Sleep is crucial, been having a rather good one these last couple years although I have the occassional day of bad one. It's curious how mood and sleep alter each other.
Don't know why things are set up to screw sleep and leisure balance. School, work, etc. 4h workdays they said in 1960, heh
Until recently I didn't begin to use much upper body while biking, realised it is crucial technique in the trails.
Wanted to try that E bike to do a lazy long ride but seems like the manufacturers learned from the Diamond industry and the order is still to be filled.
Ended up doing that ride down the coast with my bike anyways.
29ers are nice as a trail cruiser and ride. The buzz is that they "climb better and ride over bumps smoothly". A 27.5/650B or classic 26" feel much more playful and aggressive.
Moving to Scandinavia in a few days. Will miss the bike and have to handle the endless summer daylight. "How can I sleep if it's still light, at 12AM?"
Curiously I think I wouldn't be able to fit a lot of stuff in luggage but will end up carrying even the tripod.
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Jorde,
As one ages, sleep becomes even more important, and the problem is most men don't sleep as well as they get older. Some nights I wake every 40 minutes, and I never sleep through a night anymore. In other words sleep is more restless and not as effective in refreshing the mind.
The mind and body can adapt. I lived at 7K feet of altitude for a year and a half when I lived in the Santa Fe National Forest. The cold did not seem so bitter in the winter due to the lack of humidity and even though the air was thin there was little pollution, unless I drove to Albiqueque where there is an inversion layer of smog that develops due to the geography (valley and mountains).
I found that when I drove east and hit sea level I felt energized initially, but as I got close to the east coast I could feel my body struggle with the pollution.
Also when I got off a plane in the tropics (Costa Rica) the long days made me giddy, exhilerated and energetic. I suspect a somewhat polar effect that would correspond to land of midnight sun and polar darkness or short days.
I'm considering Seattle, and many people forewarn me to be aware of the gloomy 3 months that cause the suicide rates to rise. All I can say is that NYC weather and pollution are no bargain, and that the ill effect of pollution gets compounded by aging, and that New York winters and summers are a different kind of evil.
I rely on the model created by Navy SEAL survival training where 95% of survival is due to "a positive mental attitude."
For me mountain biking is a very different type of cycling. Road riding is more about cardiovascular training for endurance, but mountain biking is more strength and interval training. Ideally both types of training are required to be ultrafit.
As far as climbing goes the smaller wheels have less inerta, so for climbing it requires less energy and power to accelerate and maintain momentium, but a certain level of skill is required involving bike handling to capitolize on the laws of physics.
Certainly the 29'er has its advantages over very rough terrain and high speeds, but I would say that the bigger wheels are a disadvantage in climbing.
Also disc brakes certainly are a better brake, but they require a stronger wheel which comparitively is heavier than a lightweight wheel with a rim brake. Then there is Cantilever verses Vee-brakes. The Vee-brakes offer a lighter touch and more leverage, but one tandem builder I know refuses to use them because the pads are thin and wear out so rapidly.
For my style of riding (single track) about 80% of the riding involves climbing, and my old out of style bikes still serve this single style of riding very well. To me more fun to ride and more of a challenge.
Cal
