throet

https://goo.gl/maps/5XbNHJaQkBP2

https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8016959/canyon

49 minutes ago, Albert said:

Great idea!  I've created a new MTB Destinations forum.   I'll look to see if there are any relevant threads to move into this new forum. 

Thanks, 

 ..Al

Thanks. I was thinking though that before you just start placing random posts into it, we could organize the threads as noted in my suggestion above? Is that workable? If so I'm happy to get started on that given the appropriate permissions. 

I think this is going to get worse - not better. The last few weekend rides I've taken on Brushy I've seen multiple people riding Deception without shirts, without helmets, and on Walmart bikes. These were all "twenty-somethings" who unfortunately are riding, I believe, not because they hope for this to become a passionate, life-long endeavor, but simply because it is one of the "cool" things for them to do right now. I'm confident that those same joy riders would view wet, muddy trails as being even more enticing. I did plenty of careless, reckless things myself growing up; so it's hard for me to be too judgmental. Still, it's a dilemma that impacts all of us who are trying to preserve the integrity of the sport and the trails.

I agree that signs specifically may not help, but ongoing education in various forms will have a positive impact, just like HB taking the time to give feedback to this individual. As another example, I met up and rode with some youngsters a few weeks ago who were riding as part of the Peddler's Wed. night group. They were clearly very interested in the sport and not just the activity, and they were getting great guidance from an experienced rider who was with them. The more of the young people who we can take under our wings and grow into the sport, the fewer will be left to ride recklessly and carelessly.

How about another section under Mountain Biking called MTB Destinations? I've started compiling input from this thread and the old Mojo thread to create sort of an MTB destination guide, specific to travel from Austin. Each new thread would represent a destination, starting with a post showing the google travel map and driving hours, along with some general information on the area trails. Once a Destination thread is posted with the standard opening structure, then it could be opened up for further input / insights based on specific experiences of the ATMB audience. If this is something you think is worthwhile, I'm happy to spend some time getting it started.

There has been an abundance of great info posted on various destinations, but because it is strewn across multiple general threads (mostly still on Mojo), it requires extensive digging and searching to go back and find the relevant pieces when you are thinking about taking a trip. By organizing in the manner I'm suggesting, a simple visit to the MTB Destination section would deliver easy access to organized information regarding the various destinations. We can start with everything that is within a day's drive of Austin since that has been a hot topic, but can also expand to include ALL MTB destinations that have been visited going forward.     

1 minute ago, ATXZJ said:

All in all its a cool place to ride and visit. Cadillac ranch, Big texan steakhouse & brewery and theres a  fairly decent downtown in amarillo.

So is Amarillo where all of these places are, or is there also food and lodging in the town of Canyon? Tempted to go right now given the state of things around here.  

11 hours ago, Seths Pool said:

I got a kick winning my class

Congrats man! EWS awaits! 

On ‎8‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 2:00 PM, JRA said:

Why limit yourself ? I think I could spend an entire month driving around hitting trails in Arkansas

A nice plan would be to start out with the Womble and other trails in the Lake Ouachita area, which could consume a few days easily. Then head NE to the Syllamo trails (60+ miles of trail) near Mountain View in NE AR for several more days before cutting across the Ozarks to Fayetville to spend a couple of weeks riding there, Bentonville, and other spots in NW AR. If I can manage to stay retired, this would be a great near-by, month-long getaway. I've ridden in AR both Spring and Fall, and both have been super pleasant.    

On 9/7/2018 at 9:30 AM, June Bug said:

Outerbike in Bentonville October 26-28, 2018.  Not cheap, though, if you go for the demos!

Outerbike Bentonville

And then the Kessler Mountain Jam the following week. Between the Oz Off-road, Outerbike, and the Mountain Jam, there appears to be plenty of Fall Fun in NW AR for 2018. I remember last year somebody pointing out how nice the fall foliage was up there, but I suppose it's hard to know when it would be at it's peak. As RA and others have noted, there are plenty of great opportunities to ride all around NW AR, and probably the best bet would be to spend an entire week checking it all out. 

http://fayetteville-ar.gov/3416/Kessler-Mountain-Jam

13 hours ago, Albert said:

That's where I and some others are going tomorrow morning.  Forecast isn't great, though, so will have to play it by ear.

Will be interested to get a report back on your ride today. I started checking the radar this morning to see if driving out there would be worthwhile. Riding in wet conditions out there is fine, but I just didn't want to risk driving out there only to get drenched while out on the trails. Looks like some storm systems are definitely moving through there today. 

