# Brag about youor lastest ride



## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Just rode Jumping Pound Summit to Cox Hill.

Normally not in shape until July.

Just a little snow hidden in the trees.

Cleaned more up sections than ever before, and almost kept up to trail runners on the hardest climb.

Jumpingpound Ridge Trail to Cox Hill Trail: Kananaskis, Alberta | bikepirate

Sorry don't carry a camera


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

Nothing to brag about on my latest ride.

On my birthday two weeks ago I did rub it in a bit when I cleaned two climbs and guys 10-12 years younger did not. I decided I should measure my years by things I can still do more than by years because I'm young mentally, and seem to be in better physical shape than many my age which is not saying much.


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## CaptDan (Jun 26, 2013)

We rode a fairly flat trail recently; my first time on the bike in 8 or 9 months.

I felt frisky and fired-up for the first 2-3 miles. Almost never sat down! Having 'way too much fun.

Then the switch flipped and I sagged & dragged back to the trailhead.

Like bitflogger said, it was nothing to brag about, but it felt awesome (while it lasted).


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## Ladmo (Jan 11, 2013)

Did a fun ride today, and cleared 4 downed trees as I went. Riding and trail work - as good as it gets.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

The wife and I did a flat gravel ride of 4 miles to the senior center for a macrame class. Oy!


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

My last ride was terrible, didn't felt good, hot and by the end of the ride my back was killing me.

Is the first time in a long while that the lower back complained on a ride and something weird is happening, the more often I ride the worse I feel on my weekend group rides. I'm trying to ride twice a week after work so by Saturday I'm not feeling it, hope this goes away soon.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Had a damn good day. The trails just opened on the big mt near us. The top section was getting cut out the same day we rode it. Usually the first grind up in the season is very painful involving some pushing and whining but I had a fantastic ride. 
4 miles, 2000k of climbing up to 5000' feet max elevation. There was some granny gear action for sure, and I had to put a foot down once or twice, but no stopping and no pushing!

The down was awful fun too.


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## bgfthntr (May 18, 2009)

so....
I survived the heat wave up north here in the Adirondacks. Near 90 degrees and awful humidity. From Friday to Sunday I rode 53 miles off road (mix of challenging single track, steep climbs, flow trails and gravel grinding.) 50 years young.....

Bragging complete


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

DiRt DeViL said:


> My last ride was terrible, didn't felt good, hot and by the end of the ride my back was killing me.
> 
> Is the first time in a long while that the lower back complained on a ride and something weird is happening, the more often I ride the worse I feel on my weekend group rides. I'm trying to ride twice a week after work so by Saturday I'm not feeling it, hope this goes away soon.


 I had that happen several years ago.....turns out I was compensating for weak a core...specifically the abs and the pecs

Took me two years of exercising to get back to a good place where I don't at least most of the time don't compensate for a weak core.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Fun commute...no wind managed to get up into 46/12 for my flying kilometer.

No quite 40 kph.


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## bmcs (Jan 28, 2016)

Rode in the Fells here, little used trail. Both forearms flaming with poison ivy from busting through- scratch, scratch


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## Barman1 (Jan 8, 2014)

bgfthntr said:


> so....
> I survived the heat wave up north here in the Adirondacks. Near 90 degrees and awful humidity. From Friday to Sunday I rode 53 miles off road (mix of challenging single track, steep climbs, flow trails and gravel grinding.) 50 years young.....
> 
> Bragging complete


What trails?


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

jeffscott said:


> I had that happen several years ago.....turns out I was compensating for weak a core...specifically the abs and the pecs
> 
> Took me two years of exercising to get back to a good place where I don't at least most of the time don't compensate for a weak core.


That could be part of it, I don't do any other exercise other than riding 2-3 times a week so lack of core strength is a possibility but have been doing this for years and now is starting to really bother, guess that by turining 50 all this things creep up.

Interesting thing thou, only happens on the skinny bike; on the fatty I'm alright and the cockpit setup is about the same.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

bgfthntr said:


> so....
> I survived the heat wave up north here in the Adirondacks. Near 90 degrees and awful humidity. From Friday to Sunday I rode 53 miles off road (mix of challenging single track, steep climbs, flow trails and gravel grinding.) 50 years young.....
> 
> Bragging complete


Where? Lived in Old Forge and the only trails we rode were for snowmobiles or hiking.


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## dbhammercycle (Nov 15, 2011)

DiRt DeViL said:


> My last ride was terrible, didn't felt good, hot and by the end of the ride my back was killing me.
> 
> Is the first time in a long while that the lower back complained on a ride and something weird is happening, the more often I ride the worse I feel on my weekend group rides. I'm trying to ride twice a week after work so by Saturday I'm not feeling it, hope this goes away soon.


I'm dealing with back issues again. It seems like I'm fine for periods of time and then I do something unknown and a little tweak and down I go. Get into a routine, strengthen your core and back muscles, stretch and repeat. It's simply really, but don't slouch off when you're feeling good. It takes a lot of effort to get back to good and a moment of weakness to be in pain. I'm 38 and have been dealing with it off and on for about 20 years. You would think I would know better by now to have no excuses and keep the routine going. Anyway, a little stretching and core strengthening exercises for 10-15 min twice a day isn't much when you consider the time wasted on the couch or in bed with pain and not in the saddle. Good luck.


