MTBATX 2022 Recap
I launched this website in January last year with the goal of creating quality content focused on mountain biking in central Texas. I had a vision of what I wanted this project to be, but I wasn’t quite sure if I would have the time to do it all, or even find an audience.
While it has been exhausting and taken up a considerable chunk of my free time, I could not be happier with how it is coming together, and I can’t think y’all enough for supporting me. A few other notable accomplishments in 2022 beyond this website: custom merch, ride reels, enduro racing, a trip to Bentonville, lots of trail building, and a fair bit of progression on the bike.
Austin friends together in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Let’s look back at my favorite moments from 2022:
The Bowl – January 29th
My first trail workday with Austin Ridge Riders was at Brushy Creek in January, and what a turnout! The group was led by Ronan O’Connor – the Trail Steward at Brushy – and our goal was to finish up a project called “The Bowl” which is an offshoot of the trail “Bob Ross”. I got to use a “rock dolly”, which is a repurposed root ball dolly, and ever since then I can’t move large stones without wishing I had one. You can read the full post about the bowl here.
Reveille Peak Ranch – January 30th
We got a small group together for a day at Reveille Peak Ranch just to focus on the freeride park. I was not very comfortable with jumps at this point, but I was comfortable with drops, and I focused on that. By the end of the day, I had graduated to the third largest drop and was feeling great about it. Derek, Rudy, and Cullen had been working on the big step up with Julian, and Cullen was sending it big by the end of the day. This was a big day of progression for everyone. You can read the full blog post here.
Reimers Ranch Flow Trail – February 19th
Austin Ridge Riders organized a trail workday at Reimers Ranch to repair a few elements of the flow trail. Most of the work went into the “windmill drop” feature, increasing the size of the drop while making it safer. We also fixed up the last tabletop. A lot more trail work is required here, but eventually this will happen. ARR has grant money to build additional flow trails here. Likewise, the annual Cranksgiving event is coming up, and this will include some trail work on a few other trails in the park.
E Spank Drop – February 9
After tackling the drops at RPR, my friend Andre told me he thought I was ready to hit E Spank Drop in South Austin Trail Network. This was my biggest goal since shortly after I started riding, but every time I looked at it, I would become a little more nervous about it. The confidence Andre had in me though really gave me the edge I needed to send it, and I was not alone. Cullen was there as well, and he was also tackling it for the first time.
Best Side Trails Jam – February 20th
Garett Gray and Bike Farm put together a jam at Best Side Trails which is a fun little progression spot on the east side of Austin. This was a huge party with so much talent and the main event was the high jump and trick competition on two big booters. I hope this happens again this year.
Spider Mountain DH Series March – May
Three races, three stages, one run each, racing with my homie Cullen. This was my first full series to race in, and it reignited my desire to start a race team after failing to get the Discord team off the ground.
BMX Loop Trail Work – April 24th
This was my third build day with Austin Ridge Riders, and we worked on a new log jump feature at the end of BMX Loop in Walnut Creek Metro Park. This was a pretty quick build and added a lot of fun to a previously boring section of trail. We would return here in the fall to add a few more features following this one.
Bentonville – May 15th – 21st
This is probably the highlight of the year. 24 riders together for a road trip to Bentonville, Arkansas for a week. We rode Slaughter Pen, Coler Preserve, Lake Leatherwood, The Railyard, The Runway, and Little Sugar.
Read the full Austin MTB Bentonville Road Trip - Spring, 2022 — MTBATX
Here is a photo gallery.
SATN Social – June 11th
The SATN Social is a large group ride with four separate routes totaling 67 miles. The original date was rained out but the make up date was a big success. I rode the east and north routes which was just over 30 miles, which is definitely the most amount of trail for me in one day! You can read the SATN Social recap here.
Biketown Premier – August 11th
Austin Ridge Riders organized a viewing of the “Biketown” documentary at Oscar Blues taproom! This was a well-attended event that raised over $2000 for the club and 36 new members joined that evening! The documentary focuses on the struggle to gain access to land for trails and a few victories in some communities across America. You can read the full recap here.
MTBATX Racing Team and the 2022 Texas Enduro Cup
I absolutely love racing and after quitting Victory Racing (after only one race) I talked to my friend Cullen to see if he just wanted to do a team with me. This was my goal prior to joining Victory but never really got it going with Discord. I reached out to Wes at Velorangutan to see if he would be interested in sponsoring a small group of riders and I was thrilled when the answer was yes. Cullen reached out to Idlewild Coffee and our friend Aidan brought on Wilde Supply. Together we raced the 2022 Team Trail Party Texas Enduro Cup series!
Bluegroove Revival
Josh Congleton aka Hippie has been doing a ton of work to keep the Walnut Creek Pump Track in tip top shape via Dirty Church, a jam that he has been promoting that happens on Sunday mornings. The climax of 2022 happened on October 2nd for the Bluegroove Revival jam which saw an at capacity pump track hosting a ton of talent.
You can see more from the October Recap.
It’s My Park Day – November 5th
Austin Ridge Riders partnered with Austin Parks Foundation to adopt the Little Walnut Creek Greenbelt for “It’s My Park Day”. Over 30 volunteers removed enough garbage to fill a dumpster! There are two of these events per year on the first Saturday of March and November. The full blog post is here.
BMX Loop Trail Work Day – November 13th
Austin Ridge Riders organized another work day on the BMX Loop at Walnut Creek Metro Park to finish off the project that was started in April! We built a tabletop log jump feature into a swoopy catch berm! These features really make this section of trail a lot more fun. Read the blog post here.
SATN Eastside - December 17
New trail has been added to South Austin Trail Network east of I-35 as well as north of Mary Moore Searight Park, and you can thank this person right here. I got a chance to explore this in December with a big crew of Crank N Drank regulars. There are some exciting technical challenges and a bit of elevation particularly in regard to “Boggy Down” and “Onion Bluff”. You can now do a huge loop of SATN, and in total there are over 140 miles of trail now that this new stuff is complete.
Guest Blogs
I am grateful that Julie Engler contributed stories from her experiences riding in 2022. She had a big year and some bigger personal accomplishments and you can read about those below:
Thank You
Again, thank you for taking the time to read the stories, watch the edits, peek at the photos, and even buy some merch. I have bigger goals for 2023, both in terms of my riding progression, and the quality of content here. I want to tell better stories, introduce you to local riders, and show you where and how we have fun together in Austin while supporting local trails and organizations like Austin Ridge Riders.
Cheers,
Dale :)
