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After ripping my face open with an unseen strand of barbed wire, I started carrying a small mirror so that in the future I could determine how bad I was cut. This was right above my eyebrow and it bled profusely. I thought I had stopped the bleeding and cleaned it up but when I got back to the car I looked like an extra from a horror movie. This helped explain the reactions I was getting from hikers I passed on the greenbelt...

Damn Chinese carbon hitches!

Starting a new topic for EB pre-rides. Cody will likely lead Thumper pre-rides, and anyone who wants to lead (or request) others can post up here. We will be marking the turns in the Green Belt with yellow bio-degradable tape as soon as it's dry enough to do so. Some tape is already up. - Tony

Well the trails suck but that doesn't mean that I can't be on a bike. I went out to do the veggie buffet - all of the streets, none of the trails (except for the 1/4 mile that I stole at WC.) To be fair, I did not do the little section to/from St. Ed's because that sucks. I had started out with a goal of just doing the big hills, but after I got started it all just fell together. Was not planning to do the whole thing but it worked out that way. Some interesting data points for the the nerds in the crowd: 1. Burned ~1800 calories just doing the road portions, I would imagine the trail portions double that, so fill your tanks appropriately 2. Courtyard was about 80 calories of effort. 3. I was burning ~6 calories a minute. On the trails I typically hit 8/minute. 4. For you keto people in the crowd, I had 3 eggs with cheese, ~12 pepperoni-sized pieces of salami and a handful of wholegrain (homemade) crackers with peanut butter for breakfast. That held me. I ate nothing and only drank water. Got home and was hungry, but not famished, could have gone a few more hours without eating. 5. The weather was perfect. Overcast, occasional light drizzle. Huge difference from my earlier rides in the upper 90's/lower 100's. Overall I feel like being able to just jump in and do this today means I am in good enough shape for the real thing. I'll be out of the country for almost 3 weeks before so I will need to step up the training. A trip to Bentonville should help get me back in shape. I might do another of these next Monday if anyone wants to join me.

There will be an Urban R&I this Tuesday because the trails are too wet (I did a bit of WC and places that are always dry were wet, didn't even bother with some of the normally wet places.) Starting point will be Ramsey Park: https://goo.gl/maps/R6o5vkTK1dw on the south end of the park. There will be a 4:30 group that will do some local riding for an hour, swinging back to the park for a 5:30 pickup. From there we'll swing down the Shoal Creek trail to the lake, do a short loop, then head back up to the park, getting back between 6:30 and 7. From there it is a half block walk to the Draught House where there is plenty of outdoor seating and Tuesday night beer specials. You can also bring your own food, so if you are hungry you can stop at the new Rudy's on Lamar and pick up BBQ to go. There is usually a food truck there as well.

If you're having a double-doody emergency the carrying TP suggestion is still very much appropriate.

What's the tongue weight limit for you vehicle Seth? 4 Enduro bikes @ about 30lbs each + 60+lb rack = 180lbs+ My Outback's limited at 200lbs and that's calculated for a trailer, not an unsupported load cantilevering off the hitch. There's no way my car should ever have 4 bikes loaded on the hitch. A 4 tray rack is a really long lever and even small bounces can magnify the load on the end of it. So, while it's parked it might just be below the weight limit, but hitting a dip in the road even at 15mph could send the effective load at the hitch way over. Curt even states in their installation instructions to not mount unsupported loads to the hitch without using bracing straps attached to the top of the vehicle or it voids their warranty.

After riding the trails at Warda (BCR), with three foot wide corridors trimmed back, I realize just how badly RHR needs a haircut. Face slappers, tall grass, and other growth obscure the lines. Having all the trails permanently etched in my brain makes it easy for me to overlook how not knowing the trail and riding there might be problematic for riders. I've got a warranty replacement pair of Fiskar's 15" Loppers on the way and will take them along on the next ride and do a little trimming. In the past the owner has been gracious about letting folks ride a day for free in exchange for putting in an hour or so of trimming. Taking several ten or fifteen minute "trim breaks" during a 15 mile ride is pretty easy to fit in. Please call the Hills to arrange this for those willing to do so. Contact info at www.rockyhillranch.com When trimming, always cut at the point where the branch leaves the tree, or, flush with the ground, to avoid leaving Punji Sticks that could perforate fellow riders.

We encourage all racers to wear fullys and knee pads at minimum. Dakine and 7Protection are Trail Party sponsors, support the companies that support your trail builders. For whatever reason, putting on the full face n goggles gets me in race mode.

Sorry bout the rain guys! Got new bars, stem and brakes! Itching to ride and of course we have two weeks of just enough rain to make the trails off limits! On a positive note if spider mountain is getting any of this rain, those trails should be dialed for the race!

I'll there from 4-6pm today.

tums with magnesium which stops cramps and doesnt take up much space like pickle juice and mustard. tubeless tire plug kit.

Beet Juice Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk