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This month's Outside has a few interesting articles. This one on Grand Teton search and rescue rangers is interesting and a bit rough. Also a cool story on strange stuff on the Iditarod, and the Walmart heirs working their butts off in Arkansas to make that a great place to ride.

...when men were hairy, wore short shorts, and weren't afraid to exercise topless NTTIAWWT

Of all the outdoor athletes I’ve known, none can compete with mountain bikers when it comes to enthusiasm for building trails—especially illegal ones. Pirate trails, rogue trails, bootleg trails, whatever you prefer to call them, they’re everywhere. They snake through the woods behind my home in a small New England city. I’ve found dense spaghetti monsters of trail networks in power-line rights-of-way in the exurbs of Boston. And wherever public-lands enforcement budgets are slim, there are renegade bikers carving out singletrack. “They do a lot of work,” agrees Jody Chinchen, a district trails manager with the U.S. Forest Service in New Hampshire. “They have a lot of energy.”

On this sweet Cannondale MTB! Eagle! RockShox! Dropper post! Frame: 27+, SmartForm C1 Alloy, Si motor mount, carbon link, tapered headtube, 157x12mm thru-axle, alloy skid plate Fork: RockShox Pike RC, 140mm DebonAir, 15x110, tapered steerer, 46mm offset Rear Shock: RockShox Deluxe RT, 130mm, DebonAir Rims: WTB KOM TOUGH i29, tubeless ready Hubs :Formula DC-51131 15x110 front, DHG-157 12x157 rear Tires: Maxxis Minion DHF 27.5 x 2.6", 3C Compound, EXO puncture protection, tubeless ready Crank: Cannondale EC3 160mm, w/ Ai offset ring, 15t Chain: SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed Rear Cogs: SRAM PG-1230, NX Eagle, 11-50, 12-speed Rear Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle Shifters: SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed Brakes: SRAM Guide RE hydro disc, 200/180mm Centerline rotors Brake Levers: SRAM Guide RE hydro disc Seatpost: Cannondale DownLow Dropper Post, internal routing, 31.6, 100mm (S), 125mm (M), 150mm (L-XL)

Discovered a new trail but didn’t know if it was open to mtn bikes so walked a portion of it with my wife. Pissed me off to find a bunch of this... I stomped down all of the deep tracks but we should know better....

...seems like fun! Pittsburgh peeps - seems like you could wrangle a kid or two to go to this thing next year. They do stuff for boys and girls too.

...but I probably should have: In 2016, Quarq’s Shockwiz suspension tuning system dangled the future in front of us. The tiny device attaches to your suspension components and monitors each one’s movements while you’re riding. It then recommends how to adjust your suspension via a smartphone app. This year, Fox moved that paradigm into real-time with its Live Valve. The system features sensors on the frame and both wheels that analyze the terrain you’re riding at a rate of 1,000 times per second. A central “brain” then makes changes to your suspension accordingly, in just three milliseconds. Your suspension adjusts almost instantaneously to ensure you’re always correctly tuned to the changing conditions. It means you can simply hop on your bike and start pedaling without worrying whether you’ve set up your suspension properly. The system does the work for you, and all you have to do is enjoy the ride.

A simple how-to on the best way to garner comments and reposts on your fairly uninteresting story: 1) Post about how bicyclists are a bunch of lawless maniacs. That's it. A one step process. I wonder if it is true in other cities???

... simply because I think I don't have the ability to even think this sort of route up

...for @Dirtyhip!!!!! Yay!

...and it is a TKO by the gravel bike! An Open UP ridden by Kabush put the kibosh on the MTB riders. That bike has gotta be a color DH would love!

...to see a stepping stone option for her #vanlife adventure. Even more at Bike Rumor. Tom

I hope yours is terrific instead.

I wish I knew what kind of grades these guys were getting hit by. I am jealous of their places they rode. Tom

I run a tubeless set up but have a freaking massive seat bag to fit a 29'r tube. If I were to pack a 700c tube would it get me home in an emergency?

...so maybe @Dirtyhip can offer some pointers on what I'm doing wrong. Tom

Yay! But I imagine, like Ben Effing King, we won't applaud her either. ((except Petite and Sheep_herder) Tom

Maybe this idea would work for you? Just thought it might make sense. Tom

I've been riding 27.5 or 650B wheels on my mtn bike for about 4 years and recently switched to 29 wheels on my new mtn bike. Some initial observations: 29" wheels are big! They are noticeably bigger and there is a lot of wheel sticking out front from the handlebars. The 29r bike just feels big even though both bikes are properly sized. 29" wheels roll fast! Holy Shciznit going down hill is fun and sometimes scary. It seems once they get up to speed they just want to go go go. 29" wheels just roll over shit. Holes, rocks, ruts, whatever they really don't lose momentum going over small to moderate sized obstacles. 29" wheels are not as nimble... Some of this may be the difference in bikes too but tight turns and picking lines between obstacles is definitely more challenging. Often times I just roll over shit rather than try to change my line. The 27.5 wheels are like point and shoot. Really nimble. This may be bike and not wheels but steep technical climbs are harder to keep weight on the front. Both bikes are set up for XC and if you stack them side by side bars and saddles line up simalalry. But it was much easier to keep weight on the smaller wheels in super steep climbs. Im not going to get into a what is better debate but I think I made the right choice for the type of riding I plan to do (endurance XC type rides). If I had money to burn a trail or enduro bike with smaller wheels would be a lot of fun too. It just depends on what type of riding you plan to do. There is also the whole hard tail vs full suspension thing and all I can say is I love being fully sprung.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2053961/riding-cathedral-rock-sedona?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebookpost

...that I can only do 1% of the stuff in this video: Tom

...I may have been a little stupid or unlucky. The temp on Saturday was high 40's, so I wore a heavier weight Under Armor baselayer beneath my jersey, and, at the last minute, went with my wind jacket rather than my wind vest. Anyway, long story short, some combination of the wind, the cold, and the UA jersey caused an AWFUL CASE OF IRRITATED NIPPLES!!! Maybe not bloodied (that has happened), but at least hoorribly and painfully chafed. OUCH. They burned for several hours post ride Tom

I have 2 weekends before the Mtn bike race I've entered. It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow so local trails will be closed so no mtn biking this weekend. My goal is only to have fun and not get DQ'd due to time. It's 25 miles, I have 3 hours to finish, 2 hours to complete the 1st loop or they will pull you. I've ridden 22 miles at a little over 2 hours on a course that is more technical but not as hilly. I'm thinking of doing a very hilly 60 miler on the road Sat since the trails will be closed. I also plan on either a shorter hilly road ride Sun or a shorter hilly mtn bike ride assuming trails dry out. I'm on travel Tues - Fri so no mid week workouts likely. I'm not sure if i should taper the weekend before or get in a big mtn bike ride in and then rest the week leading up to the race. Thoughts???