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What better day to ride fat bikes for the first time than on Global Fat Bike Day!?!! We were able to demo some Borealis bikes and explore Sand Creek in Colorado Springs. Global Fat Bike Day was hosted by City of Colorado Springs Government, Trails and Open Space Coalition, and Bike Colorado Springs. Borealis bikes, a Colorado Springs company, was there to provide fat bikes for all to ride and demo. Event Description: "Experience “Complete Creeks” first-hand at the third annual Global Fat Bike Day in Colorado Springs, Saturday, Dec. 1st. Bike Sand Creek in a 2,000-foot navigable bike trail as it takes you down a series of drop structures in the creek bed. A first for Colorado! The new Sand Creek alignment extends from the Platte Ave bridge down the east side of the creek to the confluence of the West Fork of Sand Creek where you'll then be able to cross over one of the Complete Creek pathways to return to the event area on the west trail. Representatives from the City of Colorado Springs, Trails and Open Space Coalition and Bike Colorado Springs will be on-hand to present project details, discuss fat bike opportunities and future trail connectivity." Borealis Bikes: https://www.fatbike.com/

We rode here on day 3 of our Colorado vacation. This ride took place after riding at Red Rocks and visiting Garden of the Gods, but before going to Pub Dog. That video is linked below. Palmer park MTB trails are a pretty technical place to ride. The rocks and sand are sure to keep you on your toes. This was my first time riding at Palmer Park. For those of you who are familiar with the trail, you may notice I skip around a bit. I got twist turned around quite a bit while there, but still enjoyed it. I have ridden at Palmer Park more than any other location since we moved to Colorado in October 2018. I highly recommend this trail to anyone who like a challenge or is tired of trails that rely solely on power.

This was the 3rd day of our Colorado vacation and the day we realized we had to move to Colorado Springs. This video is very delayed as we have spent the last few months making the move happen. We are now official residents of Colorado Springs! Stay tuned for more videos from this Colorado vacation as well as future adventures. In this video we explore Red Rocks Open Space and Garden of the Gods for the first time. We then check out Pub Dog which is now our favorite spot in town to have drinks.

The Wilderness 101 endurance mountain bike race is part of the National Ultra Endurance Series and takes place in Coburn, PA. This was the first year they offered a marathon distance for this particular event, so we both decided to take on the challenge. This was our third NUE series race of the year and it was a blast! The trails are like nothing we have ridden before. The moss covered, rock littered singletrack was challenging yet fun. We will be back for years to come. Olivia's Race Report: https://forbetterorbikes.com/2018/08/... www.mtntouring.com/mountain/htm/home/page_home.htm www.NUEMTB.com

Pre Ride 1:00 Women's Heat 1 2:36 Men's First Heat 5:43 Kid's Race7:35 Women's Heat 2 9:32 Men's Heat 2 11:22 Grand Finals 13:17 Post Race Fun 15:35 The Boondoggle Outlaw mountain bike race took place at Levi Jackson State Park in London, KY. The race format was 2 30 minute heats on a 1.2 mile singletrack loop. Overall placing was based on cumulative points from the two heats. The weekend was about more than racing, it was about family and fun. We spent the weekend at Levi Jackson State Park where we explored all they had to offer. Olivia's Blog: https://forbetterorbikes.com/2018/07/... Treetop Adventures: http://treetopadventureky.com/ Levi Jackson Wilderness Road State Park: https://parks.ky.gov/parks/recreation...

The perfect portable camping shower system for those who live on the road, camp, or just enjoy a good shower after their adventures. We pieced together this system after much research and several extended truck camping adventures. Each item was strategically chosen in order to produce an affordable, compact, reliable, and multi-purpose shower system. Portable Camping Shower Build List: Shower Tent: https://amzn.to/2zo9909 Water Bucket: https://amzn.to/2zp8USA Shower Pump/Sprayer: https://amzn.to/2zx4jOz Soap: https://amzn.to/2Nzp8f0 About the soap: https://www.drbronner.com/

This was day 2 of our 12 day Colorado adventure. We started the day at our free campsite off Old Stage Road in COlorado Springs, CO. We made our way to Stratton Open Space where we took off on our mountain bikes to ride the 37 mile Jones Park Loop. It was en epic ride with plenty of epic views and a variety of scenery. Jones Park Loop: https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7015...

