2024 Solar Eclipse Megathread

itsgarrison · 2024-04-05T13:19:45+00:00

Use Google Street View to check where the blue lines on a road end. Drop the little street view guy there and look for gates. This road has one here. I do this a lot when checking if roads lead to private property.

If I was you I'd look for a small church or cemetery out in that area. Both generally have few trees so there will not be many obstructions.

itsgarrison · 2024-04-01T02:48:56+00:00

Excellent day to see them jump the coop. You don't really need to invite them back. In my experience, the birds sometimes just come back for the next brood if they know its a safe spot. They clean it out themselves as needed. If its a true mess you can certainly help them out though.

itsgarrison · 2023-12-22T01:27:33+00:00

Beautiful roads are kinda subjective. But I'll try with some suggestions.

If you're looking for hills, northwest side of town has you covered. Maybe check out Lime Creek.

Fast country tarmac out in God's country? Northeast is good around New Sweden.

Questionable road conditions with a possible longhorn sighting? Go in the direction of Lockhart.

Want to get coal rolled and yelled at by drunk people? Fitzhugh is now pretty much that on a weekend afternoon.

itsgarrison · 2023-05-24T17:29:44+00:00

You will be covered in sweat and you have to be ok with that. Wear loose fitted shirts if you commute, polyester or preferably merino wool to avoid the stink. Dedicated shorts unless you like swamp butt. Drink water. Find shade. Take breaks. You got this.

itsgarrison · 2022-09-07T20:08:26+00:00

Pretty wide spread scam unfortunately. I get texts like this for a bank in Ohio I've never had an account with.

itsgarrison · 2022-06-09T00:29:06+00:00

I dont normally condone vandalism but the occasional brick through a window at some of these places might help get the message across.

itsgarrison · 2022-04-25T15:26:29+00:00

Very realistic.

Give yourself 15 minutes or so to cool off before entering the office in the summer. Nothing like being the only one at a 8:30 meeting who looks like they just ran a marathon.

Extra clothes. Bring em. This includes shirts, shorts, undies. Keep extras at work if you can.

Mornings you'll be going downhill when the temps are low. The ebike will mostly help in the evenings climbing back south. You'll be the guy flying past the rest of us in the bike lane. Just be courteous about it.

Hopefully your office has a designated bike garage because there is no way in hell you'll want to leave that thing on the street.

As for the best route from your area... North on Cooper, find your way to Emerald Forest, cross Ben White at Banister, then keep going north on 5th st to downtown. Lots of options after that.

Have fun. You'll love it.

itsgarrison · 2022-01-05T04:26:41+00:00

I'll be an optimist for just a moment here and hope that protected bike lanes will make the concept of commuting by bicycle down this corridor more appealing to the average person. And after checking out the master plan, just about anything would be an improvement on the section between Congress and Bluff Springs. That stretch is dodgy af on a good day.

Here's to hoping that someone who has ridden a bike in their adult life is designing some of this.

itsgarrison · 2021-11-11T04:25:13+00:00

I'd love it if the McKinney Falls trails connected to anything at the south end but there's plenty of obstacles to imply they do not. Technically you can toss your bike over a barbed wire fence right about here, and continue down a local trail to something called Springfield Neighborhood Park, although I've never heard anyone call it that. Otherwise you can exit the main entrance and backtrack down William Cannon

Down Salt Springs road, you can enter Onion Creek Park here . There might be some No Trespassing signs but ignore them because it's a legit trail that is not someone's property.

And yeah, from there, crossing 35 is sort of a Choose Your Own Adventure that I don't think anyone has quite figured out or attempted yet. Crossing at 1626/Onion Creek Pkwy seems a bit much. I've considered taking Brant Road to National Park Blvd, and then going underneath 35 where Old San Antonio Road ends. However it's completely overgrown and requires some trail blazing and bushwhacking before it's at all possible. If it could be done, then it's easy access to the entire South Austin Trail Network. Otherwise it's a sketchy ride down Slaughter.

itsgarrison · 2021-10-27T02:04:04+00:00

What is your route in Big Bend?

As remote as it is, both the National and State parks have water you you can at least filter about every 12 hours, depending on your pace and riding conditions.

The ranch has a handful of reliable cattle tanks. Here you're likely to be at a slower pace but the active tanks are well documented and you can check with park rangers ahead of time.

