Odd Duck On BCRT

[cutter]

Since I hurt my ribs, I have been riding BCRT way too damn much just to get some miles in, and I swear I see the same guy every single ride. It seems like he is there every day and I am wondering if anyone knows anything about him because he's just really odd and I am curious.

Brown hair, beard, usually wearing a long-sleeve flannel even on the hottest days. Maybe 30-something-ish but it's hard to tell.

There were days when it was 100+ and he was the only other rider I saw on the path. I like riding in the heat and take proper precautions, but he doesn't appear to be carrying water and on really hot days, his face gets bright red and his eyes bug out bad, bloodshot. Looks like he's headed for heat stroke, it's worrisome.

He appears to have some mental issues. He used to ride an older Trek, like an 850 Antelope hardtail or similar. That bike skipped gears constantly, you could hear him coming from a ways off because the chain would pop and he would sort of kick the pedals out of frustration and curse at the bike, kind of a Tourette's sort of thing, angry outbursts that weren't really intelligible.

A couple months back I noticed that he got a new Trek hardtail, red, and that fixed the gear skipping for a while, but the last few times I have seen him, the new bike has developed the same gear skipping problem and he is now cursing at it just like he did at the old one.

I think I first noticed him sometime in 2021 but he just seemed random back then, but since I have been out there more often, he is now a constant presence on every ride, regardless of what day of the week or time I go out.  I think he may just be doing laps back and forth all day.  In any case, he is definitely putting in the miles and must be fit as hell.

I've half-considered offering to adjust his cables to fix his gears but his angry outbursts are pretty aggressive at times, I've seen him yell at other people as well.  He is probably harmless but also a bit scary. It's also scary to see him out there on dangerously hot days in long-sleeve shirts without water. I'd hate to hear about someone dying out there from the heat.

Saw him again today.  Would love to help him if I could because all he needs is a little cable adjustment, but from experience I am wary of engaging with people who are obviously unstable.

Anyone else seen him or know his story?

[St.Bernardo]

Don't know anything about him.  What time do you usually see him on the trail?

[cutter]

3 hours ago, St.Bernardo said:

Don't know anything about him.  What time do you usually see him on the trail?

 

> he is now a constant presence on every ride, regardless of what day of the week or time I go out.  

Hence why it's odd.

Edited December 5, 2023 by cutter

[Cafeend]

Is he on the concrete path only and not the trails?  There are tons of us out there all the time and he is not ringing a bell. But yea, some odd folk out there sometimes

[ATXZJ]

6 hours ago, cutter said:

 

> he is now a constant presence on every ride, regardless of what day of the week or time I go out.  

Hence why it's odd.

He might also be living rent free in you head

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😁

[Cafeend]

Just now, ATXZJ said:

He might also be living rent free in you head

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😁

LOL.. He does not exist 

[cutter]

1 hour ago, Cafeend said:

Is he on the concrete path only and not the trails?  There are tons of us out there all the time and he is not ringing a bell. But yea, some odd folk out there sometimes

Yeah, only on the main path, not on the dirt. I haven't ridden dirt in months. 

MONTHS!!!

I've seen him everywhere at various times.  Yesterday I went out around dusk and I saw him by Parmer, but I do not ride at the same time on any given day, so it's just strange that we cross paths so much.

One time I passed him coming the opposite direction in the turns by the pool out by Round Rock, he was looking down and cursing at his bike and he almost ran over a woman walking her dog. He swerved into my lane at the last second and then he yelled at the woman. She was freaked out. I had to pull off to the side to let him pass, and the woman kind of looked at me puzzled, like WTF was that?

I don't think he's malicious, but he's definitely not quite right. He doesn't look homeless, and his current bike isn't a junker, it looked brand new as of this summer, so he must have a family or caregiver somewhere.

Like I said, I think he just does laps, my theory is that he's mentally ill and the path is a safe place for him to pass the days, stay occupied and out of trouble. Good on him for that, I respect anyone who puts in those kind of miles. Probably lives near the trail or maybe he's connected to the YMCA somehow. Just speculating.

And yes, I have considered the possibility that I am quite insane and he is my Tyler Durden.

The first rule of bike club is you don't talk about bike club.

I'd snap a pic of him but I doubt he'd be receptive to that. I don't want to trigger a confrontation or be accused of stealing his soul. I'm hesitant to even offer to adjust his shifting, but I always feel bad when I see people struggling with bikes that just need an easy fix. Too many years working in a shop.

There's another dude I see out there often who tosses Aerobie discs into the bushes along the path, kind of a hippie, usually wearing a tie-dye. It's like he's playing his own private game of cross-country disc golf. I can't quite figure what he's playing at, I wonder if he's just tripping balls and tossing discs to watch the pretty trails. But I don't see that guy every time I ride.

