Play List of BullDog Rump H2H Race Videos

Here is the play list of edited video from the Rump.  I will add the awards later.
You can use the drop down at the top left of the Youtube screen to skip around the videos.
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BullDog Rump Video H2H race Series White Trail

Som KVSP White Trail Happiness
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BullDog Rump Video H2H race Series

Pros and Cat 1 guys and gals taking on Dunlop on lap one of three on a warm summers afternoon.

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Emergency Derailleur Hanger

I have been carrying a Wheel Mfg Emergency Derailleur Hanger for some time now.  It is something you never want to need, but you sure are happy you have one when you need it.  I was only 10 miles in, but did not want to walk or make the bike a single speed.  The EDH saved the day and it worked well enough to get in 25 more miles.  I got all my gears almost all the time.

 This is not a happy Derailleur Hanger. But it gave it's life to save my frame and derailleur.

No more nobler end for a Hanger!

Here is the EDH after the install.

The EDH does have a tendency to rotate forward.  I only really slowed down some upshifts as derailleur was close enough to the chain to impede it from coming up of it's cog high enough to derail.  Downshifts worked because cable tension force and not a spring make the derailleur shift, down and up respectively.

Problem Solvers makes one that looks a little bit easier to install and addresses the rotation problem.

Either one is then next best thing to carrying the specific hanger for your bike, maybe better if your buddy breaks his and does not have a spare for his bike.  There are so many different hangers for different bikes, an EDH makes sense.

https://plus.google.com/113801209353374973567/posts/Myjmnqqwyqo

Walnut Creek Austin Texas

We went to Austin to visit friends, enjoy the warm dry Texas spring time weather.  Steve showed me around Walnut Creek.  A nice park in a suburb just north of Austin.  The main loop is well marked, but there are quite a few trails that are not.  Most of the maps at intersections are of the vague variety, we did find one detailed map, with a "You Are Here" star.  It has been a while since Steve has had time to Trail ride, between family and work.  But we did find his favorite section of his favorite trail, the Log Loop, which is also well marked.  It was very swoopy and begged to be railed.  No berms here just natural trails with roots, rocks and trees to negotiate.  Then a fireroad connector to the other single track part of the Log Loop, which had some bigger roots, change ups and a alternate log ramp.  We did each a few times, alternating, depending on the traffic.  We went on a Saturday and there were a lot of hikers and bikers out, not as much as you would think for the first really nice weekend in some time.  It does get chilly down here and it can feel pretty cold to the locals that are used to the Texas summer heat!

On the way back to the cars, you just follow the "P" for parking on the trail markers, we only made one wrong turn trying to follow them.  And am I glad we did, cause we came across Endo Alley.  Steve thought better of of dropping in.  It was right up my alley, pun intended.  This was a very short but intense black diamond DH, with a nut buster climb back up.  When Steve did not show up at the top, I did it again, before realizing that there was another trail that avoided the climb and let out onto the power lines.  We went the wrong way into some berms before deciding to find those "P"s.

Some very nice scenery and cool trails, nestled in a metropolitan area.  Steve has since picked up the fatbike that he has been wanting.  I would like to think that I inspired him to rekindle his love of Trail riding.

Plenty of these generic signs

 MYSTERY SCRATCH

 TONS OF COOL CACTUS

 STEVE'S MOJO TIGGER

I am not too happy with the quality that MS Movie maker published after the edit, maybe too many splices.  Looks OK on my Iphone.

