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Anybody been to Pederanales Falls Lately?


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Yup, rode it this past Sunday. I forgot how much fun that trail is. Yes there are 3 or 4 big trees down across the trail. We managed to move 1 smaller one but the others will need a saw. I think all were on juniper ridge trail, west side. 

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5 hours ago, Trailrider said:

Juniper ridge trail was always in need of a widening. Why don't one of you guys with a saw take care of all those trees that have been smashed so often by bars that the bark is ripped off? Then at least it would be rideable.

Juniper Ridge is perfectly rideable and plenty wide. Yeah, I wouldn't have designed the (what, 3 or 4?) tree gates in the trail like they are. But now that they're there, I'd rather not see someone "fix" them, particularly if they're not the trail steward. 

Edited by Barry
ride \ ridge
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12 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

I never rode there before,, worth the drive I assume? 

It depends on what you like.   I really like the trail - it has very little elevation change since you follow the contour lines well and lots of rock gardens.  Nothing really difficult but a few tricky sections that can get you hung up if you're not careful.  It's definitely a workout.

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20 minutes ago, fontarin said:

It depends on what you like.   I really like the trail - it has very little elevation change since you follow the contour lines well and lots of rock gardens.  Nothing really difficult but a few tricky sections that can get you hung up if you're not careful.  It's definitely a workout.

sounds nice,, thank you

Im not too picky and enjoy variety

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I never rode there before,, worth the drive I assume? 
I find it enjoyable, lots of rocks but nothing really difficult just have to pick your lines and go. Not much in the way of climing or drops but still quite an enjoyable trail It is covered for the most part but do take plenty of water.

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Juniper Ridge is perfectly rideable and plenty wide. Yeah, I wouldn't have designed the (what, 3 or 4?) tree gates in the trail like they are. But now that they're there, I'd rather not see someone "fix" them, particularly if they're not the trail steward. 
Completely agree, there are one or two that always want to knock my bars.

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7 hours ago, Trailrider said:

Juniper ridge trail was always in need of a widening. Why don't one of you guys with a saw take care of all those trees that have been smashed so often by bars that the bark is ripped off? Then at least it would be rideable.

Uh, no. Every trail has features that some people like and other people don't like. If those tree gates are so bad that you have trouble riding them, go to a different trail.

This is being written by a guy that raced real Enduro (not bicycle enduro) for years. I could go thru a tree gate that just wider than my knees at 10 to 15 miles per hour. With a little practice I bet I still could. On a mtb - it is SSSSSSOOOOOO much easier. 

Edited by cxagent
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12 hours ago, Andrzej said:

Yup, rode it this past Sunday. I forgot how much fun that trail is. Yes there are 3 or 4 big trees down across the trail. We managed to move 1 smaller one but the others will need a saw. I think all were on juniper ridge trail, west side. 

Thanks! I will head out there on Wednesday evening.

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On 7/23/2019 at 12:49 PM, cxagent said:

Uh, no. Every trail has features that some people like and other people don't like. If those tree gates are so bad that you have trouble riding them, go to a different trail.

This is being written by a guy that raced real Enduro (not bicycle enduro) for years. I could go thru a tree gate that just wider than my knees at 10 to 15 miles per hour. With a little practice I bet I still could. On a mtb - it is SSSSSSOOOOOO much easier. 

Now I question if you have even ridden Juniper ridge. With 780mm bars, you cannot go through some of those "tree gates". They aren't even features; they are just hazards.

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37 minutes ago, Trailrider said:

Now I question if you have even ridden Juniper ridge. With 780mm bars, you cannot go through some of those "tree gates".

Not me you replied to, but an interesting take. Maybe you're just not good at bicycles?

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Pedernales is one of my favorite local trails! It is certainly one of the best trail systems in a Texas State Park, the best I've seen although I haven't ridden a few well known parks in the state.

Juniper Ridge may not have a lot of climbing but a full loop out there has a decent amount of climbing and sustained effort from traversing oodles of rock gardens. I'm usually pretty beat after 18-20 miles.

Tree gates are a contentious debate but I do think everything out there is doable with wide bars (780mm) with some body english and technique. There's no need to insult someone that doesn't like a certain feature type, amirite? That said, the trail is what it is, so it is best to appreciate it that way and learn to deal with the sticky spots.

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On 7/23/2019 at 5:47 AM, Trailrider said:

Juniper ridge trail was always in need of a widening. Why don't one of you guys with a saw take care of all those trees that have been smashed so often by bars that the bark is ripped off? Then at least it would be rideable.

