trailcoffee

@tacklingdummy: The stats would beg to differ.

Felco or nothing.

Thank you for this article. More like this, please! I do, however, take issue with this portion: "The InReach also has an SOS option for dire emergencies when self rescue is not possible. Pushing this button activates emergency responders and should only be used in true life or death situations when there is absolutely no option to move forward yourself. A very relevant factor in any backcountry emergency situation is the time it takes for rescue personnel to actually get to you on the trail or mountain. In many situations, even if a patient is only a mile from a trailhead, it takes emergency responders hours to mobilize and get someone extricated from the wild." You should activate the SOS even if you're able to move towards help. Yes, it does take time for rescue personnel to actually get to you, but once the SOS is activated, the device tracks and transmits your location. So you can say "Need help, heading towards point X," and the InReach will track your moving location and whatever service you're using can communicate with you and the rescuers to ask for further details or to redirect your route, etc. Activating the SOS does not mean you have to sit and wait for rescue; you can self-rescue while also sending rescuers to meet you. We use these for my work (in whitewater in wilderness areas) and we are trained to activate the SOS and also move towards rescue, if possible. I would also highly recommend having a safety buddy check-in system.

...and the trail is different every day.

@charlesnunez: "the Catholic Church has done some horrible things in the past, but has 'reigned it in' so to speak in the modern era." The modern era begs to differ. The Catholic Church is still protecting pedophiles, resisting investigations, and lying about it. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/24/former-pope-benedict-statement-child-sexual-abuse-inquiry

Seeing all these kids who are so much better than me and having so much fun makes me feel much better about the world.

And he wasn't even pedaling for the full 24 hours, so even faster than that. I'm curious how much break time he took. How many times do you need to pump up your tires and lube your chain during an effort like that?

I think the 5.10 Trailcross has water drains.

@RonSauce: Dude, I was joking about beer...more like putting money towards rent, or tires, or brake pads, or rotors, etc. Have you seen the price of brake pads lately? I am prioritizing...if I spend $150 on a pair of shoes I can't afford replacement parts. I understand that that isn't everyone's situation, but it is for a lot of people. I'm not a pro. I don't race. I don't need to cut a half second off my fastest time. I want protection and performance, but not at the expense of literally not being able to ride because I can't replace my worn-out components at the end of the season. You think shoes are a place not to skimp in any sport? Cool, I don't.

@RonSauce: Beer math is the only math, isn't it? You can definitely find some skate shoes with more protection than some mountain bike shoes, there is a huge variety of each to compare. Also, my comment was more part of a larger argument of pricing. I see mtb shoes I want, and they're $145, but I can think of better ways to spend that extra $75 or whatever. For the record, I am one of the people who doesn't bother reading reviews of $9000 bikes, because that's just not realistic for me. Stop pricing the working class out of riding mountain bikes.