This was day 1 of our 12 day Colorado adventure. We drove the final 8.5 hours today. We headed straight to Stratton Open Space in Colorado Springs to get a quick ride in. We rode the Chutes 13 mile trail loop. It consisted of 1.5 hr mostly singletrack climb and 30 mins worth of twisty turny descent. We then took the dogs to Bear Creek Dog Park, the best dog park we have ever seen. Once we were all thoroughly worn out we drove to Old Stage Road where we took advantage of some great free camping. Captain Jack's, Chutes, Buckhorn Route: https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/270021/chutes-gold-camp-rd-buckhorn-captain-jacks

We are at Eva Bandman Park for the second round of the Louisville MTB Short Track Series. It' s short trail loop with several sharp turns and fast competition. People were gathered everywhere yelling and cheering. There's always plenty of food and beer to make it a week day event. Olivia's Blog Post: https://forbetterorbikes.com/2018/06/... Louisville MTB Short Track Information: http://www.louisvilleshorttrack.com/

We head down to Tennessee to compete in the Big Frog 65 mountain bike race. The Cohutta 100 takes place at the same place and time, but with a slightly different course. Big Frog 65 and Cohutta 100 are part of the National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Series. Competition was steep. Here is how it all went down. Pre-ride: 00:42, Pre-race: 04:39, Chris's Perspective: 06:17, Olivia's Perspective: 17:49, Post-race: 30:25

The Boondoggle 45 Mountain Bike Race took place in Daniel Boone National Forest on April 14, 2018. The race is 50 miles of singletrack, road, and gravel around Laurel River Lake. This was our first mountain bike race of 2018 and we couldn't have asked for a better way to start the season. Boondoggle Cycling Promotion is a is a grassroots race production company based our of Kentucky. They do a great job keeping things interesting with new race formats and the crowning of a "grand champion" at each event. The Calm Before the Storm: 04:22 Olivia's Perspective: 06:17 Chris's Perspective 13:57 Post-race Thoughts: 26:14

It is the weekend of the April Fools Gravel Camp. We start the weekend off by mountain biking with dogs on the Canal Loop at Land Between the Lakes. They love trails just as much as we do and go camping and riding almost every time we go! Pre is a standard poodle and Clyde is a blue heeler mix. They both LOVE running trails.

We head south to Land Between the Lakes for the April Fools Gravel Camp. We were lucky enough to spend yet another weekend camping out of our vehicles with Outdoor Wanderlust. It was not your typical spring weekend as it snowed the night before the big ride. Us and a hundred others braved the cold and set off on a gravel adventure around Land Between the Lakes. Event description: "Come out and enjoy the scenic gravel roads of Land Between the Lakes national recreation Area. We have another great weekend planned, full of camping, riding and partying in the woods. Last year we tackled a 100 mile course to push ourselves and train for the DK200. This year is a little more casual: 60 & 30 mile routes with snacks and catered breakfast and dinner, along with camping and beverages." - Gear Up Cycles

The Cardinal Omnium was put on by University of Louisville Cycling & Triathlon on March 17-18, 2018. The event consisted of a time trial and road race on Saturday at Huber's Farm and a circuit race on Sunday at Iroquois Park. I consider myself a mountain biker, but decided to try my hand at a local road race. Hopes were high for the time trial and the road race. This is how the weekend went........

We head to the Dirty South Roubaix 100k in Alto Pass, IL for our first gravel racing experience.

Heavy rainfall and muddy trails gave us the perfect excuse to go explore The Parklands of Floyd's Fork and its 20 mile multi-use path. We started at the northern most entrance of Beckley Creek Park and rode 20 miles South to the end of Broad Run Park. It is a 40 mile out-and-back, but the video is only of the "out" portion. This 20 mile segment is also part of the Louisville Loop (mile 55-74). The landscape is constantly changing as we navigate through the parks. This is by far the nicest park system we have ever seen. We stop along the ride to embrace and share as much of the beauty as possible. The gardens are absolutely stunning during the spring, summer, and even fall. If you are ever in Louisville, then exploration of this park system is a must. https://www.theparklands.org (Please forgive us for the poor audio. I (Chris) must have shut off the recorder on accident during the ride. We are making videos, but we are also training hard for a season full of endurance MTB racing. We cannot stop and check our equipment the whole ride.)

