dminor 

Yeah, I was pickin' up on that. Good pic to illustrate - - thanks.

victim

You guys must have cast iron guts to eat these "pre-ride meals". Don't get me wrong I love a good burger, but I'd be cramped up and hanging out in bushes in about 15 mins if I tried that.

4evrplan

9.6 miles on blacktop Sunday, but I've been sick since then. A friend and I parked at a local banquet hall at the start of the ride, not noticing that it was gated and just happened to be open when we came in. The other people there who were unloading stuff watched us air up our bikes and get all our gear together before bothering to tell us they were leaving and locking the gate behind them. Okay, no biggie, "Thanks for letting us know, that was nice of you instead of letting us get our truck stuck behind the gate" I say. His reply is what gets me, "Did you think it was a park?" Now that was uncalled for.

Yo93

Hy im new here...en need some advice...i like dirt ride ...well...i have scott yz3 not much but hey im only 17........do u have some advices to improve my ride...i dont know...maybe hops...or things like that....what should i do to ride better tnx

dminor 

Well . . . did you?

I guess I fail to see your umbrage. It was private property, right?

4evrplan

He certainly had a right to say that and much more if he chose. It was afterall private property, I just didn't think anyone would care if we parked there (like I said I failed to notice the gate). It's just that there was no need for it other than to make himself feel superior I guess. Until that comment, we had all been very polite. There's a lot of places that are private property where, generally, no one cares a bit if you park there (church parking lots, department stores, some apartments) as long as they've got the room to spare. The difference is, none of them are gated. Even so, I still feel his comment was unnecessary; we had already thanked him for letting us know and were about to leave, no reason to add insult when we were already embarrassed.

scrublover

Perhaps...it was just a question.

Did you think it was a park?

Just because some places are fine with parking, doesn't mean all are.

dminor 

Oh, I see - - it's OK to trespass if there's not a gate? Reminds me of the hundreds of trespassers who've come up our road, with the excuse that they didn't see any No Trespassing signs.

electrik

Unless it is signed as private property around here the land owner has no good reason to complain... esp if the trespasser is not posing an immediate threat.

Throughout most of northern Europe nobody complains if you cross/camp on private property so long as you leave it the way you found it. Mostly due to something called "everyman's law" or freedom to roam.

Gated private citizen compounds are a throughly American concept. I won't go all Waco, but gates do not signify private property around here... p.s. if the gate was open don't worry about what you did. What counts are enclosing fences, private property signs, no trepassing signs and in some cases trees covered in red paint. Generally at most under law they are allowed todo is ask you to leave... no court will side with the property owner if they touch or force you to leave under violence or attempt to detain you(in some states that is legal).

I think most MTBr should be versed in private property laws as it happens since you can end up in a sticky situation with an irate land owner.

victim

How come people air up their tires at the trail head? This is a serious question, no disrespect intended.

MindlessDeviant

Ive wondered that myself Victim. I air up my shocks, tires, and check over my bike at home right before I load it up to go ride. If you're losing enough air between home and the trail head I think you might need to fix something.

4evrplan

I usually air up my tires at home, but would have been late to pick up my friend if I had, so I threw the big pump (I keep a small one in my pack) and the gauge in the truck before I left.

electrik, I wish it was more like your explanation of Europe here, but far from it. This is Texas after all, land of of huge barb wired cattle ranches. In all honesty, I see dminor's point. I just wish the property owner (if that's who he was) had been nicer about it. It was an honest mistake, and we weren't causing any trouble. Legally, on the other hand, he could of called the cops and had us escorted off by an officer. Glad he didn't take that extreme. I don't think "Did you think it was a park" was just a question. Maybe you had to be there.

dminor, I have a huge amount of respect for you, so please don't take this the wrong way, but I hope you're not giving the people that come up your road too much of a hard time.

Anyway, I didn't mean to start anything here, just airing my thoughts.

mzeffex 

What pressure is generally used for XC (recreational/racing)?

