schoolie

On 3/8/2019 at 11:24 AM, First-Blood said:

Thanks. Double down is a black trail. Any dangerous obstacles there are already B lines to. People try and dumb down that trail a lot. Thanks for the pics in advance

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

Blocked the aforementioned go-arounds on DD today. It's nothing particularly permanent, so I imagine they'll probably get moved again... just keep moving them back!

13 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I am planning to do a GB ride on Saturday but my ride would be in the morning, either 9 or 10. It will end at a brewery if that helps.

Cool! I'm not sure yet when we'll be up and rolling Saturday though, depends how early he can leave work Friday, how smooth his drive goes, etc. Unfortunately, it probably won't be until early afternoon.

I do think I got a good enough tour from y'all on Sunday to show him around on my own though, so thanks for that!

20 minutes ago, CBaron said:

Ok got it!

Has he been to ATX before?  If not, then a nice little jaunt through sidewinder, rattlesnake and a few others would be enough to make him wince.  Most everyone who doesn't ride our stuff easily gets overwhelmed with the chunky, rocky, loose, steep tech we have around here.  It wouldn't be too hard to put together a 2-2.5 hr route featuring the highlights that would give many people plenty of (troubled) fun! 😉  I'm planning to be on the MX bike this weekend or I'd offer to join/lead you guys around.

The 4c stuff is really nice, but IMHO may not be as punishing as what could be done at BCGB.  YMMV

-CJB

Nope, he hasn't been to ATX. The primary goal isn't actually to demoralize him, lol, but I do want him to experience the kind of riding I get to do down here, same as he does for me when I visit out there. Springs has some extended rowdy downhills, all linked up with fireroad climbs, so it's a lot different than here.

I know we rode sidewinder and I think rattlesnake on Sunday, but that was far enough into the route that I was losing track of where we were. If you've got a ride that would be a good reference for this shorter loop, that'd be awesome.

The sections I remember that I wanted to be sure to hit again are HOL backside stuff, dump truck (great view), Rudy's Chute, play around on ledges/drops at the gravel pit, and Jedi/Mulch. The descent from Via Fortuna was a blast, but maybe not worth the distance to get there depending on time.

Doing out and back to Zilker would be fun, stopping for lunch, etc., but I probably would only do that if we end up making it an all day affair on Monday.

Oh yeah... what's Zilker like with SXSW going on? Is that something I need to care about?

8 minutes ago, Barry said:

For RPR, I think it is more important to hit the Peak Loop and the Outer Loop than it is to do the Flow trail and Jaws, especially since you're doing Spider first. So I'd put the priority on fun exposed granite. But if you have time, do it all. 

  

RPR can be a confusing mess--and this is more true than ever now that they have the wide corridor trail plowing through, around and beside the singletrack. You could save this ride as a route and try to follow it on Strava though: https://www.strava.com/activities/2032260043  Or maybe you could wrangle a guide.

Awesome, that's the kind of info I was looking for. Thanks!

8 minutes ago, Barry said:

Hmmmm...schoolie...Crystal Falls....Ultimate Frisbee...not been to RPR...doesn't travel much... yeah I know you. 

Yep, you do 😉

14 minutes ago, CBaron said:

I don't have access to it at the moment, but someone post up a Strava link of last weekend's DeathMarch ride!  That'll teach him....

-CJB

And you do too Cody. I learned my lesson well enough on Sunday, not sure I want to go through that again just to show Joe some tech, lol.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2205301262

It definitely helped me feel like I know my way around down there though. I've been working on routes of a couple different lengths that I feel like were the highlights, without quite so much of the misery :)

My brother's coming into town from Colorado this weekend. It's his first time visiting Texas to ride, so I want to show him a good time break his spirit with a bunch of chunky tech 😉.

He'll be getting in late Friday/early Saturday morning, and leaving Tuesday midday. I live in Cedar Park, but don't travel to ride all that much, so I haven't ridden all that many trail systems around here. This is a good excuse for me to get out and see new trails too, so I'm planning on taking advantage of it!

We definitely want to check out Spider Mtn, and spend a decent chunk of time showing him all the stuff I ride at Brushy. Aside from that, I'd like to take him through some of the Greenbelt, and probably Reveille Peak.

Tentative Plan:

-Saturday afternoon: BCBG tour (maybe 4C/Jester too? I haven't been there, but I've heard it's fun. Any description/reviews?)