1 hour ago, MrMentallo said:

On my way for some much needed berm love.

Did you get drenched? It was coming down in buckets along S. Bell on the YMCA end of the trails. 

We're swamped here a mile from the trail, and I saw a post from HoneyBadger stating that it was raining at Peddlers just a little while ago. I'm thinking no chance of riding in the morning but if anybody knows differently, please post up. 

Looks like possibility of more rain today and tomorrow anyway; so not sure if anybody will be riding this week. Hopefully by next week we see a reduction in the damn humidity. 

40 minutes ago, Chief said:

I used to roll off Collarbone instead of using the switchback between the rocks until onetime I rolled up to it too slow. I realized as my front tire was rolling off the edge that I was moving too slow and tried to ride it out. No OTB but lost control and landed on my left shoulder blade and felt something spear me in the chest. Tore the cartilage front and rear on my ribcage took about two and a half months to heal.

I still roll it on the far right with a tight turn in, but between the ever present scree and the leaves from that pesky palm bush, it can get sketchy sometimes. Can we consider that palm an invasive species and just remove it?  

9 hours ago, Bamwa said:

To throet, I imagine the break would most likely occur landing some hella air not some other random time, but I guess Seth's broke some random time so who knows.

I wasn't even trying to speculate on what would cause them to break - just what scenarios could lead to the worst crashes, regardless of the exact cause. And "landing some hella air" would definitely be one of those, especially for people doing it above their pay grade.   

11 hours ago, RidingAgain said:

I'm thinking that what he was getting at is if using carbon... Check it regularly... And employ a system of buying new every two or three years... Simply because the weakness that could be in carbon parts can remain hidden, even to the most intense visual inspection (not x-ray type suff).

Yeah I got that too, but like others, he seems to be using a very horrific experience to scare others into action. My point, which probably should have been more concise, is that nobody I've seen has presented real statistical data showing what the likelihood is of getting seriously injured due to a carbon failure. Even the author noted that he will never know what exactly caused the failure. If you employ a system of date stamping, what is the probability of failure 1 week prior to the replacement date vs. 1 week after? Guess I'm just not convinced yet to run out and replace my 2-yr old, banged up stuff, which of course will make me look really foolish if I end up seriously hurt as a result. 

9 minutes ago, CBaron said:

It was to consist of parking at Camp Tejas and making a lap of LGT, then riding down Parmer and doing Peddler's Pass, then Deception proper (1/4 notch & DD).  From there I'd jump back onto Parmer and head to WC for completion.  It was my goal to cover that distance so that I could get an idea for the distance and time to completion.  This would then give me an idea of what time I'd have to begin in order to start (the night before the EB) with this route as a Prologue to the EB.  I was estimating it would be about 6.5 hrs and about 60-65 miles.

This seems insane to me given what the temp and humidity must have been on 8/25. Hopefully you didn't have any open wounds laying in that stream, or your biggest worry might be flesh-eating bacteria. 

58 minutes ago, CBaron said:

I have a bandana that is the last thing I shove into my seat bag.  Its primary use if to take up the additional space to prevent rattling.  However, I've used it on MULTIPLE occasions for injuries out on the trail.  Luckily for me, they've been 'other people's' injuries.  But I had a riding buddy nearly sever off the tip of his finger via a disc rotor during a spectacular crash.  My trusty bandana saved they day (and his finger)!  

-CJB

If clean and dry, could also be used to wipe goggles / glasses. This time of year there is never a dry spot on my shirt to accomplish that task, and I end up riding with obscured vision. I need to start carrying some sort of cloth for that purpose, and potentially other purposes as noted. 

But don't you miss the ads …… 

43 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

I picked these up the last time my family CFO went out of town. I like them and no more shoulder or hand pain

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 

Nice! Were you able to "cook the books" to conceal your purchase? 

6 hours ago, RidingAgain said:

Came across this...

(Not sure what happened... But if you click the FB logo at the top right corner it will open a tab to the person's comment).
 

