Pic of the Day

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Killer day! Rained on the way there, stopped as we arrived and then the sun came out. Nice sticky trails and then rained on our way home.
perfect!

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Which trail are you guys riding near Merrimac butte?
We started at the Big Mesa trailhead and followed the 7-Mile Rim Trail to Wipe Out Hill and the around the buttes. You can also access them from the M&M Trail near Mill Canyon and Courthouse Rock if you work your way cross-country. Both routes take you on a few stretches of very sandy Jeep trails so best with plus tires and/or after rain. There’s a lot of fun slickrock riding around the buttes and Courthouse Rock. Here’s a shot of mrs levity heading back toward the Mill Canyon area.

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With Covid lockdown finally relaxed down to Level 2, wife and I went for a ride last Friday specifically to cross the Arapuni Dam Suspension Bridge (Arapuni, New Zealand). A close friend of ours bragged that he rode his MTB across the suspension bridge and so not to be outdone, we just had to do it.

I've been trying to choose just the one 'pic of the day' to depict the experience but it's impossible.

1) On our way to Arapuni along side the Waikato River. Perfect day - no wind, not a cloud in the sky!
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2) The river trail leads to a paved service road and bridge that crosses the river. From there we looked up to see the suspension bridge from that view point for the first time. Gulp! Red arrow points at me having a vertigo attack at about midway ?, the remaining half is obscured by the trees.
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3) There's nothing on the sign that says you can't push or ride a bicycle across and there was no one else around, so. At first it was no sweat but about halfway across where the bridge wobbled the most, the bottom of the deep ravine caught my eye and it played havoc with my balance. Suppressed the panic attack that came along with it - and reached the end. Felt like forever... phew!
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4) I had asked my wife to take photos with my phone and then she can follow when I get to the other side. The steel caged netting only goes to about a third of the crossing... directly over the property owned by the power generating company. Then it's just chest high fencing on either side, the rest of the way.
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5) Below: I walked about a quarter of the way back to capture video and wondered why she was walking instead riding her eMTB, when I suddenly remembered that she has this fear of heights. o_O I guess we both completely forgot about it. Awesome gal... she was white in the face and hardly breathing by the time she got across - but still smiling!
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Only chest high when walking! So when on the bike, it would feel as though your centre of mass was above the guard wire. Yikes!

There is a similar bridge somewhere near the Prix La Joux mtb trails in the French Alps. We estimated it was at least 200' above the buildings below. I pushed the bike across the middle third. :giggle:
 
This was a couple of years ago in Namibia... I'm not generally scared of heights, but this helped you poop yourself .. probably a similar experience Mrs @GrandPaBrogan was going through !!!

The stone building is the kitchen/dining room. When you're in there and look out of the window it literally feels like it's just straight down ! The funny "open" construction on the right is the toilets. Open so you can admire the world ! Again though, it feels like if you slip, you're about to drop to your death with your shorts round your ankles ...

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Hope your flatulence cleared up.

Soooo .... when did your bike become all metallic and shiny ????
Yes , flatulence is fine now, they gave me stronger tablets ? . It's not as shiny in reality. Something to do with the light / camera.
 
This was a couple of years ago in Namibia... I'm not generally scared of heights, but this helped you poop yourself .. probably a similar experience Mrs @GrandPaBrogan was going through !!!

The stone building is the kitchen/dining room. When you're in there and look out of the window it literally feels like it's just straight down ! The funny "open" construction on the right is the toilets. Open so you can admire the world ! Again though, it feels like if you slip, you're about to drop to your death with your shorts round your ankles ...

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That'll be one of those Long Drop toilets! Coat....
 
Kneepad recommendations?
There's quite a few good threads on the subject and different opinions/experiences.


For me, I like the Sam Hill's. They don't ever seem to be uncomfortable, I'll sometimes still have them on when I walk the dog - but then, I'm a douche so I might fall over ... :ROFLMAO:
 
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