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## rlouder (Jun 26, 2007)

I was humbled last weekend.

Spent a few days in the mtns that are tough on me when in good shape. Did ok the first day. The next days I heard the mtns laughing at me and jeering my tired legs every time I stopped or hiked.

It was me who had the last laugh. I finished every ride with a smile on my face.


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## Scubapiper (Aug 15, 2005)

50 Miles in 3 hours on the road bike solo.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Ok, this was actually my second to last ride. 

Made my first full commute to work from home. I've driven part way, parked and ridden several times, both at my current and former places of employment. But it was too dangerous where I used to live to ride from the house and still not too safe where I live now. 

BUT, I have been riding my mountain bike a couple of miles to a National Recreation Area with mountain bikes trails that connect down to the park where I would park my car to ride to work. So… I bought a cyclocross bike (Lemond Poprad) so I can cut through on the mountain bike trail and then take the bike lanes which get me most of the way to work. It's been fun riding the cyclocross on the trails, jittery at times but wonderful on the hardpack! And it reminds me of when I first started mountain biking and even front suspension was pretty much a luxury. I wanted a Mongoose Rockadile but it was a little more than I could budget, so I bought a Univega.


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## panchosdad (Sep 21, 2008)

Had a good week, 5 rides all with about 1500' of climbing, and then rip roaring fun single track descents. A good trail work session last night along with a shorter ride. Legs are holding up pretty well, hopefully this will catapult me into a little better fitness.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

*was good until riding home!*

Had a good ride this morning until I was headed back to my house on the road the two miles from the trails to my home. I made a right turn and I guess I wasn't really paying attention and drove off the road into the concrete gutter, reacted and cut back and I guess the two inch drop off from the road to the gutter caused me to fall over and dump in the road.

I didn't have time to unclip so I ended up in a heap and then struggled to free myself from the bike. I got up and everything seems to be ok, a lady driving stopped to see if I was ok and I assured her that I was. I managed to land on my upper arm and wasn't going fast so I have a bit of a strawberry on my shoulder and elbow and a smallish bruise on my elbow (I'm on blood thinners so I bruise easily so this is very minor) and a very small spot on my knee. My back has a slight soreness on one side, just feels a bit stiff.

I hopped on my bike and the seat was all wrong, I thought the post had twisted but then looked at it. I managed to ride the remaining 1-1/2 miles home without much difficulty.

I'm just happy I wasn't really injured. I had my bike slide out from under me when crossing tall wet grass across an incline (damn you SB8s!) during an adventure race a couple of years ago and landed on my shoulder and mildly separated it. That took months to heal.

chaz


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

Last ride was fantastic and one that anybody living in the SW USA to definitely get out and ride at least once. Finally convinced most of our riding group to road trip it up to Kernville to ride the IMBA Epic....Cannell Plunge. While it's a shuttle ride, this ride has it all and truly was epic. 1900' of climbing, 8000' of descent and 90% singletrack of every terrain type imaginable...swoopy berns, a jump line, rocky, rooty, drops, smooth meadow trail and some fun techy climbing and that's before you get to The Plunge. The last 7.5 miles are fast, fast, fast with some surprises (and a few nasty switchbacks thrown in) towards the top. We hit speeds in the high 30's along a thin ribbon of trail along the side of a mountain that you do NOT want to fall to the right on. Everybody's brakes were screaming for relief. It was a blast and it all leads back into town where they have an awesome brewery and a legit rafting river to cool down in. 

Our group, that I call Team AARP had a group of (9) with the youngest guy being 42. The others were 51, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59, 59 & 61. There was a guy on the shuttle that was 69 as well. There were (3) vans on the shuttle with a total of 41 riders. It wasn't a race by any means but I have to add that only one group of (4) rides beat us to the bottom.


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## Liz Man (Mar 16, 2007)

*Waterton Canyon, Colorado*

A lazy ride up to the Colorado Trail this past Saturday was energized when this bruin dropped in for a visit. My wife was able to grab a few shots.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

whoa! Awesome ride indeed. I think the second picture probably would have shown me facing in the other direction.

chaz


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## BumpityBump (Mar 9, 2008)

My wife is 13 years my junior, beautiful, fit, and really smart. Does that count? Doooh....

(don't get all persnickety, she would laugh if she saw my post)

Persnickety, that word belongs in this forum for sure.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

BumpityBump said:


> My wife is 13 years my junior, beautiful, fit, and really smart. Does that count? Doooh....
> 
> (don't get all persnickety, she would laugh if she saw my post)
> 
> Persnickety, that word belongs in this forum for sure.


Pic or it didn't happen?

chaz


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## BumpityBump (Mar 9, 2008)

chazpat said:


> Pic or it didn't happen?
> 
> chaz


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## kevhogaz (Sep 28, 2005)

Rode 23 miles on my single speed, in the AZ heat!! Ok, it was in the morning, and it wasn't really too hot by AZ standards!!