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Barton Creek Austin, Texas

With a 34/15, I was geared great for much the river valley trails and made most of one of the big offshoot climbs, before the first underpass.  The Hill of Life, was another story altogether, I be back with gears, cause one gear that makes that climb, maybe doable, would be painfully slow on some of the trails along the creek.  There are lots of rock gardens and features to work your technical skills, a few would have benefited from a lower gear too!  There are two entries on Single Tracks that kind of overlap, Barton Creek Greenbelt and Barton Creek Wilderness.  From the topo maps they  look like slightly different versions of the same trails.  Distance and descriptions vary quite a bit though.  My best take on that is that the Greenbelt encompasses the main trail along the creek and the Hill of Life and the Wilderness trails are the unmarked trails across the creek from the main trail head in Zilker park.  A nice warm up would be to go east toward the river/lake, cross the first bridge and head west up to the road, around the construction and access the unmarked trails, just up the road a bit.  Take them to the karin and go right across the creek, back to the main side.  It looked like the trail may continue on the unmarked side, but I was uncomfortable riding through what looked like someones property, no signs, just a patio and a landscaped walkway.  Even on the main side there are many offshoots, some come back to the trail, some dead end and others go back down into the creek.  Some reviews on both entries mention the Hill of Life, but I do not think that you could get there in the 4 miles listed for the Wilderness, but the topo map includes it, but seems to miss the unmarked trails across the creek from the TH.

This is the first time since I started running the Knard/Blunt 35, that I got to descend big rocks and drops, maybe since Pisgah even!  Now while I was not descending like a I was on a downhill rig, I felt in more control and I did not feel like I was going to be bounce of the bike, like at Farlow Gap!  While not quite as intense and gnarly as Farlow, descending the Hill of Life and other sections of Barton were a good test.

I love the technical aspect of these trail and the first real climbing in quite a while.  They can get pretty busy at peak times, so plan accordingly.  Zilker park has a lot of other activities, such as canoe and kayak rentals, swimming holes, playground a kids train and a garden.  Zilker also gets you access to the Town Lake bike path, which was even busier, due to its tame wide and flat crushed stone surface.

Ironically, at first these trails reminded me of other river valley riding that I did way back when in the Minnesota and Mississippi river valleys in Minnesota.  Just throw in lots of rock gardens from my more recent home town trails in northern New Jersey and a couple big climbs.  It was "ironic" cause part way along as I was about to take another dead end, a rider comes by and I tag along.  His name was Tim and he also was borne and raised in Minnesota.  He left when for texas when he was 21.  Small world for sure.

      

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Bruce and Lois

Bruce, messaged Tammy and asked for some medium rides, for a trip they are planning later in the year.  Years ago back in Jersey, Bruce and Lois helped me through a tough period in my life and helped keep me riding after I got slow and fat and depressed.  I don't know if they know how much it helped.  I have had many friends that seem to come into and out of my life.  I like to think of it as our paths coming together for a while, before they diverge.  Even when I met, Bruce and Lois had been riding for many decades and liked somewhat technical riding and would not interested in Strava KOMs or accumulated feet of climbing.  Just having a good ride.  There have been times that they had to put the Mountain Bikes away for various reasons.  It is good to see them even planning such a trip, leaving sunny California.

I would recommend the following Epics:

Kansas Switchgrass
Kerr Scott, North Carolina
Dupont State Park, North Carolina
Ocoee Trail, Tennessee
Big South Fork, Tennessee
Rock Lake, Cable, Wisconsin
Levis-Trow Mounds Wisconsin
Cuyuna Lakes, Minnesota
Alafia River State Park, Florida
Santos, Florida
MOCO Epic, Maryland
Maah Daah Hey, North Dakota
But only well after a rain and when it is not scorching hot, kind of a small window in the end  July, early August I guess.
Copper Harbor, Michigan
This does have some tough climbs, but they are not too long.  But it may be my favorite trail system yet.

For rides not on the IBMA list:
San Felasco Hammock Preserve, Gainesville
Bethel Biloxi Mississippi
Games Loop/UWF Pensacola Florida
Balm Boyette Florida
Lake Leatherwood Eureka Arkansas
Redbug Lake Overstreet Tallahassee, Florida
Tom Brown Tallahassee Florida 
San-Lee Sanford North Carolina
Tannehill Forge Alabama

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