-Sunday: Spider for a 3 or 4 hours, then RPR till dark. -- Anyone have a good route at RPR to make sure we hit all the good stuff?

-Monday: Crystal Falls, Ultimate Frisbee at 12 in Cedar Park, Brushy playtime

-Tuesday: Eat tacos, lol

I haven't decided how much of the greenbelt I want to take him through, so we might switch Saturday / Monday. I've got some other stuff I'd like to do with him in Cedar Park on Monday though, so staying close works better for that.

When I visit him in CO, he usually drags me through around 70 miles and 10,000 ft of climbing in a weekend, so I'm trying to work him over the same on his trip down here.

Anything else I'm missing? How much time should we budget if we go to Jester? RPR?

Thanks in advance!

I bought these and they're too small. Shipping for a return costs too much to be worth it, so I'm gonna try to sell them.

Installed cleats then rode in them on my commute (~9 miles of casual sunny day riding). Pretty much brand new.

Size 42, US 9.5

I usually between 9.5/10, looks like 10 was the right size for me in this brand.

$60

29 minutes ago, First-Blood said:

Hey everyone. Wanted to first off say thanks to those who stop and do little bit of work on trail here and there. But secondly ask a favor of any of you guys. I currently am on baby duty and dont get to ride or maintain like I want to. I rode yesterday and on my way through Rim job I noticed an unauthorized cut through. These things i used to combat ALL the time when i was present more. This cut through was very obvious ... a corridor pretty wide and they made a path lined with rocks. The frustrating and puzzling thing about this one was that an official across line already exists 30 ft or so further down the trail. Wtf! Anyways this particular one was just as you finish the line along the cliff of Rim heading west and you are coming up on the line that parallels the Rim line... we used to call it Dave's Glitch East. It takes you into the bottom of the ditch closest to the bcrt. I closed it off. If you guys are riding and see it open back up do me a solid and block it. I'll make a sign if it keeps being an issue. This blocking request really goes for any unofficial cut through. Most of you guys know what's official. We wont make any change to the trail without posting it up in social media first.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw that the other day... it looked so official I thought it might be, lol. 

There are a couple spots on double down that have had alternate lines cut (going around a couple technical choke points), I'll try and get pics/block them next time I'm out there, probably next week some time.

29 minutes ago, RidingAgain said:

Hold on a second... That's not an e-bike?

https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/mount-vision-pro

Nope, just a very non traditional suspension linkage. It uses a sliding joint (and pivots) instead of just simple pivots like almost all other FS bikes.

2 minutes ago, Albert said:

There are two ways.  To start from the top, ride Rim Job and when the trail gets to a T intersection (where you have to go left up the hill or right towards the creek), go up the hill on the left.  At the top of the hill, continue right (it's the only way you can go).  Follow the trail for a bit, and it will dump down onto the top of Dave's Ditch.  I usually avoid riding it if there's water flowing down the first "drop".  

You can also ride it backwards.  As you ride down the Brushy Creek Regional Trail away from the YMCA, there's a bridge right after the 183A overpasses (or just before if you're coming from the other direction).  Immediately after the bridge on the right you'll see a trail that dips down immediately.  This trail is the end of Dave's Ditch.  

 ..Al

What he said. Here's the map:

https://caltopo.com/m/BR36

1 hour ago, 2112Greg said:

I'm looking at using this mapping software to create maps of other trail systems...just gotta start with a GPX file, I finally figured that out. haha

Any tips/tricks on using this would be much appreciated.

This is going to be super useful for me and my crew...!

I love dorking around with map stuff, but I'm not sure what the "getting started" tips really are. If you've got a trail system in mind, you should start a thread topic for it. We could crowd source a siiick caltopo map 

2 hours ago, First-Blood said:

I piggy backed off that map from schoolie and added some routes and some other info. color coded trails to show skill level for each trail.

 

https://caltopo.com/m/BR36

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

Seems like a good post for a sticky... do we do that here?

I had family in town this weekend and wasn't going to get to do this ride. Now I might have a chance, so I'm OK with it 

7 minutes ago, First-Blood said:

Anyone have a straight 1 1/8 steer tube air suspension fork they are willing to part with first cheap. My buddy blew his apart on his aging bike at spider mtn. He is on a budget trying to Save up for a decent modern bike.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

26 or 29?