Not as cool as a bear, but I did run in to this little guy sleeping on the trail. He didn't appreciate me waking himm up!!


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## 2old (Aug 31, 2015)

Rode my Fatboy at Geode state park Sunday in hunting boots. Nice trail for an out of shape 50+


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Gotta put this one in... mini epic.

Three of us start off on a 9km easy ride after work.

We are checking out new trails that lead off the main trail

We get to 7km and there it is a trail I have been watching for about 4 years. Trail runners started the trail be running down the west ridge of pairaie mountain. Finally got it in all the way. 

We did it in reverse...ended up 16km with 1000m vertical gain. 2:15h riding time.

first third up some riding, second third up hike a bike, top rideable.

first third down rideable, second third down some walking. Last mostly rideable.

Checked out max slope 47.5% down....

Average slope was about 20 % down.

Really strange ride steep, just the right amount of gravel for control....not too many roots, not too many rocks.

Rode really slow and in control down....great fun.


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## Liz Man (Mar 16, 2007)

chazpat said:


> whoa! Awesome ride indeed. I think the second picture probably would have shown me facing in the other direction.


I think the bear got caught with its pants down and didn't get to its day bed before people arrived. Lower Waterton is a very popular vehicle less (except for Denver Water people) ride, run or whatever. It didn't take long for a small paparazzi to form.



kevhogaz said:


> Rode 23 miles on my single speed, in the AZ heat!! Ok, it was in the morning, and it wasn't really too hot by AZ standards!!


We have a few of those here. Although, I don't think ours get quite as big as some of those monsters you have in Arizona - fascinating creatures, they are.



2old said:


> Rode my Fatboy at Geode state park Sunday in hunting boots. Nice trail for an out of shape 50+


Are the boots for certain fanged snakes?



jeffscott said:


> Gotta put this one in... mini epic.


Awesome! I would like to ride some trails that are in their infancy!


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## 2old (Aug 31, 2015)

Boots aren't for snakes. It's all I have to use with flat pedals.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Nice easy Sunday ride for Dad's day.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Last week, took 2nd in State in Cat 3 50+. MO State MTB Championships.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Iowagriz (Jan 14, 2008)

Cheq 100 last weekend. 100 mile race of mostly singletrack between Cable and Hayward, Wisconsin.

Longest training ride was 4hrs the weekend prior. Otherwise, only several 2.5hr rides. I did have a 7hr sufferfest/race finish at Ouachita on April 1st, so I knew this was going to hurt.

Course got shortened by 16miles to avoid trail damage, so that helped. It ended up being 84 miles, 6300ft of climbing and only 24 miles of that was gravel road. I felt good for the first 3hrs, then went into a dark hole for the next 6hrs. Still kept it mostly moving. Felt reasonable for the last 90min. Finished in 10:45. Probably the longest sustained ride ever.

Hated it immediately after, now it has me motivated to get back into the form that I had 4yrs ago when I would have expected to be in the top 25. 
https://www.strava.com/activities/614729309


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Iowagriz - Holy kudos man.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

I'll brag about my wife and a special ride we had last night. She's had a very tough year dealing with cancer and hospital infection that about did her in. The past 5 months have been tubes, machines, bags of expensive meds and misery. Monday was permission to resume activity. It's Thursday and she's had 3 MTB rides.

Her rebound after such hell is amazing. In the winter she got on the fat bike when she could. She took a little ride in Jan and repeated "I will not quit." as she rode away. I sure hope the "c" is gone, and I hope she somehow knows how loved and amazing she is.

When we finished our ride last night she was thrilled, happy but commented that she looked old and felt weak. Funny because all I saw was the epitome of beauty and strength. I sure hope what she's gone through is over and she can build strength fast so she can keep the smiles I see have returned.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

bitflogger said:


> I'll brag about my wife and a special ride we had last night. She's had a very tough year dealing with cancer and hospital infection that about did her in. The past 5 months have been tubes, machines, bags of expensive meds and misery. Monday was permission to resume activity. It's Thursday and she's had 3 MTB rides.
> 
> Her rebound after such hell is amazing. In the winter she got on the fat bike when she could. She took a little ride in Jan and repeated "I will not quit." as she rode away. I sure hope the "c" is gone, and I hope she somehow knows how loved and amazing she is.
> 
> When we finished our ride last night she was thrilled, happy but commented that she looked old and felt weak. Funny because all I saw was the epitome of beauty and strength. I sure hope what she's gone through is over and she can build strength fast so she can keep the smiles I see have returned.


I feel it. Great story. My wife has been mostly unable to ride for a year also with health issues (not as dire as cancer though). She tried out a commute with me last week, three this week.

The MTB clan says Keep on Pedaling! Thanks for sharing.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

May both of you and your wives ride for many, many more years.

chaz


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## Iowagriz (Jan 14, 2008)

bitflogger - soak it all in. Whenever I'm having a tough day on the bike, I remember back to my wife going thru chemo. Makes whatever I'm going thru seem easy by comparison. Good luck to both of you.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> I feel it. Great story. My wife has been mostly unable to ride for a year also with health issues (not as dire as cancer though). She tried out a commute with me last week, three this week.
> 
> The MTB clan says Keep on Pedaling! Thanks for sharing.


