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I was up there the last week of July last year. I rode Monarch Crest Trail 2 days in a row. The photo below was from July 29th and I was told the motorcycle riders had just (successfully) dug though the snow bank 2 days before my first ride. So in summary, I think it will all depend on 1) how much snow accumulated this season 2) what are the warming conditions as this MTB season progresses. Absolute Bikes in Salida is a great shop and could easily answer most of your questions. Here is there updated trail conditions page. https://www.absolutebikes.com/local-trail-conditions/

I don't know who started using this term first, but the video channel calls a ride or trail that is "slow, unforgiving and brutal on the body" a nadge. I'll take it. this is always my favorite stuff to ride. I know of a few good segments in SATN that are this kind of fun, and I feel like most of BCGB has these qualities. what are you favorite nadge trails, spots, and segments in Austin?

And the waiver they have to sign.

Some people ride single speed. They don't need gears. Some people ride hard tails. They don't need rear suspension. Some people ride rigids. They don't need suspension at all. Some people ride 26" wheel bikes. They don't need that extra rollover ability of a 29er. I'm not going to try and convince somebody they need a dropper post. I had years of great riding fun without one. All I can do is share the knowledge with them that a geared, full suspension, 29er, with a dropper post makes riding more fun for ME. I will never quit using any of those fun enhancing things Nothing on a bike is going to last forever. Tires and perhaps droppers are things that wear out the fastest. I'm not going to stop using tires just because one of them failed me at some point. Same with a dropper.

I don't understand how he seems to take a break every hour for cookies or cake and still stays thin. Jerk...

Damn right it is. Wednesday morning was next level amazing (39% humidity at 7am) then yesterday was ooooh, 80% at 7am and today at 6pm was hot but nice. We’re entering 6pm roll out territory for me during the week and then 7am humidity suffer fests on the weekends. I was in Cloudcroft, NM riding the dirt bike (rode mtb in Ruidoso one day) a couple weeks ago. The humidity during the day was a whopping 5%.

Has anyone investigated the feasibility of constructing an irrigation system on the singletrack along the Brushy Creek Regional Trail? (God damn it is DRY AF)

Got a new home in 80127 starting July 29th. Tried to go to as far south west Denver as possible without completely leaving the city just yet. My next move will be to a much more remote location on a much larger piece of land, but I’m still relatively young so I have time. I chose this area for a lot of reasons, but some of it has to do with the ability to get on any type of bicycle from home and just ride away. This is something I have been very fortunate to have right now being 1.8 miles from the Twin Lakes YMCA. Now, anyone have any recommendations out there? There is so much online that it’s a bit overwhelming. I don’t even know where go start, so I plan to ask around and build my backlog accordingly. Pretty much anything on the western side of Denver is fine, as far north as boulder and as far west as the big mountains. I’ll hit it all eventually, just want to start somewhere.

https://www.jensonusa.com/Push-Complete-Lower-Leg-Service-Kit Back ordered 2 weeks for the Fox 34 but it comes with the seal install tool and all together is cheaper than ordering the separate bits so I'll wait 1-2 weeks extra. Next time I'll just need the wipers seals and washers.

https://www.812suspensiondesign.com/ These guys have started doing MTB suspension service and are located in Round Rock.

It's that crazy dancing he does. Try it and report back. With video or it didn't happen.

While I highly recommend learning to do your own suspension service, have you asked any of the mail-in services? There are a few that have competitive rates that allow you to box up and mail your fork in and get it back relateively quick.

So what you are whacking with the mallet is the air and damper shafts. Its like an iceberg. The bolts you see sticking out of the bottom of the fork continue via a shaft into the uppers. Since they are pressure fitted, you need a decent amount of force to get them to separate, which is why the service manual has you tap them with a mallet with the removal tool. The Fox 34 has a 10mm nut on the air side and a 15mm nut on the damper side, so you need two different removal tools. (Damper Removal Tools 398-00-681 and 398-00-682) YMMV, but I will thread the nut and crush washer back on until I can see two threads coming out the top of the nut. I'll place the corresponding 10mm and 15mm socket back on top of the nut and give each a good whack. Have not damaged the threads yet.

I would feel 100% confident doing a lower service on my Fox 34 in my garage. the Fox tool makes it a lot safer, but you can do the same job without it. I borrowed the tool the last time I did it though.

Same with mine. Set it and forget it. I love raising 2 mm for a tough climb then lowering it 2mm for a tough decent every few months. Spider Mtn would be when I would actually use it. If I can ever get out there.

Take NY and NJ out of those numbers and you don't see a downward trend, instead we have hit a plateau and aren't making any progress. Plus, look at the Texas number on their own (and even Travis county) and you see that the more local/specific you make the data, the worse it looks. Basically there are 4-5 hotspots in the country and we are living in one of them. Buckle up.

