Tree Magnet

I had an Ardent put me down on a high speed sweeper at Walnut!! Moved it to the back and no problems. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That wouldn’t happen to a 19 mm cone wrench would it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kent - we all owe you a few beers each. You should never pay for a cold one in this town again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Brushy "North Shore" Creek

Shame you had to kill him but glad the human part of the encounter is at least okay. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ll write my ride report from the other side of the tape for the 2018 Dragon Slayer. I wanted to wait until 512 had written his report before I wrote mine out. I’ll get to the reason later. Last year I finished the triple DFL with just a few minutes to spare before cutoff. I left that event a better man for surviving the highs and lows from the experience despite what my chapped ass and virtually every muscle in my body thought. I would not have finished without the support of the Endurarace team (both Todds) so this year I wanted to volunteer to give back to the event that gave me so much. The day started trying to get everyone parked as Ms. Ingrid the parking supervisor helped guide cars into open spots. We tried to put the triple and double riders closer to the end near the trailhead which left the single lap riders all the way down near the park entrance. It turns out that many of the single lap folks were going out to set some crazy fast lap times (looking at you Davis and Ashley) while others were just out to ride their very first lap of LGT. Trying to explain the nearly 20+ miles of rock gardens was a challenge. Having three start times was nice and it made parking logistics a bit easier. Had everyone showed up that had registered, we would have had to start putting riders on the county road outside the park. Keep that in mind next year as you decide when to set your alarm clocks. The next few hours were pretty chill and involved some minor logistics, cheering, and wheelie practice. When the two and three lap riders started coming in, I made my way to the finish. You can generally tell when a rider comes in if they have anything left in the tank to attempt another lap. It’s not how hard they push at the finish but more like the fire you see behind their eyes when you ask them. I saw several people question themselves and their sanity as they considered another lap. Most of the time, that voice in their head told them they would regret not going out so they pulled their shit together and hit it again. 100% of the time, the next time I saw them at the finish line they were happy with their decision and smiling. This included Antonio who wanted to do a third lap but didn’t have lights. I offered him my set-up because he was ready to destroy lap 3 and I was looking for any reason possible to avoid sweeping since I was still tired from the Enduro out at RPR. Win,win. Now I get to my 512 reference. I’ve tried to ride with Tad before and he is just too strong and too fast for me to keep up with for any distance. He makes that single speed of his dance across rocks and flies up climbs like someone is about to taze him. When he rolled in after his second lap, he looked like he had been fired from his dream job, had his lunch money stolen, and beaten with a rubber hose all in the last 4 hours. I assumed that he was sick and was heading to his car to get home and recover from the beat down. It wasn’t until later when I saw his two little girls and wife start hiking out onto the trail with inspirational signs that I realized he must have gone out for lap 3. About 45 minutes later, his girls came hiking back to the finish and the littlest one said she was worried about her Daddy because he should have been finished by then. Expectations! I told them that their Dad was still riding and that he would really need their cheers when he saw them. In fact, I told them that he might be so excited to see them that he might start crying and that they would be tears of joy. As they set off back into the woods, I was really hoping that Tad was going to be able to finish in the light so they wouldn’t miss him. Sure enough, he came blasting into the finish a little while later with his cheering squad running to catch up. It was epic and after reading his report, it all makes much more sense now. The rest of the night was filled with cheering in riders, helping clean up our mess, and ensuring that the experience was everything it possibly could be for everyone putting in the effort. The entire Endurarace team and their families stepped up and put together another fantastic event. Congratulations to all those that came out and completed 1, 2, or 3 laps. This event is about overcoming your personal challenge whether that be trying to complete three laps in less than 8:30 minutes (NUTS) or complete one lap in less than 13 hours. You will get out what you put in and I saw a lot of people walking, hobbling, and riding away from that finish line with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that they truly deserved.

I think it would be cool to have a trail that is a tribute to all the bike parts that Seth has destroyed over the years. Like a “murder’s row” adorned with Chinese bars, busted rims, and frames that couldn’t take it. He could even throw in a few trail building tools or forest animals that got “Bucknered” Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can attest that spending a morning doing some trail work is a GREAT way to give back to the trails. You will never really appreciate how much work it takes to maintain these little ribbons of dirt we all love until you grab a shovel and spend some time with a trail steward. It’s what separates us from the roadies (not trying to start a flame war here). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Damn this is getting ridiculous!! I imagine that the online retailers have some metrics that show increased bike part purchases in areas where the weather is crappy. "If I can't ride my bike, I'll just buy something to put on it." I best the Austin area is showing up a big spike in their sales numbers. I'm so sick of this...ugh.