Christ I need to get back on the trails, my life is starting to feel like a reboot of Rear Window.

[Cafeend]

On 12/5/2023 at 6:04 PM, cutter said:

 

There's another dude I see out there often who tosses Aerobie discs into the bushes along the path, kind of a hippie, usually wearing a tie-dye. It's like he's playing his own private game of cross-country disc golf. I can't quite figure what he's playing at, I wonder if he's just tripping balls and tossing discs to watch the pretty trails. But I don't see that guy every time I ride.

Christ I need to get back on the trails, my life is starting to feel like a reboot of Rear Window.

Man this guy, We have stories on him. We call him the Frisbee guy. He tosses the frisbees, and throws out random trivia to the catcher. Most of which are young females. When we do trail maintenance he has gotten a bit "testy" and a PITA with us on occasion  , but overall he is harmless.    

[RedRider3141]

[Cafeend]

He has tried to make shortcuts from the main BCRT to the low sections of DD by bushwacking his way in , breaking branches , when we told him to stop he has went off on how its public property. Stuff like that. Mostly ignore him.   We do run into the few people who do not want any work done and they get rather vocal at our work. 1st time I got cussed out for trail work I was taken aback tbh, But whatever  to each their own I guess.     

 

[AntonioGG]

13 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

went off on how its public property.

OH NO HE DIDN"T!

[cutter]

8 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

Mostly ignore him.

 

I mostly ignore everyone.  I just observe.

[Chief]

5 hours ago, Cafeend said:

   We do run into the few people who do not want any work done and they get rather vocal at our work. 1st time I got cussed out for trail work I was taken aback tbh, But whatever  to each their own I guess.     

 

So they're hiking on the trail and get upset when trail work is being done not understanding if it wasn't for the mountain bikers there would be no trails to hike. Typical.

[cutter]

My favorite encounter at Brushy was last summer, well after the peak of COVID hysteria.  I was out running on Rim with my dogs and I came up behind a rather portly man hiking.  He didn't notice me until I was maybe 10 feet behind him, and I guess he was freaked out that I was in his personal space, because he hustled off into the trees when he noticed me.  This was in one of those spots where, if he had gone a few feet farther in the wrong direction, he would have taken a ride down one of those cliffs.

At first I thought he was afraid of my dogs and I felt a little bad.  But then he reached down and pulled his t-shirt up over his head to use it as a mask -- like, all the way over his head, not just the collar -- he lifted it from the bottom so his arms were pulled up over his head like he was taking it off.

He said something sort of curt to me as I passed -- I didn't quite catch it because I had my earbuds in and he was talking into his t-shirt, but I'm pretty sure it was something about social distancing.

I just kept on running.

Big old belly flopping out, sweaty t-shirt pulled up over his head, outdoors, scared to death that the fit, healthy jogger passing by might be spreading disease, and so freaked out that he almost jumped off a cliff without even realizing it.

Can't fix crazy.

Edited December 8, 2023 by cutter

[ATXZJ]

55 minutes ago, cutter said:

 if he had gone a few feet farther in the wrong direction, he would have taken a ride down one of those cliffs.

 

if only

[throet]

On 12/4/2023 at 9:38 PM, cutter said:

Brown hair, beard, usually wearing a long-sleeve flannel even on the hottest days. Maybe 30-something-ish but it's hard to tell.

I know who you're talking about, and I get that you are well intentioned. Creating an entire thread to discover details that this person and their family may prefer to keep private seems odd to me though. I don't know the person personally, but if it were somebody close to me, I wouldn't want to see a thread like this on social media, even one that is obscure like Austin MTB. Again, I know you mean well - so please don't take this as an attack on you. Just offering a different viewpoint.   

[cutter]

46 minutes ago, throet said:

I know who you're talking about, and I get that you are well intentioned. Creating an entire thread to discover details that this person and their family may prefer to keep private seems odd to me though. I don't know the person personally, but if it were somebody close to me, I wouldn't want to see a thread like this on social media, even one that is obscure like Austin MTB. Again, I know you mean well - so please don't take this as an attack on you. Just offering a different viewpoint.   

I don't like you.

Please don't take that as an attack on you.

Wow.

Edited December 9, 2023 by cutter

[ATXZJ]

Austin will eventually drive anyone insane. 

[June Bug]

On 12/7/2023 at 1:38 PM, Cafeend said:

Most of which are young females...but overall he is harmless. 

So yes, harmless to you, but possibly not to young women. 

Red flag creeper behavior.