Recently we met with Williamson County Parks and Rec Officials. If you've read the previous post you know why. Too much was discussed to post here, but the overall net is very good. Deception, Picnic and Mulligan are not planned to be closed down by the county. Nor is there any immediate plan to make changes (make easier) any of the trail. TheWe all agreed that closing the western most portion of the trail, west of the trail we call "Double Track" would be a prudent move to help quell the complaints of a few neighbors in Avery Ranch and the HOA. Also, the trail did encroach onto a future housing development property and we wanted to undo the trespassing there.
What we closed:
1. West bound trail head at Double Track (this is the neighborhood access trail near Rutledge Elementary)
3. West Bound access at the Rock Bank Climb that leads to Mike's Meadow (big construction road)
4. East Bound access at Mike's Meadow leading back towards Rock Bank Climb and Double Track.
Picnic, Mulligan and other single track in the area are NOT affected. In fact, Wilco does not care about Picnic and Mulligan as they are City of Austin property.
What's next?
- We are going to continue to do maintenance of the existing trail to ensure or improve sustainability, and monitor and correct alterations.
- We are going to continue to work WITH Wilco to keep the trail open and look for more opportunities
- We have approached ARR (Austin Ridge Riders) in the hope to form an alliance in order to have the support of a recognized non-profit organization with trail building experience and credentials. They have been very receptive.
There seems to be an inherent fear among current trail users (that I have talked to) to even be off the paved part. I guess people are afraid of prosecution, etc.
ReplyDeleteI personally think this is a shame being that it is public land, but at the same time I will abstain from going on that section...but MAN is there some potential out there for some sick trail.
Is there going to be any in the future on that side of the double track coming down from the school? To be honest, that was my favorite part.
Thanks, and keep up the solid work!
I have been assured that legal action is not part of the equation here.
DeleteIn fact, Parks and Rec have confirmed that the trail builders are now official volunteers of Wilco Parks and Rec (once we sign the waivers). I have been told that we can advise people and authorities of that and have them contact the director himself. It is the director that we are working with.
Discussions so far are open to more trail, however, the red tape involved will make it drastically slower.
Well that's good news. I'm no expert, but I have read the IMBA trailbuilding books, and you guys seem to be building responsibly from what I can see. Sure, the trail may need some tweaking here and there, but I could make that argument about ANY trail in the Austin area...and probably anywhere in the world.
DeleteI really would love to see more singletrack in Williamson County, and I'm willing to donate to the cause, help build, or do anything I can to help make it happen. Red tape is a necessary part of things, but hopefully the County will respond to the needs and wants of the ACTIVE community in an efficient manner. That being said, I have LOVED the County's efforts on the Brushy Creek Regional Trail. We are blessed to live in an area where outdoor recreation is valued, so if the County is listening...let's keep it going with some challenging terrain!
Uh oh, ARR... so the trails are going IMBA? Please no...
ReplyDeleteI've already started that dialogue...there is some consensus that IMBA is not necessarily 100% applicable to our terrain, meaning we can get away with certain thing the kind of limestone we have that you can't do elsewhere.
DeleteThe primary part of ARR's involvement is getting a recognized non-profit mountain biking organization with IMBA credentials and experience to essentially put their seal of approval and support on the existing trail.
Would like to be involved in trail maintenance for the remaining trails. Sounds like a waiver is required?
ReplyDeleteRode the trail yesterday. Again, BADASS.
ReplyDeleteI knocked some of the "baby head" rocks off the tread.
If people wouldn't mind simply moving some of the bigger rocks that roll onto the trail OFF the trail, that would be the biggest help of all. I know I will. Don't mean to make it sound like I'm on a high horse, but we can all take the time to do that to protect our bikes and bodies from the bigger "skree"...Thanks.
