June Bug

I've used Ride With GPS off line in airplane mode and it was great. I've been contemplating TrailForks, so will do. @RedRider3141, thanks for that clarification. In the meantime, we've made a commitment to stay together, really together, while riding. We each had cell phones, but had service in different spots at different times.

Motorola Defy is available and the reports are not good. The consensus is that it was released too soon, without sufficient testing and tech support is, "Try this. It might work. No? OK, how about this?" Many people report that set up is not easy. Also, get this, it won't work in heavy tree cover or in canyons. You need a fairly clear view to the south, because it's trying to lock in on a geostationary satellite. We're not spending $$$ for something dicey. Anyway, I do have a question for the hive mind. Our phones (Moto G Power, Android) are GPS enabled. We've had two episodes this summer where we got separated on a trail system and didn't have cell service to sort things out. It is possible to download an app like TrailForks or mtbproject, and it can track where you are even if you're out of cell phone range. What I want to know is, is there a way to track another cell phone's location (Android, not Apple) on one of these apps?

If you're not on tight singletrack with a lot of vegetation, I really like the rear rack with panniers. So much easier to pack and unpack. I have two smallish Mountain Smith panniers that are ancient but still completely serviceable; YKK zippers last forever and the fabric is still good. Mr. June Bug bought them for some long ago bike touring trip before we were married. He uses a seat bag. Since last fall, I've bought the ZinBivy 25 degree Core Quilt -- light weight and compact. Relatively local in the state, BikepackingRoots.org just posted the 280-mile Pine Curtain Loop. The north end is just south of Palestine, heads south between Crockett and Lufkin, through parts of the Davy Crockett and Sam Houston National Forests and as far south as Point Blank on Lake Livingston. Looking at the map, it seems like the route could be cut in half (north loop, or south loop) by cutting over just a few miles on Hwy. 7 in the middle of the route. On google maps, Hwy 7 is a two-lane highway with a good shoulder each way. What's amazing and quite impressive is that there is 11,000' of cumulative climbing along the route. Really local is the 105-mile Texas BBQ Tour Overnighter, starting and ending in Lockhart with an overnighter at Palmetto State Park. Gravel roads and chipseal.

Yes, it's amazing. Lots of variety.

The more interesting aspect is that someone or several people in this funky town decided they needed, really needed a trail for the homies, found the area to put in trails, got after it, and created a trail system and now there's a place to run, walk the dog, mountain bike ride. Maybe they rode in Palo Duro Caprock Canyon and decided they'd rather have a trail out the back door. It's just amazing to me that trails can pop up in the weirdest place because someone wants a trail system to ride their bike. I think of Gooseberry Mesa in Utah, the Alien Run trails near Aztec, NM, Phil's World, and shout out to Mark H. @ Walnut Creek! Side note: Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is not too far away.

We got missed in North Austin.

Osprey is having their late summer sale: today - Sept 4: SALE

I'll suggest this to Mr. JB, and see if it helps. His sciatica started just this summer. This is a seemingly bad injury that just...faded away post. This past Saturday we went to check out a dirt/gravel road that looked to have a good chance of going out to a point with an amazing view. The gravel ended abruptly, but a sweet, smooth and very rideable two-track continued through the Pondersa and aspen, so we were zipping along side by side at a pretty good pace. Then a dead, but very strong branch hidden in some oak brush grabbed my handle bar, yanked it hard right. I went left taking out Mr. JB and instantly we were down in a tangled pile of arms, legs and bikes. I went down hard on my left shoulder and it HURT, it felt like there was some kind of serious damage. Mr. JB was fine, but it took us a few minutes to extricate ourselves and I needed help getting up. On the way home was trying to sort out who to go to: Urgent Care/ER/walk-in clinic, but went home first to get some of the dirt off. Slathered on some hard core prescription pain creme with lidocaine and steroid foam that was on hand & decided to wait until Sunday morning for the walk-in clinic, because not hurting so bad. Next day, range of motion was good, there was soreness but no serious pain, and it all resolved over the next day or two. Went for a nice ride yesterday (Tuesday). All good. Amazed that anything that hurt so bad initially wasn't a severe injury, and resolved completely. I had my InReach and didn't need to use it, of course, but it was a reminder that an accident can come out of seemingly nowhere in benign surroundings.

The mesa you're viewing is the north facing escarpment of the Mesa Verde cuesta. This section is the Ute Mountain Tribal Park, further east is Mesa Verde National Park. Foreground is a trail at Hawkins Preserve, right outside my door. Bike is set up for zipping about town, to go to the library, grocery store, farmer's market and other errancs. Also ready for bikepacking and riding around at Hawkins Preserve.

Last year we were in SW Colorado for several months. I'd had my eye on a dirt road in the Dolores River canyon bottom for an inaugural bikepacking trip. We had pre packed, so we unloaded fully packed bikes and started in late afternoon. We had so much water -- bottles on fork, two liters in the frame pack, maybe a liter in a feed bag on the handle bars. And off we go in the late afternoon sunshine. It wasn't too hard to pedal a loaded bike. And then we hit the first giant mud puddle. This one has just barely enough room to squeak by along the edge. Every 75 yards or so there was another giant puddle and some had no way to get by. We tried bushwhacking. The oak brush was thick and it wasn't a satisfactory solution. Then, I tried riding around the edge of one last monster puddle, my front tire slid down into the soup about 2 feet from the end. It was so deep and there was so much ooze at the bottom that I couldn't pedal out. I put a foot out, and the water and ooze were almost knee deep. After that, we pedaled on a bit, found a nice campsite and settled in for the night and slept well. In the morning we pedaled back to the car. The puddles had receded just enough that we could ooch around the edges so got back to the car without too much trouble. We're in the same area now so there will be a Round Deux in three weeks or so. The monsoons have been much more moderate this summer, so the road should be mostly dry. The start of this ride is only about a 40 minute drive, so we'll probably do a recon for the first few miles before we return with loaded bikes.

So...final disposition of the bar thing. Went to Kokopelli in Cortez, CO. The Jones H-Bar, which was in stock, is basically the same layout as the Surly bars, so added those on. The old Elixer lever on the right side was somewhat damaged, a replacement brake hose was crazy expensive, so just made sense to replace it with a new Shimano brake. The steering with an alt bar is not as precise as a flat bar, so there's a bit of adjustment. Overall, good.

Sent you a DM with info.

The Motorola Defy satellite link is now available for $149, and then you buy a plan. (The original price was supposed to be $99.) "No cell coverage? No problem. Switch to satellite. Connect any smartphone* directly to satellite for text messaging check in and SOS." The asterisk probably relates to the phone requirements? Couldn't find it on the website.

Free: men's size 10.5 Five Ten Free Rider Contact shoes Mr. June Bug got a pair of over a year or two (three?) ago and they are just the tiniest bit too short, so he used them for a ride or two and that's it. These are the kind with a smooth sole. Spread the word to anyone who might need them. DM me and we can meet you at Walnut Creek Metro Park.

Thanks for this! I did have a thought bubble pop up that will be a bit less expensive option. I'll take the Surly alt bar off the Hudski Doggler and transition that to the Salsa Spearfish. The Enve flat carbon bar on the Spearfish has been on there 10 years or so and should be retired. Then I'll find a swept back bar with a lot of rise and put it on the Doggler since I need a higher rise on that bike.