Yep, good ride - 14 miles with just small rocks and one good climb which Mack left me behind on !

Originally Posted by mack_turtle

I tried to ride yesterday but I managed to bust up my tailbone pretty badly while riding to work the day before (don't pedal while rounding a corner, kids) so I got 3 miles or so in and went straight home.

instead, I got my pathetic machete and some other tools and did some trail work on the stretch between the Valero on William Cannon/ Brush Country to the bridge over Brodie. hiking the trail gives you a new appreciation for it, so I recommend it. I knocked back a lot of the undergrowth along the main trail where it was over six feet high. after a while, my machete-swinging mucles cramped up so I just used my boot to stomp the weeds back. hopefully those areas of deep grass and weeks are more pleasant to pass now.

Sorry 'bout your tailbone, but bonus for us. I just rode the Valero Loop. You done good! That little stretch of trail was just about obscured from view. These days you need to know where trail is to ride it because some of it is hidden under a thick canopy of vegetation. Like the VCT through Indian Grass Preserve needs some attention. The rest of the of the loop was in pretty good shape though.

Anyone else notice the tree house on Candy? It is pretty well done.

What is your opinion about logs on the trail?

When a tree has fallen on the trail I always clear it. But lately I have been seeing sawed logs just laying over the trail.
My first thought is that "anti-trail" people put it there as an obstacle. But then I think maybe a biker put it there for a feature.
I am not referring to logs put down as erosion control devices.

Do you always ride over them, or do you ever stop and think, "Oh, that must mean I should not use that trail" and turn around?

I saw the treehouse, looks awesome.

I went otb yesterday because of a vicious attack log. I was re-entering Stephenson from the street and there was a log laying across the entrance to the trail that I did not see. no time to react. took it hard on the shoulder, ribs, right hand, and knee. managed to not hit my head somehow, but my hand is pretty useless. some passer-by helped me get untangled from my bike and move the log. then I discovered that it was a false entrance anyway, and that the "trail" only goes about ten feet before a dead end. maybe that log was put there for a reason.

when I SEE a log, instead of being ambushed by it, I take it as an opportunity to practice my tech skills and use my bash ring. depends on how big it is though. I would not think of moving it unless it is impossible to scramble over it.

I want to keep clearing more trail when I have time. what tool do you think does that job best in the grass and weeds? the machete feels manly but is probably not optimally efficient. I am thinking about getting a weed-cutter like this- http://www.amazon.com/Truper-30307-S.../dp/B002UDKY88

I have one of those. The problem with them is that the part that connects to the handle will break when you hit something hard like a tree stump. I am able to repair them, reinforcing the connections with hose clamps, but it is not my favorite tool.

What works best of course is this:


But that does not always work in every application.

I mentioned before about the folding saws. I just did some work with mine today. It does good "machete" work as well as face slapper work. It is harder on the back when clearing trail-obscuring weeds because it is shorter than a machete so I just use it to do small problem areas. It's the Echo when doing lots of trail.

Oh, and another advantage to the folding saw is that it can be folded and put away in a deep pocket or Camelback when not in use. Much less intimidating to hikers encountered on the trail than a machete!

Originally Posted by The Tip

What is your opinion about logs on the trail?

When a tree has fallen on the trail I always clear it. But lately I have been seeing sawed logs just laying over the trail.
My first thought is that "anti-trail" people put it there as an obstacle. But then I think maybe a biker put it there for a feature.
I am not referring to logs put down as erosion control devices.

Do you always ride over them, or do you ever stop and think, "Oh, that must mean I should not use that trail" and turn around?

I like to leave logs on the trail as a new "trail feature". It takes a pretty good sized log before I won't at least try to ride over it. When doing trail work I try to leave any trees that are down across the trail. If the tree is too low for me to go under, I drop it to the ground and leave it there.

Hoping for a Sunday morning ride.......

Originally Posted by redaunt

Hoping for a Sunday morning ride.......

Did you see my post on the SARI thread?
I am going to be at Dick Nichols Saturday at 9 am. So that's going to happen.
If you can't ride Saturday just say here you'll be there Sunday and see who shows.

CC Metro is in great shape. All the creek crossings are good except the Big Main one. It's getting close to drying up too.

It was great to see lots of trail has been trimmed up. A lot around Dick Nichols has been done, even on the Latta Greenbelt side. I am assuming the city has done that because it looked like it had been done by a big mower. But there were other parts out there that were obviously done by good Samaritans.

Indian Grass Preserve/VCT got a haircut.

Someone has been doing some good weedeating in SP too. Big job. Thanks.

I am planning to be at Dick Nichols on Sunday at 9AM. Hoping others will be there that know the trails better than I do.

Originally Posted by redaunt

I am planning to be at Dick Nichols on Sunday at 9AM. Hoping others will be there that know the trails better than I do.

Sounds good.
See you then.

I'm riding tomorrow (Saturday) starting at 8am. Early start because I have to be home kinda early. I'm looking to get 20+ miles in my relatively small window, so the pace will be "steady but not asshole".

I could not wake up that early notyal. Did you swing by Dick Nick to check for anyone?

I did end up going out at ten. My quest was in CC Metro. I did an approximately 3.5 mile route that is between Escarpment and Mopac that did not repeat any trail. And the only creek crossing used was the Mopac sidewalk, which can usually be crossed soon after big rains anyway. Of course no crossings might be considered a bad thing because the three creek crossings are fun.

