Jessica

On 11/17/2022 at 3:14 PM, Barry said:

@Jessica is a strong rider, but being an XX she is naturally disadvantaged as compared to an XY like myself. I love our rides together, but it would also be an interesting option to have he try an assist bike. She's adamant that she doesn't want one until she's infirm in some way, but maybe I can talk her into demoing one some time in the land of e-bikes that is B'ville. 

 

Maybe on a recovery day I'll indulge you.  😉. 

Where to look

• National Parks

• State Parks

• County Parks

• National Forests

• BLM

Thanks for the suggestions.  Looks like Lake Murray will be where we Thanksgiving.  

Unfortunately Tulsa is 12 hours from BBRSP.  Maybe some February, prolly not this upcoming one.    

So we did it.  We watched countless RV videos over the last 5 years and @Barry found the perfect Toy Hauler.  

This past weekend was the inaugural trip to Blowing Springs AK.  

I am not sure which was more enchanting, sleeping next to a babbling creek or riding to the trailhead from the RV.  

I'm super interested in finding other RV sites that are biking distance to trail heads.  

I am currently researching a Muse OK, Hot Springs AK trip.  

Anyone willing to share their fav RV Biking combos?  

Question, is there any RV camping near any of these trail heads?

Whoa, Turkey Mountain got a face lift!!!!

Bales connects to Turkey Mountain now, for the most fun IMBA Spec single track.  OG trails are still there if you crave the beat down.  
 

They are so much fun!  Come and LMK if you need a guide.  These are likely to be my new Walnut Creek.  

Sounds like a blast.  

I had a culinary keto breakthrough yesterday in the kitchen.  Unofficially, I call it real mouth feel keto lasagna.  It always annoyed me that people thought mushroom,  almond flour and zucchini were reasonable pasta replacements.  Nope thanks.  

Unclear ADHD story telling, I developed a lasagna noodle that is tots keto but tastes and has the mouthfeel of grain based lasagna noodles.  Other pasta replacements, such as the mushroom asian noodle replacement, almond flour pasta or zucchini noodles were gross for different reasons.  Zucchini only worked with beef stew recipes (not tomato beef sauce)  from a taste and mouthfeel perspective, almond was not really keto nor as low cal as traditional pasta.  The japanese mushroom noodles are ok but leave you super bloated and aren't quite right from the mouth feel perspective. 

This stuff absorbs the flavors of the ricotta, sauce and a tasty spinach layer, and feels like real fresh pasta.  

On 4/21/2022 at 6:53 AM, June Bug said:

I've heard a lot of good things about the trails at Ridgeway State Park. 

Rode there in 2020, really great reverse grade climbing setup.  You barely feel like you are climbing.  The trails are fun and flowy

we just bought tickets to Grand Junction for 9 days between June|July.  The plan is to bike Grand Junction, Telluride and  Fruita.  Flirting with the idea of Slick Rock.  

9 hours ago, Barry said:

I thank Quentin for exposing me to this. The funny thing is that $5 is actually cheap for a milkshake these days, even without bourbon in it or nuthin'.

Right?  Some folks name their kids after names they hear in films like Ezekiel. 

On 1/5/2022 at 11:47 AM, AntonioGG said:

I wish I'd seen this before you pulled the trigger.  I have an Evoc bag I could have loaned you.

I've used bikeflights to ship a bike to someone, but I'm with @Barry as far as using them for bike trips.   I looked at cost of bike flights and the time I wouldn't have my bike and the Evoc bag was not a bad investment at all when flying bike-friendly airlines (e.g. Alaska).

 

Thanks @AntonioGG.  You saved the trip.  I owe you.  

3 hours ago, WhoAmI said:

Cool pic.  (Not a mountain bike, though!  This is what I wanted: "So, I want to see your first picture of you riding a mountain bike for the first time or shortly thereafter."  I have a picture of me on an old bike around 1970 or 71, but it wasn't a mountain bike.) 🙂

I suppose I didn't understand the assignment.   If I didn't start on this bike in the 80's, I wouldn't be here today.  

