Anyone have anything they'd like to rant about?

[MakersTeleMark]

why didnt you just go to the bike shop and use their air compressor?

Why didn't you just drive your car to get to where you wanted to go?

[jm2e]

Hit me up when you want to go for a ride... I'm in Niwot, and ride up in Loveland and Ft. Fun pretty regularly. Love me some Bobcat Ridge and Horsetooth SP.

Would love to hook up and ride some Nor CO trails. Can't help but worry that my slow ass would be a drag on the climbs though.
Have you been out to Croiser Mtn Yet? Found a "secret" trail up there that's pretty nice. We've barely tapped into anything beyond FtC, but had fun up there when it was still warm.

[smmokan]

Nope, haven't ridden Crosier yet... it's kind of a haul for me, but it looks like there could be a decent amount of trail up there.

[Anospa]

Yeesh, glad you're alright! I made one years ago, never pushed it past 40psi. The thing always terrified me. Got a topeak booster floor pump, much less terrifying now.

[jm2e]

Nope, haven't ridden Crosier yet... it's kind of a haul for me, but it looks like there could be a decent amount of trail up there.

Steve, hit me with a PM if you're looking for someone to ride with up here. Wife and I get out to Horsetooth or Bobcat most weekends and I'm free one weekday most weeks. Would love to connect for something. Be a good excuse to not troll tgr all day!

[scrublover]

Nope, haven't ridden Crosier yet... it's kind of a haul for me, but it looks like there could be a decent amount of trail up there.

Worth the haul!

[evdog]

IMBA caving in to Specialized and other e-bike makers.

"IMBA is supportive of Class 1 e-MTB access to non-motorized trails when the responsible land management agency, in consultation with local mountain bikers, deem such e-MTB access is appropriate and will not cause any loss of access to non-motorized bikes. "

https://www.bikemag.com/news/imba-up...-mtb-position/

Will be cancelling my membership... Fuck IMBA and their flow trails.

[creaky fossil]

IMBA lost the plot long, long ago. About the time Joey Klein stopped working directly for them. The first year/two after he left direct work, he was their go-to trails consultant and they hadn't yet lost the plot, but eventually other people got more IMBA contracts. That's about when things went wrong. Nationally speaking, I mean. I'm sure some folks can pipe up with local successes, but in this post-Joey era those are more exception than rule. And where seen as "successes," be sure to look long-term. Not whether they made folks happy for the first year or two.

The rise of the 1-size-fits-all IMBA trail design, manifest today as "flow trails," is a direct result of Joey having less and less & eventually no input.

[jono]

Great bit of strategy in IMBA's continued efforts to reduce mountain bikers' access to backcountry and help the long term goals of the WS. Fuck IMBA.

And why isn't there a national alternative yet? CBMBA looks to have a pretty good thing going (from a distance, anyway). My largest local bike club advocates right in line with IMBA and I'd love to join one that doesn't.

[creaky fossil]

Our local club got consumed by modern (flow trail) IMBA-itis when it got into that happy position of influence, one it never had when I was working with them. We got Joey when USFS asked us to use IMBA for Sidewinder, I got to know him really well during that project. His view prioritized using natural features to handle everything: rider challenge, surface water drainage, and things like keeping riders on-trail to prevent low-side trail creep. After Joey left, the IMBA TCC came to work on the Lower Woods Gulch re-route, and their input was ridiculous when compared to Joey's.

Around that time he was doing independent contract work but I don't know how much longer that lasted, or even if he still does it.

Trivia point: around that time we also had an ongoing project to re-route the bottom of 3-Larch & lower Woods Gulch for hikers to ascend without fear of descending MTBs. Somehow, the TCC managed to drop the ball on that where follow-through was concerned, and what we got instead was that closure of lower 3 Larch. This was Maggie Pittman era, though, so maybe that explains it. Post-Don Carroll.

Other trivia point: Marshall DH course finished for recent Collegiates seems to prioritize slopestyle rather than technical terrain challenge, also indicative of modern IMBA-itis. So much technical terrain up there in the area where the trail's been cut. Seems the labor investment went into a perfect 8 foot wide bench with funky hip gaps.

[TahoeJ]

We have a new IMBA chapter in my neck of the woods and I'm a little concerned. One of my favorite quick shot downhill sections was "repaired" recently and now it's fucking boring. Used to have a bunch of rocks and creative line choices and you could just blast down it, use your suspension and hold on for the ride. They filled in all the gaps and it's practically a fire road now. Not sure if they were behind it or if the general park maintenance crew was, but the latter hadn't seemed to get around to "fixing" it for like 20 years.

Much more of this and I'm going to go full Hugh Conway about "growing the sport."

[MrMan]

Don't. Get. Me. Started. IMBA is an abomination. As is the whole "flow trail" phenomenon. The word "flow" is the worst word to ever hit our sport.

[TahoeJ]

It used to be about finding flow, now apparently it's all about riding flow. :-(

[gravitylover]

We have a new IMBA chapter in my neck of the woods and I'm a little concerned. One of my favorite quick shot downhill sections was "repaired" recently and now it's fucking boring. Used to have a bunch of rocks and creative line choices and you could just blast down it, use your suspension and hold on for the ride. They filled in all the gaps and it's practically a fire road now. Not sure if they were behind it or if the general park maintenance crew was, but the latter hadn't seemed to get around to "fixing" it for like 20 years.

Much more of this and I'm going to go full Hugh Conway about "growing the sport."

You're just gonna have to get an e-mtb so you can get further out and away from the recently IMBAized zones.

