throet

I watch it mostly to grasp what is within the realm of possibilities on a mountain bike. Honestly I'd be fine if they left the slopestyle stuff out of it and just highlighted the absolute bike control that is required on steep terrain and massive drop offs, with the ability to manage high speed in some situations and control speed in others. Hell I'd probably shit my pants just dropping off that platform!

Damn! Just now reading about the injuries TVS sustained. I saw the crash live and knew they carted him off to the hospital, but had no idea it would be as bad as it was. Wondering even if those will be career ending, which would be really unfortunate for such a great competitor. The reality I suppose is that it could have been even worse, and frankly I'm surprised that nobody has died doing this stuff. Semenuk's interest in rally racing might be due to better sponsorship / pay opportunities than what these guys can make strictly on MTB. As you stated, if you're going to risk your life making a living, it should at least be lucrative.

Rode Snail, Rim, Bob Ross, DD, 1/4 Notch, and Picnic this afternoon. All were fine with just the few expected muddy spots.

I was thinking the same thing. Would definitely consider meeting you out there.

Tried these locals for the first time while watching Red Bull Rampage. Both are excellent!

Definitely missed having this in 2020! Watching live now. Two runs in and not disappointed at all!

I finally got a chance to ride an eBike. It wasn't an eMTB, although it did have a suspension fork. What amazed me is the level of power assist you get! I started out in the middle setting and then tried the turbo setting. Sure you have to pedal, but a mere press on the pedal kickstarts the motor and sends you flying. Even in a high gear you could start from a complete stop without any problem because of how quickly the motor engaged. I'm not sure if eMTBs operate in the same manner, but I just can't see how riding something like that on the trails around here would be challenging (or fun). There are countless use cases for eBikes and even eMTB. I just wish the advertisers / resellers would focus on those specific use cases vs. portraying them as an evolution of MTB. It doesn't even bother me to see able bodied guys riding them on the same trails I ride - I just shake my head and ride on. If we ever get to the point though where manufacturers lose interest in engineering bikes that are 100% pedal power because there's too much money to be had selling motorized versions, that will be the time for me to give up MTB and spend more time on the golf course, where I prefer to ride in a motorized cart anyway.

I'm good for this Fri if things dry out, but the prospect of that happening is not looking good. We had rain here during the night and there's a possibility of more rain this morning.

I used to do the same thing when I rode clipless, and inevitably, it would be the opposite foot that I should have released. I don't ride clipless often, but when I do ride clipless, I ride Crank Bros.

Yeah I think that original pic is misleading. I didn't actually place my front wheel on top of the ledge. From the video it appears I did make contact about 85% of the way up the ledge as you suggest. I think my problem is that I'm just not thrusting up and forward nearly quick enough, possibly a symptom of being a 63-yr old drunkard. I might just stick with that cheater line of stacked rocks on the right!

Looks like I'm going solo. Should recognize your Orbea though if I see you there. If so, will stop and say hi. I'll be on a red/orange Intense.

That was actually pretty impressive. Was your intention to hop off sideways or to wheelie drop the exit?

Late notice I know, but anybody going out this morning? I'm gonna try and hit the trails around 8:15 this morning.

Haha funny you mentioned trying not to fall to one side! Here's the ending to that attempt. Felt fortunate to have a tree to grab onto.

Had a teacher who used to slap me around pretty regularly. Knew better than to tell my Mom though, since I would have just got a double dose from her! 🤣🤣🤣

Haha reminds me of golf! Once you have to start remembering more than one or two things through the execution, you end up just playing as life-long hack! I just don't have the patience.

I'm very damn envious! EDIT - BTW how's the new bike doing out there?

That's a really good point. In in Lenosky's video he states that the two big benefits of using the punch vs. a bunny-hop to get up ledges are 1) can be done at slower speed, and 2) no need to lower the seat. I tend to lower my saddle any time I come into a technical section, but perhaps that is hurting me more than helping me in some situations. I'm going try some different approaches.

I've gotten pretty good over the years at getting up ledges with a front wheel lift and lunge forward (punch), but now as I'm trying to tackle bigger ledges, I'm seeing how messed up my form really is. In one of Lenosky's videos, you can see that at the point of his crank approaching the ledge, he has just completed a pedal stroke and is already fully extended high above the bars. With that movement, his rear wheel is instantly thrust upward to a height nearly equal to his front wheel. Contrast that with my body position as I'm getting close to making impact, and you can see that I have absolutely no chance of even clearing my chain ring, let alone the rear wheel (yes this ended badly).@Morrishas demonstrated the proper technique on this same ledge that I'm trying to clear. For me, the timing of the move just seems incredibly tricky, or possibly I'm just not coordinated enough to put it all together. I'm able to clear the ledge at Huck Finn that is slightly shorter, but even then manage to ding my chainring half the time. Definitely need to put in some practice time to perfect this move.

Yeah really hard to know. I suspect my wife will get more details off the NextDoor App over the coming days, but I doubt we'll get any further details from the local news. I may be using the term "cyclist" loosely, and perhaps should have just said bicyclist. My wife said the man was lying on the ground shirtless, but I don't know if he was riding his bike shirtless (and perhaps helmetless), or if they cut his shirt / jersey off of him as they were attending to him. Anyway it goes, it is really sad.

Really unfortunate incident that occurred yesterday very close to home. My wife had driven through that intersection after the cyclist was struck and saw that he was still laying on the ground with EMS attending to him. Not sure how the actual impact occurred, but for those of us living west of the YMCA, this is the crossing used to get over to the Brushy Creek trails. I've seen many car accidents at that intersection as well, some with cars getting hurled into the area where pedestrians could be waiting to cross. The first phase of Lakeline Park is supposed include a pedestrian bridge crossing S. Bell; so I'll be really glad to see that completed. Bicyclist dies from injuries sustained in crash in Cedar Park (fox7austin.com)

Looks like you can get Bontrager Sealant from the Trek Store for $30 for 32oz and it's in stock. I've used it before and don't recall having any issues. Wouldn't be surprised if it is just Stan's under another label.

Went out on an exploratory ride last night and from all appearances, the trails need some more time to dry out. I'd guess that by late afternoon, 1/4, DD, Rim, and Snail will be GTG.

Is there an option to get the previous/next page buttons back vs. having to type in an actual page number?

If I could pick anybody in the world to be my neighbor, it would probably be this guy. He comes across more as an expert mixologist / old school bartender than a whiskey connoisseur, but still does plenty of whiskey reviews. I like the way he doesn't try too hard to pull every flavor note out of what he samples, instead just giving an opinion on whether he enjoys it or not, and why. He's also good about sharing his opinion on what not to waste your money on.