When we lived full time at our duplex in West Austin, we would frequent some of the awesome hill country parks since it was a straight shot. Our first time at Reimers Ranch was a couple of years ago when we tried out the “beginners” trail on our old bikes. It was the middle of August when we first visited so it was sweltering to say the least.
Along with well mapped out mountain biking trails, there are plenty of hiking trails and apparently some pretty awesome rock climbing areas within the park.
With our new bikes, we decided we would give the “Sport” trail a go. After having downhill mountain biked in Angel Fire, I thought a little ol’ Texas trail would be easy peasy. Holy moly. It definitely gave us a run for our money.
After having been thrown off my bike a couple of times due to the way I was hitting some rocks, I realized that there are two aspects to surviving this trail.
- Confidence. At first, I was a bit hesitant when I came up on the really rocky areas. I was scared I’d hit the rocks wrong and go flying or even worse, fall into a snake infested cactus. Once I gained the confidence necessary to master the trail, I was able to climb the hard parts with ease. I also was getting thrown off less, and could “rock hop” much easier.
- Coordination. The trail narrowed to roughly 6 inches wide in places with VERY tight squeezes between trees at times. There were many times I didn’t think our handle bars would fit, but with some coordination and proper maneuvering, we made it through. In order to stay up right, you have to have just a little coordination, but in order to make it through this trail, you have to be able to chew gum and walk at the same time.
There were a few man made ramps throughout the trail that you could launch your bike off of and one of us even attempted them a few times. And that someone, might have wrecked their bike a few times. I did have a good brush up against a tree that resulted in a bloody elbow. We are hardcore, y’all.
The way the trail is laid out, you can tell an expert helped plan each course. It’s well marked and pretty hard to land on a trail you weren’t expecting such as one of the “Professional” level trails.
Once we dusted off our cuts and bruises, we packed up the bikes and headed down to the river area of the ranch. You know, since it’s still 80 degrees here in dear ol’ Texas, a swim in the Pedernales is quite refreshing. 
It’s been is exciting weekend and we were happy to bookend it with a challenging ride at Reimers Ranch. If you’re ever in the area, definitely give the park a visit!