throet

I've been tolerating the Guide RS brakes that came on my newest bike, and truthfully I don't even think about it that much when I'm out riding. As soon as I get back on my bike that has XTR brakes though, the difference is immediately clear. Still, I'm just not willing to throw something away that isn't keeping me from having fun. When it comes time to spend money fixing or servicing them however, they will very likely get replaced.

Your choice! Not Irish but a pretty good Tennessee sippin' whisky for under $25.

This should be on anybody's short list who is looking for a fun, 27.5 hardtail. Just look at those short chainstays!

Or just get a OneWheeler to do it for you. There - thread back on track!

What's the best way to help with this? As much work as you do on our trails, it makes no sense for you to be covering the cost of materials.

Isn't his name Eric?

Went out on the BCRT to scout things out at Brushy before the heavy rain moved in tonight. Nothing is rideable. Checked some of the spots that tend to dry the quickest and its just a mess out there. Now its pouring down rain again - so all bets are off for probably a week given the forecast. Sadly as I was heading for home on the BCRT right at the bridge behind the YMCA, a guy passes me up wearing a full-face helmet and riding a gas-powered bike. This was no pedal-assist either - full throttle. He nodded at me and I just shook my head side-to-side as he was revving his engine.

Finally got my corner of the garage together. Had to get a new garage door so trying to get things straightened out before bringing the wife's car back in.

This is different from the one I came across at Brushy Creek. The guy I encountered was riding a contraption where his feet were placed on each side of the wheel with his back facing me (Segway?). He was going at a speed that kept me at a casual pace, but I chose not to try and pass him, until he had to bail trying to go up the small hill on PicnicX leading to Picnic. I was a bit annoyed, but said nothing because frankly it is not my job to interpret or enforce the laws. Selfishly I would prefer that trails be preserved for human-powered propulsion, but I admire what you're doing and how you're working to establish community. I'm sure things will get sorted out over time, and for now at least, your having fun on the trail is in no way impacting my ability to have fun on the trail. Sorry to hear that you're getting yelled at by mountain bikers. Probably the same people that yell at me when I choose to ride my bike through a red light when there are no cars coming.

Damn you really know your snakes! I've seen plenty on the trails around here but would never be able to tell you what they are, except for the rattler at Steiner that was making a lot of noise. This snake in the pic was moving across the trail very slowly in front of me on Deception at Brushy. No idea what it was, but it was probably around 5ft in length. This was in May of 2016, mid-afternoon. Hard to see, but the snake's head is almost at the very edge of the pic on the right.

I'm starting to wish I would have gone down this path instead of recently buying a long-travel 27.5 specifically for Cat Mtn and Spider Mtn, neither of which I've been to in the 2 months that I've had the new bike. This is the bike I really wanted to play around on. Maybe I'll sell my Remedy frame and move the components over to one of these. Frame only option is $1400.

Interesting. Had a good buddy who died suddenly in his sleep at 41 from some sort of microvascular disease. He was a triathlete, marathoner, and MTB endurance racer. While many athletes, myself included, have slightly enlarged hearts, his was discovered upon autopsy to be really huge and mushy. I've often wondered if his excessive endurance training and competition actually led to his ultimate demise. Not sure that I'll read the book though. At 60, I figure anything really serious would have got me by now, and I tend to take everything in moderation. Most of my rides are around 1.5 to 2 hours, and if my heart gets racing too hard, I rest for a few moments.

I'm going to go out this week with my saw.

@Manster Curious if the clot originated from some obvious trauma to your leg or if it just formed due to some unknown reason? Had a buddy who died from the exact same thing after ignoring the symptoms because he didn't have health insurance.

Just finished a nice evening ride before the next round of rain. Was thinking the cool breeze would overcome the humidity, and it did, except on Double Down where it felt like a jungle. I've got to get out and trim back some of the cedar. I got used to brushing back branches with my shoulders until a sawed off, 3" diameter branch lunged out at me from beneath the foliage near the top of Truth-or-Dare. Damn that hurt! Have to imagine that's what a stiff arm from Earl Campbell felt like. Besides that, my only annoyance was with the stepping stone being placed at Jammer again. Hopefully that wasn't a planned change cuz I chucked it aside. Not even a stepping stone will help me get up Jammer but it sure caught me off guard coming down it.

Post ride recovery - Oysters Ranchero and Shiner Bock!

Ha you must not have rode the same Emma that I rode yesterday evening! I think the climbing is even harder CW than it was CCW, and that is saying a lot. Rode it on my long-travel 27.5 yesterday, which was fun bombing down the descents but a bitch getting up those ledgy climbs. Definitely prefer the 29er out there.

Have they said for certain it was heart attacks that killed them? Just curious since sudden cardiac arrest is not always associated with a heart attack. As others have said, there are many tests that will help detect the coronary artery disease that often leads to heart attack or stroke. However, even with an excellent pump and normal blood flow, all it takes is a big chunk of that sticky plaque breaking away from your artery wall to kill you in an instant. Of course there other underlying heart conditions that could be lurking as well, and that aren't as easy to detect. Staying very active physically is the best medicine in my book, but I'm not taking anything for granted.

Well I do see that a new KOM was set yesterday at around that same time - shortly after noon. I'm not going to hand down a verdict though without stronger evidence, and whoever it was never ended up passing me.

So I hit it yesterday and was clocking a pretty nice pace when I came across a dismounted rider bailing water out from between the rollers. Of course I stopped and would have helped but the bucket was not to be found. He was using a square edged shovel to get as much water out as he could. We talked for a couple of minutes and then I walked my bike around the flooded sections and proceeded to finish my lap. As I'm winding my way through the adjacent sections I see a couple of srtavassholes nearly run that same guy over without so much as a "pardon me". I could hear the guy say something like "hey how about a heads up" but don't know if they even stopped to apologize. Damn dudes! Save the clock for another day and give your fellow riders a little courtesy on the trail.

Not to change the subject of your thread @unsub1 but as a frequent user of the park can you confirm or deny the early reports of bikes getting scratched on the lift? I'm ready to get out there but prefer that any scratches on my new bike come from crashing.

I managed to get out last night before the thunderstorms, and Snail, Rim, Picnic, and 1/4 Notch were all in great shape. There was still some dampness though from the light rains earlier in the day; so I'm thinking with the downpour from last night we are going to need at least a full day for things to dry out. I'll probably go out tomorrow afternoon / evening to scout things out. On another note, I'm sure glad this latest storm brought in some cooler, crisper air. Riding last night was a stark reminder of how horrid our warm, moist air can be, and summer is now looming large. These next 4-5 weeks will probably be our last window for truly enjoyable riding.

That's a big jump! Your training is paying dividends.

My brother-in-law swears by them. He's on his second one after giving his old one to my brother, which has like 350K miles on it and still runs great. I had test drove one years back and ended up getting a Mountaineer instead just because I preferred its ride quality. The old 4-runners rode like a truck to me, but that may actually be desirable for some folks.