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All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Discussion in 'Sports, Hobbies & Interests' started by Gunshot-6A, Aug 10, 2016.

  1. Jul 16, 2021 at 4:45 AM
    honda50r

    honda50r Not a Mallcrawler

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    Battle of the rigid single speeders. Battle to the death! Winner eats a Gu gel

    No no he's nice, we like him. He actually contributes to our thread and hasn't posted an MTB CAPITAL OF THE WORLD video yet

    Wrong assumption. My regional mountain biking is excellent. But I am jealous of 6+ full-time trail crews the local billionaire hired as a pAsSiON ProjECt

    It just means more when trails are volunteer-built and there is an actual cycling culture
     
  2. Jul 16, 2021 at 5:23 AM
    GarlicFarts

    GarlicFarts Bang Ding Ow

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    I’m just giving you a hard time.

    There's a post somewhere can't find it of this guy and the captions are all the good MTB areas and then he's labeled as bentonville. It's funny, I'm just not internet savvy and no idea how to find it.

    [​IMG]


    I'm hardly one to give anywhere a hard time, up here the highest point in RI is Jerimoth hill. HILL. 812 ft.

    heh. Uhhhh. You and I have different interpretations. Walton's couldn't get jack shit for talent there, since it's Bentonville freaking Arkansas. So they had to do something - their investment into the area was not for a passion project - it was an investment into their company to get people to come there and actually have something there. What do the young people like?

    MTB is the perfect age target. 20-ish, fresh out of college, all the way through 45-50 ish when people start to "age out" with kids, aching bones, etc. Also the prime ages for ..... well, where else you going to work in Bentonville? OH! And since it's a sport that they're encouraging the area for, the people will generally be more healthy and fit and won't be out of work for sick days as much, and since you're in bentonville there's a lot less "staycations" for a day here or a day there, so the vacations are more 1-week-long style, easier to plan around and accomodate.

    They needed people. They found the perfect niche. The right age, encouraging health, etc. and they capitalized on it hard.

    upload_2021-7-16_8-22-59.jpg
     
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  3. Jul 16, 2021 at 5:26 AM
    Dr. Doom Says

    Dr. Doom Says Well-Known Member

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    Everyone I know that visited it had a blast. One lady liked it so much she bought property in AR.

    I'm not all that interested in going, however. Have to many other bucket list locations.

    In other news, GF got a set of ONYX/We are Ones for her ebike. Makes the feeling of an ebike a little different when the power comes on almost instantaneously verses the dead zone on a hub with low engagement.
     
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  4. Jul 16, 2021 at 5:46 AM
    backcountryj

    backcountryj Pending Approval

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    Have you been there?
     
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  5. Jul 16, 2021 at 5:49 AM
    GarlicFarts

    GarlicFarts Bang Ding Ow

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    Bentonville? Passing through not on a bike but I did check out some of the trails, seems like a good place to ride - I just like to give it a hard time because I can. As mentioned, I'm in RI, not really a foothold to give it a hard time being flatlands and NEMBA :rofl:
     
  6. Jul 16, 2021 at 5:51 AM
    TenBeers

    TenBeers Well-Known Member

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    LOL, yeah, perfect meme! And you are pretty spot-on. It's hard to recruit talent to move here, especially younger tech talent unless there's something about the area that draws them in. Not everyone wants trails and outdoor stuff -- a lot of the tech talent seems to want close proximity to other tech employers so they can jump ship for a slight bump in pay. We don't really have that here. I like riding and camping in the woods, and I like the fact that I can be in a remote part of the Ozarks with no cell coverage in a couple of hours without hitting an interstate once. And I hate big cities. So, for me, it was a no-brainer.

