golden-cheeked Warbler and the Black-capped Vireo during two Population and
Habitat Viability Workshops concerning these species, conducted during the fall
of 1995, and sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS 1996). "

I know that nostalia is painting a prettier picture than it actually is for me.  I hiked it a few years ago, and it was pretty eroded and even overgrown in some places. I just don't think it would flow as well today.

Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed riding there and Ken's Trail, but there were also fewer options back then, so I rode there a lot.  

21 minutes ago, circuitbreaker said:

do yall know what year they closed Forrest Ridge for the warbler?

(never got to ride there, but live in the area and hike it often)

Some history: A developer went bankrupt right as he started developing the land during a real estate bust.  It sat for a while with trails on it, and in the early to mid 90s, the city pitched making it park/preserve land through a city bond.  They stated that current use cases would continue, and when it became public land, they bulldozed a 20' path around it and erected a chainlink fence then restricted biking altogether and restricted hiking during nesting season to permit only groups of three.  They used several endangered species as the argument, but the golden-cheeked warlber became their super hero.

They also made an effort to acquire serveal thousand acres of endangered species habitat, whcih including allowing developers to pay a mitigation fee of (IIRC) $2,500 per acre to develop habitat if they also found a substitute parcel to sell to the city.  One of the substitute parcels was DK Ranch, which also had trails on it.  Really, the thing was about enabling development of endangered species habitat.

They claimed the bird species (also the black-capped vireo) were "harmed" under the Endangered Species Act, whcih has a very broad definition of harm to include when a bird is flushed.  We, i.e the mountain biking community backed by ARR and Hill Abel, who I think was the president of IMBA at the time, tried to present a study conducted at Ft. Hood of the impact of having mountian bike trails near live and simulated weapons fire that showed no effect on the nesting habots.  They representatives of the city, county, etc., would literally withdraw and try to hide their hands when you attempted to give them a copy of the study.

I'm sure others here have things to add to this, and I look forward to hearing from them.

22 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

You just reminded me, I rode that univega with toe clips!  I definitely had more skills and more confidence back then.

My first bike was a Univega Alpina 5.0 with toe clips.  I think I went to clipless pedals, Onzas specifically, around 94.  The Onzas had different color elastomers you swapped out to increase or decrease the tension.  If you smacked a rock or root, the elastomer could break off, rendering one side of the pedal useless, which did happen more than once.

And how long ago was that?

What do you remember thinking about it at the time, and what do you think about that trail now?

Do you still ride that trail?

4 minutes ago, TAF said:

Lucky you.

Not sure how that's luck.  I train/ride in the heat to accustom myself to it.  I try to stay lean b/c fat on the body will make one hotter*.  I also hydrate really well; try to wear light colored, wicking clothing when I ride; and start my rides with half frozen/half cold water in my CamelBak.  

*Of course, I don't like the cold but don't bitch about it.  I make my one statement at the start of my first cold ride of the season, and that's it.

On 9/19/2023 at 7:54 AM, Bart said:

...also, it seems hotter than it was 20yrs ago as we would head out to GB, Nut or even other trails 10 or 11 oclock in the summer which NFWay you can do that now.

  My two ride-to-the ride days are Tuesdays and Thursday when I usually ride about an hour to WC and SN, respectively, leaving my house around 4 p.m.  The heat doesn't bother me.

35 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

We are what we are and the earth decided that long before any of us are here. I've biked all around the world, not just around the US and I can tell you that the best trail in the world, is, in fact, the one you are riding at the moment. 

Except the question, John, asks your ideal trail, not the best trail. 🤠

On 9/10/2023 at 7:31 PM, RedRider3141 said:

Seems silly but tires. Probably overthinking it but my on my "XC" bike I'll ride any number of miles paved, gravel, trail but on my "Trail Bike" I keep it mostly trail. Partially, efficiency and partially the difference in $$ on tires I've spent. 

Other than that, time. If it takes 20min one way to the trail, that's 40min less time on the trails I get to ride. 

A couple of observations of your valid concerns:

First, are you accounting for the time it takes to drive there? I will ride to Walnut Creek for a group ride, and if I take a more scenic route to include some single track and riding that is not road , it takes me just under an hour and I get 10 miles in. If I drive there, it takes me 15 to 20 minutes. I just leave early enough to meet the group for the ride time, so it doesn't cut into my trail ride time. 