Good luck. Keep going is pretty much all you can do.

My wife had the right spirit to go for a ride before rain yesterday but she also felt around 5 months of no exercise at a place with more difficult climbs. We cut it short to keep it fun.



chazpat said:


> May both of you and your wives ride for many, many more years.
> 
> chaz


Thank you.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

I spent the weekend in Whitefish at a fabulous location
Whitefish Mountain Bike Retreat 
at a fabulous all women's event... just shredding and riding, no clinics or races or anything other than rides and hanging out.
Day 2 we spent at the resort doing black runs off the lifts. I had a blast *finally* getting air off tabletops.

Me, 55, my friend 58... being #badassbike*****es 
My friend just got into biking and has gotten sucked way in. I'm her enabler.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Did the dawn patrol with a friend a couple days ago at Tiger Mountain, a popular riding spot just outside of Seattle. Spent about 30 minutes on a warmup loop on a relatively flat trail and then spent an hour grinding up to the top. The view was worth it and the trip back down was fun as always:










15 miles, 3000 feet up, all if it back down


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Nice! I was up there helping with the Study Dirty, but the mountain only partially showed itself that day.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

bitflogger said:


> Good luck. Keep going is pretty much all you can do.
> 
> My wife had the right spirit to go for a ride before rain yesterday but she also felt around 5 months of no exercise at a place with more difficult climbs. We cut it short to keep it fun.
> 
> Thank you.












From her first ride commute testing the waters.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## BumpityBump (Mar 9, 2008)

bitflogger said:


> I'll brag about my wife and a special ride we had last night. She's had a very tough year dealing with cancer and hospital infection that about did her in. The past 5 months have been tubes, machines, bags of expensive meds and misery. Monday was permission to resume activity. It's Thursday and she's had 3 MTB rides.
> 
> Her rebound after such hell is amazing. In the winter she got on the fat bike when she could. She took a little ride in Jan and repeated "I will not quit." as she rode away. I sure hope the "c" is gone, and I hope she somehow knows how loved and amazing she is.
> 
> When we finished our ride last night she was thrilled, happy but commented that she looked old and felt weak. Funny because all I saw was the epitome of beauty and strength. I sure hope what she's gone through is over and she can build strength fast so she can keep the smiles I see have returned.


Best bragging rights on this thread, bitflogger. Good luck to you and your wife and kudos to her for being a scrapper!


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## azjeff (Jun 3, 2006)

Overcoming cancer makes anything else seem insignificant by comparison. Best of luck to your wife bitflogger.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

formica said:


> I spent the weekend in Whitefish at a fabulous location
> Whitefish Mountain Bike Retreat
> at a fabulous all women's event... just shredding and riding, no clinics or races or anything other than rides and hanging out.
> Day 2 we spent at the resort doing black runs off the lifts. I had a blast *finally* getting air off tabletops.
> ...


Tabletops take guts congrats.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Did a new downhill ride (7 of 27 Descent) from an old trail....nice big berms, table tops, steep.

It joins back onto the old trail....about 2 km from the parking lot, I am blowing down the trail at 30 km/h...

There is a right hander just ahead, and I see out of the corner of my eye a bear running up the trail....I have no idea of the size or reasons.

So I yell at the top of my lungs BEAR BEAR.

Turns out it was a black yearling, really small, so it takes off up a tree.

I think where is mama.

So I book it, yelling BEAR BEAR all the way to the parking lot.

There were three guys behind me...one booked it, one stopped, and had a look....

Third guy wondered what all the commotion was about.

No one spotted mama.


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## azjeff (Jun 3, 2006)

Uphill bears have the right-of-way you know! Good stuff.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Pretty sure downhill bears have the right-of-way as well. So do crossing bears and not-going-anywhere bears.

Chaz

edit: bah, hit the wrong button again and landed this in the wrong spot!


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## Osco (Apr 4, 2013)

I was hunting younger faster riders to chase down Into the trails and had whipped two, really hurt their pride I think.
But there was this one younger guy who I could not catch to save my life and the funny thing was some girl was behind him begging him to slow down for a chat.

I caught up to her, a real nice girl, She said, "I think you'll do" so she took me home and made me something to eat,,never did figure out what it was, all those dead cats out back,,made me wonder but It tasted fine..

Oh yeah,, her picture and the dish she was,,errr she made for me


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Mini Epic

Started out for a 25 km ride. Everything was perfect....so we kept going 53 km and 1100m of vertical.


Road it clockwise....it is normally ridden anticlockwise...so it was a long lumpy climb for most of the day.

Instead of a short 30 minute push up.


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## Wild Wassa (Jun 4, 2009)

Each Winter (I'm in the SE of Oz), I like to do a tour somewhere in my region or head North on the Bicentennial National Trail which runs along the Great Dividing Range. Last month I went West for once, to the Flatlands of the Riverina Region, then to the edge of the red soil desert. I live in mountainous country so crossing the mountains and reaching the Flatlands of the gigantic Hay Plain, which is considered by some as the flattest place on earth ... was a big thrill. The bird life was amazing but unfortunately it rained most days.

