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Rainy day ride to Mary Moore Seawright.

Bentonville. Very grateful for all I have and the time with family. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Got a nice 5 hours on the BCGB/SATN yesterday so today was just a nice 1 hour spin on a little piece of singletrack close to the house before the low key festivities.

Yeah there's a lot of Phil's World! When I was there in early September I came across the work party on the for north side. They told me I was the first person to ride the section and they were dying to see me hit a new downhill they'd just cut. I rode everything except a final trail they said was too soft on top. I'd say the new northern stuff is a bit more technical. It was more in common with Paquito Burrito than with Ribcage. I did 50 miles that day and only repeated Ribcage. So I suppose I got most of it except that new soft trail. From the article "There are now about 51 miles of non-motorized trails to explore in the section of Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Trust Land."

Finished season 1 of "The Gift" (Turkish, thriller, supernatural) Was pretty good. A little late, but about half done with S3 West World, and just finished S2 The Boys.

Happy Cracksgiving!!!! Anyone know someone who can weld aluminum? 😜😜 I am thankful to know the Browns are having a great season and have their own mariachis!

I started to put this under El Paso but maybe this is better. When we travel to El Paso our foremost priority is mountain biking in Juarez on the Chupacabras trails. Those who go to El Paso miss so much by not doing this. It is so easy and I just don't see the risk. The Chupacabras trails are so much better. We ride tandem so this is my bias. So the trails in general are well kept, flowy, so less technical overall. Covid cancelled the Chupacabras for us this year but we went and rode there anyway on the same day and broke the damned frame on our first ride, so wound up road riding in El Paso for the rest of the trip. The routine is easy and no risk: Park at Chamizal Park on the US side. Take your passport. Go early. Most riders on these trails are off by noon. Ride across the border and take the "border highway" as it's called, which is the dirt road that hugs the Rio Grande on the Mexico side. When you hit the last cross street on this road, turn left and then onto the main road to Cristo De Curiel. It's about a 10 mile slog up to the trailhead. The riding here is over the top as far as we are concerned, but only for those who take the leap and get over the programmed fear. Same route back and no waiting in the pedestrian line to cross back. We have never taken the truck into Mexico and parked at the trailhead due to the increased risk, but others do. It does help that my wife is from Juarez and she has done the Chupacabras on her own at least 6 times, so she knows every trail on those mountains, both current and closed trails. The family who lives along the trail provides drinks, beer, and sometimes food for sale which is really nice. The riders are a source of income for them. It is a wonderful stop for all riders. Mountain biking in Mexico is a real treat.

Yeah, you take a picture of your ass....

Just put an order in directly from their site. Here goes nothing! FYI, I ordered: 2X Color Smoothing Putty (this frame has some dings) Clear Coat

I have not, but that Old Shovel guy that a the Bob Ross of bicycle mechanics. Already subscribed.

We need a Warby Parker kind of thing for saddles, send me 5 and I keep the one that fits the best.

No pictures for me, but many deep thoughts on a perfect day.

Nice spot. Too bad we didn’t run into each other on Wednesday.

Specialized has several saddles designed for women and offers a 30 day trial to help find the right one. Does she have a quality pair of cycling shorts? Shorts can make the world of difference and many brands offer women specific designs.

on the plus side, I have sold my sit bone impressed cardboard on Ebay several times....It's how I met my wife actually

This is the bike saddle Venn diagram where rabbit holes meet cans of worms meet marital communication. First, the dialog thing. Ask your wife what feels comfy about her current saddle, and what concerns she might have about trying out other less cushy, sleeker options. Could it be that she's concerned that getting a sleeker saddle means she'll be pressured to ride stuff she's not comfortable with? Or riding longer than she wants? Or she just likes the saddle she has? Or she's resisting what she perceives you mansplaining to her what she needs? So, over the years: A lot of women riding road, mountain, whatever, love the Diva saddles from Selle Italia: Diva Super Gel Flo They are pricey, but lots of women swear by them. Selle Italia has this approach to saddle fit: idmatch Smart Caliper for Saddle Sizing Some women also love Terry saddles; I'm "meh" on them, but, again, they work great for a lot of women. WTB was set to phase out their women's Deva models, but so many women liked them, they kept it in the line up: WTB DEVA Chromoly Bicycle Sport Shop (mostly Specialized) has a good exchange/return policy as does REI and they have lots of ergonomic stuff. I'll take mild exception to the idea that the sitbone measurement is pure hype. Saddle makers understand how difficult it is to even begin to find a comfortable fit. Determining sit-bone width using the ass-o-meter is just one metric to use as a starting point. For example, you measure 142 on the ass-o-meter, but find that the 152 or 135 is a more comfy fit? That's a very useful data point for finding future saddles. Ergon and SQ Lab (both German companies) each have their own approach to saddle design to circumvent the most common problems. One brand noted that pelvic tilt (anterior, posterior, neutral) has a great deal to do with the saddle shape feels comfortable. For example, the beloved traditional Brooks saddle or any saddle with a more rounded shape feels like a torture device to me. I mean truly awful. I like a flatter platform aft. So, check out websites, see who has the best return/exchange policies.

Also would like to mention the whole sit bone measurement thing. I see it as propaganda that the manufacturers sell us to get us to buy a product. Here's why sitting on a piece of gel pad or cardboard or some special material that reacts to the heat of your body doesn't give a clear indication of how you sit on your bike. Nobody sits on their bike the same way you'd sit on a chair or flat surface this is why I don't think this measurement method works. Yes granted some people have found a good saddle using this method but chances are they fall into the former category of someone who could probably ride anything. I've done the gel pad the cardboard and the heat reactive and have never gotten a saddle that feels right to me. The first saddle that I really liked was a saddle that I wouldn't have even considered as a good choice. That saddle was the Fizik Kurve Chameleon. The reason I never considered it was because to look at it, it has very sharp edges but from the first ride I was like this is the one. I still have that saddle but Fizik discontinued it so when I wanted a new saddle for my bike the Antares R3 was the closest profile. The Antares is a much more comfortable saddle than the Kurve was it has more sit bone support and is firmer with just the right amount of flex. One last thing most major brands of saddles WTB,Terry, Selle Italia are all made by the same company. https://velosaddles.us

Torchy's on Slaughter is my groups starting spot for everything SATN. So a buddy of mine rode Bambi today and the asshole placed a large branch across it. As some of you know Bambi is more of a high speed downhill so a branch across it is dangerous. I have a mind to just camp out there and wait, though is identification enough of a deterrent? Shit pisses me off.

admittedly, we like to park at torchys and ride to SCT and back for margaritas.

So I left the stash at home and just packed a selection of seasonal beers to Huntsville. Was pleasantly surprised to find that my brother-in-law was holding something I had never heard of let alone tried out. Probably not something I'd run out and buy at $55, but always nice to try a new whiskey. Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey

Martin Dies State Park.

Yeah, lotsa Champions League stuff today, watching Bayern as we speak. Moment of silence for Diego before the match started. 15+ miles on the greenbelt teamed up with Champions League? Can today get any better?

At least I know the trail name, now. ‘Rudolph does Bambi’, right?