Project Beastie Bike

Ahhhhh, Spring. When a boy's thoughts turn to bicycles and waterfalls . . . . or something like that. Another great Saturday outing. X-T1 + XF 18mm.

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KillRamsey said:
Ahhhhh man that's pretty. Getting good traction on all those wet leaves?

I was bad this weekend... did pretty much nothing photogenic. Brewed two batches of beer, tho. Priorities.
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No problem on wet leaves, but things really slow down when the ground gets soft, even with those big tires. This weekend's ride was a blast. Last two miles were a workout, as the rail trail climbs about 600 feet in elevation. Had to alternate between pedaling and pushing. I thought of your powered bike when my legs started aching.
 
Took the day off today to take advantage of the only day of good weather expected this week. 12.7 miles along the Brooklyn-Southside Junction Trail again. Beautiful weather, vegetation exploding with new growth, wildflowers and trees blooming everywhere. The X-T1 + XF 18mm f2 has turned out to be an excellent combination.

I might add that my checkup with my family MD last week showed I'm down 20 pounds from a year ago. Due in no small part I think to frequent rides on this beauty.

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TonyTurley said:
Took the day off today to take advantage of the only day of good weather expected this week. 12.7 miles along the Brooklyn-Southside Junction Trail again. Beautiful weather, vegetation exploding with new growth, wildflowers and trees blooming everywhere. The X-T1 + XF 18mm f2 has turned out to be an excellent combination.

I might add that my checkup with my family MD last week showed I'm down 20 pounds from a year ago. Due in no small part I think to frequent rides on this beauty.

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Congratulations on your weight loss, Tony! I really like your bike and the beautiful area you are able to ride in, as well.
 
When people tell me they want to lose weight, and their plan is to go to a gym or try a temporary diet, it's hard not to immediately give up hope for them. If you aren't making some sort of lifestyle shift - what kind of food you buy and cook, and/or what sort of thing you do regularly for some genuinely compelling reason (read: not guilt) like "well, I have to go to work everyday so I'll just ride my bike" or "I enjoy the hell out of riding my fat tire bike in the woods so I'll go do that every weekend" ... then you're not going to keep doing it. If it isn't fun, and/or mandatory in some real way ("want a paycheck? Go to work.") then they always stop. People who find something fun that burns calories and gets their heart going make the real progress, from what I've seen.
 
KillRamsey said:
When people tell me they want to lose weight, and their plan is to go to a gym or try a temporary diet, it's hard not to immediately give up hope for them. If you aren't making some sort of lifestyle shift - what kind of food you buy and cook, and/or what sort of thing you do regularly for some genuinely compelling reason (read: not guilt) like "well, I have to go to work everyday so I'll just ride my bike" or "I enjoy the hell out of riding my fat tire bike in the woods so I'll go do that every weekend" ... then you're not going to keep doing it. If it isn't fun, and/or mandatory in some real way ("want a paycheck? Go to work.") then they always stop. People who find something fun that burns calories and gets their heart going make the real progress, from what I've seen.
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Agreed, Kyle. When I finished my ride yesterday, I felt really good, and felt like I could do another 10 or more miles. It was fun. My wife was going to go with me, but she started throwing up literally at the last minute. There's a viral bug going around (isn't there always?). I started not to go, but she insisted I go without her. Hated that, because she would have enjoyed it.
 
I took the day off work yesterday to ride the Bluestone Turnpike Trail in southern WV. Claimed to be the remnant of the original Civil War era road that ran through the area, it follows the Bluestone River between Bluestone and Pipestem state parks. Although parts of the trail are easy to ride, it is poorly drained, leading to many soggy areas that are impossible to pedal through. Add in a few sections that are rugged and nasty, and it was the toughest 10 mile ride I've ever done. I had planned to ride all the way to Pipestem and back, but by the time I hit the 5 mile mark, I had run out of energy and the will to continue. I ate my lunch near a huge rock along the swollen river, and headed back. I've ridden this trail twice, and doubt I'll go back. Pics with the X-T1 + XF 18mm.

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Look how high that river is! No wonder the trail was boggy.

Some of the best shots I miss are when it gets so rough and sloggy that I can't take a hand off the bar to shoot. Happened last weekend a few times. I could've had good shots of the wife bouncing over grapefruit-sized rock fields, but everytime I lifted my right hand off the bars, I couldn't maintain my line. Doesn't help that I had a kid trailing off my back rack.
 
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Yeah, the Bluestone was actually up over the trail in a few places, forcing some bushwhacking until I got around the flooded parts. The scenery is beautiful, but both times I've ridden this trail, it had long stretches of boggy areas, even when the river was lower.
 

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