2 hours ago, olddbrider said:

You're not one of those people that ride with a bluetooth speaker, are you?

What a good idea!!!! Thanks, when my bone conducting headphones are OOC, I usually just listen to my phone speaker.  I could use our garage bluetooth!  Awesome, thanks!!!! 

NBD 1983.  Always with the music.   Upgraded to a 10 speed that I rode on dirt double track.  

On 5/14/2020 at 4:52 PM, AntonioGG said:

What's considered a Belgian waffle maker? Are those the ones with the very shallow pockets like for Stroopwafels?  I have one that's round with the big pockets.  Nothing like the old square traditional one.  My favorite batter is simple in ingredients but I beat the egg whites separately, mix the dry stuff, the wet stuff (other than the whites), then fold in the whites very carefully.

I've tried the chicken and waffles.  It's not my thing.  But I have made a ham and cheese sandwich out of waffles.

One thing I've always wanted to try to make is crepes.

I have a non stick crepe wand that you dip in a batter pan and it is super easy to make perfect crepes.

When I make a faster waffle I make it just like you do, lightening the batter with egg whites.  The overnight waffles that @Barryis referring to is yeast batter risen over night.  They are malty, light and crisp.  The waffle maker is a dual sided monster with deep pockets that a family of 4 needed to have a reasonable amount of waffles in short order. 

Last summer I did a few keto endurance rides- seems that I am somewhere between y'all.  Hard rides i'm in the 150 BPM range, easy spins in the 130's.  The hotter it is, the less I like to eat.  Before a good endurance ride I like to indulge in carbs and ride them off.  It is not unusual for me to eat a carby breakfast and consume 2 gels on  Georgetown Loop. I don't eat the carbs as a performance thing, it is my inner chubby girl's reward for being keto the rest of the week.  Some longer gravel rides I have had very few gels.  Some days I wake up with dead legs, but that really just affects my motivation to ride, not my actual performance.   This happened less after started paying attention to rest days, and a Zwift Trainer Program.  

I tried to go back to a balanced diet and  I am really unhappy with the weight gain.  We decided to return to keto, the 10-15 lbs lower weight that I can maintain keto with has a huge ROI on my enjoyment of biking.  

I am faster, can make more tech climbs and am more agile.  It is simply not as much fun and a lot more work to bike slower.  The weight loss seems to offset my loss of top end that I have when I eat carbs.  

Keto Meals in Austin:

Tumble 22: Cobb Salad

Halal Bros: and of their meats over salad.  I dig the chicken and beef but the lamb is prolly better for fat/protein

Jason's Deli : Club Salad with a protein

SouthSide Market: Club Salad with Brisket or Sausage

Pok-e-Joe's : Chef's Salad with Pork Ribs 

Ramen Tatsu ya: Mi So Hot with no nudes and add some veg.    Interested in trying with Pasta Zero

DiMassi Mediterranean Buffet: self control is key in avoiding the pita and rice

Freebird Burritos: Keto bowl with cauliflower rice 

Chipotle: Lifestyle bowl

P Terry, In and Out: Lettuce Wrapped burgers

Hopdoddys: Burger Bowl 

Pluckers: hot wings or a dry rub wings

Olive Garden: Chicken Alfredo over Broccoli - want to try, saw on tik tok  

Chick-a -filet: Breakfast Scramble without potatoes - their salads are kinda sad

First Watch: omelettes with side greens 

Wendy's: Breakfast Baconator Lettuce Wrap  

D'lites: still want to go, softserve keto 

And now there is a whole Keto Restaurant.  

So it seems that the new hire process may be a little longer than I thought- looks like I will make use of the Santa Fe thread and wait to do this trip when it makes sense.  I would also lose my precious little heat acclimation.  

