Seven Month Update
Kurtis Downs - Lake Elsinor, California - April 20, 2024
I thought I would take a moment to let you know that I have not abandoned MTBATX despite my last blog post being in October of last year. It’s a fun little project that I put a lot of energy into, but the end game of this site, of everything I have been doing is simply to grow the MTB scene that I participate in. At the moment I have an outlet for doing exactly that through handling marketing and communications for Austin Ridge Riders. Take a look at the website refresh! That is a major ongoing project with a store coming on line soon as well as a staff portal for our volunteers to find the necessary resources for success.
The Central Texas Rider Survey was also a big win for the organization in my opinion - the last time ARR polled riders was in 2014! You can read the full survey analysis here. Cranksgiving, Party in The Pines, and Five Finger Discount were all big projects that I was a part of in recent months. Basically in October I stopped working on the MTBATX site and poured all my time and energy into Austin Ridge Riders, as I believe Austin and Central Texas deserve a top notch trails org. I am honored to have an opportunity to help create that alongside our awesome directors.
…I should actually be finishing up the monthly recap for ARR right now, but this post has been kicking around in my head for a while and I can’t move forward with anything else until it is done. It’s a mental block.
Aside from ARR, I have been focused on photography and stopped racing enduro (I wasn’t very fast anyway) in order to shoot race photos which I have found to be helpful in clawing back a little bit of the funds I spend on doing everything related to the scene. At the end of the day MTBATX is legally a business and while I don’t aim to profit significantly from it, I’m not a non-profit and I do need to bring in some income! I’m also considering doing a re-launch of this awesome tee shirt that people still ask for - selling merch is another way I’ve been able to bring in revenue. It’s been a loss for the last two years while I build up the gear necessary to tell the stories I want to tell in the way I want to tell them. Just know that I appreciate all the support, and more stories are to come.
I’ve also been spending a significant amount of time stacking and tuning dirt jumps in SATN. Tunnel vision is getting much bigger and better with two options for those who like how they are now, and those of us who want more progress. Unfortunately it’s going to be a few more weeks before that is finished. Shout out to all the folks who have dedicated time or money to this dig. It’s nice to have help after doing so much of this by myself. In particular I want to thank Clint, Cullen, Ben, Scott, and the groms for helping on multiple occasions in a big way, and Elia, Rachelle, Yasar, Phil, Adam, Max, Blake, and George for the donations. It’s helped cover tools, drain pipe, materials for the water tank, bar oil, and soon we will get more carpet.
If you missed it, I joined Carl Zapffe and Greg Klipp to discuss South Austin Trail Network on Brooks Lawson’s Austin Mountain Biking Podcast. We talk about Crank N Drank, and even a bit about that time Greg literally got shot in the arm in SATN. Big thanks to Brooks for inviting us to chat. I will be returning to that podcast on my own soon to chat about all sorts of bike related shit.
By far the biggest news is my trip to California with Scott Smith to attend Dylan Stark’s 420 Jam in beautiful Lake Elsinor! “Where the fuck is Lake Elsinor?” The trip was a riot and I think both Scott and I learned a ton about what we both want to do. Scott wants invites to big air, freeride, and slopestyle jams, and I do too. Scott wants to ride, I want to shoot. You can see some of our recent work together here, here, and here. I’ll make a post about this trip in the next few months once I have a chance to work through the footage.
I also have so much footage from Best Side Trails during the weeks prior to the Five Finger Discount jam, and the jam itself. I also interviewed a few folks and so you can expect a video from that soon.
As far as my riding is concerned - well - yeah. I haven’t been riding hardly at all. I’ve focused so much on all the other stuff that I have actually lost a bit of connection with my own love of being on a bike. I had a big crash at 9th Street last year with a pretty good concussion and jacked up hand and I honestly have not recovered my form since that episode. I am not loose in the air even if I am still able to hit some decent sized jumps. I also twisted or possibly broke my damn ankle getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and that has been making life hell when riding. I have a bad habit of not going to the doctor when I should, and I also have a relatively high tolerance for pain so it would not surprise me if one day I get a hand or foot x ray and they find evidence of previous injuries I never took care of. I really need to ride more and get back to form. My rides are just not what they used to be and that is a great shame.
I am going to Bentonville for Bike Fest this month with the homies. It is going to be sick.
TL;DR: I am here, I am working very hard to bring you stories via MTBATX, I am primarily focused on my volunteer work with ARR, I am digging a lot, not riding hardly at all, and hope to find a balance in the coming months.
❤️ Dale
What stories do you want to hear about? Is there an element of the Austin MTB scene you want to learn more about? Drop me a line in the comments. I would love to hear from the readers here! Let’s chat about stuff…