I had a great time. It made me think why the SATN trails are different from most of the other trail systems in Austin. You don't have to be able to bunny hop up a three foot drop while doing a 90 degree turn to ride these trails. You can just ride and enjoy the flow. If you want to challenge yourself, you can ride faster, and see if you CAN get through that tree gate, or make that turn, at the higher rate of speed. If you are one of the people that enjoys going home hurt, don't fret. there are lots of trees and off camber turns that will accommodate you!

I rode through Dick Nichols on the way home. I was wondering how high the grass was going to be in the middle of the park. Was I ever surprised to see that the city has done lots of mowing in there. It is very encouraging to see that the city has prioritized the bike trails enough to send mowing crews out on them. And some of those trails that they are mowing were not even there a year or so ago. Most excellent.

See y'all at 9 Sunday.

I tried to get myself down to dick nicks for 9 but I'm terrible at getting up in the morning so I missed you by 10 minutes. I ended up exploring by myself and covered about 17 miles, I was up in the Stephenson nature preserve with all the sculptures before I turned around. I don't think I saw the group, only saw 4 riders in total all day as far as I can remember.

Originally Posted by The Tip

I could not wake up that early notyal. Did you swing by Dick Nick to check for anyone?

I did end up going out at ten. My quest was in CC Metro. I did an approximately 3.5 mile route that is between Escarpment and Mopac that did not repeat any trail. And the only creek crossing used was the Mopac sidewalk, which can usually be crossed soon after big rains anyway. Of course no crossings might be considered a bad thing because the three creek crossings are fun.

I had a great time. It made me think why the SATN trails are different from most of the other trail systems in Austin. You don't have to be able to bunny hop up a three foot drop while doing a 90 degree turn to ride these trails. You can just ride and enjoy the flow. If you want to challenge yourself, you can ride faster, and see if you CAN get through that tree gate, or make that turn, at the higher rate of speed. If you are one of the people that enjoys going home hurt, don't fret. there are lots of trees and off camber turns that will accommodate you!

I rode through Dick Nichols on the way home. I was wondering how high the grass was going to be in the middle of the park. Was I ever surprised to see that the city has done lots of mowing in there. It is very encouraging to see that the city has prioritized the bike trails enough to send mowing crews out on them. And some of those trails that they are mowing were not even there a year or so ago. Most excellent.

See y'all at 9 Sunday.

Yeah, I rolled through the park right at 8am, waited for 5 minutes or so, but ended up on a solo ride. It was a very good ride. Ended up with 24 miles in 2:22 with only a couple of stops to figure out were I was. I always ride that early. I've got 2 kids, so I'm usually up anyway, and "how long will you be gone" is not as important as "when will you be home". Plus, it's cooler.

I could not disagree with you more about challenging yourself. Challenging MTB skill by seeing how fast you can go through a tree gate is like challenging your target shooting skills by playing Russian roulette. SATN has some fantastic attributes. It is vast, low difficulty, and not a lot of climbing which is all great for stacking up miles. Most importantly, it's in my backyard. Real challenging technical terrain is not appealing because of the likelihood of bodily injury, but rather the satisfaction of riding it without getting hurt.

I rode about 15 miles on Sunday. I live in Circle C so I just drop in at the Escarpment bridge and ride out and back to the trails that parallel and surround the Veloway trying to minimize repetition (though there are a few spots that pretty much require it if I want to stay on dirt). I passed one group of about four right where the trail meets the Veloway at the top of the creek crossing, but otherwise I only saw road runners and rabbits.

I've been riding these trails in some form for about eight or nine years now. I'm amazed at how much they've expanded in that time, particularly in the past 2-3 years! My deepest appreciation to whoever is doing to heavy lifting! It's always been nice to ride straight out of my house for an hour or two of single track, and even more so with the expanse of trail that's available these days down here. I agree with others that while these aren't technical trails (though I've sustained many an injury on them over the years!), they're what you make of them. I've had days when I didn't feel as strong and rode slower and more methodically, and I've had days when I've blasted through them barely staying on (or sometimes not) around some turns and over tree roots and rocks. And most importantly, they're fun!

Hope to see some of you out there some time!

Sometimes being an Environmental Wacko works. I consider many of these trails as the SOS trails. Without the fight to save Barton Springs and the recharge zone, we'd be driving to the trails and not rolling out our front door.

Originally Posted by notyal

.
I could not disagree with you more about challenging yourself. Challenging MTB skill by seeing how fast you can go through a tree gate is like challenging your target shooting skills by playing Russian roulette.

Hmmm. I don't get that. It's like slalom skiing. There are competitions to see how fast they can get through the gates. Are you saying it's too dangerous to try? Maybe so, but no less dangerous/thrilling than attempting a big jump, or even going up a big, jagged, rocky feature.

I have been out of town for five days. Did a quick ride just now. There sure are a lot of rocks that are getting knocked loose in the dry trail. I couldn't decide if it was annoying that the familiar lines have changed, or a challenge that the familiar lines have been changed!

Originally Posted by SCWells72

. I passed one group of about four right where the trail meets the Veloway at the top of the creek crossing, but otherwise I only saw road runners and rabbits.

Were you a couple? We got to that point and saw two riders. So yes, that was probably us.