21 hours ago, throet said:

In the food department, put a cajun spin on the beanie weenie by substituting Hoppin' John Black-eyed Peas mixed up with a health serving of diced andouille sausage. Very cheap and easy complete meal to make at the campsite with only a small pot and something to cut the sausage up on. Any leftovers are easily kept in a tupperware container.  

 

Where can I find these?  Did my first pass at HEB and didn't see this.  I'm delighted that I found a chef boyardee cheeseburger mac in the can.  I didn't find any Pad Thai that was simple to make.  Found some interesting instant mash, ramen and stovetop.  

12 hours ago, skinned elbows said:

I just got back from there yesterday, rented a stumpy from aspen bikes downtown and with no way to tow bike we just rode the two mountains by rental...smugglers mountain and sky mountain.

I know you like to climb since your with Barry and smugglers is a climbers dream..
You can park at the base of smugglers and begin the 3mile accent to top, it was brutal for me and took an hour, I don't like climbing or cardio ha. Once at the top which is around 9k feet there is some sweet trails with nice techy flow and big aspen trees ..I liked tootsie roll and lollipop trails the best.
Around the lake at top of smugglers its more open and grassy I didn't explore much on that side. There is a cool river crossing and an old mining house to check out.
We took hunter creek trail on the way down, lots of hikers, and hit the only rock garden on whole trip. It was a fun downhill.

After lunch we hit up sky mountain...you can park near base there too across from airport.
It was about a 2mile climb up airline trail but smoother dirt and less crowded with tighter switchbacks on the way up. Easier climb than smugglers but still tough.
At this point I was pretty smoked so just turned back and bombed down Airline..that was the best downhill..so damn fun.
It was more brushy with sage and dusty on sky mountain and seemed like would be more flow trail from what I could see at the top. The two mountains had totally different scenery.

Pics all from smugglers..












Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk
 

Thanks for the ride report!  The climbing at altitude is no joke.  While it is true, I do enjoy a good climb- the higher altitude I get out of breath and my legs are fine.  Thanks for the time benchmarking for the climb- I don't expect to get much better timing.  Those photos are awesome!  Seriously thought about starting out in Telluride with the gondola assisted downhilling until I got adjusted a little, and then I recalled the million dollar highway.  Hard pass on driving that road.  Were there any sketchy drives?  

5 minutes ago, CBaron said:

Congrats on the new gig!  I'm hoping to be doing the same here before too long.

Me and my boys rode Rim to 7star last summer.  It was very good.  We did not loop it back to the beginning (because we road back to the hotel).  Seven Star was an amazing decent.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3951413139

When are you leaving?

Cheers,
CJB

That is quite the ride for those boys!!  

Best of luck with landing- manufacturing hiring went from 0 to 100mph in a week.  

I figure that I will have all of the pre work paperwork done by Tuesday or Wednesday.  I hope to leave by Thursday the latest.  

Cheers to you!

So, I accepted a verbal offer for my next job and since my start date is in two weeks,  Barry suggested I take a solo bike trip.  Can't believe it didn't occur to me.

After doing a bit of research, I think the Aspen area is a place that I could keep busy riding all the blue trails and camp at trail heads.  The weather isn't Austin hot there and promises to be comfortable riding and camping.  

Anyone have any car camping hacks that you learned from the school of skinned knees that you care to share? 

Camping Options 

Found this nifty website that allows the user to view National Forests with biking trails and campsites together.  https://www.fs.fed.us/ivm/

While some campsites can be reserved, quite a few are first come first served.  These campsites are ideal due to price and bathroom/shower  situation

There are regular camping sites in the "city"- but I think finding an open FCFS by the trails is better - bringing the telescope.  

Food

When Barry and I travel we eat a mix of fast food and restaurants.  Since I want to keep this relatively cheap, I am bringing a small burner I got at Hana Market (thanks Hanjing).  

