Mountain Biking in Texas in May – Mud…mud…

Mountain biking post heavy rains

Rain is really needed and important for Texas!  The lakes are low, water is in limited supply….(I think in better shape than California, though…)

But, the rains have been heavy and causing really sticky mud on the trails in Texas.  If you are out to get exercise – there is nothing like biking on a muddy trail in the Hill Country.  Why?  Because the mud is REALLY sticky – and it causes you to exert quite a bit of both strength pedaling and skill navigating and staying on your bike in the slippery slopes.

Here are some photos from my Saturday ride – it was right after a Friday (and Thursday, and Wednesday…) heavy rains.  What was I thinking 🙂  Well, let me chalk it on the need to exercise….

Hill-Country-Bike-Trails

Hill-Country-Biking-TrailsBiking-TexasHill-country-biking-mud  Well you have seen it now.  The mud is pretty heavy even-though the trails look pretty compact and stony – in reality they are but there is also quite a bit of sticky dirt on the trail – and it gets everywhere including the derailleurs…making shifting gears more difficult.    And of course you need to be ready to spend time cleaning your bike post ride…

But as I said – it is all about the exercise…!

McKinney Falls State Park Bike Trail

Last Sunday experienced the bike trails of the next of the Texas state parks….McKinney Falls State Park and its Bike Trails.

Here is a link to the write up I already posted in the trails database

The park is located in South east Austin near the airport and is very easily accessible via any vehicle.  Once you are there you can enjoy both a very easy bike trail (paved one) and a slightly more exciting one that goes through some nicely wooded areas in the park.

Here is a link to the offical video for the park as well:

The park offers not only a good place for biking but also a nice set of views – take a look at the gallery below:

Overall this trail is really relatively easy – most of the two trails (Onion Creek and Homestead) are relativel flat with some minor climbs (on Onion Creek) and a few places of steep downhills or climbs and roots on the single track.   You may have trouble finding the place to get to the Homestead trail track.  The trick is to go low down the Falls near by the larger / higher waterfall and find a way to cross on foot.   Just go ahead and try it – you will enjoy it.