AustinBike

Just landed in Toulouse, France a few hours ago. 3 of the 4 of us were in compression socks (only I, the mountain biker was in normal socks, actually pearl Izumi bike socks). Allegedly compression socks are the way to go.

It is always at the main lot by the pool. I'll be out of town for a few weeks, so have fun.

Yeah, the biggest thing that I found is that protein gives you a ton of sustained energy, but if you are going to try to go protein/fat only you REALLY need to stay ahead of the curve and eat before you are hungry. I found out in the EB that if you wait until you are hungry you're F'ed because it takes longer to turn protein/fat into energy. Carbs convert quickly.

I know a lot of you are eating keto or at least trying to be low carb. Last night we went to NXNW and I had the Cobb salad, with sirloin on top. THAT, children, is how it is done. Washed it down with a couple glasses of wine. Low carb dinner. To the people at the R&I the other night that thought it was too hard to go low carb and still have energy to ride, I'll be doing a few hours or riding today on some very steep trails, should be perfectly fine. Try that salad.

I am so guilty of keeping a messy workbench. About every 2 months I clean it all up and put everything back in a very organized process. Then it goes all to hell in a few weeks. I'm the same with tech stuff and cables. About once I year I open the "magic closet" that I have been throwing everything into and sort it all out, rebox it and typically give stuff away. But it takes a few hours. I guess my theory is save a minute here and a minute there, then pay it all back months later. I need to get a better discipline but at 54 it still has not happened.

If you have an LD king front wheel I can help you out with that 😉

It would be stupid to talk you out of it. I just built up a geared HT. mid 20's in weight, super fun on everything up to (and including) the greenbelt. The squishy will get less use, but I am better for it. Build away!

I am heading out to France and Spain next week. Our apartment in San Sebastian is right next to a docked ebike rental: https://www.dbizi.com/?lang=en If we decide to do a day of riding I may convince the group to play on some of these. There is a really cool waterfront where we can cruise. The real problem will be that an ebike won't work off all of the pintxos calories so I may need a backup plan as well.

Almost every mid range now has a dropper, so that adds to the cost. Mid range forks used to be 100-120mm, now they are 130-140mm, that adds to the price. And drivetrains are 11-12speed, again adding to the price. I'd bet that if you were to build up a mid range config with the same specs as 5-6 years ago, the price would be about the same. The price inflation in my opinion is due to the spec inflation, so ultimately you are spending more than before but getting more than before as well.

Good god, that looks exactly like my old one, except for the crack that I gave it. For 300 that is a deal, very fun bike.

Um, not sure I want to google “crank length calculator”, especially at work.

Ultimately I believe that the human body will adapt to any bike over time. This is both a good and bad thing. However, I do believe that if you can get the crank length/gear ratio optimized before your body figures it out you'll be in great shape. Pedal strikes tend to happen on new bikes and new cranks, generally they work themselves out in my opinion.

Since some of you never check in the components board I figure I'd post a link here. https://austinmountainbiking.com/index.php?/forum/6-bike-components/ I have a Reba 29" tapered fork (140mm with 20mm thru axle) and a Fox DHX 5.0 shock for sale. Getting ready to skip town for a few weeks, ping me if you are interested.

2011 Rockshox Reba Ti 29" fork 20mm thru axle 140mm total travel ~8.5" steerer tube Compression and gate dials This fork has served me well, been serviced regularly, the last time was ~8 months ago, but I do not ride that bike as much. It currently has a Cane Creek crown race on it which I can remove if you do not need it. I do have a spare Chris King axle (20mm) if you have a Large Diameter wheel set and a 15mm hub (extra $30) - this would allow you to move to a 20mm fork without having to buy a new wheel. It was pushed ~2012, right before I bought it. $150 deal for locals here, otherwise it goes on eBay.

Looks like the rain is missing us, gonna be some primo conditions.

Plus it if you run out at Walnut Creek.......

Been using R&R Gold for years. Just ordered some of the pro link to give that a try.

Yeah, I agree with this. My SS has made me a faster rider because I needed to learn how to carry speed into climbs. With gears I would see the climbs and my brain says "oh god, not this..." and I was actually slowing down a bit. On a SS I have to charge the hills. And the HT is less forgiving so my handling skills are infinitely better. So much, as a matter fo fact, that I built a geared HT; I don't ride the squishy that much anymore, maybe once a week out of the 6-7 rides I get in per week.

Scotch and I have a very difficult relationship that goes back years. The last attempt was in Seoul, and you would not want to be that taxi driver.

Just cleaned my singlespeed chain today. Old water bottle, some simple green, then cap it. Shake it like hell for a few minutes then clean it off with a rag. I’m too hairy to wax.

Stress is a killer. Too many people don't recognize the impact that it will have on your body, at any age. That sucks, 51 is really young for something like that.

Spirits are good, vodka and soda is a really good low carb drink (but not as good as a vodka tonic.) Cider is typically made with apples and they have more sugar than wine (not necessarily better than beer.) As a rule for me beer, sparingly, typically at an R&I. Red wine over white (tannins and other things in it and I like the taste better). Spirits are probably best for you, but it depends on your mixer, that is where things go south for me. I do like vodka mixed with Bai Bubbles (https://www.drinkbai.com/bai-bubbles) and topped off with some HEB lime seltzer water. I don't buy the antioxidants stuff, but Bai Bubbles have a good strong taste that stands up to vodka. Sometimes too strong so that is where the HEB sparkling water comes in. Instead of beer 2-3 times a week, it is beer once or twice a week.

Get a CT scan, it will tell you about artery blockage. That is a precursor to cardiac trouble. Cut down on sugar. And don't worry, fat is not clogging your arteries, sugar is. Any sugar not burned for energy is turned into serum cholesterol, dietary cholesterol (ie. in the food you eat, like bacon, glorious bacon 🥓) does not end up blocking your arteries. It's all about sugar and carbs, which unfortunately means beer, which is why sometimes I am at the R&I with wine.

In with a grill and some sausage. Gonna do a really early lap and then circle back for the 4:30-5:00 social group, so post up if you are riding around that time.

The last time we were there the service was TERRIBLE. So bad I bitched about it on yelp. Manager pinged me and asked me to come back (on his dime) to give him another change. Was planning to do that (but not take him up on his offer of the free meal because they go out of their way to give you good service when you do that, would rather pay and see if it was a fluke.) Anyway, guess I'll never know, but based on them closing, pretty sure that it was not an isolated incident.