quixoft

I've never actually done real drops so decided I would try them this morning at Christ Church. I've rolled down some steeper stuff(the steep end of Mulligan and Basket Drop in Brushy) but have never really done actual drops of anything over about a foot or two. So I decided to ride Sub Ninja and do some practice on the small drops y'all have built. Don't think I did too bad if I do say so myself for my first few attempts. Some felt fairly smooth, others not so much. Any tips on body position? I was trying to work on dropping my heels but I don't seem to do it until right at or after the initial landing. Should I be further back on the bike and have the heels dropped before the landing? I felt pretty stiff but in the video I seem to use my legs and arms as shock absorbers fairly well. Only did a few as it was getting late and I had to get home for work but plan on more soon! Any tips are appreciated!

Anything that is even the slightest bit uphill is a climb for me!

I did DD for the first time ever a few days ago east to west. Got through it just fine although I had to walk quite a few spots. No idea how y'all are getting up those 3' rocks at the end of a climb. But it was all worth it for those fast flowing sections toward the end!

No problem. Supposed to be the same thru Sat morning as of right now. We'll be back out there at 630am the rest of the week for pre work rides.

Yep. Was out from 630 to 8. Perfect.

1st of all, great movie. 2nd, I agree with you but I'm also realistic and know that a whole lot of people just don't give a shit so I'm not going to worry or get upset about it.

People are unselfish up to the point to where they are not. Everyone's point of selfishness is different. We all have probably spent quite a bit of our disposable income on bikes because it's something we enjoy. However, how much good could we have done by instead spending that money to feed folks who are starving? Do you really need a bike to play around on trails while others right here in America are starving and homeless? Are we disregarding other's basic survival needs for our own pleasure? Or in this case do we just say well it's not our job to feed them, they should take responsibility for themselves. Life is never black and white. Shaming people and calling them names never makes anything change for the better. Never.

Pretty much what I'm hearing as well. Most Americans(at least the people in my circle) don't like government telling us what we can and can't do. It might look like the most common sense law to pass to require masks but many people are of the belief that "if you give them an inch, they take a mile" when it comes to the government trying to "protect" us. They'd rather risk a disease than even the slightest possibility of government overreach. Many people are talking about how well China has done controlling the spread. Well yeah, it's easy when your government doesn't care about human rights, suppresses anyone that doesn't toe the line, and keeps the population living in fear with big brother constantly watching. CCP does all of that in name of "protecting" their populace. Not that I think America is anywhere near that but over the course of history, people in power generally haven't done a very good job of limiting power of governments. I have friends at both extremes and everything in between. Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Muslims, Atheists, mask wearers, non mask wearers, gun lovers, gun haters, rich friends, poor friends, you name it. Somehow we're all still great friends though despite our differences. There's nothing better than arguing and fighting with friends over shit like this and knowing the next day we'll still end up having beers together and be just fine.

Forecast shows temps in the high 60s/low 70s and low humidity in the morning Wed thru Fri. Great weather and usually I'm alone on my early morning rides and don't see anyone until about 8am on the way back in. Better than this past week for sure!

The opposite is also true. I've been yelled at while riding at Brushy Creek for not wearing one. Sorry, I'm not going to wear one outside while riding in 95 degree heat and humidity when I don't get closer than 30 feet to anyone. Some people are just jerks and feel the need to call out anyone that might disagree with them.

This is a fact. My wife is a nurse and her hours have been cut in half because they have nothing to do.

Perfect answer. We can be friends.

Hold the phone! Beans or no beans? Be careful with your choice because this will determine if we will be best friends or mortal enemies.

Damn, you do way more than me. Then again I will eat stuff I drop on the floor(even in restaurants) and pull food out of the trash to eat when my wife throws it away because it's a week past expiration. I tell her those dates are just guidelines and she tells me I'm disgusting when I eat it anyway. But she's the one that always gets sick, not me! Must have been all that dirt and rolly pollies I ate as a kid that gave me a strong immune system. 🙂

