throet

Holy shit! This is the sort of line at 14:21 that truly separates pros from joes.

Should this be added to the argument for clips vs. flats, i.e. "you'll never have to go searching for your crank arm when it falls off while riding"?

Sunday morning between 8:30 - 10 conditions for riding were really as good as they can get for Central Texas summer. I had no problem giving it 100% given the mild morning temps and steady breezes. Saw plenty of folks on Picnic and 1/4, but it was mostly quiet on DD, Rim, and Snail. Didn't encounter a single chain link issue the entire ride! 😏

Rode for an hour-and-a-half tonight and it was nice. Didn't see anybody out on the trail at all, which made it even nicer.

It's baaaack!!!!

Sounds like you need to keep your bikes in front of the liquor cabinet as decoys, so that would be thieves will take those instead of your costly stash!

I wouldn't say even that I was a mountain biker at the time, but here is me with my first mountain bike, which I purchased online for $499 in 2008 I think. Had rode a mountain bike once before in upstate NY, and after moving to Austin decided that I wanted to take up the sport. Once I had the bike I checked out ARR's website and decided I should head right over to City Park. Nearly killed myself that day and then decided Walnut Creek was a better place for me to get started.

For something that special, how long do you generally try to make it last? When you do eventually tap into it, will it be a special occasion where you end up drinking half the bottle with friends, or will it be a one-and-done moment where you're just savoring something that is top notch? If when drinking something special like this you end up drinking other stuff at the same time, do you prefer to start with the best stuff or end with the best stuff? Sorry for all of the questions, but I'm just not sure even how I would incorporate something like this into my stash (assuming even that I could get over the initial sticker shock).

Seems we've lost our chief advocate on this topic, but maybe the rest of us can pitch in and raise awareness. I had been on blood thinners for a year after suffering a PE in 2020. After finally stopping the blood thinners, I started having two new symptoms, heart palpitations and pulsating in my ears (called pulsatile tinnitus). After a week of continuous remote monitoring via a device that patches onto your chest, my doctor informed me that the palpitations are something called premature ventricular contractions. While apparently common and mostly benign, in my case the severity and frequency of them led my cardiologist to prescribe a beta blocker, which she said will also help with my rising blood pressure. In fact, it could be higher blood pressure that is triggering both of these symptoms, even though I don't think it's high enough to be labeled hypertension. I feel that I'm at a crossroads now between feeling invincible and feeling vulnerable. I've been on statins for twenty years to keep my cholesterol under control and now I'm going to be taking a beta blocker to control arrhythmia and blood pressure. Past tests have shown some evidence of calcium deposits in my arteries and also indications of mild LVH, but I've never had any signs of slowing down. To the contrary, at 62 I've felt stronger on the bike than I ever have before. Now though I'm having to rethink things. Since I've been monitoring, it's clear that the palpitations start and persist during post-exercise recovery, which according to some papers I've read is not a good sign in terms of cardiovascular mortality. I really don't want to be one of those guys who folks end up saying "died doing what he loved". Conversely though, going down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out all the different cardiovascular related things that can kill you and why, just adds stress and anxiety, which are proven to themselves be contributors toward poor heart health. Suppose I'll spend some time figuring out if there's a happy place in the middle of taking care of yourself and trying to figure out if some inner killer might be lurking. Anyway it goes I believe some more tests will be needed, including an MRA to see if something is going on with the blood vessels in my head to cause the pulsating in my ears. Hope all is going well with the rest of you heart-conscious individuals.

Because of that unfamiliar smokiness of that Hickory Hill Texas Rye, it's essentially sat idle while I finished off most of the rest of my stash. I'm sipping on it neat now though, and it's actually not bad at all - just different. Like so many other things, I suppose you just have to acquire a taste for it. That's not to say I'll rush out to get another bottle, as right now my favorite Rye is the Russel's Reserve Single Barrel. However, I won't turn down the Hickory Hill if offered to me, and may even eventually purchase it again. What's your favorite Rye these days @Barry ?

Starting off the weekend right with this gem from BB. No slouch either at 11.8%!

Seems we were just posting about Oktoberfest brews, but it's already that time of year again! This is one of the best I've had for sure.

This works with AT&T TV streaming service as well. Use it all the time with basketball games so that I don't have to watch all of the commercials. Of course that means jumping in an hour in vs. just 20 min in.

Wear blue and don't bathe. Maybe that will help you get hit!

I'm not going to say I outrode them but I definitely avoided getting bitten, possibly just lucky. I felt one bumping up against my arm a few times. Do they tend to disappear around dusk? That might have helped since it was starting to get dark around the time I finished.

Been watching this mini-series on HBO Max. Never been a huge surfing fan, but I'm finding it very intriguing. Seems in this game they are playing, it is almost impossible to calculate risks.

Went out around 7:15pm for a spin tonight. Ordinarily I don't try to go fast in this oppressive summer heat / humidity, but it was a matter of survival tonight as the horse flies were swarming. Ended up with my third fastest time on 1/4 Notch.

I have some old Renthal carbon bars that have some rise and some sweep, albeit minimal (7 degrees maybe). They are cut down to 730mm though. You're welcome to have them. I did use them for a couple of years and of course can't guarantee the integrity. I do remember you saying you had a good dentist though!

Any locals visited Bentonville during Outerbike in past years? Seems late Oct would be a great time of year to visit, and I suppose the event itself would serve as a form of entertainment when not riding. Seems any races that are part of the event are only on one day - so closure of trails shouldn't be a big issue if staying multiple days. Given the abundance of trails, I wouldn't think that overcrowding would be an issue either. Any thoughts from folks that have been or are familiar with the event?

Damnnnnnn! These guys flat out fly - unreal speed and air time.

Some nice bikes there! Seems the Trek Store on Parmer had a couple of those Fuel EX 9.8s on the floor listed at $4999 a couple of months ago. I'm sure they didn't last long.

Not quite an Everest, but certainly an interesting challenge to consider for some of you studs out there. Anyway, nicely done video and worth a watch even if you just want to see how it's done by someone else. At the end of the video there are details on how to document your own #BentonvilleTrailChallenge and possibly win cool prizes. Contest is not limited to riders who finish in one day - just need to tell a compelling story and follow the rules as noted below. C'mon it's only 17K of climbing! 1) Ride all of Bentonville's trails by the end of year. You can do it all at once as Payson did, or take it in smaller chunks at whatever pace you like. 2) Document and share your progress on Instagram with the hashtag #BentonvilleTrailChallenge, and save your posts as a highlight on your profile. The most compelling/inspiring/creative stories win. If you're a retro grouch and don't have Instagram, you can write us a beautiful essay and/or submit your video(s) to theadventure@paysonmcelveen.com 3) Join the Bentonville Trail Challenge STRAVA club to prove your progress.

At least you're smiling .... relatively speaking. Heal up man and let's get back out there once the temps cool off.