This type a talk is frowned upon in these here parts boy. Best you get used to them tree gates or else we will have sic Bartman on you.

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14 hours ago, Barry said:

Maybe you're just not good at bicycles?

 

1 hour ago, Anita Handle said:

There's no need to insult someone that doesn't like a certain feature type, amirite?

 

That wasn't me at my most polite, no. But it was meant more snarky/tongue-in-cheek than downright insulting. 

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On 7/24/2019 at 10:58 PM, Trailrider said:

Now I question if you have even ridden Juniper ridge. With 780mm bars, you cannot go through some of those "tree gates". They aren't even features; they are just hazards.

Yes I have ridden Juniper Ridge. I ride it at least once per year. I think I have ridden every obstacle on the trail without dabbing at least once.  Note I did not say I have no-dabbed the entire trail on the same ride. I still miss and miss a lot.

You might want to know that not only have I ridden it, I also helped build it (second only to Charlie on the number of hours spent). When we are cutting trees for a new trail, we will always leave it on the 'tighter' side. Why? We can (and do) go back and take out more trees. But we cannot go put them back. So we leave the trail tighter at the beginning and open it up where we think it needs to be wider. 

There were also other considerations for that trail. One was keeping horses off the single track. Leaving tight tree gates and low hanging branches discourages horses. The other was ATVs. Same thing there. A group not associated with MTB followed the single track we had just cut and was widening it and smoothing it for ATVs. We chose not to build and maintain an ATV trail so it needs to be narrower. We intentionally left the next couple of tree gates passed where the ATV folks has cleared.

So how do you ride a tree gate that is narrower than your handlebars? (I could not find the Dirt Bike magazine so I will describe it.) As you approach the tree gate, stand up and level your pedals once you have enough speed to coast thru. Keep your knees and elbows in line but you don't need to try to 'tuck them in'. Pick the side you will favor - usually the side that is farthest along the trail (as opposed to closest to you). Move your bike to that side of the trail so that hand will hit the tree if you tried to just ride thru. Just before that hand hits the tree, pull that hand back like you were steering a slow speed turn in that direction while keeping the bike vertical (no lean). That will effectively "stop" that hand while moving the other hand forward. Once the 'other hand' passes the tree on that side, lean the bike aggressively like you were turning in the opposite direction of the steered turn. The lean should clear the hand that was about the hit the tree. Shove that hand forward and straighten the bike up right again. Your bars  are now past both trees. Hopefully, you can clear the rest of your bike between the trees. The pedal on the 'favored side' will be the next thing to work on clearing. Hopefully this word description makes sense.

If I screw up this move, I end up stopped, standing on the pedals with my shoulder against one of the trees. From there I can untangle myself and ride away without dabbing. The more I practice this move the higher speed I can carry thru the trees. I suggest you start learning it my planning to ride into the tree gate and stop with your shoulder on a tree, then learn the move. Then learn to carry some speed (not stop).

I hope that helps.

Edited by cxagent
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I like tree gates, and have built several of them into trails over the years. Some were idolized at RHR with "Rob Knocker" signage to commemorate my buddy Crash's first run through a well-known trail with new, wider bars. 🤣 

They are but another type of technical feature. This means that if they are a problem for you, that means there is another technique you can learn and improve upon. This is the best part of mountain biking for me, having things to ride that challenge me, and force me to think outside the box in order to conquer them.

YTGMV (your tree gates may vary)

Edited by Ridenfool
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1 hour ago, Ridenfool said:

This is the best part of mountain biking for me, having things to ride that challenge me, and force me to think outside the box in order to conquer them. 

Even low-hanging branches 🤣

Sorry could not help myself. 

Edited by throet
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This is the best part of mountain biking for me, having things to ride that challenge me, and force me to think outside the box in order to conquer them.



This is completely true, and the fact I like city park so much as I have to think about what I am doing and have to pick a line which might take several times for me to get it right. Otherwise I could just ride on circles around the block as it does not require much input from my end.

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I rode the Madrone / Juniper Ridge loop today. I cleared several "bad spots". Two were truly downed trees across the trail. Several others were face slappers that had grown into the trail. If I could ride under or around it while staying on the trail, I left it.

I will get back out to clear the rest of Juniper Ridge next week.

I also "no dabbed" all of the tree gates but one. I snagged a pedal on that one.

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