James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead

The September Blog Project - #4

Today is Labor Day, day #4 of 4 of the long weekend, with the weather commencing on full MELT. On tap today is our 3rd state in 4 days, with a trip to Graham Hills in NY. This will be our 4th trip here and we're meeting Alex & Mark for the ride today. Originally today was going to be a Blue Mountain day but with the heat & humidity we lined up a smaller place for the ride. Quick in & out then move on with the rest of the day.

If you're ever been here there aren't a million options. We went up the usual way, down Tumbleweed, back up the gut punch of a climb, then down Motorcycle, and around the edge to check out the (forgettable) green stuff near the lot. Then I hit the big jumps a few times before we called it a day. I have to say that their decision to make 2 black jump lines and 1 green one is probably the biggest garbage decision I have ever seen in the trail building scene. The stuff is made well but they removed any ability to progress. There's just 1 small green run which anyone can do, then 2 black runs which very few people can do.

I have to say that I am nothing short of baffled at the "pro" trail building in the NY/NJ area.

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We then went back to Alex & Mark's house for a long lunch then a relaxing afternoon of just hanging out and talking about whatever. As the long time reader knows, we do a lot of stuff with these guys and we spent a bunch of time going over some of the plans we have for the next year. And the year after that. It's good to have people who are willing to do these adventure vacations with you and just pretty much say yes to everything. Plus, they fed me like 4 different types of coffee and/or espresso brews. I may not sleep tonight.

It was an awesome, relaxing afternoon.

And that wraps up a very most excellent weekend. The next few days will not be nearly as action packed.
 
Norm said:
I have to say that their decision to make 2 black jump lines and 1 green one is probably the biggest garbage decision I have ever seen in the trail building scene. The stuff is made well but they removed any ability to progress. There's just 1 small green run which anyone can do, then 2 black runs which very few people can do.
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I haven't been out that way since they've made that move but that's how I felt when I heard their plan. It makes absolutely no sense.
 
The September Blog Project - #5

Yellow jackets suck. Tis the season, yay!

I started my day doing some outside work. Specifically, I got to work on the planters. Not only do I want take out all the weeds, I need to fix the lawn-side 4x4s because they have slowly moved towards the street over the years. A before and after below - well, current. Before, then current state. We're not done yet.

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In the second pic, where there are still weeds, there is a huge hornet/yellow jacket nest. I don't know which it is but they are little assholes. I dumped almost a whole can of hornet spray in their nest and then let it sit when it neared 8:30. I took a shower then got to work.

I decided not to bike today. Instead, I lifted weights after my work day ended. But before that, I went to Hilltop and procured my very own eBike.

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Whoa.

Ok not really. This has been donated to the MTBNJ JORBA chapter for TM work, mostly at RV. Jim pulled a few strings a few days ago and here I am with this monster truck, ready to haul a hedge trimmer up & over the overgrown park. Now, I have no excuses.

Then around 6:00 I got stung. Yeah, I went back out to assess the situation and it's going to take a lot more than 1 can. I may soak the whole area in gasoline or napalm or nuclear waster. Holy shit there's still a lot out there.

That was 2 hours ago. I got stung in the hand and it still hurts like hell. Not swelling up but this might suck to sleep with.
 
Congrats on the TM E bike. Always a nice addition. Not so good with the bees. I got 3 stings last week. The bees are a bit disgruntled this time of year, and if they get you good, the pain intensity can linger for a few days. ... not fun.
 
The September Blog Project - #6

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Every morning, I spent time on the porch with my dog, my coffee, the birds, and my thoughts. I look forward to this peaceful start as soon as I get out of bed every day. Before long, it will be too cold to come out here, so I enjoy it while I can. Today was not a case where it was too cold.

As you can see in the picture above, the blob of greens still sits between the yellow pot and the garbage can. This is where the yellow jackets still exist. As of this writing, I have emptied 3 cans of spray into their nest and they're still going. I have 2 more cans and I will be waking up nice and early and giving them some more business in the morning.

Instead of working on the planters this morning, I started clearing out the C-line in the backyard. This is going to eventually be more of a skills area. What that entails is TBD but it will circle the outer edge of the properly, "behind" the B-line. In my head it's going to consist of wooden features to be ridden at low speed, maybe a few drops if I can find the real estate, bridges in the air, log rides, and the like. The stuff that was built up in Adams Camp is what comes to mind here. I need a plan for this, though.

After work I tried to fix Simon's bike and it looks like the helicoil in the lefty is gone. I thought my toil with this fork was a thing of the past, but apparently not.

I did a Zwift ride tonight because I have no desire to ride in this heat. Just a few more days and we should be over the hump. I hope.

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I am battling hornets in my neighbor's tree that go after me in backyard, battle lines have been drawn lol.

I Zwifted early am today also, it was super steamy out - even at 6am - , and everything was set up in basement, super easy. No judgement from this seat 😉
 
Don’t hit ‘em in the morning, they probably get up earlier for their coffee than you do.
Hit em at night when they are all in there and low energy.
Like go do it now.
 
Not sure if this helps or not but when we ended up with a hornets nest under part of the deck/bench and the dog and the wife got stung, and 2 cans of spray didn’t work I ended up shooting half a can of expanding foam and suffocating them to finally get rid of them.

Post in thread 'The DIY thread - DIYourself'
https://www.mtbnj.com/forum/threads/the-diy-thread-diyourself.31868/post-1148235

Maybe think about one of these but while I’m all about discounts I’m wondering how well a $32 one will match up against hornets.

Let us know.

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iman29 said:
Not sure if this helps or not but when we ended up with a hornets nest under part of the deck/bench and the dog and the wife got stung, and 2 cans of spray didn’t work I ended up shooting half a can of expanding foam and suffocating them to finally get rid of them.

Post in thread 'The DIY thread - DIYourself'
https://www.mtbnj.com/forum/threads/the-diy-thread-diyourself.31868/post-1148235

Maybe think about one of these but while I’m all about discounts I’m wondering how well a $32 one will match up against hornets.

Let us know.

View attachment 222507
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XL? @Norm I think he just called you fat-
At least he didn’t go XXL
 
I hit a tree that had a wasps nest in it with the mower on Monday. Those damn little yellow jackets are quick and got me 8 times. Ankles, Back, Leg, Shoulder and finger tip. I'm not allergic or anything, but it made for an uncomfortable nights sleep. So I feel your pain 8x over.

I'm slow to catch up on this blog but ever so glad you have lots of positives in your life almost daily.
 
Norm said:
As you can see in the picture above, the blob of greens still sits between the yellow pot and the garbage can. This is where the yellow jackets still exist. As of this writing, I have emptied 3 cans of spray into their nest and they're still going. I have 2 more cans and I will be waking up nice and early and giving them some more business in the morning.
Click to expand...
I had a yellow jacket nest in the ground under my deck with not enough overhead clearance for me to get underneath the deck. Had to pull up 2 boards to get to it and learned a thing or two about ground-nesting hornets. You really are going to want the suit and you probably will need an XXL. I got that exact model in size XL and it fit nicely over my street clothes. Trim the weeds until you see the hole, then run/walk away. Wait until the evening, suit up, and blast spectracide, or ideally delta dust, into the hole, then run/walk away. That should do the trick.
 
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