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sasquatch69

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Everything posted by sasquatch69

  1. There are trails, but they’re not open to public - they are used for the BSA programs mentioned above. I’m still an active scout leader, and these days Wisdom is used a ton, but mostly for day programs and training programs. Our troop usually prefers to camp further out due to highway noise at wisdom.
  2. Well, this sucks. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10226591609003170&id=1435150460
  3. Our troop did our canoeing campout this past weekend, with a group of 30 scouts/adults paddling 10 miles down a particularly beautiful stretch of the Brazos downriver from the PK dam. After a late start Friday due to storms, we made it to the campsite after 10pm, had to set up quickly and get scouts to bed, and then wake up at 6am to eat breakfast and do a 30-minute class on the safety aspects of the merit badge before we hit the water. It was great - had a few of the new scouts who struggled, so we moved scouts around to even out the strength level on the boats. Water was great - not too swift, and mostly high enough to avoid portaging (except for a few short stretches). Our top adult grubmaster was on this trip, too, so the grownup meals were incredible. Scout meals varied widely by patrol, as always
  4. It's no Fruita, but I've been riding Rowlett Creek Preserve a lot lately to kill time while my kid has swim practice nearby. I've been spending more time on the northern trails on the other side of the creek crossing, which are new to me. Generally they're great and pretty flowy, but tonight I tried Loop 13 for the first time. It's one long rock garden - really kicked my butt.
  5. I do wonder if it will get to the point that the school itself goes after the message board owners (not sure how they'd do that, but they can probably find a way) because of how badly it reflects on the school. The new TAMU president seems like a reasonable sort, so who knows.
  6. I've really only been back into MTB for just over a year after a long layoff, and other than riding BCGB 15 years ago, all my experience is up here in D/FW area. Is this combination of jump lines and major chunk pretty common on trails down in Austin/SA area, or is this unique to RPR? I've been thinking about heading down there for a weekend of riding, but this looks a bit above my experience/comfort level.
  7. I'm still pretty slow, but I just try to push myself to keep going a bit further when I'm ready to quit, even if it's just an extra mile or two on flatter trails. I'm having some gear slippage issues on harder climbs which has bogged me down a bit - I've greased up the chain, cassette, etc, which helped, but I think it's mostly due to the bike's age. Erwin was gorgeous last night, even in the open field sections. Getting second vax dose tomorrow which may take me out for a bit, so trying to squeeze in what I can this week.
  8. I haven't ridden through that creek crossing yet - still walk it both ways. Coming back across at the end is often even more slippery than getting over there. I also rode right over a snake on the Orange trail there earlier this week - it looked like a root until I got right up on top of it. Used some birthday $ to buy a decent pair of MTB riding shoes (Adidas Five Ten Sleuths) and they're great - big improvement in feeling of control compared to the basic sneakers I wore previously. I also finally replaced the BMX-style original pedals on my GT with modern flats - they're some Race Face knockoffs that were highly rated on Amazon, and so far I really like them. I've done 30 miles in the past two days - combination of great rides at Horseshoe, Harry Moss, RCP and Erwin. Also went to Big Cedar last Saturday with a buddy, and got to ride his new Scott 29er. First time I've ridden a modern bike that size, and now I'm seriously jonesing to upgrade.
  9. Serious televangelist vibes in that picture. Remove CPAC background and put in a praise band and it'll fit perfectly.
  10. I debated going with different types for front and rear, but figured I'd try this first. If I'm not happy with handling I may try something different in front and save the Mezcal for when the rear one wears out. Did another 5mi today at Horseshoe and it handled well, although like you said, the one tiny bit of mud was slow going. Oh well, that will encourage me to stay off muddy trails, thus less work cleaning up the bike. 😀
  11. Got new tires on the old bike today - Vittoria Mezcal 26" 2.1s. Guy at RBM recommended them a couple months ago as a great XC option for our terrain, but they didn't have any in my size, so I ordered online and they finally showed up yesterday. I took it to KJ for a quick 5mi this afternoon and it feels like a new bike - better handling, smoother ride, etc. Got the slime tubes and a tube wrap on each as well, so hopefully I'll avoid flats and punctures, but we all know how that goes. Hopefully this will hold off the urge for a new ride for another year or so.
  12. A day off today meant 13mi at Northshore late on a Tuesday morning, so I had the place pretty much to myself, without all the Stravaholes flying through. Did 1-3 and back, then squeezed in 5 because I wasn't ready to stop riding yet, and wanted to try one I hadn't done before. Gorgeous riding weather and hero dirt. Can't wait to go back on another less-crowded weekday.