E--Let me know when there is a group clean-up or trail maint, as I would like to do my part and give back.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is unfortunate to see part of the trail closed permanently, I do think that the time has come for more "official" blessing of this trail development, since it has really begun to develop the unfortunate side effects of rogue trail, like people frequently creating new lines, cutoffs, sanitizing the trail, and my personal favorite: installation of boulders and large branches/logs into the tread in order to cause injuries to mountain bikers. I have ridden this trail at least 3-5 times a week for about a year now so it is plainly obvious when an obstacle has been placed there for purposes besides enhancing the MTB experience :). One such obstacle in fact caused some of my recent broken bones.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the biggest threat to the viability of this trail is the rogue nature of it. Certainly it would never have been built if not for the initiative of the "rogues" and their willingness to risk it, but eventually if there is nothing official then there's nobody really to say who can and can't "build", modify or "improve" the trail. The corollary to this problem is that of the "nobody's trail is everybody's trail", so when I see (often) middle age dads on hybrid bikes out there with no helmet and even once a guy with small children, one with a 16" bike WITH TRAINING WHEELS ON IT, clearly something must be done to try to prevent the inexperienced from either getting hurt or taking their own initiative to smooth out what is a very technical trail. I am a daily mountain biker for 1.5 decades now with lots of experience on the whole variety of Central TX trails and still I have had no fewer than three wrecks that resulted in multiple broken bones there on Deception. This is no place for the suburban dad who blows the dust off of his Huffy that he last used to ride to class in college or his children and training wheels.
I know I have suggested it before and it was declined, but frankly I think some signs would go a long way towards alleviating this issue. Signs at the trail heads that warn that these are technical trails for experienced off-road riders, and they are intended to be that way, and also signs that strictly state not to modify the trail or ride off trail would be a very good start.
Glad you enjoy it and so often. Now that the trail has the start to official status signs are part of the discussion. Wilco wants them, ARR will provide them. It's a matter of time now to get to that point.
DeleteWell, these days I don't ride anywhere else! I travel a lot for business and was out of town for a week and when I came back I found the West closed and had a moment of panic that the whole thing was closed. I live nearby so I have mothballed my bike rack for good.
DeleteHad a wreck in May just before a family vacation where I broke my hip, left arm and ribs on my left side. Once I got back on, I hit a HOHA rock that was courteously placed in the crux of a sweeping switchback where you can't see it until you hit it, and landed right on my weeks-old broken arm. That limestone is some hard, unforgiving stuff. After another week or two of road bike rehab I went back to D and managed to endo while climbing up a ledge. That's quite hard to do! And of course I landed, again, right on my left arm. What sux about being old and having a wreck on a technical trail is that as you lay off to heal, your skills decline making it more likely you wreck again!
Anyway, again kudos for a terrific job on this trail, and as a part of my daily routine, it really is like the 8th wonder of the world for me.
I've been off the trails for about 7 weeks until recently, and my confidence level is not where it was before I had to layoff the trail. There are other factors at play (like I serviced my own fork and think it feels more flexy - but probably just mental)...but point being, I was riding the trail so much I got really confident with all the lines, and now there is one in particular that's in my head...even though I rode it just the other day without crashing.
DeleteI'm all for signs at this point.....this trail can F you up if you're blown up tired, lose focus for even a second, or if you just flat out do not have the skillset required to ride it. That being said, it's a PHENOMENAL trail on which to improve handling skills...that's all it really is....6+ miles of handling clinic....with some legs&lungs mixed in.
Like one of my friends said, "If you can get fast out there, you can be fast pretty much anywhere. Deception never stops making you perform on a pretty high level.
Glad you're healing.
And for what it's worth, Deception claimed my biceps tendon and rotator cuff last year.
ReplyDeleteRode tonight, and it seems like a lot of the baby head rocks were moved....maybe they got spit off the trail by mountain bikes, maybe some runners moved them....maybe it as my imagination,
ReplyDeleteBUT, if anyone did some work of that sort, thanks a ton! It made the ride even better. Long live the trail!