Breakfast:

Egg-cheese sammies, french press, maybe instant grits/oatmeal 

Lunch

Since I will be riding through lunch (at a higher altitude these rides will take me the better part of the day with photo taking and daydreaming) it seems like Perpetuum is the way to go with some gels.  

Dinner

Canned chicken creations- Pad Thai, Knorr Pasta Sides, Stovetop, and some Ramen. Easy to make after a long day of riding and doesn't take up room in cooler

Maybe beanie weenie, whatever I can get in a individual serving that is shelf stable. 

Biking

I was originally going to do a hiking and biking trip- but soon realized I would not feel comfortable with my bike locked to my car while I went to check out pre Columbian Architecture.  I also wanted to minimize the time I spend driving and get the max benefit from the altitude training.    Since I am riding alone- nothing more challenging than a blue trail with a black feature. 

The Goal is to ride as many of these trails in no particular order:

Aspen

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7005156/sky-mountain-park-loop

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/3633466/lincoln-creek-road-to-ruby-ghost-town (not single track but cool ride-good views recovery day) 

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7054374/crown-tour

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7018198/the-up-n-over-aka-rock-bottom-ranch-aka-crown-cruise

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/951198/rim-trail-loop with this one https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7020270/seven-star-trail

Buena Vista- way back home stop possibly 

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/3733565/buena-vista-singletrack-loop

Bike Tools/Spares 

This is where things get internet dependent.  I will need to video chat with Barry if I need to do a serious repair or YouTube.

Barry's list for me

Now to finish that new hire paperwork.  

15 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

I keep thinking I have always meant to do this but never have, but yet I actually have and your post just reminded me of this! 

My buddies and I did an out-and-back to Bastrop.  Our plan was to initially stay there a day and 2 nights and ride the piney woods, then come back the day after.  We ended up just staying one night, walking to the liquor store, maybe ate Subway/Quiznos (don't remember) and we rode back.  We used the MS150 Houston to Austin route on the way there (super sketchy in places) and just rode back on 71.  It was perfectly fine on 71.  I also remembered we did San Antonio to Austin with an overnight at San Marcos for the Ride for the Cure.  That one I didn't enjoy b/c we were at their mercy as far as scheduling and food.  By the time we made it to San Marcos we got white bread, mayo, and some slices of ham.  The tomatoes looked disgusting.

It's been a dream of mine to ride to DFW for a while, and of course do stuff to qualify for PBP

Anyone here getting Spinistry e-mails?  They're organizing multi-day rides some supported and not supported and even a gravel stage race.  I'm looking forward to doing some of that.

I'm following the Spinstry, not sure if bikepacking is right for me.  I really like not having to bring a lot of items, and I really dislike being hungry or uncomfortable.  I could see CC Touring for a week going from city to city, or a supported tour, but I didn't have to carry that much stuff.  

What's PBP?  

Another thing that Barry and I do is a riding tour of our favorite food places.  Over the summer we will do tacos, ice cream and beer rides.  When covid is wrapped up we plan on setting up a few of these days if anyone is interested.  50+ miles at a party pace.  Full disclosure I do not do a party pace to ice cream, that is a sprint for me.    

North Austin is great for brewery crawls. 

15 hours ago, June Bug said:

This looks wonderful and that's some serious mileage each day. 

Did you motel it or stay in a B n B?  

Any gravel?

We stayed at a Day's Inn- I like to be stumbling distance from dinner/drinks after a long day.  I have found on our trips we are too tired to enjoy a real nice room, we try to keep it in the $60 range.  

There were a bit of compressed gravel roads, but nothing too crazy.  Lots of county roads and farms.  

I did a Zwift training plan to prepare for this ride and was really glad that I did.  Sometimes these rides can be a real sufferfest- besides some chafing I was relatively pain free but at my comfort limit.  

Never too soon to start training for this kind of ride.   https://sanjuanhuts.com/