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Was on an early morning roadbike ride on the local paved bike trail and got passed by a pedal assist e-bike (yes, you guessed it, a fat boomer). I was riding roughly 18-20 mph which is already sketchy when there's a lot of pedestrians also using the *non-motorized* trail simultaneously. It will be interesting to see how enforcement comes into play with the rise of ebikes on these non-motorized shared use trails. IMO just like with sleds, dirtbikes, etc they need to have their own designated areas.

IMO the appeal of cross country racing is being closer to what most of us actually ride. While I understand the necessity of plowed lake races, they might as well be snocross tracks for the vast majority of us. Assuming the race schedule goes as planned, I think this new Polaris will have a square advantage on the plowed lake courses (2), less so on the unplowed lake courses (2), but the terrain races (3) are still up for grabs. Will be fun to follow!

Yeah I'm curious to see if the Cat boys find some more speed on the Catalyst, for the lake races in particular.

Definitely betting it will be formidable. Lets hope we get to see these things run somewhere besides a slushy lake

Not much talk about balancing the sled. If you're drag racing, sure, throw everything at it. If you're running stock stock skis with the garbage staggered stock wearbars plus a bunch of studs it's gonna be push city. Smaller stud quantities are fine depending on the application. If you're worried about track longevity use a double backer setup and avoid the outside belts.

If you're running stock skis I'd probably only 96 studs on a stock 600. I've always run Stud boy PowerPoints with great success fwiw.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7sAFqhShV4/?igsh=OXhpM2V1Ym95dzJv

Where was this quote from Ben posted?

Put me squarely in the judgey purist camp. I see way too many fat boomers willing to spend thousands just to pretend they're exercising

Do tell

@Crnr2Crnr what bet did you lose for that profile pic

For sure! The hats he has worn, the things he has seen, and the budgets he has approved... The shoptalk guys lament they were born a decade or two too late and I'm right there with 'em

I wish Selby's mic was functional there too. Herf following within a few hundred feet the whole race then getting by him at the end. COR powersports needs to get some drones out there to follow the leaders!

The duo of Herf and Selby was really something on the course. Apparently true off the course as well

I'm fortunate to be able to listen while I work. He touches on the different racing disciplines for a bit. He says he just wants to spend as much time on a sled as possible so he gravitates toward XC and enduros. Snocross/motocross is too much sitting around. Gotta respect a guy that does what he loves...even if some other disciplines might be more lucrative.

This was an awesome episode for all sled racing fans. Zach gets into some cool stories of his racing career as well as mod sled insights and it flows really well too. Very entertaining and conversational. It's also available on Spotify.

F-150 sales numbers definitely factor into my purchasing decisions when truck shopping....

I agree that I would've liked to have more detail. Some of it may be Spencer's age (the interviewer) but I imagine the people he's interviewing play a big role in determining how much time and info they're willing to give. The Cory Davis episode was over an hour longer than the Tim Berg episode, for example, and a lot of the Davis one was clearly him willing to freely talk at length and detail on his own. Another aspect may be that the mystique of the brand and its demise wasn't actually all that mysterious? Between only focusing on one brand, the factory producing much better sleds out-of-the-box, complications of making aftermarket parts for EFI (and the EPA pressures), and rapidly changing sled design aspects, the company just wasn't making money anymore.

Just finished it actually. Great episode for Cat fans.

Country cat has the front arm AC5S available for around $320 or the Fox QS3 R 1.5 for $810. Wonder where those Ohlins will come in price-wise.

You have the 129 correct? Let me know what you find out. I ordered the ATAC, but would def consider putting a better front arm shock on vs the standard shock. It really bugs me that cat didn't at least put an AC5S up there even if it doesn't get modulated by the ATAC system.

Here's an excellent podcast on the topic. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6L4OmDbxaPJKGPXHIm6Rft?si=db2VZgHuRi2pWNVW1TUNQw

Come on now guys, brave the heat, earn your keep! Took today off due to obligations, but here's yesterday's solo Zone 2 road bike ride in 86 degree heat and 80% humidity. If you aren't familiar with the benefits of Zone 2 heartrate training I highly recommend it. Essentially, it is the foundation of both aerobic athleticism and long-term health and longevity. My zone 2 road rides have taken my mountain biking stamina to the next level.

Got one of these coming. Hoping to receive it in October in order to put some personal touches on and check it over.

Funny how slick and wonky the riding can get with a bit of moisture involved. Almost slid off a bridge and into a river once after underestimating the recent rainfall's effect on the man-made wood features.