Thanks mack_turtle... I'm pretty sure I have a set... Just needed to get the other garage to be able to unpack the one they are in so I can get to them. That seat post will be great. The kid who the bike was for is just a few streets up from you. I built a green and silver Giant Iguana for him but the seat post it came with was long. Not sure why, as the bike is a small. But it happens when you buy older bikes... People change things around over the years. Thanks again, he'll be very happy.

Keep it legal please kids! 😉

Why is this man yelling at me? Condors are cool. I'm listening. Bikes are also cool. I'm faster than a condor or something. F Yeah. Hot take: I still don't like Steve Jobs or Apple. Wait am I high right now? I haven't done drugs in very long time. I don't think I'm high right now. This guy is really yelling at me now. About 80% sure I'm not tripping. Ok wait now he's telling me tools are psychedelic. Does paying double for Park tools give me a better trip? Even odds I'm frickin blitzed right now. I've got a meeting in 30 minutes. Shit. How much did all the stock video clips cost to make this? Now I'm just looking at the transition effects and wondering how long it would take me to edit. Stopped hearing the words. Something about curing society. I am sober unfortunately. Take responsibility? Not on your life bud. I have no idea what just happened. Condors are cool. Bikes are cool. I'm going to go sniff a pedal wrench and and lick my repair stand before the meeting to see if I can get something off of it.

I lived in Plano for a couple years back in ‘06-08. North shore was probably my favorite trail up there. OCNP was also good but it was short and very similar to WC here. North shore starts out on the east end of the lake as a very mellow trail and gets more technical the farther west you take it. It never gets as techy as the stuff around here can get, but it’s fun. Bring the bike. Also, Big Cedar is worth looking at as it actually has some decent elevation change. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those were my home trails as a kid...rode them nearly every day in the summer. Worth going. One side is similar to walnut with the other being a bit more like brushy.

Some info a friend compiled... US cases are staying in a 20K to 25K per day range. It is interesting that greater testing frequency has not led to an increase in cases nationally. We know the initial hotspots were in the northeast. New York (white), Pennsylvania (blue) and New Jersey (orange) have flattened the curve on cases. Recent press has been focused on cases increasing in Florida (white), Texas (Blue), and Arizona (orange). I wish we had reliable, standardized data on hospitalizations, but we don't. It is an important leading indicator, and more useful to monitor to isolate away the effect of testing frequency. I have mentioned previously that Texas' "spike" in hospitalizations is minuscule compared to outbreaks in other hotspots. Below shows per capita of Texas hospitalizations vs. New York. Texas is nowhere near a crisis level on COVID hospitalizations. It would have to increase by multiples to get to concerning levels. But what about deaths, which is ultimately the most important metric? The trend in deaths is quite encouraging. Below are deaths in US. Back in April, deaths exceeded 2000 per day, but are now below 1,000 and falling. New York (orange), New Jersey (white) and Pennsylvania (blue) thankfully flattened the death curve. The trend in deaths has been remarkably stable in Florida (purple), Texas (yellow) and Arizona (blue). And these numbers per day are quite small (in the dozens, literally, per state). These three "hot spots" currently account for about 100 deaths per day, combined. I think this suggests there has been improvement in the trend on COVID-19's mortality in the US that we all should be excited to see. Treatment has been enhanced as we've learned more about the virus, improving patient outcomes. Hospitals are not overwhelmed which allows better care. I also think we are more intelligent about risk mitigation and how to best protect/isolate the most at risk people, which may help skew the hospitalizations away from the very old/vulnerable. Yes, death is a lagging indicator on COVID. It will be important to watch the data on deaths in Texas, Florida and Arizona for the next few weeks to see if they hold stable or decline, given the rising cases.

I do and I love mine. My family thinks its odd the subtle affection I have for this little fella. I'm a consummate cheapskate; and I also dislike dirty floors. Our downstairs is all tile and we have (had) 2 big dogs that shed lots of hair. So what am I going to do? I did a bunch of research, read reviews from industry experts along with user reviews, saved some of my 'birthday money' and invested in a middle grade option. I've not been disappointed. In fact, i've been fairly impressed. The amount of dog hair and stuff that it picks up is astounding. It navigates over our area rugs without issues, it doesn't knock over water from the dog's bowl, its fairly unobtrusive and quiet. If I have nit-picks: 1) it does seem to drag along a pile of dog hair under it and once it crosses a rug it will deposit that small accumulation on the leading edge of the rug. Thus the rooms is swept, but there's a little evidence of hair deposited on a spot. I either pick up the clump or kick it back into motion to be swept up by the device later. 2) I did have to adjust a few things in the house to make it work effectively. Our TV console was 1/2" too low so I had to elevate it slightly. If the wife or kids leave cords plug and dangling it will suck them up and get stuck-error out. About 50% of the time it will get 'lost' in our small downstairs guest bathroom. There's just something about the shape of that room that confuses it. Most of the time, I just shut that door. 3) I bought it 2 yrs ago this month and I think I can tell the battery is beginning to get weaker. It seems to not quite run as long and as fervently as before. But it still works fine and I'm not disappointed yet. I'd buy it again when needed. Here is the one I purchased. I waited around and found it discounted (on Amazon) for $220 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NBVY14Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Later, CJB

