The (unofficial) Tour de Fat

[mattybfat]

Happy New Year so long 2022

Some changes have happened just in the last month. I stopped self employment in favor of building up another 401k. I started working for a commercial contractor who only does government contracts. Goverment pay is almost double what my union pay was which is bonkers. Currently commuting to West Point daily which is a haul. The finer points are after a grace period i will be salary with gas card/mechanical expense. Not gonna lie, the work is heavy and my body says so. Working 9 and 10 hr days gives me most fridays to ride. I currently look forward to this as now i will have stops at all the greater ringwood areas to explore.

68 more windows to go!

My riding has lax in December, with new job its taken my body the weekend to recover, i expect this to change as i move forward. I expect when i get jobs at Picatinny ill not want to go back to WP, lol...

The fight club ride has been the biggest challenge of getting on board with as i have almost zero time to prepare and mentally get up for. Now with holidays past i hope to get some kind of structure to my riding schedule again. With 6am starts its hard to put anything reasonable together at the moment.

The Bro truck is gonna go up for sale as i scale back. Probably gonna turn in the transit connect for a low milage to close to new one as i still need a tool hauler. Wife and i talked about doing the opposite of what most do is instead of moving up in size of RV we plan to downsize. We have been keeping an eye out for newer Aliner camper since most of our get aways are now just the 2 of us and we still like camping not mobile apartment dewelling.

Heres to a healthy and prosperous 2023!!!

 

[JDurk]

Happy New Year so long 2022

Some changes have happened just in the last month. I stopped self employment in favor of building up another 401k. I started working for a commercial contractor who only does government contracts. Goverment pay is almost double what my union pay was which is bonkers. Currently commuting to West Point daily which is a haul. The finer points are after a grace period i will be salary with gas card/mechanical expense. Not gonna lie, the work is heavy and my body says so. Working 9 and 10 hr days gives me most fridays to ride. I currently look forward to this as now i will have stops at all the greater ringwood areas to explore.
View attachment 203860
68 more windows to go!

My riding has lax in December, with new job its taken my body the weekend to recover, i expect this to change as i move forward. I expect when i get jobs at Picatinny ill not want to go back to WP, lol...

The fight club ride has been the biggest challenge of getting on board with as i have almost zero time to prepare and mentally get up for. Now with holidays past i hope to get some kind of structure to my riding schedule again. With 6am starts its hard to put anything reasonable together at the moment.

The Bro truck is gonna go up for sale as i scale back. Probably gonna turn in the transit connect for a low milage to close to new one as i still need a tool hauler. Wife and i talked about doing the opposite of what most do is instead of moving up in size of RV we plan to downsize. We have been keeping an eye out for newer Aliner camper since most of our get aways are now just the 2 of us and we still like camping not mobile apartment dewelling.

Heres to a healthy and prosperous 2023!!!

Good luck with the change, sorry to hear about the lack of riding though.

If you get a chance, check out Nucamp as well.

 

[Soundguy]

I stopped self employment in favor of building up another 401k.

I just started a job at University of South Carolina strictly for the benefits. The salary is garbage but it’s a state job and the benefits are crazy. I was absolutely killing myself over the stress of my last job and really have nothing to show for it. I know I’m getting older when I’m willing to take a 50% pay cut to start building a retirement plan lol.

Good luck with the new job, man! I’ve done a handful of gigs at west point and surrounding area. I don’t know about riding but there are some great hikes around there.

 

[mattybfat]

Good luck with the change, sorry to hear about the lack of riding though.

If you get a chance, check out Nucamp as well.

I liked the Tab but aliners have lots of headroom and ease to set up. We actually liked pop up more then RV we got now if that makes any sense.

 

[mattybfat]

I just started a job at University of South Carolina strictly for the benefits. The salary is garbage but it’s a state job and the benefits are crazy. I was absolutely killing myself over the stress of my last job and really have nothing to show for it. I know I’m getting older when I’m willing to take a 50% pay cut to start building a retirement plan lol.

Good luck with the new job, man! I’ve done a handful of gigs at west point and surrounding area. I don’t know about riding but there are some great hikes around there.

Ringwood/sterling 30 mins away on the way home.
We've done breakneck a few times which is pretty awesome.

 

[JDurk]

I liked the Tab but aliners have lots of headroom and ease to set up. We actually liked pop up more then RV we got now if that makes any sense.

Yes, headroom in our T@B is low in a few locations because of the shape. I'm 5'8, wife 5'7, and we both bump our heads in spots. If we were taller, would have gone with a different trailer. Pop-up makes total sense and the A-liner is pretty much a pop-up.

We looked at the Airstream Basecamp and Winnebago Micro Minnie for other small campers with north/south bed arrangements to avoid climbing over each other for night time bathroom visits, but $$,$$$. Both are almost double what we paid for our T@B320S.

 

[mattybfat]

I posted this on FB
Blue bird day yesterday

I forgot to start my watch on the ride which i was mad about because i started from a new location that will probably be my regular spot because the road into DP is like a war zone. I sat at this spot for a good 30 mins to soak in the Vitamin D and meditate. The peacefulness was overwhelming joyful and much needed. I told my wife if she needed a spot to spread my ashes this is as good as any.