Bicycle Grocery Shopping: We embark on our first grocery shopping trip pulling a Thule Chariot Cougar 1 trailer behind our bicycles. We learned a few lessons on this trip. 1: Grocery shopping by bicycle is not as scary or mentally straining as we initially thought. 2: Bring a bike lock and make sure there is somewhere to lock up your bike. 3: Plan a route that does not include a large hill on the way home. 4: Use a chain guard, tuck pants into socks, or use strap to keep pant legs out of the bicycle chain. 5: Use waterproof trailer or bags in case of a sudden downpour. All-in-all it was a positive experience and is our first real step in downsizing to a one-car family and a drive-less lifestyle. Be sure to post your comments, tips, and tricks below. We would love to learn from those more experienced than us. Here is a link to the trailer we used. Its good for groceries and kids, but not dogs. Thule Chariot Cougar 1: http://amzn.to/2DC0fdn Here is the trailer we use to take our dogs to the parks and the pubs. Video coming soon 🙂 PetSafe Solvit HoundAbout Aluminum: http://amzn.to/2E9nXP3

We decided to check out Enterprise South mountain biking trails. The trails are fun to ride and we even stumbled across a pump track hidden deep in the trail system. Outdoor Wanderlust: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnl8... Enterprise South Nature Park Map: http://www.hamiltontn.gov/pdf/ESNP/BR... We apologize for the poor audio in this video. Our voice recorder batteries fell victim to the cold before the start of the ride.

We went for a mountain bike session at Cherokee Park mtb trails to work on a few tough sections. Most notably was "No Net." A short section of trail that is littered with roots, rocks, and sharp turns. Camera Setup

We mountain biked the 5 mile Cherokee Park MTB loop. It's finally starting to get cold in Louisville.

-Olivia is the talkative one. She gets the camera at 7:35. 🙂 -This video: We got to ride Skull Buster mountain bike trails in central Kentucky for our first time this past weekend. The trails were solid at the start, but it warmed up and they began to thaw out. Things got a little slickery as we wrapped up the ride. The trails are relatively fast with a few obstacles to keep you honest. This is a great trail to do laps and log a lot of miles or just head out for a hot lap with your friends. -Be sure to leave comments and or questions below. We cant wait to hear from you all. -Who we are: Olivia and I (Chris) are a married couple who love everything bicycle related. We enjoy racing/riding all disciplines of bicycles. However, our main focus is endurance mountain biking. Together we have more than 15 years of racing/riding experience. Our free time is typically spent camping and riding with our dogs. We are here to share our adventures and inspire others. -The poor audio is being addressed for future videos thank to our good friend Phil.

We spent the first part of the day mountain biking with dogs at Raccoon mountain. We took them out on Electric Avenue for a 6 mile adventure. We take our dogs camping and riding almost every time we go! Pre is a standard poodle and Clyde is a blue heeler mix. They both LOVE running trails.

Raccoon Mountain Biking Trails | We headed down South to Chattanooga, TN to hide in the woods for 5 days and escape the chaos of the New Year holiday. The first stop was Raccoon Mountain. We started the ride at the East overlook parking lot and headed counter clockwise around the trail system. In Part 1, we hit a small part of electric avenue 1, East rim, and the switch-yard connector. These trails are pretty fast and flowy. The kind of trails you could ride all day and never get tired of them. In Part 2, we hit Grindstone Ridge, Mega Watt, River Gorge, and Laurel Point. This half of the trail system must be where all the rocks hide. This is the technical section and the one we enjoy most at Raccoon Mountain biking trails.

Raccoon Mountain Biking Trails | We headed to Chattanooga for 5 days and escape the chaos of the New Year holiday. The first stop was Raccoon Mountain, which is our favorite. We recommend it to all of you. It is not overly technical, but has enough features to keep everyone honest We started the ride at the East overlook parking lot and headed counter clockwise around the trail system. In Part 2, we hit Grindstone Ridge, Mega Watt, River Gorge, and Laurel Point. This half of the trail system must be where all the rocks hide. This is the technical section and the one we enjoy most at Raccoon Mountain biking trails. In Part 1, we hit a small part of electric avenue 1, East rim, and the switch-yard connector. These trails are pretty fast and flowy. The kind of trails you could ride all day and never get tired of them.