  13. Back at Big Cedar this morning before the rain, and got another 10 miles in. Rode the full back stretch of Ranger today, including two trails I had not done before, Copperhead Ridge and Lower Forty. L40 was great and had some nice views of the little valley, but CR nearly killed me. Take the climbs on the outer perimeter at Boulder, and multiply them a whole bunch – that's essentially the entire length of the trail, sharp up and down and up and down. I also wiped out on a little skinny bridge that I approached at the wrong angle, and ended up falling in slow motion into a little gully full of branches. Didn't get hurt, but pretty scratched up. @TwiceHorn One note if you come out here and decide to ride that stretch of Ranger - Oncor has completely torn up the part of the trail that stretches into the easement again. When you get to that spot, you'll know it - just hang a hard left along the tree line and the trail picks back up after a very short distance. I also got a good photo of the worst of the climb out of the valley. Even the Enduro guys ahead of me had to hop off and walk it - it's a lot steeper than it looks.
  14. Gorgeous. My boys' scout troop is headed up there this week for spring break, but we're dealing with aging parent healthcare issues so no trip for us. I can't wait to get up there to hike and ride, though.
  15. I went back to HM early this am - did the red trail this time, too (but walked the creek crossings). Lots of leaf cover, particularly on the inner trails, but like you said, mostly dry. There were a couple little drops where groundcover had been dumped onto the landing spot to avoid mud, but it did make for a couple "oh sh!t" moments at speed.
  16. This post Inspired me to ride HM this morning. I forgot how low-key difficult that first stretch is with all the little ups and downs along the edge of the property. Did all of the trails except red, and had a good 7mi ride overall, but dang, there's a lot of trash on that property from creek flooding.
  17. One more: The same guy who made the video I posted yesterday captured part of the fast downhill section of Ranger that I mentioned (it's a bit rutted right now) and some of the section after that before you hit the open meadow. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole place.
  18. In McKinney. A mask-less Trader Joe's customer in Texas had a meltdown after being denied entry — and it reveals how states' new rules endanger workers https://www.businessinsider.com/mask-less-trader-joes-meltdown-texas-rules-impact-workers-2021-3 (Edit: Tried to embed - didn't work.)
  19. More insider tidbits from the unraveling of the Lincoln Project, this time from the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/us/politics/lincoln-project-weaver.html I was a regular listener of their podcast, and always preferred the ones where it was mainly Steslow and Madrid. Schmidt and Wilson were just too damn smarmy - and that intuition as a listener seems to have turned out to be accurate. I'm glad Steslow and Madrid have been able to keep the podcast feed and rebrand it as their own.
  20. Also, the Friends of Big Cedar FB group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/253097255149607) is helpful since it's singularly focused. The newish trail steward, Bardo, is really active on there and helpful. They've been working to rebuild and improve a lot of the neglected trails on the far north end of the property (one of which goes through a drainage tunnel under Camp Wisdom Road), and fixing what Oncor tore up while replacing high-voltage lines in the utility easement.
  21. The signage at BC isn't great, mainly because there are so many loops off of Ranger, and they cross each other in some cases. It's taken me a half-dozen trips out there to feel like I know where I am most of the time. Here - try this. On first trip, focus on a couple green/blue routes and the portions of Ranger inbetween them. On the map below, after parking at the trailhead off Saddlecreek and Isom streets (the blue-circle P at bottom), hop on the purple fire road right next to the parking lot entrance gate. Follow the crudely-drawn red arrow and circle to hop on Dragonfly (the green trail off to the right of the fire road). I usually ride that a couple times to warm up and get my bearings. Then, when Dragonfly spits you back out on the fire road (purple), hang a right and follow the second red arrow and circle I drew to Ranger, which takes you to Crooked Tree, the blue trail that is a right turn off of the fire road. At the green dot, turn left and follow the arrows to stay on Crooked Tree. When it spits you back out on Ranger (red dot), you can either turn right and go back to the fire road, or turn left and take Ranger out to the back stretch along the NE corner of the property. If you go back to fire road, you can pick up I Can (the green trail right in the middle), or if you go into the deeper part of Ranger, there are a lot of ups and downs in that stretch and it then leads you to the big downhill that takes you into the open meadow down in the valley, which you then have to climb out from. If you want to explore further, go here - but honestly, it really takes exploring on the bike or on foot to figure it out as there are probably 22-23 miles of trails out there at this point: https://www.trailforks.com/region/big-cedar-wilderness-trails
  22. I've only ridden Boulder twice so I don't feel I can make a clear comparison on those two climbs. I think the difference is that BC is so massive that you can ride for miles on other parts of Ranger (or other loops) and never end up in the valley area that has the massive downhill and climb. Boulder is more compact and, given the creek and drainage areas that run through it, it's hard to avoid the elevation changes.
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