That was our first stop on our CO tour last year. The bikeshop gave us some good tips on riding and camping. They are a known staple in that area/community with some long time employees. I think we did 3 rides while there. You can check my strata from that period. The locals are kinda "over it' with Monarch Crest, they say there's better stuff out there. But it was one of my favorite rides! You take a shuttle up to Monarch Pass and thus you end up in the 'high country' immediately. I rode the long-version and only ended up with around 4'ish hours, but got the experience of what would normally be a 6-7hr ride (because I didn't have to get myself all way there and back). I know that breaks the back-country epic ethos many of us love about riding in CO, but its just how it goes with Monarch Crest Trail. And I found it rewarding because of that....all the reward, with less work. But its not 'easy', its just right. Ok, I just went and located my Strava file(s). Here's our first day of MCT. My riding buddy was semi-fit, he had no problems, but wasn't the swiftest. We stopped a lot and captured photos and took it all in. https://www.strava.com/activities/2573922157 Here's day 2 of MCT. Mike had to stay in town and do business work. I was going to do something huge and epic and solo, but my wife (and Mike) persuaded me to tone it down considering it was early in our trip. So I decided to do another round of the MCT and it didn't disappoint. I was riding much more steady this day and didn't stop for very long. https://www.strava.com/activities/2576721946 If you guys want some more tips for the area, then we can make that happen. I'm not an expert, but I can at least give some general guidance based on what I learned. Later, CJB

Suburban Ninja has sprinklers! (parts of it anyway)

We were out there last Wednesday and putting a little water on the berms made a big difference. It's not just good for the features, it makes it more fun to ride! Some education would be good though, for sure.

I have an Easton 30.9x350mm with a little setback on the head. I bought it cheap at Performance before they closed and only used it once or twice. I have zero need for it. if you can find me some 3x8 flat bar shifters and/or canti/road brake flat-bar levers, that would be great. otherwise, I'll just leave it on the porch for ya.

We hauled new dirt up to rehabilitate the first berm on Saturday and that pretty much gassed us. To help with maintenance going forward, if you're out there for sesh, watering the berms goes a long way to sustaining them. We are planning a day to train people on watering/sweeping for maintenance.

If you like Master Pancake Theater From the Alamo Drafthouse then you have to watch the rebroadcasts on Twitch. They rebroadcast on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights https://www.twitch.tv/masterpancaketheater

I used to hop off the bike, lower the seat, proceed. I resisted the dropper for quite a while. Now I'd feel strange without it.

I love it and absolute necessity when out at spider mtn or dropping big things. The ability to get the seat out of your balls and make sure you are centered over the bike is awesome

Thanks for reminding me that I am so happy I dont like droppers and swapped back to a normal seat post. I just dont get it. Or need the hassle. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I have totally loved his excitement. Great ideas between him and the things Seth does in his garage. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Bob and Brad the most famous physical therapists on the internet Two goofy Canadian physical therapists coach you on basic body care. Really good stuff for cyclists.

I can't remember the last time I didn't use ABC Home & Commercial. I just had them come by on Thursday to look at a toilet.

Hope you got your issues resolved. I've used AC Pros to replace a water heater, and they did a great job. They also do all of my HVAC work. I've also used MacLin Plumbing to do a bunch of work when I did a bathroom remodel. Worked with Jerry there and we were completely satisfied with the work. Funny that nobody responded to this thread. Does that mean that nobody thinks there are any good plumbers around? I'd like to see more young people pursue the master plumber trade honestly. Those guys can make incredibly good money. Reminds me of the joke where after getting his plumbing fixed a doctor complained that he doesn't even charge that much for his services, and the plumber replied, neither did I when I was a doctor.

