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Maybe it's time to Pivot back to bike pics.

That was a first. I went to squeeze my bottle to bust up the ice cubes and the whole thing shattered. It was early in my ride and the only water I had. I wonder if Trek will handle the warranty on it.

I was there the day before yesterday and as far as I could tell nothing has been lost yet but there is new construction immediately adjacent to some of the loops. I only took a couple (pretty lousy) pics but they capture some of the spirit. Glad to knock it off the bucket list after knowing about it for decades, but it isn't one of my favorite trail systems in the area.

I thought about it, but I didn't.

New Mexico is all over bike packing and bike recreation, so not surprised that they are promoting this as well as a Republican senator from WY. NM Senator Ben Ray Lujan in an IMBA press release: BOLT=Biking on Long-Distance Trails Act. This bipartisan bill has advanced enough that there was a Senate hearing by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Dec. 2. From Bikepacking.com: New Bolt Act Could Fund 20 Long-Distance Bike Trails in the US This article has a link to the full text of the bill. Many states are realizing the economic benefits of cycle specific tourism, especially for out of the way communities with depressed economies. Maybe more bills like this could create better guidelines to expedite the currently cumbersome process of creating new trails on BLM and Forest Service lands.

After getting stung, did you then Turner round?

The other week while riding Brushy I got stung by something, not sure if it was a wasp orbea. It was no Picnic, it was Mulligan.

Oh geez .... this thread is falling into a Canyon! I'll rejoin after signs of a Rocky Mountain high!

This thread is becoming very intense. I'll see myself out

I know you said you didn't want to send it off, but I will give a plug to these guys - www.traillabs.com They are in Springfield, Missouri, but their turnaround time is amazing because they actually schedule your service appointment before you send them your component. I sent my fork and shock to them last summer and had them back within a week. That might actually rival turnaround time for a local shop. Their prices were very competitive too. Full disclosure: I did have an issue with my shock leaking oil after it was serviced. They were really good about it and fixed it quickly with no extra charge to me, but it did mean I was without my shock for a few more days.

I never knew his middle name was "Fuller". I've only seen it as "F". Nicely done.

Getting into this Jamis a dangerous thing to happen.

Just watch out for the Diamondbacks and Ghosts..

Those look pretty interesting. I'll keep them in mind the next time I buy an insert. Been running the Vittorias in my bikes and have been smashing rocks at speed (when possible) with no tire or insert failures. I did crack an ENVE rim but it was going on four years old. I think that's some some of record for longevity for ENVE. My best explanation of how they felt after installation is like replacing your worn out OEM struts on your car with Koni. Just totally settled the bike down. Bet they'd be great on a gravel bike and the runflat feature is nice too. I don't think they provide the absolute protection of cushcore but it's a happy medium.

Barry, take a look at Tannus Tubeless Armor. They have a version for gravel tires, but they may only work up to 47 wide. I have the mountain bike version in my tires and they seem to work really well. Way easier to install than Cushcore, more protective than HuckNorris, and it’s one continuous loop.

Super genius or dumb as fuck? I like to ride ChamoisHagar on lots of the singletrack we have in the area, and I also like to protect my EIE ChiCarbon rims from various rock impacts. So I use inserts. I got about 4000 miles out of HuckNorris before I started having issues with them--front and rear. Unlike many inserts, HuckNorris isn't a contiguous circle of material, rather it's a single ribbon that you shove into the tire. They give you a cheesy little Velcro bit that you're supposed to use to tire them together. But that doesn't work at all, as one of the foam bits inevitably breaks reverting it back into a ribbon instead of a circle. So you just let it go and hope for the best. And that worked for a while, but then this ribbon starts bunching up on itself, and folding over in the tire. Well that's no good, since you have a very unbalanced rotational force that you can feel, and worse, you have sections of the rim wholly unprotected from the insert. So I'm on the look for another brand that works for this bike. But with 25.5mm IW rims, and 50mm tires, there are not many inserts that work for it. It falls between traditional gravel/CX and the typical small MTB versions. I keep looking. In the mean time, how to make HuckNorris work? I may have flossed out an idea! Sew, yeah. I just roughly stitched the two ends together with floss. Only time will tell if it holds out, but it passes an aggressive tug test. And I suppose it's worth noting that I've never had this folding/doubling up issue with my 27.5x2.6 tires using the plus versions of HuckNorris.

In terms of readily available whiskeys for everyday drinking, this is what I aim to keep in my cabinet at all times. Other selections will come and go, but I sincerely hope that these remain available. I've yet to try any Japanese whiskeys. Any opinions there?

I do that the week after Thanksgiving too.

The answer is always: yes. Buy new cranks. In a few years, Yellow Bike Project will have bins and bins full of 170mm+ cranks, right next to all the 120mm+ stems and 580mm handlebars.

I had more people send me messages about 165mm cranks last week than I've had over the last dozen years thanks to this article.

