Nice day for trailblazing
Like a cold front, David Yeomans enjoys rolling directly into Mother Nature’s path.
And when it comes to being in his element, the KXAN- TV meteorologist prefers “extreme” mountain biking. Before moving to Austin at 14, he grew up in Albuquerque. The Sandia Mountains was the Yeomans Family’s backyard. By the time he was in kindergarten, David was maneuvering gravity-defying stunts at invincible downhill speeds. “Even at that age, I’d ramp curbs and lock up my rear break while midair, knowing it’d bring my tail down. And if I hit my front break midair, that’d bring my nose down,” he remembers. While his dad led him to his first trails, David was accustomed to exploring on his own. “That’s what’s so cool about biking. It’s like having a driver’s license before you can get one,” he says. “Biking gives you mobility and freedom. Like you’re out there and away from home. It’s sorta dangerously fun.” For his weatherman gig, he’s also known as the “station scientist,” which means he’s constantly checking radar conditions, the digital rain-gauge, the dew point and something called an “anemometer,” which measures wind speed. “It’s one thing to be in the studio and cooped up behind all these instruments — watching 86 degrees drop to 74. It’s another thing to be out on the bike and feel that gust of wind hit you. To see the pollen get picked up in the air. To feel the temperature drop. To feel the humidity. Or feel a storm come in," Yeomans says from his apartment porch, which overlooks a cedar forest. For Austin off-roading, he digs the Barton Creek Greenbelt, The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and Boardwalk, and the Shoal Creek Greenbelt. Yeomans also praises the downhill action of Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnett. What’s so great about off-road riding? “High-speed mountain biking is about confidence. On trails, you gain technical skills while trying to figure out how to overcome obstacles,” he says. “Also, it’s about the scenery — especially in Austin.” What’s Austin look like? “You’re in the middle of a forest with dense trees and undergrowth. And there’s a beautiful flowing creek... Well, as long as we’re not in a drought. But you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s easy to get lost on the Greenbelt, but you’re actually in the middle of a big city,” he says. When it comes to weather conditions, what’s a no-go day for biking? “When it’s wet. The rocks the on the Greenbelt get so slippery that it’s too difficult. Muddy trails with flying dirt are fun. But going a half-a-mile per hour over slick rocks without any traction... Not only does your back wheel spin, your front wheel slides off everything,” he says. How about hellacious August day in the Texas capital with humid, scorching sunlight without any clouds? “That’s when you hope the Greenbelt has flowing water,” he smiles. “Because you either jump in on a rope swing — or you ride through it.” |