Here are some shots from the ride, on page one and the first half dozen images on page 2 ... Warren Hudson's Library | Photobucket

Warren.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

2old said:


> Rode my Fatboy at Geode state park Sunday in hunting boots. Nice trail for an out of shape 50+


Iowa?


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

J.B. Weld said:


> Iowa?


Hunting boots?


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## MTBNate (Apr 6, 2004)

*St. Gallenkirch
Montafon Valley - Austria*


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

DIRTJUNKIE said:


> Hunting boots?


No thanks, I use Sidis.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

BumpityBump said:


> Best bragging rights on this thread, bitflogger. Good luck to you and your wife and kudos to her for being a scrapper!





azjeff said:


> Overcoming cancer makes anything else seem insignificant by comparison. Best of luck to your wife bitflogger.


Thank you. IMO she's doing well on all fronts. Yesterday she did 12.7 mi of single track - hard to believe after some of the recent months. I really get an inner chuckle when she thinks she's not doing so well or calls herself old. I did ask her how many 49 y.o. moms are riding 4-12 mi of single track.

I'm very sure yesterday's ride got her at a turning point and she doesn't realize it. She's got back more power and endurance than she realizes. She's got a rain day for recovery and I predict she'll feel a lot more powerful on her next ride.

It's hard to believe or describe where she was and where she is. Thanks again for the good wishes.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

I have to brag about my wife's continued progress. 

I got home from work late, was tired, drinking a beer and she came in and said let's ride. I knew she was riding faster. At top of the 2.1 mi climb to trail head she said "hard to believe I've only been back at this for a month". At far part of the single track loop she passed two guys clearly younger than her. I saw she was doing last climb of the ride one gear higher. We rolled into the driveway and sunset and she said it was hard to believe she just had a year of 8 surgeries, drug lines to her heart, and months drug induced hell. I'm hoping the only bags of liquid we'll be seeing will be CamelBak bladders and no more cancer or infection drugs.

Sadly it's all a little bittersweet because someone I've met in this time frame has cancer back and he's been given the news he's probably got 6-12 months left. He's still riding his MTB!

My big lesson is to try and shut up when things are no fun and think about these courageous people. The above mentioned friend is clearly taking it as hammer down until it's over. That's how my wife's been and she's OK right now. She does have some pain and complications but she really only complains about complainers or when the kids don't clean the kitchen.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Rode the two miles to my local trail this morning. Did the same run last weekend but on my cyclocross bike. It was nice to be back on suspension and fat tires and good brakes. And not having to worry about toe overlap. But I did get in a lot more mileage on the cx as I rode out the other side of the NPS park (Chattahoochee River) on some paved trails.


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## bmcs (Jan 28, 2016)

I went out to find a couple of singletracks in the Skug River area of Harold Parker State Forest here in MA. 

Located them and had a great ride on them both ways. 

Returning to my truck I slid on a rock and smashed my lowest two gears on my cassette. Never saw them bend before, even broke a few teeth. Terrible ending to a really great ride. 

Had to replace the cassette, but it was almost worth it. Going back tomorrow!


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

summer apparently is busy time at my new office. 12 hour days and stuff. i snuck out today, got dressed and rode out the garage and hit Annadel. i'm not super fast, and i'm super careful on the rocky downhills. i can still do the loop non-stop. about 14 miles. i love it..i bet 10 years ago, i couldnt. and i dont make payments on my bike!! hahahah...CASH_MONEY yo!


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## PineyRose (Sep 30, 2015)

*Eureka Trail*

My small rural town has been working on a Rails to Trails project for three years. They finally finished most of it and only need to finish two more miles to make it run from my town to the next little town. Right now it's five miles out and five miles back. They named it the Eureka Trail. I bought my Specialized MTB a little over a year ago so that I could ride the trail when it was finished enough and long enough to make it worth it.

I took the bike to the trail on Wednesday and even though I had to ride alone I had a blast! This was the first time the new bike was off-road and it's like a little mountain goat. The trail is fine hard-packed gravel with a few spots still kind of rough. It looks flat but the five mile return trip is actually a slight climb. It was enough for a good workout but not enough that you have to change gears.

It was a little scary because it's pretty lonesome, like a lot of rural TN trails, but I didn't see another human the entire 10 miles. A large deer jumped out in front of me and just stopped to stare at me. I did really well considering I haven't been on the bike much since March. My 14-year old Jack Russell ruptured his ACL and I have been pretty much confined with him until now because of the surgery.

My granddaughter saw my pictures on Facebook and wants me to take her riding on the trail this Wednesday so at least I won't have to ride alone.

As you can see, I was the only one dumb enough to ride at 1:00 in the afternoon in 94 degree heat. This is the parking lot at the trail head.

















Pictures of the trail here.

Eureka Trail


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

bmcs said:


> I went out to find a couple of singletracks in the Skug River area of Harold Parker State Forest here in MA.
> 
> Located them and had a great ride on them both ways.
> 
> ...


