throet

I always ride Gnargasm CCW (E-W) and loop back into Snow White for the return. Looks like I'm missing a small piece of Snow White by always riding it that way. Sometimes I interrupt the loop to go down the wooden feature and out-and-back on Caddyshack. Either before or after completing the Gnargasm-Snow White loop, I go out-and-back on Gumdrop. Most of my Brushy rides are confined to everything west of the Sport Park, but when I take the time to hit Peddlers I'll often make the extra trek eastward to hit the Candyland trails. Speaking of not riding for weeks, I'm sore as hell from just riding a couple of hours each on Sat and Sun. Thinking about sneaking out for a recovery ride at lunch time to make the pain go away (and before more rain rolls in)!

That's a really good point. At a minimum I suppose that I should try it once on my Primer and then follow that up with a rented longer travel bike just to see how much difference it will make.

My dilemma is this. I'm really excited to give this a go and thinking it will be a great riding venue for the summer time. Problem is, I've been a huge proponent of shorter travel (120-130mm) bikes for around here, with short chainstays and wheelbase for that playful feel. My 2017 Primer 29er has been perfect for me on everything I ride around Central Texas, but I think I'm going to want more if I start hitting Spider Mountain and possibly Cat Mountain. My 2014 Trek Remedy 29er would provide a little more travel and smooth out the bumps better, but it's old school geo with cramped cockpit and long stem to compensate. I think I'm going to want a modern, relatively slack (65-66 degree HTA) 27.5 with 150mm travel and relatively short chainstay and wheelbase. The newer 27.5 Remedy 9.8 would probably fit the bill, or maybe something from Germany like this Focus Sam.

Hard to believe that on a day like today after so much wet weather I had the trail all to myself this afternoon. Rode Snail, Rim, Picnic, Mulligan, Deception, and Rim again. Never even ran into anybody, except a group that had me hemmed up on Rim for a few minutes before they turned left at the end, and I turned right to hit Up-and-Over. It's amazing how sometimes you can feel really sharp after a couple of weeks off the bike. Didn't have the legs for a lot of climbing, but definitely had the energy and awareness needed to attack all the tricky features. Suppose the cooler weather helps too. Will see how it goes tomorrow when it's a bit warmer.

Yep this is the kind of golf I like to watch! Only difference between him and me on this hole is that I would have been using my Texas Foot Wedge to get out of the woods.

I got a <$50 3-gallon compressor at Walmart that works great. Paid another $15 for hose and accessories. Don't see that same one anymore but this could fit the bill. Rollback pricing! https://www.walmart.com/ip/Campbell-Hausfeld-3-Gallon-Inflation-and-Fastening-Compressor-with-Accessory-Kit-DC030098/785722491

They should hire the fired Cedar Breaks gate attendant, and her friend Mike of course.

Speaking of great covers …… even Daltrey and Townshend are mesmerized by this performance honoring the Who.

I'm intrigued by the idea of using this venue as a summer escape from my ordinary riding. During the plague of heat and humidity in the summer here, my rides get shorter and I have to take breaks when my body temp climbs too high. Frankly, those rides aren't even that enjoyable. Seems like zipping down multiple runs while cooling off in between would be a much better summer alternative, even wearing a full-face helmet and pads.

Congrats man!

No better way to kick off Black History Month than celebrating the pioneers who influenced much of the American and British music we've loved over our lifetimes!

Just in time for more rain tomorrow!

Carbon OK?

RPR was fabulous today!

Nope. Thought I was the only old geezer out there today.

I saw a few beginners out there today on some sketchy looking bikes.

Like this?

Was wondering that myself. Been out of town and returned to learn that we got about 1/3 inch of rain yesterday. Looked nice out there today but unfortunately I've been stuck in front of my computers.

No worries just checked it out for myself and Snail, Rim, Picnic, and Deception were all glorious. 😀

What sig?

BTW does anybody know if the wind and sun were enough to at least clear Deception for riding? It's been 2 weeks for me, and even then it was nothing more than a shit show at City Park. If Deception isn't good for tomorrow, then I'll be dancing with Emma again for sure.

So how does one even go about finding these rogue riders on Strava? Is that a quick process or does it require lengthy searching and analysis? Looks like @CBaron used the opportunity to educate this guy on austinmountainbiking.com via his Strava comments. That's very clever and perhaps is an approach we could use collectively to get more people connected here and with ARR.

Remember that from 2008-2015 Central Texas was in the grips of one of the worst droughts in history. I can remember many times during those years begging and praying for rain. Now, I'm begging and praying for a drought!

And no Killer Bee swarms!

I've had 3 false alarms over the past 15 years, 2 resulting in overnight stays in the hospital. Each time I ended up getting a nuclear stress test to "clear" me. Like you, I just don't like to take chances. Figuring out the ol' ticker can be pretty tricky though. I only smoked between ages 14-17, have been involved in competitive athletics most of my adult life, and have never been overweight or had high blood pressure. Still, you never know what's lurking. The nuclear stress test doesn't necessarily show you where plaque is building up in your arteries. I went and did one of those Heart CTs recently that scores based on calcium deposits, but apparently they're only a good indicator of whether you're completely clear or totally screwed. Anything in between doesn't really tell you much. My best friend, who was 15 years younger than me, ultra fit, and an MD, died from sudden cardiac arrest at 42. Turns out he had coronary microvascular disease but his only symptoms were some shortness of breath that he attributed to getting "older", and fatigue, which he may have attributed to his new and demanding job as a Chief Medical Officer. @TheXGreat to hear survival stories like yours!