Five Points mountain biking trails are fast and turny. There is a challenging rock garden on Caprock trail and a fun downhill with some kickers on it on Slickenside trail. This is a great trail system for all levels of skill and conditioning. Day 2 of our trip to Chattanooga started at Raccoon Mountain campground where we slept in our truck bed with our dogs. We woke up and it was cold, so we were in no hurry to get to the trail head. We finally made our way to the trail head with our friends Nick and Beth from Outdoor Wanderlust around 10 am. We created a route on Strava and loaded it into our Garmins. It didnt help much as the trails are very confusing for first timers, even with a map. After riding this trail system twice, we have decided that we would skip it next time and just hit Raccoon Mountain two days in a row or head a little further South to some other trails. Are there any other trail systems that you would recommend? Which trail systems would you like to see featured on this channel?Let us know in the comments below.

The Ultimate Truck Bed Camper | Explained | Cheap Modular Functional In this episode we go over some of the basic measurements, the platform hinges, and how to install and remove it from your truck bed. We have spent more than 80 nights sleeping in the bed of this truck with our dogs as we traveled around the country. This is our new and improved truck bed camper setup. This build is functional, durable, and cheap. Feel free to ask questions and/or share your build in the comments. We are always looking for ways to increase our efficiency and enjoyment. Key points of this truck bed camping setup: -Decreased van life shuffle -Access items from inside and outside truck -Tailgate can be lowered with bikes on upright rack -Light enough for one person to remove -Modular to allow transport of larger items

Indoor Cycling with a Stationary Trainer | Are you having trouble staying fit because of bad weather or a hectic schedule? Here are 3 reasons to embrace the stationary trainer and 5 tips to make indoor cycling as enjoyable as possible. Together we log about 320 hours a year on the trainer and this is what we have learned......

I quickly review three of the top rated winter cycling gloves for 2017. Castelli Estremo Gloves: http://amzn.to/2k7uEIR Giro Proof Gloves: http://amzn.to/2jadbOI Endura FS260-Pro Nemo Gloves: http://amzn.to/2yLCWKW

This is a quick video on how to adjust shifting on a bicycle that is shifting poorly. The barrel adjuster is the knob on the shifter that allows quick adjustment/indexing of the gears. Turn the barrel adjuster towards you in order to create slack in the cable and allow the rear derailleur to shift into a smaller/harder gear. Turn the barrel adjuster away from you in order to increase the tension in the cable and move the rear derailleur up the cassette towards an the easier gear. It is possible that the derailleur hanger is bent. In which case you can attempt to bend it back by hand or use a derailleur hanger gauge to get it straightened out. It is worth investing in a derailleur hanger gauge. It cost about $70. A new derailleur hanger cost $20 and is not always easy to get your hands on. Park Tool DAG-2.2 Derailleur Hanger Alignment Gauge: http://amzn.to/2Db4A6C This is not an all inclusive video on setting up the rear derailleur. This is a quick video on how to adjust shifting on the fly during a race or a ride.

The side of the trail is no place to learn how to fix a flat tire. In this video Olivia learns how to fix a flat tire. This video has tips and tricks that even experienced riders may not know about. If you have a tip or trick that we forgot to mention, then be sure to post it in the comments below. As we head into the 2018 endurance mountain bike season, it is important to be confident in your flat fixing abilities. Olivia wants to be able to change a flat quickly and properly. She has not run into the problem on the trail yet and wants to be prepared. That is why we are going over this necessary skill.

In this video Olivia learns how to replace a chain. Things don't always go smoothly, even when the task is simple. Watch and learn from our mistakes, then join us for a drink at Against the Grain Brewery in Louisville, KY. I highly recommend having a park tool chain checker in your arsenal of tools. Its is a way to quickly determine if your chain is in spec or not. Its a small price to pay for peace of mind. Park Tool Chain Checker: http://amzn.to/2CJXOVK

Published on Dec 13, 2017 We have spent more than 80 nights sleeping in the bed of this truck with our dogs as we traveled around the country. This is our new and improved truck bed camper setup. This build is functional, durable, and cheap. Feel free to ask questions and/or share your build in the comments. We are always looking for ways to increase our efficiency and enjoyment. Key points of this truck bed camping setup: -Decreased van life shuffle -Access items from inside and outside truck -Tailgate can be lowered with bikes on upright rack -Light enough for one person to remove -Modular to allow transport of larger items