[MrMan]

It used to be about finding flow, now apparently it's all about riding flow. :-(

Agreed. Flow is all on the rider. I don't care how erratic and "unflowy" rough boney, tight twist a trail is. No trail doesn't flow. It's all on you to ride smoothly, efficiently, and athletically no matter what the trails throw at you. Don't come ride my stuff if you expect the trails to do the work for you haha. They WILL kick your ass.

[smmokan]

Fuck IMBA. They can't support Wilderness land managers making decisions about actual mountain bike access, but they support ALL land managers in the decision to allow e-bikes on a case-by-case basis? I wonder how much Specialized, Trek, and Haibike had to donate in order for them to release that kind of statement?

[jamal]

Other trivia point: Marshall DH course finished for recent Collegiates seems to prioritize slopestyle rather than technical terrain challenge, also indicative of modern IMBA-itis. So much technical terrain up there in the area where the trail's been cut. Seems the labor investment went into a perfect 8 foot wide bench with funky hip gaps.

Seems to? So you haven't been up there to ride it? Did you go to any of the work days?

[mtngirl79]

It's too bad access is so limited in some places... we have all types of trails here

But it does happen sometimes. I will be working on getting up and over a hard spot and some asshole comes and makes it easier. That pisses me off, especially when there is already a ride around.

[creaky fossil]

Seems to?

They didn't consult me so I don't know why they chose the line, the decision to grade the fuck out of everything, or anything about it. "Seems" is all I have to work with.

Labor-wise, though, it's obvious the slopey-hippy portion, no matter what % it is in linear feet, was probably 85% of the total job. I am absolutely sure I'd have built a better technical track for less $, though if the racers in Collegiate want slopey-hippy motorway madness they wouldn't much like my tracks.

So you haven't been up there to ride it?

Au contraire, mon frere. Indeed I have.

Did you go to any of the work days?

When the project is 3/4 underway before anyone tells me it's even an idea, let alone a project approved, much less work has begun?

Yeah, I put in a lot of work on that trail. About as much as Big Ego Ben thought my input was worth: ZILCH.

Which isn't to say I haven't built any trails ever, nor that anyone disliked what I've built. This, however, was unimportant to Big Ego Ben. Former "CEOs" of MTB Missoula (CEO... hah... as Big Ego Ben called himself on Pinkbike) obviously are irrelevant, the New Guard is in town! We shave our legs, win on asphalt & at CX, and one of us actually ENJOYS riding sometimes! We moved to Zoo TOWN! to show 'em how it's done --and by Progress, we intend to do just that!

Sorry there, hambone. Did I luff your sails on the attempt at smug derision? Can you tell I have boundless respect for Horan... and for Radley as well, on that score?

[Canada1]

Health care / old age / high deductibles / adult responsibilities.

Two weeks ago I performed a flying W into a rock garden. At age 48 it is taking too long to heal from a crash that was a regular thing in my 20’s. While my shoulder just isn’t right the HSA is low from the routine that is kids and so I am giving it time to heal. I still think I’m invincible, but Father Time throws in a reality check every now and then.

[gravitylover]

^^And that is why I keep making decisions that bug me later. The wisdom that comes with the greybeard tells me not to do things that I never even gave a second thought too until recently. Sunday I bailed early on a solo ride because if something went wrong it was going to be a long cold crawl out of the woods and yesterday I got sketched out after taking a minor dive because of the leaves hiding everything. It really bothers me that I do this now when it's the only reason I give up.

[skaredshtles]

Health care / old age / high deductibles / adult responsibilities.

Two weeks ago I performed a flying W into a rock garden. At age 48 it is taking too long to heal from a crash that was a regular thing in my 20’s. While my shoulder just isn’t right the HSA is low from the routine that is kids and so I am giving it time to heal. I still think I’m invincible, but Father Time throws in a reality check every now and then.

Pro-tip for those over 40: Don't crash.

[teledad]

Wife broke a pivot axle on her carbon 5010 and the threads in the swingarm are trashed. Santa Cruz is out of swingarms (this is the v1 frame) and won't warranty since she's not the original owner. So we're looking at either finding a used swingarm (nothing on pinkbike other than a WTB post) or buying a new frame. She's all of 130 pounds and basically never gets air. Sigh.

[muted]

They didn't consult me so I don't know why they chose the line, the decision to grade the fuck out of everything, or anything about it. "Seems" is all I have to work with.

Labor-wise, though, it's obvious the slopey-hippy portion, no matter what % it is in linear feet, was probably 85% of the total job. I am absolutely sure I'd have built a better technical track for less $, though if the racers in Collegiate want slopey-hippy motorway madness they wouldn't much like my tracks.



Au contraire, mon frere. Indeed I have.



When the project is 3/4 underway before anyone tells me it's even an idea, let alone a project approved, much less work has begun?

Yeah, I put in a lot of work on that trail. About as much as Big Ego Ben thought my input was worth: ZILCH.

Which isn't to say I haven't built any trails ever, nor that anyone disliked what I've built. This, however, was unimportant to Big Ego Ben. Former "CEOs" of MTB Missoula (CEO... hah... as Big Ego Ben called himself on Pinkbike) obviously are irrelevant, the New Guard is in town! We shave our legs, win on asphalt & at CX, and one of us actually ENJOYS riding sometimes! We moved to Zoo TOWN! to show 'em how it's done --and by Progress, we intend to do just that!

Sorry there, hambone. Did I luff your sails on the attempt at smug derision? Can you tell I have boundless respect for Horan... and for Radley as well, on that score?

Go back to Jersey if you don't like it, I know some born-and-bred 'old' farts from Missoula that helped built that. Sometimes I think about asking them who you are, but then I realize there are a million better things to talk about than the local town creep.

[MrMan]

Pro-tip for those over 40: Don't crash.

Words to live by. Trust me I know.