I did it four year ago (I think) on my cross bike. I was close to DFL but I finished. Honestly, it’s a great way to see the roadie hot spots around town. They actively seek out the gnarliest hills and then climb up the steep side and ride down the mellow side. Bizarro world. I think we rode UP Beauford and UP Jester on the same ride!! 620 sucked but the rest felt relatively safe. Unless you are a real roadie, you’re going to feel humbled by the speed and power of those guys. They can’t hop a curb or ride a wheelie but they can haul ass. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have zero desire to get an eMTB but I see one application where they make sense, downhill riding. You already have a heavy ass bike that you don't pedal so why not add a motor and eliminate the lift?

Dude...where do you work?? Congrats on the win and I can’t wait to see what kind of bike parts you turn that iPad into. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kristin Butcher is a damn good writer. Her column makes that magazine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have three boys and none of them want to play football and I’m totally cool with that. My oldest wanted to play in middle school and I pointed out the size difference between the smallest dude and the biggest. At that age, it’s huge. I then reminded him of the month of recovery he endured after a concussion from a playground game. He lost interest and moved to climbing and parkour. Still a concussion risk but it’s not guaranteed like in football. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a Kali Lunati (I think that is the version). It's my first Kali helmet and I like it alright. I had Fox helmets before and I think they fit my noggin a little better. Pros: Good coverage on the back. Accessory rail on the top to very easily attach your light/camera. Good adjustments. Bug net. Less than $100. Cons: It isn't the best fitting helmet in the world but that could be my head. Slides back a bit which worries me should I really need it in an "Oh shit" moment.

Rode some Walnut trails this evening and it was almost good to go. Had to dodge a few puddles on the log loops so I stayed away from Point 6 and Marks. If it’s sunny tomorrow, I’d say it would be good to go. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's been sunny AF all day just North of WC. Unless it rained two miles away and didn't even cloud up over here, I'd say the trails might be good to go. Last time I thought it would be a muddy mess it turned out to be totally rideable. I'm leaning that it's good to go now but I have no proof.

Riding walnut right now and it’s awesome. Haven’t found a puddle yet. Get some!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Live 3 miles from Walnut and my yard is still a muddy but not a sink-in type of mud. If tomorrow is sunny, I would guess it might be good for an evening ride but you’d be dodging puddles. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope it cost him some drivetrain parts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have noticed that the latest round of free video games seems to be completely different than those in the past. Games like Overwatch and Fortnight are free, fast, fun, and provide an immersive experience that appeals to kids of all ages. I was just at a meeting overseas and every parent in the room that had a kid had he same problem with their kid being ‘addicted’ to the game. It was the same story for Germany, UK, Asia, and every state represented in the US. My question to this motley crew is do you think that this represents a threat to mountain biking? Seriously. When these kids should be out breaking bones and building jumps out of scrap wood, they are battling some 35 yo Swedish dude living in his parents basement on their stupid phones. I have kids, grew up with video games, and choose to spend as much of my free time outside that I can. This sounds like a well represented demographic on this board so I’m floating this out there looking for some wisdom. Especially interested in what Al thinks? Am I being a grumpy old man? The accessibility of these new games just makes them so much more pervasive that it seems different. Discuss. Btw - move to a different section if it fits there better. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Stem looks a little long and watch those carbon bars. Other than that, welcome to the forum! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This works for me on every hill except HOL. If I’m just spinning, I only want to focus on the pain of that moment not on the amount of pain to come. If I don’t look up on HOL I will end up in some stupid dead end line that starts the push. I push the HoL on the EB any way unless there is a trail angel there with a camera. Then I try and ride to her and push from there up! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Same here. I deleted it from my browser bookmarks to break the habit. What made Mojo Mojo is here so I see no reason to wade through 500+ spambot posts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That mirror idea is a good one. I had a contact lens get all catty wompus on Lower Porcupine Rim in Utah one time. I couldn't see where it was in my eye to fix it and was totally screwed. Luckily, a riding buddy was there to help me out but I couldn't even hold a cell-phone up and try the reverse camera thing.