AntonioGG

I rode Saturday morning on the road (39-40°F with high humidity) with this: OnOne Merino base layer over bibs (super thin), under jersey. Swiftwick arm warmers OnOne Merino neck gaither OnOne Merino beanie Swiftwick socks LG winter gloves (my least winter winter-gloves) LG knee/leg warmers I was perfectly fine. In fact, I need to find that old thread so I can post up the review on the OnOne stuff. No wind/rain shell, no toe covers. In the past I've used thicker Merino base layers and I got too hot. I've also used tech long sleeve shirts under and those were not warm enough. Hope y'all have a good R&I.

The subject preview for this stopped at "tankles" so I thought this thread was about those of us with hardware in our ankles (like cankles, but tankles= tank + ankles). I have a left tankle. I don't know about tankless water heaters, but my fairly expensive espresso machine warns against usual coffee cleaning methods and even against using water softener water for fear of actually eroding the metal in the boilers.

Heading to RHR this morning. Hope the trails are OK.

https://austin.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c7fecf32a2d946fabdf062285d58d40c&extent=3052120.7123%2C10036958.1486%2C3179054.0456%2C10097891.4819%2C102739

I had a mechanical on Mt. Bonnell Rd's fast descent. They have those water covers (the small ones) that they didn't raise with the road the last time they paved. They're hard to see, and I nailed one hard, my chain fell off and got caught between my chain stay and little ring. I couldn't force it out (don't know how it even got in there!). Had to pop out a pin part way out, then re-use it (thankfully this chain has all solid pins). Planned on getting power links at Nelo's. Stopped, waited 10 minutes while he was making cappuccinos and nobody asked me what I needed, so I took off again. Luckily it held for the remainder of the ride. I was feeling great. About 55 miles in I was on pace for an 8-8.5 hour ride. I ended up riding Smokey Valley and PR'ed it. The High Rd felt easy so I was pretty excited...but I wasn't drinking as much as I needed (all my nutrition is in liquid form) since it was cold. In 6 hours I drank 3 bottles (840 calories). The fun lasted for about 70 miles. On Beauford my quads wanted to lock up. From then on out, I had to walk a lot of the steep sections on climbs, except for a period of time after the Sun Tree Cove rest stop. Two fistfuls of pickles, 3 quarters of a PB sandwich and a couple of glasses of coke and I was feeling again like a champ. Got Bullick Hollow Rd and 620 climb from the low water crossing done...I still had 2 bottles (carried 2 for the first loop, then 3 for the 2nd loop) so I skipped the rest stop. Walked all of Jester (walking really staved off the cramps, after walking, I could ride more hills), survived Beauford downhill and the hard climb on 360 from Pennybacker. I rode mostly by myself except for a bit on 360 from Great Hills down to Lakewood when I hooked up with 2 other guys and rode a good paceline, then heading toward the end on 360, someone not on the Hugel said he'd pull me the rest of the way on 360. He was fast. I struggled staying on his wheel on the climbs, but it was nice to get through that faster. I finished only slightly faster than last year as far as moving time 9:19, but about 30 minutes faster on overall time (I hate stopping for longer than I have to which is I rode alone). How much of a ride is mental? Up to mile 70 I felt like I could push hard, with my motivation being a fast finish. At some point I couldn't any more. After the ride, without having seen my data, I felt like mile 70 was my breaking point. After looking at the data, I was spot on. Survive the climbs, take it easy everywhere else: But you can see after Jester, I was able to attack a bit more, and to the finish I rode pretty fast. It was fun day. I'm going to take more food with me next year if it's cold again.

I agree with @Tree Magnet, the EB is harder b/c of Thumper. das Hugel is about pacing, worst case you walk Smokey Valley (rode it last year, but it was stupid...when a walker passes you, you know you made a wrong decision). The EB, even if you walk the road climbs, you can't get around the technical stuff that requires punchy power and kills your legs...and yes, Thumper that late in the game.

Yep, I'm in again this year. Now that I've completed it, I am going to try to go a bit faster than last year (9:27 moving time). For many years I only did the first loop, which by itself, is a pretty hard 38-40 mile loop. I recommend doing at least the first loop. It's a pretty chill group of riders.

@csmceueun it is gorgeous! post it in the gravel rigs thread! Also, I found some more pieces for the bike box that will allow different bikes to be mounted to the frame. I can't remember if you're up north or down south, I'll keep them handy if you want them.

100% this. Also Seth's Diamondback sponsorship was smart as well.

D'OH!! What kind is your helmet? I desperately want to replace my Bell.

I went sock-less once at Walnut. The blisters were epic! I actually rode gloveless a lot this summer in trails that weren't too technical (i.e. slippage was not a big concern). It's so much cooler. I wear Swiftwick 100% of the time every day so that's usually not a problem...except on rock climbing day in which I go sockless...which happens to be Tuesdays and Fridays.

Yeah, same here. Used to be Specialized was the only one that worked for me, but they recently got rid of the larger size in their upper range MTB helmets. My head is oval, so while the largest helmet from Bell I can get presses hard on my forehead, there's a ton of slack to take up on the sides with the ratchet. I'd love to find a more oval helmet...which may mean I don't have to go quite so big on the size. I've tried all the ones you listed and also Scott. I want to try POC and those ones with the cool organic-looking round openings you see in the pro tour. My favorite helmet was my S-Works from 2010. Removable visor, good rear coverage, excellent ventilation. They don't make anything like that anymore.

I can't find the original Sugoi ones I love. I have the headsweats as well but they have the thick terry headband and I already have enough problems with my head fitting into most helmets. The headsweats do seem to keep me from getting sunburn spots. I have one of these. This one covers more of your head, but it fits a bit larger than the Sugoi does: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/deflect-uv-engineered-beanie/p/161992?color=250400-161992 Now Sugoi only makes one with a bill. I haven't worn one of these but I may give them a try: https://us-store.sugoi.com/collections/bike-accessories/products/u930030u-cycling-cap

That study really didn't delve into atmospheric issues. (full study is linked to in the 2nd link you gave above) There is a caveat in the first link. Is a garage or interior of a car in a Texas summer considered extreme heat? Are aerosolized chemicals (including O3) considered here as well? The data shows a fairly small std. dev. (20-25g) for all the helmets, but the extremes cover 150g for the 6m/s test. That's huge. It's a good study, but I'd love to see more variables controlled, such as where was helmet stored, how much was it actually used outside, etc. I still think for me, storing my helmet either indoors, or in my car with some ventilation is OK for 5 years. When I can actually see the shell degrading at 5 years, I think it's time to replace it...and maybe a bit late. I already take a penalty by having a huge noggin (large helmets have worse performance overall than smaller helmets).

Yeah I think NICA has bought into this. I think someone like @Bamwa if he keeps his helmet where he welds may want to replace it often (or in thee same room as a laser printer that gets a lot of use for example). But if you keep your helmet indoors 5 years is probably OK. In the garage, it depends on level of aerosolized chemicals, ozone, heat.