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Dig Day - 10 am - trailhead west of Tractor Supply in Georgetown. Use the Tractor Supply lot or drive down on the west side of it to our entrance. GTF owns this property and we will be focused on finishing a new section of trail, general clean up and, if time allows, scouting new trails. All are welcome, just show up, sign the waiver and have some fun! Bring tools and water or use ours, we will have plenty. This is part of our approved masterplan to add 20+ miles of singletrack in GTX, we can use the help and look forward to having some fun. For more info follow our instagram page @gtxtrails or message me here.

Mileage Update with recent additions. Using the standard race start/finish line that starts at the pavilion and ends by going around the pond before crossing the finish line, here's current distance for the whole loop. (deduct 0.3 mi. for Trailhead to Trailhead measurement) 12.67 miles was measured on the bike's wheel. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! More trails coming soon to a Rocky Hill near you.

and So, exactly parallel and 100% germane to this discussion. Are you going au naturel or artificial light?

If there is a problem ball tanning can't fix, I haven't found it yet.

Alright, I took advantage of the outdoor air conditioning yesterday and today and have completed the new section and cut out the old climb on BT to the road. Here's where the new part begins... Most of the old climb will eventually be repurposed as a downhill that leads into this new section. Ought to be a hoot! Paul has also opened up another new section on Karaway. Between the work done on Karaway and on Black Trac we have gained over 3/4 of a mile of new trail. I'll get a "wheel" measurement tomorrow. Thanks again to the TMBRA PayDirt volunteers and to Brian Nash for their contributions that brought these new sections online in record time.

Clearly there are use cases for eBikes, and nobody has ever doubted that. I think the debate on eBikes is not about "are they good?" and more of a discussion about "if they are used in places that they are not allowed, will that potentially cause the rest of us to lose access?" If I was 100% sure that eBikes would never threaten trail access, I would not care a bit. But when the trails where they are not allowed start to overflow with eBikes, it threatens access for all of us. This is not an argument about technology vs. not. This is an argument about the individual vs the community. There are some that believe that they are individuals and they can do whatever they want. And that risks access for the community. EBike riders should ride their bikes as much as they want, on the trails where they are allowed. And they can work with the local authorities to get access to trails where they are not allowed today. But they should not be riding those trails until access is granted. Too often, today, they just believe that because they have spent $5K+ that they are entitled to ride wherever they want. And that sense of entitlement risks access for everyone.

Sitting around thinking about some of the differences of my experiences when comparing riding standard and "E" bikes I remembered one factor from riding the acoustic bike (the Brit's name for standard) was managing heart rate. As we age, most should know how max heart rate declines. "Max" being where the heart is being stressed at a level that could shorten its operating lifespan, and ipso-facto, its owner's lifespan as well. Pushing things to the max on a regular basis is asking for trouble as we get older. Knowing this, for the past several years I've used my watch to monitor heart rate while I ride and this has happily led to developing a good feel for noticing when I was getting out of the yellow and into the red zone. It has become second-nature for me to feel when I was pushing too far, then verifying this on the watch. My SOP for managing this was to stop (often mid-climb) and wait a couple of minutes for the HR to come back into the yellow before moving on. An added advantage derived from this tactic is how I've become quite adept at resuming a climb from a standing start on the acoustic bike, rather than pushing it up the hill. Because I do enjoy riding and want to continue to do so for as many years as possible, it seems like a good idea to not overwork the cardiovascular system. It is well out of warranty and this strategy is as close to an extended warranty that I've been able to find. Besides, the manufacturer never was all that good at responding to warranty claims anyway. Fast-forward to pondering about the eMTB and how the realization struck me that while still using the feel I've developed to gauge whether I'm punching near the red zone, instead of stopping the ride I can just bump up the assist level a notch. Then, bump it back down as soon as I feel my heart rate is back into the yellow zone. Being able to keep the flow of a ride going without stopping to manage HR levels has been much more enjoyable. I am able to get the workout I desire, get more time and distance riding, and I'm enjoying riding in a way I haven't experienced in a decade or two. The phone app (Specialized Mission Control) allows fine-tuning of the support levels, and I've been dialing them down as my fitness improves. This results in extending the range I can get from the battery as my muscles take on more of the load. I've found this to be a good thing as the miles of new trail we've added to Rocky Hill are getting to the point that two laps now use up most of the battery. YMMV

Looking forward to all the "alpha" types showing up at trailheads with eHummers and Hummer emtbs, backpacks stuffed with tactical gear at Walnut. Camo Camelback and all-black cargo shorts and wrap-around shooting eyewear, 5.11 hiking boots, and a Punisher t-shirt are mandatory.