WhyFi

Man, rice is a staple for sooooo many cultures and cuisines - I can't imagine omitting it from my home meals unless we ate out a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

WhyFi

Tell that to people with exercise bikes, Stair Masters and skiing machines.

WhyFi

Ew.

genejockey 

My preferred bibs are the LG FitSensor line. I really liked the FitSensor 2s, but they're all gone now. The 3s have a pad that's thicker over the sit bones, which I like less, and the shoulder straps are a little less comfortable. But they'll do, and they definitely beat the Performance Ultras (which bunch up in the crotch) or The Black Bibs 460 special, which slide all over the damn place. The Castellis I wear on Sundays are okay, too.

seedsbelize2

These days about 35 miles.

Mojo31

Owning those things is not odd since you have to have a place to put your clothes before you put them away.

big john

Since I haven't done a century since 2019 I would say 40ish miles because I do 80ish on occasion. Is that what you mean?

I have gone into the mountains alone many times, on both open and closed roads, and I've gone into unknown areas on the mtb while exploring. I used to create new mtb routes by going in one way until I felt I should turn back then on another day approach from the other side. That way I could link the two rides together to make a long loop.

Strangely, the times I have been the most worried have been when with others and not when alone. One time about six of us climbed a mountain road for miles then dropped into a canyon which showed a trail on the map. It wasn't until we were deep into it that we found all traces of trail were gone. Some of the guys started worrying that we were lost and it took some convincing to get them to keep moving. Lots of carrying the bikes over rocks and downed trees until we saw a trail on the hill above us. We climbed out of there just as it was getting dark.

Of course the worst was when I took my ex wife and another time when I took her and her friend into the mountains where they shouldn't have gone. Once I told them to wait for me and I would go get the car. I hammered for a while and hitched a ride on a forest service truck and by the time I got back to them they were shivering cold and looked so out of place. They were still moving, though. I felt like such an idiot.

Mojo31

I get it and we like rice, but don't really cook much at home that requires rice. Most of the meals involving rice are a night out for us or carry out from our neighborhood Chinese place.

Our meal prep habits have changed quite a bit since the nest emptied. Much more simple meals and more eating out (which Covid impacted a lot).

genejockey 

Way back when, when I was single, I went through a phase of acquiring kitchen equipment. I actually used to used a lot of it, too. But nowadays, a lot of it languishes in the pantry. Just last night, though, I dragged out and used the Krups meat slicer, which sees action every 6-12 months. I got two pieces of Eye of Round at Costco, so I made Italian Beef for sammiches.

When we were first married, Mrs. GeneJockey and I went through all our household stuff - since we were both 30, we each had a lot. All her kitchen stuff was crap. I think I kept one pan lid, because it just happens to fit on a Griswold #9 skillet.

BillyD

Ouch.

genejockey 

That's what curtain rods are for.

seedsbelize2

We are unable to find brown rice, and won't cook white, except for the dogs. Quinoa is our staple grain.

BillyD

Don’t change the subject.

BillyD

Uh, crabon would have been my first guess.

Certainly the second guess.

indyfabz

Home in Philly. Crazy stuff. Front coming through today. Back into the 80s for tomorrow but the up into the 90s for a few days again after that.

Even odder were the dew points yesterday. 78 at the coast in Cap May yesterday morning. That's downright tropical. It was more humid at the shore than it was in town. And the westerly wind caused upwelling, so the water at the beach was in the low 60s. I think it actually dropped into the 50s last night.

genejockey 

I've watched a couple of The Vegan Cyclist's "Impossible Route" videos, and the most recent one was a lot like that. They plan out their routes, but don't ride any of the segments beforehand. On the last one, they were following a trail which just kept getting narrower and narrower, and less and less distinct, till it was indistinguishable from the surrounding land. It's the sort of place where I'd have turned around 6 hours before.

LesterOfPuppets

When I was single in Vancouver, WA I'd worry about that some, so I'd try to stay close to the bus lines and such. I even did a century all on bus lines in Portland. All I brought was a $20 bill and a water bottle - no pump, no tire levers, no tools - broke the $20 at a snack stop and made sure I kept $2 for bus fare. The first time I tried a Vancouver to Olympia century I bailed out at Kelso and took the Amtrak back home.

Riding MTB in the desert I'm always even more aware of how long a hike it'll be to get back to the car.

Mojo31

I'm just curious about other's comfort level.

From my house, I can do a 40 or 50 mile ride while never being more than 10-15 miles from the house and without doing an out/back and with very little retracing. The other night, we were out driving around the area where I ride, and came across some roads that looked like nice ride candidates, but they would take me much further out and into some pretty remote areas that don't offer any bailout spots or places to get help (c-store for example). Not sure how comfortable I would be out there alone as there would be little to no immediate help if you needed it. With another rider, no problem.

We don't have any mountains or off-road areas to ride. Most of the mountain bike routes are in parks as there is very little public property otherwise. Virtually all land is privately owned, and you do not want to go riding down someone's fence road or make trails through their property. There are some great mountain bike areas, but none where you have to worry about survival.

WhyFi

In my early adulthood, I used to be a kitchen gadget/small appliance kind of guy. Not so much any more - stuff really has to be multifunctional or it has to do the job significantly better/more easily than the alternative. The rice cooker will be the only small appliance of mine in the kitchen, other than the espresso machine and grinder. My wife, on the other hand, has a handful of things (food processor, blender, stand mixer, etc) that rarely get used, though they take up a bunch of space.

The in-law's kitchen? Good gravy - what a bunch of crap they've got. I'd keep a couple of their cutting boards and toss the rest, along with the range. Such a frustrating place to try to put together a meal.

BillyD

Amazingly we don’t have a rice cooker, because my wife has virtually every other kitchen toy you can think of. Rice is so easy to cook it would be just another gadget occupying good space.

big john

That day the trail had washed away and was replaced by boulders and debris. I figured if we kept following the drainage we would eventually get out of there. It wasn't cold enough to be life threatening like the time I was with the wife and her friend. I should have done that day by myself.

Mojo31

My concern is that I live in redneck country, and I would have difficulty getting help if run off the road and hurt in a remote area for example. Roaming packs of dogs are also a concern.

big john

We don't have one, either. She makes Jasmine rice in a regular pot and it comes out great. She can also make brown rice well.

The ex, on the other hand, was a great cook, mostly Cajun style stuff. She was a follower of Emeril Lagasse.

BillyD

I’ve been waking to the pleasant low 70s the last few mornings.

I was blessed for today’s game, because even though it was humid and soupy AF thankfully the sun never emerged from the clouds.

LesterOfPuppets

Careful around those chess-playing robots y'all
https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5vq...-breaks-finger