Get over to Ward Hill? Great to get some 20+ mile loops.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Did a short tour up and around Lake Winnipesaukee, NH. From my house, North of Boston. 226 miles in 4 days, pavement, dirt roads, some trails and bike paths. Camping and cooking gear as well. The loaded Karate Monkey came in @ 82 lbs. Lots of water and food, some whiskey as well. Some hills too. Hills. Roads are a vague term in NH, smooth dirt to washed out jeep tracks to overgrown trails. Adventure abounds.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

bitflogger said:


> I have to brag about my wife's continued progress.
> 
> I got home from work late, was tired, drinking a beer and she came in and said let's ride. I knew she was riding faster. At top of the 2.1 mi climb to trail head she said "hard to believe I've only been back at this for a month". At far part of the single track loop she passed two guys clearly younger than her. I saw she was doing last climb of the ride one gear higher. We rolled into the driveway and sunset and she said it was hard to believe she just had a year of 8 surgeries, drug lines to her heart, and months drug induced hell. I'm hoping the only bags of liquid we'll be seeing will be CamelBak bladders and no more cancer or infection drugs.
> 
> ...


i'm sorry i missed this post. cancer needs to go away..

i'm proud of your wife's kickass accomplishments. inspirational. maybe you should tell me what she looks like and what bike she rides, i can make sure i get out of her way!! hate to slow her down.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Just got back from a northern Italian bike tour Piemonte region.

355 km in 6 days with lots of hills...

My wife's first bike tour....worked out really well.


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## Liz Man (Mar 16, 2007)

*Segment 25 of the Colorado Trail*

My wife and I got in a short out and back along the Colorado Trail several days ago. Fun, fun, fun! The start of west bound segment 25 is on Molas Pass about 40 miles north of Durango as the crow flies.

Top: Little Molas Lake with 13,077-foot Snowdon Peak in the background
Center: Me, myself and I
Bottom: 12,987-foot Bear Mountain


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## joeduda (Jan 4, 2013)

bitflogger said:


> I have to brag about my wife's continued progress.
> 
> I got home from work late, was tired, drinking a beer and she came in and said let's ride. I knew she was riding faster. At top of the 2.1 mi climb to trail head she said "hard to believe I've only been back at this for a month". At far part of the single track loop she passed two guys clearly younger than her. I saw she was doing last climb of the ride one gear higher. We rolled into the driveway and sunset and she said it was hard to believe she just had a year of 8 surgeries, drug lines to her heart, and months drug induced hell. I'm hoping the only bags of liquid we'll be seeing will be CamelBak bladders and no more cancer or infection drugs.
> 
> ...


Awesome on her recovery, I'm a leukemia survivor and the bike has been and continues to be a huge part of my recovery, not sure what I would have done without it. Tell her congrats from a fellow survivor and to keep pushing on!!!!


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

joeduda said:


> Awesome on her recovery, I'm a leukemia survivor and the bike has been and continues to be a huge part of my recovery, not sure what I would have done without it. Tell her congrats from a fellow survivor and to keep pushing on!!!!


Thanks. Good luck.


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

Rode up three 1000m+ peaks from sea level last Saturday. The first 2 on the road and the last one on trails. 140km total distance and 3500m of elevation. I'm one of the younger guys @ 56. The faster guys in the group were 60! Took us 9 hours of riding time. The beer and burgers at the end sure tasted good!


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Last Saturday I rode with my eighteen year old daughter on a near-by greenway. 

I ride with my son a good bit and my daughter trail runs (and races) with me but has only ridden bikes with me a few times. We attempted to ride a couple of months ago but she was really uncomfortable on my saddles (tried several) and we didn't make it very far. So this time, I swapped out a saddle I had on an old Trek Multitrack I bought for my wife years ago and it worked out much better. 

She's leaving for her first year of college next week and I asked her if she wanted to do anything before she left, bike ride (with a softer seat), hiking, kayaking, and a few days later she said she wanted to ride bikes. Not sure if that choice was for her or for me.

I'm sure a lot of you have been through the kids leaving the nest and know where I'm coming from. She's going far away to college and won't be returning until Christmas. She's my first to leave, my son just started high school. I couldn't ask for a better daughter, she has always been a 100% angel. Damn, I'm going to miss her.


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## Legbacon (Jan 20, 2004)

Awesome ride, I'm amazing! 


How's that?


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Travis Bickle said:


> Awesome ride, I'm amazing!
> 
> How's that?


Pic or it didn't happen!

Asked my kids at breakfast if anyone wanted to go bike riding with me and they both said "yes" so got one more "bike ride before she leaves" with the college bound daughter. Fun seeing her push the speed a good bit more this ride.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Ugh, can we please get enough posts added here so that I don't have to see that photo Osco posted at the top of the latest page?!?


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## Liz Man (Mar 16, 2007)

*CT Segment 11*

Did an out and back on Segment 11 of the Colorado Trail from the Twin Lakes side.

Colorado's highest point is 14,433-foot Mount Elbert. The actual summit is the rounded hump in the upper right. Photo courtesy of Snowcatcher









The trail starts by traversing and climbing an ancient glacial Moraine.









A lot of the trail is in and out of aspen stands.