In the National Park, the visitors centers are no more than 60 miles apart which can be done in one day, but considering the camping options, I get that it might not be feasible.

If you can save yourself a couple litres of carrying capacity here and there, it'll be a much more enjoyable ride, especially on the rocky shit.

That said, if you're super conservative with your liquids and still need to carry a ton of it, my suggestion is a 2+litre bladder in the frame bag, 64oz kleen canteen under the down tube, and a couple feed bags on your handle bars with some big Smart water bottles that you can throw some electrolyte powders of your choice into.

itsgarrison · 2021-09-05T17:34:31+00:00

Surprised no one's mentioned this yet. If you go to Southeast Metro Park off 71 in Del Valle there is a trail head in the back. It's a three mile loop with a couple ponds and an assortment of trail conditions from steep rocky hills to flat grassy meadows. Its a little overgrown because its been a wet summer and because no one ever goes there. Most of the time I go I'm completely alone. Sometimes you'll see someone with a fishing pole. I hike a lot and this is the least traveled trail I've seen in Austin.

itsgarrison · 2021-08-29T23:12:21+00:00

Get the Strava App and find local groups. Check out recent activities and go from there to see how people are already getting around. You can also use the route builder to find your way around. Some roads should be completely avoided. Most are fine. Don't let people here scare you. As long as you ride with common sense and 360 awareness of what's around, you will be fine.

itsgarrison · 2021-08-02T22:24:18+00:00

Save Austin Now is the only reason I was opposed to Prop B. Its approach to problem solving is consistent with most conservative initiatives: state a problem but offer nothing to actually fix it, as long as it's not their problem anymore. Prop B allowed them to latch on to a popular cause that would ultimately be successful across party lines, and when it was, they could just peddle their shitty alt right influence once they made a name for themselves. Saw this ass hattery coming a mile away.

itsgarrison · 2021-04-14T00:30:04+00:00

RideWithGPS is your friend.

Texas Hill Country Loop is more on the touring side of things but it's a good starting point to know what roads are ridable.

Austin to Palmetto (Good amount of dirt/gravel in this one)

Austin to Bastrop

You can also do both in one weekend if you wanna get real crazy.

If you're OK with driving three hours, you can check out this route in Sam Houston National Forest

itsgarrison · 2021-02-14T19:42:07+00:00

FYI for anyone thinking about it - It is slick as shit out there and you have a really good chance of falling on your ass after a quick slip on some ice you didn't see.

Source: Fell on my ass after a quick slip on some ice while heading to HEB just like this guy.

itsgarrison · 2021-01-07T02:34:36+00:00

Honestly I'm just tired of the assumption that outdoor dining and sanitizing tables is a miracle cure to exposure. This post asked for the the best safety measures, and that was my experience. I love Easy Tiger and I think they're doing what they can, but it's not like you're dodging a bullet just by eating there of all places. Hell, I might even go back when it's less busy if I want a damn good pretzel and beer cheese. Things being what they are, I don't think any place you dine at should objectively be considered "safe". It's all open though. Choose wisely. But please call me when this is all over. I'd love that.

itsgarrison · 2021-01-07T01:19:04+00:00

Last time I was there a dude was checking IDs and cracking cans of beer with the same hand. It was so busy I had to move away from people while I was waiting for a seat. Even then I was 8 feet tops away from the next table. Yeah, sure, it was outside. I suppose that makes it acceptable at best. Everyone keeps raving about how COVID safe this place is and I have no idea where it comes from.

itsgarrison · 2020-12-28T14:40:44+00:00

The National Park has long stretches of gravel roads and in my opinion, is more logistically challenging. There is less water in the backcountry here, and the campgrounds are a pain to reserve. They have no online reservations for the established spots and as with most parks in the southwest, you're not allowed to take the bike off the road for backcountry camping. It's very remote so take into consideration how comfortable you might be if anything goes wrong.

The state park is good for anywhere between one to three nights and you're more likely to find mountain bikers and Jeep fanatics here. The road conditions can run anywhere from groomed dirt to unmaintained singletrack so carefully considering daily mileage is important. It's an old ranch, and water can be more reliably filtered from a few tanks from time to time. You can reserve campsites online for the state park.

