mack_turtle

Yesterday I left around 11 a.m., (seemed like the perfect time when the humidity wears off and the heat has not hit full strength yet) I rode from my door out through Sunset Valley to the VCT entrance on Ben White, down the switchbacks to ride Sweet 16 to the Travis Country pumptrack. by the time I got there, I didn't even have the energy to do a lap around the pump track, I just limped home.

I was hoping that riding under the BCGB canopy would make things less awful. Everything down there smells like the ashe junipers are about to burst into flame. good riddance! I'm trying to figure out if the heat got to me, or it was a combo of the heat + riding some of the most challenging, technical trail segments I know. total ride was barely 11 miles. that's my shortest BCGB ride yet.

I'll experiment with some r**d riding today to see if that's somehow better. less shade but more movement and less effort spent wrangling the bike over ledges and stuff.

I'm always messing with my bike, so I probably moved my stem on my fork and didn't have the headset snugged down completely when I started riding. It usually takes a few blocks of pedaling before I notice a knock in my headset and stop to fix it. new part is on its way.

if that doesn't make the noise go away, it's probably my fork CSU flexing again.

Annoying creak coming from the front of my bike today. I tore the headset apart to see if the handlebar or fork was compromised. Found this crack in the headset compression ring instead.

(At the top, right next to the split).

That might be causing it. That part costs $6, so I'm just going to replace it to rule that out 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfMgYJ_upMT/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Donald Glover's show Atlanta is pretty weird, but you can just watch episode 6 of season 2, "Teddy Perkins." Totally freaked me out.

1 hour ago, ATXZJ said:

Planning on taking a trip out the in the next 30 days to scout it a bit.

The wife and I spent last weekend planning the same thing. Roadtrip to Knoxville, Asheville, Raleigh-Durham, maybe some little north GA towns.

I stopped in Academy Sports last night to look for light, long-sleeved shirts and found this "running hoodie" for $5 on the clearance rack! I'm going to go back and try to find another one in that size. went on a ride this morning and it felt fine. the hood seemed to help a bit when I was out the open with the Saturday morning sun beating down on me.

I'm on a quest to buy some loose fitting long-sleeve summer riding shirts now. I don't think much exists in cycling-specific clothing that fits the bill. I draw the line at those awful dorktastic Columbia "fishing" shirts, but I might have to do that.

You must be one of those Lizard People that Alex Jones has been warning us about! 

I don't want to find out the hard way, but I'm pretty sure I would find myself in the ER if I tried that. I keep my thermostat set at 78 at home and spending the latter half of my life in Texas does not seem to help. Maybe that internal thermostat gets set earlier in life.

I know a few people who can ride for hours in blazing heat. I don't know how they do that. Must be genetic or many hours of intensional training to allow the body to do that. Until I can get out of this hellhole, I think the only answer is to keep my rides under 90 minutes.

I wear a 3L pack and two 24 ounce water bottles on these hot days, one of the bottles is filled with one of the many electrolyte mixes I have tried. I "camel up" the day before by drinking as much water as I can stand, combined with supplements. after 90 minutes, my water is totally depleted and I start to get a headache. this has been going on for a decade with no relief. I asked my doctor and he said "drink some Gatorade."

38 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

It is the perfect second bike. I don't understand those that have only SS, but having an SS as a second bike is great.

$$

My approach: i feel beeter spending my money first on a reliable bike that isn't a plastic Rube Goldberg mess of bearings and tiny bones that will be unserviceable in three years.

Spend some time riding one gear and you'll find you can hang with people who have all the advantages that money can buy without spending your own.

1 hour ago, Chief said:

Good luck with that when you get fifty plus years old.

Although I guess my gravel bike hits two of those requirements😆

I've got at least another decade in these bones, in that case. might as well enjoy it while I can, because I can't keep up with the cost of maintaining a bouncy bike.
I know several 50+ riders on rigid bikes who can ride circles around me in Barton Creek.

On 6/12/2022 at 2:07 PM, AustinBike said:

A demo ride beats a spreadsheet. Every goddamn time.

good luck finding a demo ride for any bike I'd want to own. (hardtail, no silly derailers, preferably without a sissy fork.)

I'm currently considering a frame that is not tiny and has something steeper than the current 71.5° STA that I have now, but I have no frame of reference to know if I'm going to like it enough to put down $1000-2000 for such a thing.

19 hours ago, CBaron said:

Man, I'd love to own this.  I've got a work bench left over from the HH bike shop with a stainless steel top.  I've been planning to bolt a vice onto.  I've got a very decent sized basic vice for that purpose, this one just looks like a solid old beast.  I'm not exactly sure what i have to offer for trade.  I need to go dig around my garage stuff.  I might have some road wheels, I do have an old beater fork, maybe some carbon seat posts, Magura disc brakes (that need a bleed)... nothing terribly exciting

Just thinking out loud.

-CJB

it definitely sounds like you will make more use from it than I would.

Yes! I love those videos. If I had space for a sand blaster and all that stuff, I'd restore this one.

I inherited this vise but I have no use for it. It's enormous and weighs a ton. everything is in good working condition but it would look slick with some flesh paint on the corroded surfaces. I didn't know what it might be worth, but I see them sold to collectors of vintage tools on ebay for $300-400. It feels weird to sell it so I might be interested in trading it for something bike-related. If there's a bike available, I would need a medium sized something.

that's similar to what I use. 

On 11/30/2021 at 9:16 PM, mack_turtle said:

I've been living vicariously through Elina Osborne's walk across New Zealand lately. https://youtube.com/c/ElinaOsborne

Bringing this back up because she completed the series. really fantastic story-telling for a individual person with a camera.

Pistol is on Hulu right now. terrific music history about The Sex Pistols. Danny Boyle directs, fantastic cast. I'm hooked.

I've learned a lot about weather in various places around the country using Weatherspark.com. this summary of Austin is accurate:

(Houston's report is worse, which doesn't surprise me.)

I'm looking to the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains now. staying away from the Atlantic coast. Boone, NC, perhaps? something like that.

I count six months of tolerable weather. October is usually too hot still and the bullshit roasting weather starts in May most years. It seems lile every month is "the warmest on record" here and it's only going to get worse. 

I'm determined to GTFO of Texas within the next year, or find some way to come back only during the temperate months. This is only going to get worse. I with I could "acclaimate"  to it, but I just confirmed that I moved here nine years ago today, after six years in San Antonio. It's not happening.

20 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

Yep.  It's a white and gold shirt right?  (just messing with you)

No, it's definitely black and blue.

That's the same colors I will be if I attempted all 68+ miles.

in case it has not been stated enough, Airrosti is amazing. I've been tolerating foot pain—plantar fasciitis —for over six months. I tried some stretches and exercises with little relief. early on, a podiatrist wasted my time by just telling me to put arch supports in my shoes. as of two weeks ago, I could barely walk some days.

after my first visit at Airrosti (Brodie Lane), they got medieval on my sole and lower legs. it was really painful but in a good way. a week has passed and I'm doing the exercises they recommend with videos in a phone app and I feel 99% better. I'm also addressing some severe pain my my little toe that only shows up after about an hour on the bike, regardless of terrain or footwear. They're mitigating and fixing that as well.

with insurance, it's $25 a visit, and I'll probably be 100% back in shape after four visits.

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you go to the south location, get something at Crema Bakery afterwards.

On 6/2/2022 at 12:52 AM, AntonioGG said:

Watching or reading?

watching. it was obvious from the first episode that this is based on a series of novels. I might want to go back and read them some day, but the show might have spoiled all the surprises already.

*Edit* d'oh! I thought this was the "what are you watching?" discussion.