From left to right rise Mount Hope (13,933 ft), Twin Peaks (13,270 ft & 13,333 ft) and La Plata Peak (14,336 ft).


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## Mtroadie (Jul 27, 2010)

Hers one I did last week! Going to the Shenandoah 100 on the single speed tomorrow......


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

Friday before last I cleaned a rock garden climb I've probably not done in 2-3 seasons of trying. I was taking that as a measure that I really am becoming an old fart. I confess that it felt good. It felt like my MTB riding time will go on for a while.


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

Not a MTB ride but I rode from Vancouver to Whistler (120km/1700m climbing) in 4 hours yesterday. Then I rode back to Squamish into a brutal headwind. Not bad for an old guy!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

After some health issues I am cleaning sections I have never cleaned before...

Partly conditioning....mostly better focus.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Skooks said:


> Not a MTB ride but I rode from Vancouver to Whistler (120km/1700m climbing) in 4 hours yesterday. Then I rode back to Squamish into a brutal headwind. Not bad for an old guy!


Pretty damn good


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## mudflap (Feb 23, 2004)

Latest ride? 
Ahhhhhhhh...it was a good for me! 
Middle of the day. 
Lots of miles.
All by lonesome.
My own private Idaho.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mudflap said:


> Latest ride?
> Ahhhhhhhh...it was a good for me!
> Middle of the day.
> Lots of miles.
> ...


Those rides can be the very best...

Rode a slow ride (at the anchor's pace) yesterday (weekday afternoon)....just three of us perfect weather, perfect sky. Zero other people and Zero pressure.


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## chuckha62 (Jul 11, 2006)

Got back from a ride last night with my youngest son (26). My wife asked him, "Was your dad able to keep up?" My son replied, "He kicked my ass!"

I'll take that for now. Won't be long though. He got a new bike and has renewed his fire. He's riding three to four days a week right now, dammit!


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

I'm not here to say how rad *I* am but more how *****in' the ride location was. Just got done riding Phil's World over in Cortez, CO. I come out to Durango every year since I have family here and always get to Phil's at least once per trip. If you're ever in the area, I personally think this is the ONE ride that you MUST do. It's not as scenic as the Durango area rides for sure but it's also lower in elevation. It's also XC oriented and solidly an Intermediate ride so some riders may think they are too "core" since it's lacking any true DH or double black terrain.

The best part about Phil's is it's on private land that the local groups were able to build on so they had the opportunity to build it just the way they wanted and it's 100% mountain bikers (no hikers, no horses, no dirt bikes), 100% singletrack, 100% directional and pure fun. So much flow and plenty of punchy climbs and rock obstacles to keep you focused.

Phil's World, Phil's World | MTB Project


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## digibud (Sep 21, 2009)

Denali Park. Video at



__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=598763736969925


dunno if you have to have facebook to see it or not. Roughly 43 miles, 3800 feet of climbing, some caribou, sheep, coyotes and grizzlies along the way. Done on my Fatback Corvus with the new Stans Flow/Mountain King wheels I just built up for summer use.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Turned 64 in August and just got a personal record on a time to climb up here in Utah. I'm quite pleased, as I've been monitoring that climb for 20 years!


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## santacruzer (Nov 30, 2004)

57 years old and won one for the old guys, ended up 1st overall with 125 miles in a 12 Hour race on my cobbled together 29+ Salsa Spearfish


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Oldest dude in the crew. Kept up on the climbs, destroyed the technical lines.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## panchosdad (Sep 21, 2008)

Just finished a week tour of Colorado, with my 55 year old wife. Sidewinder, Hartman's, Doctor's Park, 401, Monarch Crest. Then dropped her off in Breck for some work meetings and went to Curt Gowdy and got a couple rides in there. Great trip.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

After ten years of being firmly locked to my pedals, and firmly locked to the idea of being locked to my pedals, I decided to try the other camp and ordered a pair of Race Face Chesters. Despite ten years of riding with spds, I still fairly commonly found myself toppling over because I couldn't get unclipped. After riding some new trails and hitting some rocky areas I didn't clean, I started to ask myself if a lack of confidence and fear of taking a tumble in the rocks was holding me back. I also had some difficulties starting out from stopped on rocky climbs, battling a bit to get clipped in.

Last weekend, they hadn't arrived and I managed to go down twice on one of my local trails. When I said "fairly commonly" above, this isn't what I meant. The first time, my front wheel washed out in some deep sand. I was leaned over and it happened so fast, I don't think it made any difference if I was clipped in or not. But the second time, I somehow just didn't get over a root, lost all momentum and fell over, landing my right elbow right on a stump. I was pissed at myself for such a sloppy mistake on what wasn't a difficult section. I knew my arm wasn't broken or anything serious, but it was bleeding some and I had bruised the muscle or something and I was wondering if I would be able to control the front of my bike.

I made it out the rest of the way without any real difficulty but on the access trail, I tried bending my arm and found approaching a 90 degree bend was quite painful. So I spent the next few days combing my hair and brushing my teeth left handed, pulling my shirt off by grabbing the collar in back with my left hand, etc.