 

I think the scariest part of this story is that you can get a traumatic brain injury falling from a seated biking position to the ground even with a helmet on (assume of course that he was wearing a helmet). People fall to the ground for any number of reasons, breaking handlebars probably being among the least frequent causes. The reality is that MTB is a sport that can cause you to fall to the ground, or worse off the side of a cliff, at almost anytime with potentially severe consequences. Fortunately most falls result in only superficial cuts and abrasions or non-threatening bumps to the helmet. Less frequently falls result in lacerations requiring treatment or broken bones (mostly clavicles and ribs) or joint injuries (mostly AC separations). And even less frequently falls result in traumatic injuries such as what is depicted here. Of those falls resulting in traumatic, life/limb threatening injuries, my guess is that going OTB or losing control while getting air is the prevailing cause, probably even exponentially more than failing carbon parts. I only say all of this to keep things in perspective, i.e. even if you run out and replace your carbon bars today, something else has a much more probable cause for killing or maiming you whilst riding your bike.   

2 hours ago, notyal said:

Dammit. I did it again today. Marked the whole Mountain Biking forum "read" on accident. Is seems a bit trivial at first, but now I will probably abandon many of the topics I have been saving for later instead of participation in the discussion. That really sucks.

On the mobile interface, at least on my Android phone running Chrome, a warning pops up giving you a chance to cancel marking the thread as Read. How is that being invoked? 

3 hours ago, Seths Pool said:

speaking of grips. the best grips on EARTH are the Ergon GS1 grips. it gives your hand/palm/wrist so much support, it feels like you're riding with a relaxed, open hands, rather than a death grip on a rubber coated pencil, basically makes hand fatigue completely disappear. I have them on all my bikes, including DH. basically everyone who ive gotten to try them has never gone back and now swears by them. especially for any bigger or older guys will probably see the most drastic difference in reduction of hand fatigue, but I recommend them to anyone.

 

Remember you gave me a brand new pair a couple of years ago, and I did swear by them for a year or so. In fact they eliminated some of the arm issues I was having at the time. I even bought a pair of the GX1's that have a slightly smaller wing and used them on my new bike for a good while. As my riding evolved though, I found that the wing was getting in the way of getting the right grip for certain maneuvers and went back to using wide diameter, rounded grips. I'll probably try the Ergon GA3s next time I need new grips, since they have just a very slight wing on them. I still have the GS1 and GX1 grips as well though in case I decide to revert back to them.  

1 hour ago, Anita Handle said:

For those seeking vibration dampening, have you considered the Spank Vibrocore? They're aluminium with a dampening foam injected into them. Probably my next handlebar purchase.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/spank-spike-800-race-vibrocore-handlebar-review-2014.html

 

Definitely something to consider. Also I've looked at the Revolution Grips but can't bring myself to spend $90 for them. 

9 hours ago, FJsnoozer said:

That's scary. I  didnt mean my post to come off so rude.  How do you react to carbs and foods with a much lower glycemic index vs those that are closer to 100? I assume you avoid white bread but do you trade for things like Rye...and tortillas 🙂? 

No worries man I'm learning a lot from reading about what works for everybody, and frankly I'm just glad to be active now in a sport that is so enjoyable for me. I have no interest in competing at MTB; so I can approach this stuff more casually than others. I think for me it's more a question of how I don't react. As long as I keep carbs at around 45 - 55 grams per meal, and mix those carbs with good fat and protein, I feel fine all the time. When I'm hungry between meals, I usually eat a protein bar or some almonds. If I were to eat a high-carb, high-glycemic meal followed by nothing else, within 90 minutes I'd feel like shit and would be heading for a big crash. The biggest thing I avoid are sugared drinks, even fruit juice, followed by cookies, cakes, etc. I try not to eat any bread at all, except for a high-fiber muffin or breakfast cereal, but will occasionally wrap up some fajitas in a flour tortilla. Probably the highest GI items I consume regularly are baked potatoes and white rice, although lately I've been substituting a sweet potato much of the time. I generally consume fruit either on top of my cereal or pre-ride / post-ride, which seems to work well for me, especially high-fiber stuff like apples.     

2 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

I followed the link and enjoyed the magazine. Turning the pages like the old-fashioned paper mags of yesteryear was easy by clicking the mouse on the corner of the page, scrolling the wheel, or using the arrow buttons on the keyboard. It seemed to be a very user friendly format. I'd be happy to view more mags presented online like this.

Blogs are cumbersome for me when I'm not following every new installment as they appear.  The chronological format renders the past entries deeper into the void, unless the blogger provides some easy way to find things.

Maybe I'm not looking at the right blogs, but this magazine had some good content, I even enjoyed some of the ads. Thanks for posting up the link.

Sounds like the same format as the Dirt Rag publication that comes with the ARR / IMBA membership.