 

[Juggernaut]

Wow! That IS a gorgeous spot👍

 

[mattybfat]

Figured i post some goings on.
Festival Season is almost upon us and we have a busy schedule starting in May.
May Domefest in Ohio
June Northlands New Hampshire
June-July Peach Scranton
August 2 nights with Dogs in a Pile in andover
August at least one of the Garden Phish shows
August Jamfest in Virginia
September Boarderline Upstate

In between we need to fill in a couple emtb camping trips with Lackawanna a definite. Like to get down to West Virginia and up north somewhere. Hoping to hit our annual Lake George get away also.

I have been riding pretty regularly and the weather has been stellar. Something i changed up has been riding emtb in all boost on certain days. Just going full out balls to walls on a specific loop at DP. Last night i Towed @Fat Trout with me and we just missed 9mph avg at 8.9. That was my goal. Anyone who thinks you arent getting a workout on an ebike clearly hasnt ridden one. Today i feel it not just in legs but mostly upperbody. Again im riding a midpower ebike but not exactly a light weight at 47 pounds.

Weight has been coming off as i been working the program well. Hopefully it comes off and stays off for good 😁

Looks like the Canfield Nimble 9 is gonna go up for sale as im waiting for a full power ebike to come in. Im a believer in back up bikes so 2 ebikes be will all i need 😝. Though i cant seem to part with my misfit so ill still have a amish mtb hanging around.

 

[Soundguy]

If I could afford an ebike I think I'd have one at this point. Too many health things keeping me from riding lately. I'll never ditch the "acoustic" bikes but something to just get me going again would be awesome.

Edit: So cool that you still keep to your festival routine. I am still struggling with shows. I tend to grab a club soda with a straw so it looks like a cocktail, but some people still don't understand the "no I'm good" response. On upside for me is I mostly go to death metal shows so if things get uncomfortable I just dive into the pit and get my ass kicked lol.

 

[mattybfat]

@Soundguy
The bigger festivals like Peach and Dome have sober tents and hold meetings. Its pretty cool.
It comes to a point where alcohol isnt even a thought at these fest. I tend to say glad im not that guy passed out or making an ass of themselves. Mainly its about remembering your last drunk and to keep that green. I will not be a person who can drink like a normal person, took many years to figure that one out 🤣. Keep up the hard work because it is hard and stay in control of you! Proud of you my man!!!

 

[rlb]

Though i cant seem to part with my misfit so ill still have a amish mtb hanging around.

Still have mine going strong. No plans to sell it either, there's no point since I wouldn't get much!

 

[Fat Trout]

I'll never ditch the "acoustic" bikes but something to just get me going again would be awesome.

Your comment here is where I'm at basically. I'm streaky on when I can ride, I have different things I do. I might go a month without riding then have weeks where I can ride. I'm finding the Ebike lets me jump back in immediately and get on the tech and keep that trail / tech mindset fresh vs feeling like I had to pay a penance of weeks riding road before going back in the woods with enough cardio to push tech without killing myself because I was gassed. With both bikes I can start E when off on training or riding with certain groups and then go acoustic because yeah I still do like it and as @rlb noted, I'm not going to get enough on my acoustic bikes relative to what its worth to me.

 

[mattybfat]

@Soundguy
When you come back to visit NJ hit me up and i will put you on my wives turbo levo to ruin you 😁

 

[mattybfat]

Howdy, this thing still is on?

I don't think I need to say how much fun you can have on an ebike but today made me realize how to really use these incredible machines. Today was exactly how I envisioned it way back before owning one.

I went back to Port Jervis to hit the downs which most know PJ has a few mile long DH runs with an easy access road to the top. I now wished I didn't destroy my legs day before on that 21 mile ride.
I started with 5 bridges then painted apron followed by flintlock and finished on dj downs. The latter will beat the f*ck out of any soul.

Some sweet kickers and drops on all those runs but for sure not going back till my fasst bars come in, really struggled with hand numbness today on those runs.

Look for an electric sunday coming soon at PJ. Such a great park.

On a side note I messaged Laszlo to coax him into opening up Plattekill to Ebikes. Told him to charge a fee, we sign a waiver and he never needs to turn on a lift, would be super cool even if he gave it a trial with a couple weekends.

That is all, be well!

 

[Soundguy]

On a side note I messaged Laszlo to coax him into opening up Plattekill to Ebikes. Told him to charge a fee, we sign a waiver and he never needs to turn on a lift, would be super cool even if he gave it a trial with a couple weekends.

I’m blanking on the name but there was a park in PA that did that, not e-bike specific but it was on the MASS enduro circuit a few years ago. The lifts don’t run but a local crew keeps up with the trails.

 

[mattybfat]

I’m blanking on the name but there was a park in PA that did that, not e-bike specific but it was on the MASS enduro circuit a few years ago. The lifts don’t run but a local crew keeps up with the trails.

Launch bike park
Haven't been back there since the lift was running, which was an experience in itself.

 

[mattybfat]

It's by the grace of God I have not had the need to pick up a drink for 5 years.
That friends is me Winning!!!

 

[Soundguy]

Launch bike park

Yes! I had an awesome race there a few years ago. It was definitely sketchy from what I remember lol.

It's by the grace of God I have not had the need to pick up a drink for 5 years.
That friends is me Winning!!!
View attachment 226951

This is amazing, dude. Seriously that’s huge 🙌

 

[serviceguy]

It's by the grace of God I have not had the need to pick up a drink for 5 years.
That friends is me Winning!!!
View attachment 226951

Sober or e-sober? J/K congratulations either way!