Thanks for that elaborate post and specifying this is how you feel and see things. I appreciate it. I think COVID19 has affected groups of people differently. The more white collar our job is, the more we can work from home, the less it has affected us. There are groups of people that are being affected disproportionally. Pretty much anyone posting here in this thread is not in one of those groups. As to mask effectiveness, I don't care if people re-use their mask and it has their spit/snot in it. I re-use my homemade mask a few times before washing it. I keep it in my car where it's nice and hot and I only have to go into work once a week at most (though 3x this week). That's the point. To keep that spit from getting everywhere. It's not the goal to 100% absolutely block the virus from everywhere (even health care workers with better masks than most people wear are getting sick). It's a statistical game. You reduce the chances of someone getting sick, and you reduce the chances of more people getting sick at the same time. That's all. I'll repeat, wearing the mask is not protecting you, it's about protecting everyone else. The no shoes, no shirt, no service is a good analogy. Same thing with hairnets (beard nets too!) and gloves for food preparers. Come to think of it, why didn't we require food preparers to wear masks even before COVID-19? Think about all those E-Coli outbreaks that could have been prevented! ...but I digress. I will also grant you, many people will end up getting it before a vaccine is available, probably over 50% of the population. The primary goal is to keep those hospitals below capacity. So far we've done a good job. We'll see how some places (Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta) will do in the next few weeks. We'll also start seeing how the more rural areas with not great coverage of healthcare will do now that the've started getting it. As to mortality rates and comparisons to the flu, yes, the mortality rate is not that high right now. The mortality percentages are approaching an asymptote as more data is obtained and more testing is gong on, but keep in mind that the mortality rate is not linear once the healthcare system is overrun. It's only going to stay linear as long as healthcare is not overwhelmed. There is one huge difference between SARS-COV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and the influenza virus. In general, the flu is not infectious until people start running a fever, so people tend to stay home when they're sick. My kids' school district required kids to be fever free for 24 hours before they're allowed to go back to school. As some of you have pointed out, this virus has some people with no symptoms at all and they are shedding virus. Even the people that get sick from it eventually, they start shedding before they get sick (this is why I think taking temperatures when coming into a store is only to make people feel better and more safe, kinda like TSA about flying). This is why it's a pandemic and not just a flu season. Yep, you're right. Sadly as far as I know there are no coronavirus vaccines. I think in the past work was stopped for MERS and SARS since those outbreaks were contained. I do believe we will have a vaccine for SARS-COV-2 now that we must have it. I also think we'll continue working on coronavirus research. This will not be the last one. It will not be the most deadly, or the least deadly ether. There are millions of different coronaviri out there that can mutate and cause something new. If we're having this discussion right now about whether the measures have been too severe or not, about whether we should be re-opening or making masks mandatory or not, it's only because we have benefitted from the pretty good social distancing, school and restaurant closures, and other measures that flattened the curve. I'm glad y'all are re-hiring. I know as far as income, I'm lucky I have the job I do. I'm lucky I have savings which allow me to not worry about having a job for a long time. But, when I wear my mask, I keep in mind those people that don't have a choice. They don't work and they don't eat or they have to go to the food bank and may loose their home. We go shopping, we get packages, we order food out, we go to the bike shops, we still need first responders, USPS/FedEx/UPS, plumbers, AC techs, pest control, auto mechanics, etc.. The people working all those jobs have to work. I don't want them getting sick so I wear my mask for them. I also wear my mask for my fellow citizens that are immunocompromised.

For those who have not ridden BC or even alot of the trails around.. One thing I've loved about BC is that it is in constant flux. Ever changing. As the weather changes and we enter the hot and dry months the trail just births out rocks. The cooler and wetter months tend to see debris absorbed back into trail. Today's ride is not tomorrows ride. Ever changing and deceiving Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Another great reason to spend more time riding this machine in the summer.

LOL! "it keeps the pieces together, without actually making things work again. Like my birth did with my parents' marriage."

I don't wear back protection but I always wear my Camelbak while riding for that same reason. Doesn't protect the entire back like you mentioned, but has definitely saved my ass a few times. Get better man, that looks like it hurt like a beast.

just bragging a bit, but my daughter can read that..

I got an email from Fiskars confirming that they have shipped something to me. Odd thing is that I had received the last warranty replacement lopper I had put a claim in on. I own two or three of them and other Fiskars tools. Some of which are in a state that I could probably send in a claim for, as I've done several times over the years. Maybe they are doing pre-emptive replacement on my stuff now. Edit: The package arrived and inside was a 15" Power Gear lopper. Correction, the label now calls it a Super Lopper.

I see what you mean. The Mcleod I use is heavy, like 3/32 or 1/8 steel plate, not like the one pictured. It can do much of what you describe and I can see how the lighter stamped sheet metal ones would not have the heft to cut tufts nor dig without bending. In the gravel of RHR it is perfect, but the Limestone of the Edwards Plateau will need something with a little more fortitude to leave a lasting impression. It is a sickness. I went out and repaired the Carpet Bridge at RHR after work today. This involved a Hi-Lift jack, a motorcycle tie-down, several Ryobi power tools, metal strapping, deck screws, concrete pavers, and some heavy lumber. Oh, and a hammer, naturally. All on privately owned land. (Grey does me right by my efforts) The bridge isn't wonky any more, but I think there will be something done to replace it, someday. Paul pointed out there is a pile of leftovers from some LCRA high lines where they replaced wood structure with metal. Whoo-hoo!