AntonioGG

I finally finished Dark. I stopped trying to figure out exactly who was from where/when all the time and it all made sense in the end.

That reminds me, I ran into a couple around the end of 1/4 last summer. They were low on water, over their heads, and desperate to get out. They kept trying to shortcut in those areas where the trails are right next to each other, but of course they kept going the wrong way. I pointed them in the right direction. I've actually got myself going the wrong way on Peddlers right at the very end when there were a ton of live oak leaves on the ground. Another couple had stopped on either side of the path I should have gone toward the exit, and instead I ended up on the B-line to the little drop and didn't figure it out until I hit the culvert/creek.

For budget lights in that lumens range, look into the brand-name lights from Cateye, Serfas, and others. They make fairly cheap ($50 at Buck's IIRC) lights with a really good diffusion pattern. This is what I got for my youngest son. For his helmet light I went with a budget Amazon light and I'm very disappointed in the build and design quality, as well as it weighs a ton.

@mack_turtle has nailed it. I got lights for 24hr racing so one criteria for me is they have to last a while b/c I don't want to hassle with charging lights during a race. This is probably overkill for casual riding. Beam patterns IMO are hugely important. For me weight is very important for the helmet mounted light. What I ride with is Ay-Up and they are max 700 lumens each. I think at that brightness they last 2.5 hours. At the lower setting can go >6 hours on them so 2 battery sets are perfect for night racing. This is adequate for a well known trail and especially when you're doing laps, but for new trail exploring at night I'd want to go full 700 or maybe even higher. I also like the battery being separate from the light for the helmet. My lights and batteries are about 10 years old now and they are still awesome. I'm also a big believer in spending for quality from a financial perspective, but also from a green perspective. I just hate that we have become a throwaway society. Somewhat germane: A co-worker and I were talking about this, and he was telling me he remembers going to radio shack and using the vacuum tube tester to figure out which tube was bad on his parents' TV.

I’m with you as far as going thinner but I cannot go without anything. My favorite shorts were from something like 1993 bike Nashbar with the thinnest chamois (it wasn’t actually chamois but it looked a lot like it). I agree with you that most modern ones are way too thick. In fact I’m beginning to think a lot of problems are from basically riding on a wet sponge in hot and humid weather. It occurred to me when after an extended off the saddle climb I sat back down and felt all the sweat squish out. That was why I also wanted to invent the crack sweat gutter to keep all back sweat from ending down there. if anyone knows of some thin chamois bibs I’d like to buy some.

Rainmaker!

Carbon conducts, and even if it was plastic, remember that lightning just went through a mile or so of just air. It's not going to care whether you're riding on an insulated bike or rubber shoes or a rubber hat.

My favorite is one I made a few years ago. I got a ghost pepper plant and habanero plants from my late mother in law. Had a huge harvest one year and made it into bottled sauce. I had to wear full respirator, goggles, and gloves and blend it in the garage but it was awesome. Ghost peppers have a lot of flavor not just heat. One of my favorite commercial ones is El Yucateco green. When I want pure heat with no flavor (so as to heat up a mild sauce or salsa) Lousiana Habanero sauce will do it. Currently I also have 3 Cholulas. I like the lime, but the sweet habanero not so much. Of course the classic is good. Bought the chipotle but have not tried it. La Valentina for pouring over popcorn or chips. Sriracha is a staple.

I think a lot of it has to do with how delicious he perceives it to be. If we called pigs bacon instead of pigs, he'd probably still eat bacon.

You see a lot of camper trailers that are seriously overloaded. Don't forget about tongue weight and the distribution of the weight on the trailer. My only experience was towing race car on a 20' flat bed, and the difference in handling based on 1ft difference front and back was significant. If your truck/car is squatting heavily, you have a problem (and you'll be blinding oncoming traffic at night too).

We're not beatifying saints. These are normal fallible humans. I'd rather have someone that owns their mistakes than some of these closeted people we have.

Onza FTW! I also had Brahma bars back in the day. Now it's just the small Ergon grip ends. They're nice to have alternate hand positions on long rides.

My oldest son hates it! He will eat it b/c I tell him that's what's for dinner...but he never could come to terms with the fact that the name of the meat is the same as the name of the living thing. My youngest then tried to claim he couldn't eat vegetables because they were once alive....

Yeah those roads are sketchy. Is there any spot where trail could be cut on the "shoulders" kinda like on 1626?

Why don't some of you retired folks run for office? Do one term. We need more regular people thinking of office as a service and not a career.