AustinBike

Big turnout, it's amazing what beautiful weather can do for a ride.

We rode Cal 56, but we were following a local who was set on torturing us.

I generally do not race, the only ones I participate in are ones where finishing is more important than time.

I'll have sausage too.

That one is 5x better condition than the one I saw.

Yeah, the write up is old, I need to add some new details. Have a ton of updates but I have been too busy with work and classes so web stuff takes the back burner. Plus, need to go back for some pics, didn’t take any because we were in a group and things were moving along quickly.

Coming home from riding this morning I passed a garage sale and there were several bikes out front. I spied a Schwinn Varsity, something I always lusted after in my youth (they were made in Chicago, everyone had one, but I never had enough money for one...) Circled around and stopped in. Busted up tires, no handlebar take, everything falling apart, plenty of rusted/frozen components. But man, for the right price, it would be a fun restoration project. Looked at the price tag. $400. WTF? If it weren't for that extra zero I'd have it on my rack. Who in the hell ever told them it was even close to worth that????

You need to go. Lots of new stuff, jumps, berms, walls, etc. Yeah, it's not Spider Mountain, but it was fun and free. Great trail system. Every time I leave there I think "I need to go there more often." Hopefully I will not wait too long before the next trip. Had a blast, worth the drive.

Huh, I got 16.5 miles on the bike this morning, left when it was 37F, think it "warmed up" to about 39F by the time I got home. Oh yeah, and I hit sleet on the way home. Always ride.

sold

Was someone talking about being a sock person??? https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/clothing/footwear/socks?sort=price-asc&utm_source=The+Planet+X+and+On-One+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=c5b4bc94ac-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_11_13_11_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_561486488b-c5b4bc94ac-274016313&mc_cid=c5b4bc94ac&mc_eid=7c6b35a5ae Merino wool socks for less than $4 a pair. I have several pair and they are really warm. Shipping the the US is cheap.

What are you looking for in a Garmin? I have an old Garmin 500 that I'd trade for a 6-pack if you don't need bluetooth or other fancy features.

Yeah, I am rocking On One stuff almost exclusively except jersey and shorts. Their merino wool stuff is great and cheap. All of their base layers are cheap. Stay away from the helmets, my forehead is already wearing through the cushion. But clothes are awesome, especially the cold weather stuff.

Basically I did: Windbreaker Jersey Long sleeve base Short sleeve base Shorts pants liner Wool socks Balaclava Gloves

Happening? How about "happened"?

Pretty much. But a tankless water heater is not a $30 coffee pot, so, not being a plumber or an engineer, I opt for the safer solution. It's one thing to make your own Stan's sealant and risk being left high and dry on the trail, it's another to trash an expensive tankless heater.

Wow, impressive. I liked the crowd walking down the hill while he goes up.

OK, we can work it out this week.

Yeah, I like the tankless a LOT more than the old systems. Especially when you have guests or you are trying to take a shower while someone is trying to do laundry. Initially I thought they were maintenance free, then learned about the flushing procedure. I thought somehow it had escaped me and then just about everyone I have talked to in the past week was also unaware that there is regular maintenance.

You need to flush them once every other year. I was amazed at how many people were unaware of this, I didn't know it until well after I installed it (but within the 2 year window.) A plumber will charge you $150 to do it, but you can get a kit for $130 on Amazon and then in the future it is ~$30 per flush because the kit only comes with one bottle of flush fluid. Took about an hour with about 5 minutes of actual labor, the rest of the time was spent letting the pump cycle the fluid through the heater. If you want to borrow a kit, you can use mine as I will not need it for another 2 years 😉

Yeah, I was an idiot and lost one. Because I am anal-retentive I wanted all the keys to match, I bought four new ones and am selling the three old ones. $20 for all 3. They sell for $20 each (plus shipping) so this is a great deal.

Put the helmet in the sink, fill it with hot soapy water and put a brick or something else heavy on top of the helmet to keep it from floating. Come back in an hour, smells a lot better.

I have this same issue. Will never buy a helmet (or shoes) online because of fit issues. I choose not to buy Giro, Bell or Camelbak for personal moral reasons, but if that fits your head, by all means go with that because fit is 99% of the reason to buy a helmet. Airflow is the other 1% but honestly most helmets have decent airflow these days.

I have a bunch of things that I always keep in the car (socks, gloves, etc.) and I have thought about keeping a spare helmet and shoes, but they take up a lot of space. My normal shoes and helmet get pretty funky, so leaving them in the car is not optimal. Used to be easier with a trunk, but with an SUV the smell is everywhere.

Fixed it for you. And I thought you were an artist.