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...or we could all go to Walmart, take some bikes off their rack, and race around the store.

What a fun race! Love the TT format since it inspires to catch up to others. There were 12 men in the Beginner 40+ starting 30 seconds apart. When I saw that I started 6th, my goal was to pass two people and not get passed. I was able to catch one person right away and kept getting glimpses of others in front of me. I managed to pass all 5 in front of me and even caught a few of the Beginner 18-39 fellas that started at least 4 mins before me. It felt great to haul ass and really push through the trails! I took 1st and my time was over 2 mins faster than 2nd place for our category. Still got a ways to go, but very cool to see the progress I've made. Next Sat marks 1 year of owning and riding a MTB, can't wait to see what a few more seasons brings! https://www.strava.com/activities/1075698837

Day 1 down. 450 miles. We stopped at the Kinzua Bridge Skywalk and got some awesome wings at Elbow Room in Elmira New York. Thanks for the food recommendation @Namdum68

Listen to Phil. Changing a pin lock is a bit of a PITA. And yoy have to be real careful how you store them...they scratch like a mofo. Pin locks are great for fog. There are not for sun glare imnsho. Get a helmet with a flip down sun visor. They all have them now.

Visiting hours are 11 to 8 for non family. I will be there at 11 tomorrow.

I wont be able to get to Pitt, but am planning to get over to Nelson's to help Sam Wang on 7/22 & 23

Never tried a tinted shield or tinted pin lock. On all my helmets, they are always clear and always installed. I don't find the clear pin lock to be a problem in the dark, even though they don't recommend it. I don't like stopping to change that stuff, or carrying unnecessary crap. I found some 3m tinted safety glasses that fit me really well (for petite faces...shut up) that are very comfortable in my helmet and cheap. I have a whole case of them and carry at least one spare in my tank bag. If I lose, drop, scratch them, they get thrown away and I open another pair. Way cheaper than buying another pin lock. When it gets dark, I pull them off and shove them in the tank bag. No stopping.

If I need a life flight I have a gun a carry with me. I'd probably just end myself. At least if it's my own doing

@jhawk and @Isaac's Papa - you guys should give this a shot. It's a fun trail. Not super flowy, but it's never dull. From what I can remember, there were maybe 2 spots that I walked the bike, and it was the type of terrain where I didn't HAVE to, it was just more efficient, because I didn't want to tire myself out unnecessarily.

The bruises and cuts look impressive, but my kneecap is what really hurts. I would be back on the bike already if not for the kneecap. I went to a wine tasting fundraiser on Saturday night. It was an outdoor event, so I wore shorts and a polo. Got some odd looks with my elbow all bruised and bloody, and my knee swollen and purple. Biggest/best news of the day though was that I found a guy on the CAMBA facebook group who sold me a replacement seat for $5. He has a 250 4-stroke dirt bike in the garage, so we chatted about that for a bit, and I saved myself $30+ on a new saddle. Got the new on installed Sunday morning, and took a test spin on the fat bike. New seat seems less comfortable, but I wasn't wearing cycling shorts. Also not sure I have the angle and fore/aft position where I like it yet. No riding tonight. More ice. Hopefully trail ready tomorrow. I am considering kneepads, but honestly, this was such a freak thing (I crashed going fast in an almost straight line...), I feel like the kneepads would be a good way to blow $60 and be less comfortable. I am riding XC trails and doing XC racing. If I had aspirations of DH or enduro racing, I'd look harder at the knee pads.

We're on a boat..

Now add a 1 million liability rider for about 50 bucks a year. The right one will cover medical when yours or theirs runs out along with everything else. Yea, I'm over insured. F' it, I am fine with that. BTW, one life flight will eat up that 25K in a heartbeat. They are all almost always out of network.

Max your Med pay out if you can afford it. I keep mine at 10k per person per accident for auto and 25k for my bike. I pay $1400 a year for 2 cars with maxed out BIPD and UMUIM limits. 500 deductibles rental and pay off coverage for th wife's SUV. And bike insurance with $100 deductibles is $250 a year. The theory behind maxing out Med pay is if you have to either go out of network or max out your deductible you're not paying anything out of pocket if you're found at fault in the accident and get hurt.

Best combo I've found is mirrored shield with pin lock and a clear drop down just in case I need it. That's with my Simpson ghost bandit. My first pinlock and I absolutely love it

Welp couldn't resist the temptation of picking up this sweet ride

look how nice and polite he was back in 2009.

Black makes you go faster.

Another day down. Only one stop for lunch/fuel. At. The New York/Vermont border. Taking the ferry tomorrow.

Are you saying Nelson Ledges is in your near future?

Hookers and Blow FTW

Get white or a hi-viz color...the helmet is the highest object on you and the bike and what people will see over the top of other vehicles so make it conspicuous. Helmets with graphics look cool and all but don't typically lend themselves to maximizing your visibility to others.

Though not an officially recognized color by PANTONE, every poll is supposed to have "Hookers and Blow" as a selection. -2 ORDN internet points

man, don't let what you think others will say deter you .... last year I started both races on the front row and then carefully executed a retreat to the mid/back of pack. I rode my best, and it was what it was ... had a blast doing so.

So yea, the peeps afraid of rain showed up.