Lee Compton

My name is Lee Compton, and I was born in Austin and grew up in Del Valle on a dairy farm.  Bikes were my transportation on the gravel and farm roads until I got my first car, at which point they were decidedly "uncool". Several years of motorcycling included creating the first trails at "City Park" as part of the Capital Katz Motorcycle Club in the early '70s. (cool name!) In fact, my first exposure to mountain biking came at City Park.  While out trials riding with friends one day in the mid '80s, we heard some folks coming down a particular rocky gully.  Thinking they were hikers, we were surprised when they rode up on "primitive" mountain bikes, drop bars and all !   I was hooked !  By 1987. I'd sold off all the motorcycles and bought my first mountain bike, a Rockhopper I still proudly have. 

I cut my teeth riding at City Park and BCGB, and a little later, Walnut Creek, Rocky Hill and Cameron Park. I was a regular participant in the "Texas French Bread" rides. I was the one trying to keep the fast guys in sight !  Ditching the Katz, I have been active in the Austin Ridge Riders, helping with events and activities and as a director in the early '90s. I was privileged to help out with Austin area trail projects over the years, and I am ARR trail steward for the Lake Georgetown Goodwater Trail system.  That 27 mile loop was opened to mountain biking in the summer of 2010.  

I am proud to have served on the Austin Ridge Riders Board in several capacities.  Our club has been and continues to be the focal point for Central Texas mountain biking.  ARR's land advocacy and events can not be matched.  

Lee Compton has a long history of dedication to the advocacy of Mountain Biking in Central Texas. He started Mountain Biking in Austin around 1987 with a core group of Ridge Rider founders when mountain biking was in its infancy. He served on the early ARR Board in 1989 to "plot and plan things" that started the advocacy movement in Austin which made mountain biking in the area what it is today.  In 2003, Lee was instrumental in establishing ARR's long-standing, solid relationship with the Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Georgetown. As current Trail Steward at Lake Georgetown, Lee continues to foster ARR's core values of advocacy, stewardship and volunteerism. As a result of his hard work, management skills, and diplomacy,  the entire 26 mile Goodwater Trail is now open to mountain biking.