So, to make a long story even longer, the new pedals arrived last week. My first impression "wow! these things are huge!"; my second impression "wow! these things are heavy!" but then I remembered that I'm always surprised at how heavy a pedal is. So anyway, I got them on my bike and went riding Sunday. I tried out a few pairs of shoes around the driveway and decided my trail running shoes seemed to work well, they have a pattern of smallish lugs that seemed to hold onto the pins well. And that would be cool if I do a brick, though I haven't been doing that much this year.

So the particular trail I hit starts with a rocky somewhat steep climb, I found my feet moving around a little but I didn't come off the pedals. I tried to remember to keep my heels down in rough spots and found my feet bouncing a bit at times. I didn't have any dabs, though one foot instinctlvely came off the pedal at one point. It's going to take a few more rides before I decide if I want to switch or not. I didn't feel any downside, other than it seemed odd that I couldn't pull a pedal up with my foot when starting out and I did manage to have a foot too far forward at one point and had some toe rub on the front tire.


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

I have spent many years riding on cleats and even more years on flats. All I can say is to stick with the flat pedals for a few weeks before you decide to ditch them. I ride much better on flats (probably due to the subconcious fear you talk about) and honestly never miss cleats at all. There is no downside to flats in my opinion.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Skooks said:


> I have spent many years riding on cleats and even more years on flats. All I can say is to stick with the flat pedals for a few weeks before you decide to ditch them. I ride much better on flats (probably due to the subconcious fear you talk about) and honestly never miss cleats at all. There is no downside to flats in my opinion.


There are several climbs that I can just barely clean with cleats, no way can I clean them with flats, cause I will pull out of the cleats (not multi release) on these climbs, if the are not set tight enough, and just run out of umph.

There are also several tight descents where if I pull out of the cleats, I will have a very hard time cleaning them.

I guess it just depends on the level of riding.

Certainly world cup downhillers are moving to cleats, all other world cup disiplines are already there.


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

If that works for you then great. For me I can climb and descend better on flats than on cleats. The trails around here (North Shore/Whistler/Squamish) are pretty gnarly too. It just comes down to preference and a lot of practise!


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## rlouder (Jun 26, 2007)

Around twenty miles of some fantastic rollercoaster singletrack. A beautiful day here in the SE. I wanted to stay in the woods and grind out a few more miles but my legs were toast after riding five consecutive days.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

First snowy ride since June 21. I guess the snow was pretty bad on Sunday last week..

Only about 4 km of icy patches, and crusty snow left out of 29 km.

Chinook wind blowing in excess of 70 km/hr. We were in the trees so no problems.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Road an old school ride...not recognized by bike clubs cause no one owns it but totally legal..been there for thirty plus years, and town recently improved access and provided parking.

Very difficult because trail is cut to allow for easy trail building not highway smooth riding.

Very fun you end up riding down a limestone ridge on live rock...kinda like slick rock.


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## mr_chrome (Jan 17, 2005)

Finished building up my SS 29er with a set of i9 SS-specific wheels.....first ride with my bro, both on our SSs, I scorched him pretty good.......always good for bragging rights.....


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

As a follow up to my post a couple of weeks ago on trying flats after ten years of clipless:

Rode last weekend for the second time on platforms. There is a nearby trail that has one spot I have had difficulty cleaning, the trail drops and takes a turn, crosses a very small stream on large rocks, and then has a short but steep climb with some big roots. I cleaned it clipped in a few weeks ago, first time that I recall. So last week with the platforms, I also successfully cleaned it. Later, I did have a pedal strike at one point and found both my feet hanging in midair. 

Ordered some five tens a couple of days ago. The trail running shoes seem to work pretty good but there is a little movement due to the small lugs so I'm looking to avoid that.


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## Ptor (Jan 29, 2004)

*Curing the emotional ills...*

Various little things -- and some big -- peck away at happiness. But then I get a shot at the weekend and a couple of good rides. I wouldn't mind skiing away the ills, and a normal November would have had me on skis with the same result, but a bicycle ride is probably the best way for me to blow those irritants away.

*The wife roaming where the moose often play...*









*Catching a breather and contemplating the road (trail) ahead...*









I've got some time blocked out for Wednesday. I know I'm gonna need another session on the bike...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Great snow ride yesterday

Up was easy and the down was a fine but a little sketchy for the fat bikes....the rear tire skids out a lot faster than the narrower tires.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

The other day, I had one of the worst rides I've ever had. I guess I was dehydrated and I had just gotten over a cold. I was slow, flubbed technical moves I usually make and I felt as though I was going to puke about half the time. The whole time, I was tempted to just quit and go home. I didn't quit. So, for me, that was almost as much of an achievement as getting a PR. And it felt SO good to get to the end of the ride!


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Some rides are like that. I rode like crap today, not sure why, maybe I was just distracted and not focusing enough. Dabbed a foot down and came to complete stop in a couple of places on intermediate trail that I normally have zero problems on. But still enjoyed the ride. A lot of hikers out, families with small kids and one lady hiking on a trail clearly marked "no hiking". And a lot of families wearing big coats as it was a chilly 52 degrees!


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