1 hour ago, First-Blood said:

Yea I'm in the beta version. Thanks! I'll take access to your good work to edit a bit. I may have a few other pieces I can add to it

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

Nice. Just sent you a PM.

2 hours ago, rugger said:

Cool. 

Double Down East to West pics:

Thanks! I updated a few.

2 hours ago, rugger said:

9. No name little ledge on a 90 within the UFL (Upper Fence Line).

Holy crap, I found a rock that wasn't named, didn't know those existed, lol.

If you ever feel like taking a hike or a ride sometime, I'd love to get pics and names of everything else!

On 2/17/2019 at 8:19 AM, First-Blood said:

It's already available bro. Just gotta export the gpx to your cute little laptop and add EVERY feature name you came up with like... twink city

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

I started making a photo map of some of the features out there, and I'd be up for adding more if someone wants to give me the tour sometime.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nuDfPC-N8k8VoMdUhy74_GDUgUo&usp=sharing

On 2/16/2019 at 11:21 PM, First-Blood said:

Sweet cal topo layout. Always considered doing this. Good job. I might clean it up a bit and use this in future for people.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

I put that together, glad it's helpful! First-Blood, let me know if you'd like the data, and I'll send it your way or give you edit access to the map.

On 2/17/2019 at 9:36 AM, First-Blood said:

Fyi. It's not an APP (yet) it is web based but it is a very powerful mapping tool available for free or premium service for a fee

There's a beta version of the Android app out there now: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.caltopo.android&hl=en

Quick question on Suburban Ninja... is the entrance at the Kati Ln cul de sac OK to use? I've been getting on / off a little farther up stream by going around the drainage pond at the end of Logan Ridge Dr. Would love to add some more dirt into the ride!

Just now, TheSarge said:

While everyone on the R&I thread is discussing the best way to ride trails that are too wet to ride, can anyone report on Brushy conditions?  I'm thinking Deception should at least be good to go.

 

Double down is good to go, the rocks aren't even very slick. There are mud holes on picnic visible from the Swag bailout, but I didn't venture further.

12 minutes ago, olddbrider said:

So... my bike is my best friend now?

It wasn't already?

1 hour ago, CBaron said:

Yeah, I get it.  But I'm trying to figure out if I want to take my grips off, move my bell, possibly move my brake levers in (considering that this area is all wrapped in road bar tape) all for an experiment that I'm unsure if I need.

-CJB

I ran them for a couple years on my Karate Monkey. I liked them. They're not life changing or anything, but they give you a different hand position on longer rides, while still maintaining enough control to handle unexpected bumps in the trail. Basically, on tamer sections of trail or on the road, I end up riding with my thumb over the bars pretty often. The TOGS make it so you can ride with that grip in slightly more technical bits of trail, and make it waay harder to accidentally slip over the top of the bars when you hit that rock you didn't see. 

Now that I'm on a bike without them, I find myself missing them more that I thought I would. Next time I switch grips on my Stache, I think I'm gonna put them back on.

You should try them IMO.

Sending you a PM

Not sure if it would be helpful or not, but I can probably make a high res topo map of the property for you that you can load on your phone. I've used them while scouting trail so you can reference where you are vs where any terrain features are while you're in the field. Then again if it's just a flat square of land, probably not all the useful.

14 hours ago, Tree Magnet said:

I’m interested that cassette and chain ring if it comes with the XD driver.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't have an extra xD driver. Pretty sure they're hub specific anyway, so mine probably wouldn't fit your bike even if I had one.

Just to make sure I'm not missing anything... I have a cassette that is xD compatible, and I'm willing to sell it separate. I don't have the xD driver that would replace the shimano 9 spline driver on your wheel now. That's what you were asking right?

11 minutes ago, taco_junkie said:

There are more of these that I thought. https://raysmtb.com/

I'll be on the road or a trainer this weekend. Rain just opened up on S. Lamar.

That place is awesome. I grew up in the midwest, and Ray's opened when I was in college. A few buddies and I made the 6 hour drive once or twice a year for five or six years straight. It was a great way to spend a weekend, and really helped me learn to jump, ride skinnies, and a lot of the little techy stuff that you don't often stop to practice on a normal trail ride. By the end of the weekend we could barely walk, and couldn't stop smiling :)

There's a lot less market for something like that down here though, since we don't have to put up with 3 months of gray slush when it's tough to get out on trails.