Here's an interesting article on why people refuse to change their minds. I know I'm guilty of it. It's difficult for people to be truly open minded to different beliefs. Just take a look at the course of history and you instances of it. Sometimes it involves tens of millions of people dying from wars due to differences in political/religious/whatever beliefs. “Once something is added to your collection of beliefs, you protect it from harm. You do this instinctively and unconsciously when confronted with attitude-inconsistent information. Just as confirmation bias shields you when you actively seek information, the backfire effect defends you when the information seeks you, when it blindsides you. Coming or going, you stick to your beliefs instead of questioning them. When someone tries to correct you, tries to dilute your misconceptions, it backfires and strengthens those misconceptions instead. Over time, the backfire effect makes you less skeptical of those things that allow you to continue seeing your beliefs and attitudes as true and proper.” “McRaney points out that the backfire effect is due in large part to our cognitive laziness — our minds simply prefer explanations that take less effort to process, and consolidating conflicting facts with our existing beliefs is enormously straining: The more difficult it becomes to process a series of statements, the less credit you give them overall. During metacognition, the process of thinking about your own thinking, if you take a step back and notice that one way of looking at an argument is much easier than another, you will tend to prefer the easier way to process information and then leap to the conclusion that it is also more likely to be correct. In experiments where two facts were placed side by side, subjects tended to rate statements as more likely to be true when those statements were presented in simple, legible type than when printed in a weird font with a difficult-to-read color pattern. Similarly, a barrage of counterarguments taking up a full page seems to be less persuasive to a naysayer than a single, simple, powerful statement.” https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/05/13/backfire-effect-mcraney/

Yep. These two quotes are exactly why it cannot be controlled. But telling people they are wrong and calling them idiots for their decisions will never get them to change their mind. I learned a long time ago that I cannot control what other people choose to do(or not do) and there is no sense in stressing myself out and getting upset over it. They aren't going to change. Life's too short to worry about what you cannot control The best you can do is to take actions to protect yourself against the actions of others and that doesn't just apply to COVID. Treat it sort of like defensive driving. You know there are plenty of bad drivers on the road that could easily get you killed, so you just have to pay attention and do your best to avoid them.

Sure no problem. 42% asymptomatic study https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-05-28/studies-detail-rates-of-asymptomatic-cases-of-coronavirus 81% asymptomatic study on cruise ship https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...9-cases-may-be-more-common-suspected-n1215481 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/27/cruise-ship-study-shows-80-per-cent-covid-19-cases-board-asymptomatic/ 72% asymptomatic cruise ship https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2020/almost-75-people-board-diamond-princess-covid-19-may-have-been-asymptomatic 78% study https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/apr/analysis-bmj-study-suggests-78-people-covid-19-dont-show-symptoms Multiple links here reporting anywhere from 42% to 81% https://www.healthline.com/health-news/50-percent-of-people-with-covid19-not-aware-have-virus CDC article discussing it with linked sources https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-1595_article

100% expected with things opening up but the media will milk it and try to scare everyone. There are lots of studies popping up(including the isolated cruise ship) showing that up to 80% of people infected are asymptomatic. If those numbers are true, the disease is far less deadly than originally thought for healthy people. However, that means it is basically impossible to control. Most people that don't feel sick don't feel the need to wear a mask, right or wrong. Just take a look at the protests over the past few days. High risk folks are really the only people that it's affecting in large amounts although of course there are always a few exceptions. Looks like the high risk folks will just need to bunker down and avoid others because there is no way people that don't feel sick are going to wear masks during Texas summers. Hell I wore one outside this afternoon for just 10 minutes today in 95 degree heat with only moderate humidity and I could barely breath because it was a sopping wet mass of sweat and spit after a very short time. It was nasty. Round Rock HEB off 620 depends on the time of day. I've been there when practically no one is wearing a mask and other times most everyone is.

Awesome! My 4 year old grandson "practicing" mountain biking by going off curbs and over 2x4s for an hour.

Awesome!

Man I would but my ankle is the size of a softball right now. Took a slap shot to the side of the ankle in a hockey game the other night and struggled just to get the wood out there today. Walked down to check out what Gringo was doing and that was a mistake.

Just dropped off 21 treated 2x6x8s courtesy of @AntonioGG and @Tree Magnet

Ok. @Tree Magnet just sent me a Lowes gift card via email so I'll make a run tomorrow. @AntonioGG, if you do the same I can kill two birds with one stone and load up on 2x6s. I'll send you my name and email in a PM. Agree on the culling. I picked through a ton of warped pieces last weekend.

I just went to the nearest Lowes. I looked for actual lumber yards but they all seemed more furniture oriented. I don't mind picking up stuff and delivering it as the church and the Lowes are both within a few miles of my house so it's not a big deal for me. I wonder if y'all could just order the wood online and then I'll just pick up and deliver? That way at least you know I'm not going spend it on hookers and blow. I don't mind doing this but I would prefer @El Gringo specify exactly which types and amounts would be the priority. If I'm going to handle other folks' money, I'd prefer it be used in the most efficient way possible.