    But, I will say that part of it is definitely a passion project. Steuart and Tom show up pretty high on the Strava leaderboards for a lot of the local trails. And that ride I took on the new trails over the 4th? Had a chat at one of the new trail heads with an older guy that had just finished his ride (older than me) while checking out the trail map, turns out it was Jim Walton. I didn't realize who it was until later, and he didn't say anything, we just talked about the new trails. He's just a regular guy that likes mountain biking. With $60B in his pocket. He rides 3x per week and is in great shape -- I hope I can ride like him 20 years from now.
     
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  7. Jul 16, 2021 at 5:56 AM
    backcountryj

    backcountryj Pending Approval

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    Right on. So your assessment has limited merit, got it.

    Different strokes for different folks. I too have passed through the area, but only for travel and was way before the Walton build up. Looked like a fantastic area to set down roots and raise a family to me. The addition of all the trails seems like a bonus to me.

    But again, different strokes for different folks.
     
  8. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:07 AM
    GarlicFarts

    GarlicFarts Bang Ding Ow

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    Just wait. It happened in Austin. It was a small, mediocre city for tech. Then, the smaller guys moved in. A small foothold was established. A medium player can move in and get some great talent for cheap. And then a few more. Then the big boys (Apple, Google, now Tesla is building their cyber truck factory there), etc move in. It gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger.

    The 495 stretch in Mass is the same way, happened in Austin, and it's happening in Providence, RI now. We're at the low level stage maybe some medium, but a lot of the towns around Providence are trying to get the big dogs in.

    Anyway. It's also cheap there - so you get someone with a degree in Comp Sci, gets paid a good salary, cheap living, they're willing to do it for 5 years, etc. That's exactly what Waltons are looking for.

    One of my favorites I've been to. Didn't plan on it - was supposed to go from Louisville to St. Louis and then out to OKC/Enid, but in Louisville I pulled the cord and decided to jump ship and hit the Ozarks instead on the way out. Best. Decision. Ever. I will not find a better trip, and I go into the mountains of VT and NH all the time.

    My dog actually came from Arkansas before we adopted her

    upload_2021-7-16_9-5-6.jpg

    upload_2021-7-16_9-7-27.jpg
     
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  9. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:31 AM
    levie125

    levie125 Well-Known Member

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    I skipped Bentonville on my move and went to St Louis Six Flags instead. I am headed there with my brother in October so I will be prepared to give my $.02 on the matter.
     
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  10. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:34 AM
    honda50r

    honda50r Not a Mallcrawler

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    That is pretty neat!
     
  11. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:40 AM
    honda50r

    honda50r Not a Mallcrawler

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    @Gunshot-6A your boys at Gnar Couch have me rolling every day man lol

    176702911_1026998541167307_8227181417388_02e4fa1cd2ec630af62cfc00a15dbb1623f448c6.jpg
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    171101242_1017696962097465_4982883309435_3e91364466d3c5363f5116467042fc8fff427d32.jpg
     
  12. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:43 AM
    GarlicFarts

    GarlicFarts Bang Ding Ow

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    I had my dog with me, couldn't stop and leave her in the truck for several hours during July heat. I was only planning on St. Louis and Kansas City for the BBQ, and ended up skipping both for the Ozarks. Honestly, the BBQ would have been amazing but that trip through the Ozarks was irreplaceable. No amount of BBQ in the world would make me think that it would have been worth it to skip. Plus, I hit Browns in Austin and stuffed my face there.


    Ayyyy there's that podium guy meme.
     
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  13. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:45 AM
    TenBeers

    TenBeers Well-Known Member

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    Tell me about it. My HS girlfriend temporarily moved to Austin from the Dallas area in the early '80s, so I visited often and loved it. I eventually moved down there in '89 (no desire to be anywhere near Dallas again, talk about flat lands). Worked my way through school and got a Comp Sci degree, found work before I graduated with a small company in the semiconductor industry when things were just starting to take off. Spent a little time at AMD, bounced around a bit, was independent for a bit. But the town kept growing and changing, and the charm of the "Live Music Capital of the World" kind of diminishes when you start a family and have little ones. I left in '09 and haven't been back in a long time, afraid of what I would find.