Next, I certainly understand the concern about cost. I chewed through a rear Maxxis tire that was not cheap. However, I add that to my health budget, as I am much fitter and healthier now that I ride to the trail a bit more.

Taking into consideration the limitation in elevation we have here in central TX, what would your ideal trail entail if money was no object, i.e you could buy whatever dirt, wood, equipment, labor (skilled or otherwise,) etc. to make it happen?

• Tight and twisty like sooooo many trails we have here?  You know the ones....you get a decent bit of speed going downhill and then have to make a 180 degree turn to go back up hil and repeat the suck ass flow?  Also, this kind of trail leads to the technical aspect due to erosion caused by poor design?  
• Pump and jump-y stuff?
• Flowy, wide, and smooth singeltrack?
• Endless dirt jumps and berms?

Other than the distance to the trail, what keeps you from riding to the trail?

• Heat?
• Cold? (In winter, obviously)
• Time?
• Motivation?
• Fitness? 
• Other commitments like work, spouse, SO?

On 8/15/2023 at 8:06 PM, RedRider3141 said:

 

I'm hoping to start with a shake down ride this fall with a Lake Georgetown overnighter (10-15 miles/day) just to keep it simple and local. Ideally I'd like to spend <$300 to get the bags/gear I need to do this. If all goes well, I'll consider investing more for longer routes. 

 

 

Have you ridden The Goodwater Trail before?  Regardless, I don't think you'll likely be riding trails as technical as LGT when bike-packing....but maybe you will.  A good shakedown at LGT would be riding from Tejas Camp on the north side of the lake until you reach the technical climb about 5 to 5.5 miles in then turn around and ride back.  

11 hours ago, Shinerider said:

  Dewayne is heading there tomorrow for a thursday ride, so we shall see.  AJ Camp from Peddlers said they were using helo's to drop water in the area.

 

No, I'm not; I'm going to avoid the area for now.

Here is the link to the job posting.  Twenty years ago I would've applied.

"The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is November through April, but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: November 2023."

28 minutes ago, quixoft said:

I kind of consider Brushy Creek and Suburban Ninja the same trail network because I frequently hit both and sometimes both in the same ride. But I guess they technically are not connected. 

I hit the regional trail from my house and run Brushy Creek(Peddlers, Mulligan, Deception, Picnic) and then run up through the neighborhood to Suburban Ninja and run that until I hit Redhorn for beers.

Then a slow ride home back down SN along the creek, downhill through the neighborhood, back on the regional trail and home. 

 

If I lived closer to both trail systems, I would do something similar.  I live near Parmer and McNeil and ride my bike to SN to ride that trail, taking as much not-road as I can.  I don't ride on Parmer anymore, so I don't take the most direct routes.  My routes are usually around 10 miles to get there.

I definitely use Strava heatmaps to...poke around the area for trails I don't know of yet. And I use it to track my rides.

Admittedly, I don't go south of the river much and really only ride the GB when I do.  I've ridden some of the SATN trails once recently and some of it long ago before people started calling it SATN.  

As far as Trail Forks, I was looking at Google search results, and the only result that showed that name was Trail Forks. Also, I only use Trail Forks in places in which I'm unfamiliar with the trails.

19 hours ago, The Tip said:

"Slaughter Creek" is one of the choices. I'm guessing that is referring to Maxwell Slaughter Creek? We regard that as part of the SATN. 

 

A cursory search shows that whoever created the trail on Trail Forks called it that.  I've simply known it as Slaughter Creek since we designed the trail.  Calling it Maxwell Slaughter Creek is like calling City Park "Emma Long" or Town Lake "Lady BIrd Lake" or the Greenbelt the "Barton Creek Greenbelt."  Only people who aren't native Austinites or haven't been in Austin long use these names.  🙂

The trail I have ridden the most over the 30+ years I have been mountain biking in Austin is Walnut Creek....b/c of our Tuesday night R&I, which has been going on since 2001 or 2002.  My go-to tail is SN these days.

What is your go-to trail?