So I read some blogs here and thought maybe I should write some of this crap in my head down. It'll probably be TL;DR, but screw it. Here goes.
Maybe bikes first. It is a beer and construction forum with a bike problem, right? So I've evolved, then come back to the middle. My entry back into biking was my 2011 Trance 26, which I enjoyed but after trying a 29er I liked the overall speed better. I rode flats for years until a complicated trade deal with a member (forum, that is) got me a set of clippy shoes. So I swapped to clipless, which someone please rename because calling pedals you absolutely do clip into "clipless" hurts the logic circuits of my brain. It's like Congressional Oversight.
Ok, so clips vs. flats for a second. Clips: slightly faster, but oddly the biggest advantage is clearance. Rock gardens, narrow gaps, almost anything you need a little room to maneuver clipless has a big (smaller?) advantage. Try to follow @ReggieHammond under the bridge at Stevens on flats and you'll see.
However. Sunday I rode my trail bike with flats again and noticed how much easier it is to corner when you can drop a foot down. Although my background is moto, it's the wrong one, roadracing not MX. You'll put your knee down, not your foot. But in about an inch of snow I loved how easy it was to hang off and slide around. Although I'm not terribly slow DH, I haven't been able to touch some of my older PR's and wonder if it's down to pedal choice, not just getting old and wimpy. Yeah, that's my theory.
So I went from a mid-travel trail bike, to various hardtail 29ers, to a trail 29er, to a XC29er. And now I'm on a 150mm enduro-ish 27.5 tank. Why? Because SSAP ended. It was a true EVENT, one worthy of training for and making sacrifices for. I realized I was training (not just riding) to be in shape for SSAP. Racing the H2H stuff is fun, and I'll always do short track, but once SSAP shut down I really didn't see a goal anymore.
Funny, at Mooch one year Norm was starter, and said to @ReggieHammond, me, and a couple other old farts we were the future of Cat2. I'm barely the future of a good bowel movement anymore, so maybe he was kidding. Burke and I looked at each other and laughed. All this translates to moar MTB instead of road, I barely touched the road bike this summer. I will miss the Epic cause the damn thing could tool down the road at 20mph, making riding to the Tourne and JWoods almost pleasant. The Heckler trucks along but not as spritely. But damn it gets rowdy. If you haven't ridden a longer travel bike in anger, please do so. I'm not generally shy about getting jiggy, but this thing encourages you to get your own personal Semenuk on, daily. Maybe at 48 I shouldn't be trying to get even stupider in the woods, but fun is the point, ain't it? Maybe I'll race again next year when I turn 50, and beat up on grandpa.
Work. After having the same job for 20-ish years I'm now on my third job for 2017. Seniority was out the window, so what the heck. I tried the dealership thing, but it wasn't any fun, so I wound up in the body shop industry at D&M in Rockaway. It's pretty cool and makes me wish maybe I should have switched years ago instead of hanging around someplace comfy.
Everyone says things happen for a reason, but are they always good ones? Various forum members know all the tribulations here, but thanks to @jmanic and @fidodie for dealing with my various neurosis. Having no time into a job gives you the freedom to analytically judge the pros and cons without bias. So far, this has been pretty alright.
Ok, I'm done for the moment. I thought I'd write everything down at once, but I'm tired and there's tiramisu.
Maybe bikes first. It is a beer and construction forum with a bike problem, right? So I've evolved, then come back to the middle. My entry back into biking was my 2011 Trance 26, which I enjoyed but after trying a 29er I liked the overall speed better. I rode flats for years until a complicated trade deal with a member (forum, that is) got me a set of clippy shoes. So I swapped to clipless, which someone please rename because calling pedals you absolutely do clip into "clipless" hurts the logic circuits of my brain. It's like Congressional Oversight.
Ok, so clips vs. flats for a second. Clips: slightly faster, but oddly the biggest advantage is clearance. Rock gardens, narrow gaps, almost anything you need a little room to maneuver clipless has a big (smaller?) advantage. Try to follow @ReggieHammond under the bridge at Stevens on flats and you'll see.
However. Sunday I rode my trail bike with flats again and noticed how much easier it is to corner when you can drop a foot down. Although my background is moto, it's the wrong one, roadracing not MX. You'll put your knee down, not your foot. But in about an inch of snow I loved how easy it was to hang off and slide around. Although I'm not terribly slow DH, I haven't been able to touch some of my older PR's and wonder if it's down to pedal choice, not just getting old and wimpy. Yeah, that's my theory.
So I went from a mid-travel trail bike, to various hardtail 29ers, to a trail 29er, to a XC29er. And now I'm on a 150mm enduro-ish 27.5 tank. Why? Because SSAP ended. It was a true EVENT, one worthy of training for and making sacrifices for. I realized I was training (not just riding) to be in shape for SSAP. Racing the H2H stuff is fun, and I'll always do short track, but once SSAP shut down I really didn't see a goal anymore.
Funny, at Mooch one year Norm was starter, and said to @ReggieHammond, me, and a couple other old farts we were the future of Cat2. I'm barely the future of a good bowel movement anymore, so maybe he was kidding. Burke and I looked at each other and laughed. All this translates to moar MTB instead of road, I barely touched the road bike this summer. I will miss the Epic cause the damn thing could tool down the road at 20mph, making riding to the Tourne and JWoods almost pleasant. The Heckler trucks along but not as spritely. But damn it gets rowdy. If you haven't ridden a longer travel bike in anger, please do so. I'm not generally shy about getting jiggy, but this thing encourages you to get your own personal Semenuk on, daily. Maybe at 48 I shouldn't be trying to get even stupider in the woods, but fun is the point, ain't it? Maybe I'll race again next year when I turn 50, and beat up on grandpa.
Work. After having the same job for 20-ish years I'm now on my third job for 2017. Seniority was out the window, so what the heck. I tried the dealership thing, but it wasn't any fun, so I wound up in the body shop industry at D&M in Rockaway. It's pretty cool and makes me wish maybe I should have switched years ago instead of hanging around someplace comfy.
Everyone says things happen for a reason, but are they always good ones? Various forum members know all the tribulations here, but thanks to @jmanic and @fidodie for dealing with my various neurosis. Having no time into a job gives you the freedom to analytically judge the pros and cons without bias. So far, this has been pretty alright.
Ok, I'm done for the moment. I thought I'd write everything down at once, but I'm tired and there's tiramisu.
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