    Yeah, overall cost of living is relatively cheap, although real estate/housing is a bit higher than you would expect. Not bad, though. There was a bad shortage for a while, but they seem to have caught up. When I interviewed, they actually had a real estate agent drive me around all afternoon checking out different areas, giving me the rundown. I think the main challenge is to just get someone to even consider a job here and take a look at what the area has to offer.

    It's amazing how much access we have here. We continue to explore and find new remote camping spots, thinking we've found "the one," only to find another great one. Some bad ones, too, where some jackass burned a bunch of tires, but for the most part people respect the land here. Someone said we have more miles of roads than California, not sure if that is true. Maybe unpaved roads. But more banjos. Definitely more banjos.
     
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  14. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:51 AM
    levie125

    levie125 Well-Known Member

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    St Louis has some other food gems. My favorite is King Edwards fried chicken:

    95877A0D-0745-4094-8F08-788B69E524DB.jpg
     
  15. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:53 AM
    GarlicFarts

    GarlicFarts Bang Ding Ow

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    I'm going to be honest - we're moving for the heat. We're in New England, I HATE the cold, my wife tolerates it but I cannot stand it. I grew up in Maine, everyone here when it gets to a cold snap "You must love this!" - Piss off, why do you think I left Maine!? Hitting the extreme and heading south. That was actually part of my road trip last summer - I didn't want to move to the desert if the summers are too hot to do anything and we still lose 4-5 months of being able to do stuff outside anyway. That didn't happen, sunny 95 in Austin I have a catahoula, we did a 5 mile walk - we loved it.

    Anyway. I have a BS Mech E, MS Statistics, currently in Aerospace QA, who knows what's next, but I'm thinking we're moving south one way or another, and Austin is a cool place. I liked DFW but not sure about it. I liked Phoenix/Tucson, and might try to get the wife to explore out there before we buy a place in Austin, I liked Albaquerque (will never be able to spell it) but not sure about that either. I like the desert, I could see us landing there. Only thing keeping us back here is (1) our house is ideal, size location everything, it would be painful to give up a nearly perfect house/plot/etc. and (2) family.

    I saw that actually. I checked out Zillow briefly and was surprised, but then looked at the rest of COL and it's not bad.

    Paddle faster!
     
  16. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:54 AM
    TenBeers

    TenBeers Well-Known Member

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    Between Austin and Bentonville, I spent 8 years in STL and lived just up the road from Six Flags. One of the local MTB trails there runs right behind Six Flags. Bring a snack on that ride, the smell of the funnel cakes will get you.
     
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  17. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:55 AM
    GarlicFarts

    GarlicFarts Bang Ding Ow

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    Honestly - I was doing the BBQ tour. St Louis, KCMO, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio (actually San Antonio I got some tacos and hooooooly crap was that the best decision), Charleston, Greenville, Knoxville.

    It was a great tour of the country, instead. Oh and I got Whataburger for the first time and that's a winner in my mind.
     
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  18. Jul 16, 2021 at 6:57 AM
    levie125

    levie125 Well-Known Member

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    How dare you leave Memphis off that list! :rofl:
     
  19. Jul 16, 2021 at 7:02 AM
    honda50r

    honda50r Not a Mallcrawler

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    1. Is mild inflation a factor in the area presumably due to higher incomes centered around WM? Somebody told me that but I'm curious to hear from a local
    2. The Ozarks are super cool and remind me a lot of the Appalachians here. Not overly tall but solid elevation change and underrated access. Thought I can't help but feel like there are more transplants than ever before but maybe everywhere is experiencing that same thing
     
  20. Jul 16, 2021 at 7:04 AM
    honda50r

    honda50r Not a Mallcrawler

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    Jonathan throwing the GAS hahah.

    When's our next trip? Chattanooga this Winter?
     

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