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

Hit me up on istagram if you have one! we need to make a plan. "cjmelendrez"

 

The goods are always illegal trails.

 

I grew up in Manassas, I feel ya on the NOVA sprawl.

We have a LOT of "good" stuff but I'd say we lack truly "great" stuff around the city. If you have ever been to Grand Junction / Fruita, CO, their trails are more gnarly in general, where we have a lot of flowy stuff.

Bootleg, NV / Southern Utah / Moab / GJ are all just a few hours away though, so any time you get bored with smooth trails, you can go ride gnar to your heart's content.

If you come out to scout, let me know. I'll lend you a bike and I'll give you a tour!

This should tell you all you need to know though, all of it is within an hour of SLC:

 

haha. that used to be the case in seattle, but largely not anymore! there's still some hidden stashes here and there, but now that evergreen is so well funded, trails are getting made like the DOT rolls out new pavement. and good ones too.

i got my first mtb for high school graduation in '88. we used to ride snowmobile trails, and powerline access trails around outside portland maine for loops from town. and i remember thinking, man if mtbs could just get half as organized as the horse community or the snowmo guys, we'd be so set. but back then were all the poor young poorly organized dirtbags, like snowboarding in the 80s too. now that some of us are all growed up, not me, and donating money to imba, evergreen, cota, etc., trail building just plain going off. i also think there's been a shift from the litigation happy, liability prone time of the 80s, that's helping things. and even bike parks are making a resurgence (case in point: snoqualmie! bring it. ).

 

Where are you in OH?

 

This post gets me hyped up

It's true man. Mountain bike / Outdoors scene is really healthy right now

 

Even in UT where we have had a lot of positivity towards biking, we are seeing a lot of growth. A lot of cities are actually funding trails with their parks and rec depts believe it or not!

 

Anyone here have any good in bed carries for a mountain bike? I normally just use straps for mine but figure a clamp system would probabaly be more convenient. Been thinking of building one using the factory bed cleats. A cross bar and either making a mounting system or developing a way to attach an already existant type to my cross bar.

 

Tailgate pad! Seriously the easiest damn thing ever. Plus you don't have to take your front wheel off (and lose it or run over it, both of which I've seen in the last 2 weeks)

 

Nice SC by the way. I too have purple bling on mine. Looking to get a new Nomad 4 soon

 

I just recently moved to Seattle and yes the legal trails here are legit! I came from San Diego and all the good trails were illegal, but they are starting to finally get it together but the major thing they lack is open space and funding compared to Seattle.

The one thing with the horse community has always been funding and leverage in most of the areas I've lived. Seattle is different, backing from the DNR, many well to do people are mountain biking and giving, its pretty awesome to see the community in Seattle not just for mountain biking but outdoors in general. Its happening in other places as well with backing from large corporations(more than likely just tax write offs). I believe a lot of towns have determined outdoor activities is a great way for community involvement and if you "build it they will come" kinda mantra in that tourists will flock there.

I always thought San Diego could do a better job with this. 340+ days of sunshine a year on average. Would be a great winter destination for riders. But the trails to go to are a few and most are over an hour drive from each other.

 

Thanks! I have had it for 2 seasons now and continue to love the shit out of it! It's gonna be my main steed for quite a while until after I buy a house and maybe fund a trip to Patagonia.

 

Ha! I shuttled in a ford explorer once, crammed 5 bikes in the car and had to take my wheels off. Ending up losing an end cap so I had to drive back down to pick people up. Luckily it was the second run so I got one in.

 

Oh yes, East Coast is going bonkers, too! Knoxville just built a double black jump line on the city's dime. Mayor even came to the grand opening. Granted it's all about having the right people in office allowing these things. I have a sneaking suspicion if a Mayor had a (R) beside his/her name these recreational growths would not be happening. It's a give and take

 

The mayor of Provo (now congressman) is a huge bike guy. I've run into him a few times on the trails around here and he has an R next to his name. I get what you are saying though, more about the person.

 

how do you like that raceface? I have the evoc, and the pads are on the top (little blocks) and not down the back like yours. Really serve no purpose. and even with the handle flap open, rear camera doesn't work. does your camera work?

 

Took an awesome trip to Oregon, rode in Ashland and Oakridge. everyone needs to go to Oakridge

 

The blocks work well enough that I don't even bother with the straps.

As for the camera, I just tuck the flap up under the pad and its like it isn't even there.

 

That is fantastic. And I realize I cast a wide net. I actually lean to the right in most circumstances. But overall in my experience the right tends to focus on equity/return on projects while the left tends to gravitate towards immediate satisfaction.

For our conversation sake; let's say a city has a plot of land; trails only produce indirect revenue, meanwhile, an industrial park has tangible returns on that exact piece of property.

Obviously I would prefer the trails but in many cases I can understand the arguments that are made over public lands. I'm just glad the growing trend is towards conservation and an active lifestyle

 

oh, and this one