I run about 35/40 f/r

4evrplan

^^ as high as you can go without loosing traction on your trails, or exceeding the tires' pressure ratings. I prefer to ride with the pressure as low as possible for more traction, but it's slower. You'll have to play around with it to see what works for you, but if someone here is a similar weight using similar tires, maybe they can give you a starting point. Just for reference, my front tire's usually between 28-32 PSI, and the backs never more than 35. I'm 130 pounds on a fat day.

dminor 

I actually try to be pretty polite about it unless someone gets rude or mouthy with me. I don't like being a 'bad guy' but at the same time I purposely chose not to live on a county road in order to keep a degree of solitude and privacy.

To be honest, with so many neighbors up our little canyon now, plus some newer vacation cabins, there's so much traffic it's almost impossible to know who belongs and who doesn't any more. So unless it's a horde of ATVs or something, I usually don't bother.

electrik

It's a cluster of quadtards!! *dives off trail*

4evrplan

Covalent Jello

was pretty excited to get out today after taking apart the fork, just threw the bike on the car
apparently the front tire was a little low
noticed it when right at the trailhead, err, a little after, so it's funny you say this, heh

also noticed the front brake caliper wasnt tight [at all], so, tightened that at the trailhead too, lol
we've always carried stuff for doing this with so doing it at home vs after parking the car vs on the trail never crossed my mind

today the trails were knee high water trenches and running streams in some spots, was really cool

stevemtbr

Did the usual ride around Riverside. The weather had a little of all 4 seasons today but it was a great day on the trails.

The top of 5 minute hill.



Some single track between the Seven Mile and Nine Mile area.

stevemtbr

Really? Vacation homes in Tum Tum. So that's where all the traffic has been comming from. It does seem like it has doubled over the past few years. Next thing you know they'll build a Zips out there. At least when you get past Red Lake their are'nt to many homes, mostly shacks and shanties with some very odd people living in them.

dminor 

That's stretching the term several degrees beyond normal .

Nice shots.

The Bicycle Butler group ride achieved a new first last night: a circumnavigation of the Five Mile Prairie plateau via the hillside. Although it had to be punctuated with some pavement sections, it also got interesting with a few arduous climbs and a couple windfall-strewn hike-a-bikes to boot. Got to go inside a new water tower being built and lots of varied terrain in the dark. Out for about three hours; quite an adventure.

My crude almost-map:

stevemtbr

Looks like an interesting route. Many years ago I rode up the power line trail off of Indian Trail rd but it was gated at the top so I turned around. Looks like I'll have to try it again. Around Strong rd was there actual trail or did you have to blaze your own? What was the total milage? Yep, looks like it was a good time.

Covalent Jello

wow steve that's some beautiful stuff, nice pictures!

dminor 

Yeah, the end of the powerline over toward Indian Trail is evidently farm property, so we ended up skirting around it (hence the hike-a-biking through the woods over the edge to the north of the powerline). Or so I was told . . . it was getting pretty dark by then so I didn't have good visual reference to where I was. I know when we were turning back south it was on an old doubletrack that if you went down it, would take you to St. George's. Going from Whitworth on the powerline, you encounter a few gates but all have ride-arounds - - the gates are mostly there to keep vehicular traffic out.

We dropped down onto the cut where they're roughing in the new Barnes road after we left the water tower construction. Rode up it, dropped into some housing development roads and bushwhacked out the end of a cul de sac (then found a new trail just being roughed in) until we finally hit Strong. South of Strong along the bluff, if you get into the back of the new development on the rim, you'll get back into the 4x4 bogging area. There are a couple of trail heads back in there if you know where to look; and those wind along the side and drop you in above Woodside. My long-winded way of saying part trail/part side-streets/part bushwhacking.

Wish I had a mileage - - I'll put the Gmaps Pedometer to it tomorrow and see if I can get an approximate.

EDIT - Looks like it was about 11 miles. Ha, felt longer than that for sure.

craigcraigcraig

today was 80 or so and quite humid but a fun time no matter what. Seeing the pictures from yall that are farther north than me makes me jealous but there is something about riding around the pastures during wildflower season in texas. These came from today.





stupid bull nettle hurts BAD, tall socks are a must.

neighbors "yard".