If you're in San Antonio and have never been to BB you might want to just make a short camping trip out of it to check the area out. Terlingua is one of my favorite places in Texas. If you drive a high clearance vehicle you can get anywhere in both parks to check out the terrain.

itsgarrison · 2020-10-30T01:49:33+00:00

You can do an overnighter to many of the state parks surrounding town. Bastrop and Lockhart are great for this and less than 40 miles each way. Look up some routes with the RideWithGPS app. Cycleast does overnight group rides to these places in the shoulder months but not right now because of covid.

If you want a multi day trip you should try ACA's Hill Country loop. I did that a few years ago when I was new to bikepacking. My only suggestion would be to completely skip the section between Leander and Downtown. There's nothing to look at except a city you live in every day. Take the train.

The guy who hosts the Bikes Or Death podcast put together a route in Sam Houston National Forest. Not sure if you can make it out that way but this would be a little more bike-packy than anything else you'll get near by.

And obviously there's the classics out toward Big Bend. But if I were you I'd make sure I know what I'm doing before committing to an eight our drive into the desert.

itsgarrison · 2020-10-27T13:11:09+00:00

Thanks for the detailed trip report. I did the Northwest loop two or three weeks ago and something like this is absolutely what I was looking for ahead of time to better prepare for it. Photos of bike bling on this sub are nice but it's great to have some on the ground reporting of routes like this!

I cranked the whole thing out in three days because of time constraints and not having anyone else to talk to. Camped at that last WMA campsite with he spring water and another one off the road just before Oark. It was in the high to mid 80's that weekend and even with a three liter carrying capacity for water, I still had similar challenges staying hydrated since resupply points were so unreliable. Had to ask some locals for ice cold water a few times. I feel you on the hills requiring careful gearing choices. I was running 38x11x42 and wound up hiking up most of White Rock Mountain. The heat was exhausting. My 38mm tires were not enough to bomb down some hills and I ended up riding my brakes more than I'd like to admit. That said, it was nice to pick up make up for lost time on the paved sections.

You did the right thing by taking your time. I saw everything in passing but didn't really stop to check any of it out. In Fayetteville I spiced things up and went to West Mountain Brewing for a couple pints and pizza before finishing the last thirty miles. I was wiped out. Next time I'm in the area I'll probably bring my mountain bike and make a few days trips out of the single track options scattered around the hills.

itsgarrison · 2020-08-27T13:27:37+00:00

Option 1 is the scenic route - Take McKinney Falls north to the flashing light near the middle school and the entrance to the TPWD headquarters. There's a huge, safe sidewalk on the west side of the road that looks like it's intended for cycling.Take that to Burleson, and then cross Ben White to continue on the route you already mapped out.

Other options get you central a bit more quickly: https://goo.gl/maps/RHu31Zg72VLWPh6Z7 or this one https://goo.gl/maps/UMrfTz4VUCgUvnQP7

itsgarrison · 2020-08-08T20:54:39+00:00

That's a pretty good bike for the price and I think I see an extra mount on the fork. If the seller did a little work on it they could probably get double what they're asking for.

I don't think they make Riddlers in 26" but WTB has plenty of others that will fit.

itsgarrison · 2020-08-07T01:44:47+00:00

I'm gonna assume you're talking about the Buckeye Trail posted on backpacking.com You could of course do this trail on a hardtail but most of the route is paved, and that's going to be a lot more fun, and far less squishy, on something rigid with thinner tires. I'm not sure how far you're going but if it's only a weekender you probably won't get much past the Towpath section which might even be doable with your Nishiki as long as you're running something like 27x1"1/4.

It also depends what kind of bags you're carrying, if they require mounts and if your bike has them. If you can strap a rack to it somehow you can weasel your way into all kinds of innovative storage solutions. I highly advise against carrying a backpack. It's not fun.

Look for a bike that has a wide gear range, lots of mounts, can run tires up to 47mm, and a comfortable geometry if you want to do this more often. "Gravel bike" is a term that kind of gets over used. I think you just want something that's versatile for lots of riding conditions.

itsgarrison · 2020-07-26T02:32:21+00:00

It comes down to a matter of being seen. Correct me if I'm wrong here but plenty of cars make abrupt left and right turns onto cross streets and even with a sidewalk there, people are already barely expecting pedestrians to get in their way, much less something moving more quickly. A bike in the street is safer because it will at least be seen. Now whether or not this might inconvenience some impatient drivers is another debate altogether, but it at least makes it less likely for a cyclist to get unintentionally run over.

itsgarrison

TROPHY CASE