Time stalks us all like a predator searching for it's kill

Rural ride in Hinton, OK. The wind does sweep across the plain.

Yup, and people are TREKing everywhere to find specialized trails. It struck me as a grassroots "they did a lot with what they had" system. We enjoyed it but the locals were wisely finishing their rides by the time we started. The heat comes on strong early on a May morning. This may have been Memorial Day weekend maybe 14 years ago.

Ha! I know exactly how this feels like. Koni gold FTW!

I thought about super glue, and also considered 'welding' them with a lighter. But I figured those options had single points of failure so I tried this. Although super glue may have made it significantly less cumbersome to sew.

Yeah, a good option then. RS is also making several open bath, lower priced models with a 35mm chassis. That might be worth considering since prices are so stupid right now. You can always upgrade the damper at a later date. Also, sourcing a used pike should be pretty easy. I've bought several used RS fork and as long as the stanchions weren't scratched they were G2G. I have the charger bleeder kit if you need to borrow.

I contacted Velorangutan and their tech, Adam, sent me a super detailed response. I have not actually worked with them, yet, but I appreciate the professionalism. I will take suspension to them if and when the time comes. I think my fork is still working. the damper is probably WAY past when it should have seen some attention, but I am going to ride it and monitor it to see if I've blown a seal in the damper. rebuilding it is going to cost about $200. I've read opinions about this that range from "you should tear down the fork every six months and replace everything" to "just bleed it" to "just ride it until it stops working." for now, I put the fork back together with fresh bath oil so I can ride. thinking long-term, I don't like the idea of a part on my bike that costs that much to maintain. for $520, I could replace this fork with a Marzocchi Bomber Z2, which is made by Fox with a lot of the same parts. the main difference is that the Z2 uses an open-bath damper. that means that, like my previous Rockshox forks, servicing the damper doesn't require so much drama. open the damper, dump out the oil (and dispose of it properly), maybe replace some seals, refill, and button it back up. I'll ask Santa for that Bomber, or get a Tandell rigid fork and say goodby to fork maintenance drama forever!

With fox it's a total pita to get information. That's why is stick to RS. Will say that when I had questions about my fox shocks, they responded super quick by email.

Have you considered just upgrading to a leftover grip damper?

Yeah man, watching that video of him breaking down and talking about suicidal thoughts was fucking soul destroying. Especially from such a normally positive person. As someone having just needed medical assistance and currently laid up, i can't help but think of this dude. I can't even imagine being that ill with no financial and medical support. Completely abandoned. We have bad ass insurance through the state and I'm still dreading the bills coming in. The fact that these people's lives have been left in physical and financial ruin is a crime.

I've not watched the ones above, but my mom sent me this link below because of our MTB connection. If you watch his monologue on the (Twiiter) video at this link its absolutely heart breaking. I feel for the guy on so many levels. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/11/devastating-video-mountain-bike-national-title-winner-kyle-warner-diagnosed-pericarditis-taking-pfizer-vaccine-ending-career/

They Shall Not Grow Old left me absolutely speechless. So freaking good!!

For those soccer fans, “Sunderland til I die” is a good watch for some perspective. Netflix.

How To with John Wilson is on for another season on HBO. nearly pussed myself laughing multiple times during the first one. Curb Your Enthusiasm continues to slay. Nora From Queens is bizarre and awkward and I love it. That Beatles doc on Disney is amazing. Peter Jackson is indeed a wizard.

Doing the corpse and sewage decathlon😁 I kid, i kid.....

Rode there years ago and at the time, it's future seemed in doubt due to an iffy land status.

I had a pre SubNinja Flyby with this bike today...a really nice looking bike. Hopefully you were the one riding it!

Visiting Family in Tucson and my wife's cousin insisted that I take his bike for a spin. The trail He recommended was basically Suburban Ninja in Tucson, it was even called "Urban Assault" 😂

Oh gawd, that sounds terrible. That needle can be painful enough when done right, let alone with Dr Kervorkian driving.

Went there Sunday and had a surprisingly good time. As some of you know, I can be a bit critical of ctx trails but this one was all smiles. Well marked, good flow and great views. Terrain was really diverse and has a little of everything to offer and feels like a mixture of pedernales (minus all the rocks) RHR, Reimers, Bandera and a little RPR thrown in for good measure. Hours are changing after Thanksgiving to open later and stay open a little longer. Heads up, there are no bathrooms and it's $10 a day. IMHO, the builders laid the trails out with enough flow, that it'd be a super fun place for gravel bikes for @Barry & @mack_turtle etc. The single speed dudes would get a kick out of it as well. There's also still enough challenges to keep it interesting for full suspension bike guys. Wife has declared Fredericksburg her new favorite trail now that most of RHR is basically closed. Was surprised how Well she handled 15 miles her first time out. Totally recommend Only picture I took but there is a lot of cool stuff to see.

So good

I about had a fit.

Fuzzy