The Pinkbike Podcast: Episode 119 - Road Trips Gone Horribly Wrong

 Love @HenryQuinney An honest and open guy, and I know it can be punishing now and then to be truly honest and open in our society... But these things need to get out. People need to talk. And understand their experiences. Especially, as he mentioned, being a young man where you've basically been taught to shut the f*ck up and deal with it your whole upbringing. It's not surprising so many end up just falling on to drugs and self harm as a crutch.

 Road trip story [and lesson]....was heading to Vermont with friends and cut through Penn. on some of the back country roads. Had to take a piss and couldn't find anywhere to stop (pre-smart phones) so we pulled over on side of road and I slid down an embankment just off road for some privacy, grabbed a fence at the bottom to brace my self....turned out to be an electric cattle fence. Got blasted and fell to the ground. Having no idea what had just happened, I reached up and grabbed the same fence again. Blasted a second time. Came back to the car a few minutes later looking like I just got my ass kicked. Learned that day what a cattle fence was and that some Amish use electricity. Love road trips.

 Woah, did Kaz hit puberty between episodes 118 and 119? Oh, it's just allergies, nvm.

 PB and Beta are coming together so seamlessly that I couldn't tell the difference between Kaz and Palmer.

 @mikelevy
Episode suggestion / article suggestion: "Mullet Bikes: The Good, The Bad and The Why?"

Although a fringe phenomenon in the real world, the hype around mullets has never been bigger with brands like Commencal switching significant portions of their line-up to a mullet-only configuration. Unfortunately, objective tests (like the one done by Seb Stott) are few and far between and the arguemts around the mullet trend seem to become increasingly based around bro-science and the blind repetition of marketing jargon.

I'd love to hear you guys talking to some engineers, going over the physics of running a smaller rear wheel and seperating fact from hype. Maybe talk to two different brands; one that fully embraces the trend and another one that doesn't buy into it and get their respective reasoning.

 Thank you Henry for discussing Suicide and having the courage to talk about your own journey with mental health. That is a very hard thing for many to do and deviates from many harmful parts of the traditional masculine role. Appreciated. Traumatic brain injury suicide death rates are almost five times higher than in the general population. As such, given the prevalence of head injuries amongst mountain bikers- it is an added area of attention for us. Look out for your fellow riders. If you know someone who is struggling ask them about suicide. Suicide is a way to end emotional or physical pain and thoughts of suicide, even if brief, are far more common that most would believe. Talking about suicide and connecting with others is one of our most important strategies to reduce risk. Ask the question “have you had thoughts of killing yourself?” Give space to listen to the answer. Do not shame someone for thinking about suicide or try to talk them out of it. Rather, acknowledge their pain, ask them what they need, let them know you care and if you do not believe you can plan for their safety bring them to the hospital or call emergency services for them. If you are having thoughts of suicide there are other ways to end your pain. Suicide is often a permanent solution to temporary problems. Call Crisis Text Line, a friend, or explore options for help. The world is better with you in it.

 Scene: March 2013. Freshman girl in college. Her first Spring Break. College led trip with 7 students.
Vehicle: 9-person van pulling a trailer with summer tires driving from SC to Fruita, CO and Moab, UT.
Trip: Epic riding on my 2012 $500 Haro Flightline 2 hardtail all week. 2 (maybe 3) showers while camping all week. Friday came quick and we were eager to get back to sleep in real beds back in SC, so we headed back east.
Crazy part: We decided to take the "scenic route" back to SC, aka, through the CO Rockies. We got about 60 miles east of Denver and a HUGE snow storm hit. We were in our van... on summer tires... pulling a trailer... one guy was in sandals... the highway closed and it was getting dark, so we called all the nearby hotels to ask about vacancy. Nothing was available and they wouldn't even let us stay in the lobby. Long story short, we ended up staying in a Catholic Church sleeping on yoga mats for 2 nights until Palm Sunday, where we were the only ones who attended the service. Quite the interesting adventure for this atheist! lol.

 I went on a road trip in the 80's with my wife Ellen Griswald, and kids Rusty and Audrey to try to get to Walley World, and I wish you could have seen the mishaps we got up to... it was keeeerrrrrr-azy!

 This podcast took a crazy turn with Henry's story and his thoughts, but wow did I appreciate how genuine that conversation was. Thanks for sharing Henry.

 One of my best road trips involved breakdowns. Bought a 25 year old retired ambulance and took it for a road trip with my GF for a few days. No conversion done yet, and hadn't dug into the thing to see how it was mechanically. If I had I might have noticed that the up pipes were leaking so bad that I had virtually no boost. The 225 HP Powerstroke was more like 115 HP. But that was okay because it was terrifying to drive over 55. Second night we stopped on BLM land in Arizona and it wouldn't start the next morning when we finally got ready to hit the road. Ended up that the glow plugs were shot, and it was pretty cold in Arizona. Engine block finally warmed up enough to fire late in the afternoon as I was on the phone with roadside assistance after I gave up trying. Drove to a Home Depot and used my freshly deposited stimulus check on a generator to use on the block heater for the rest of the trip. Decided fuck it, I am calling in sick a day so we can make it to Sedona after losing a day being stuck. After leaving Sedona I got a flat about 5 miles past the off ramp and then found out that the spare tire wrench that came with was the wrong one and I didn't bring a long enough extension in my socket set. Roadside assistance bailed me on that one. But we got to do a run around the rim of an extinct volcano at midnight on New Years. MTB on trails I thought were fantastic that I have never heard anyone mention in Kingman. Introduced my new rider GF to Sedona. And most people left us alone since I had a gigantic black eye from being head butted by a horse a couple days before starting out. Adding weight building it out fixed most of the handling issues. Spending all my free time for a few weeks working on the thing after my car was totaled made it reliable. GF ditched the 2009 Pivot for a 2020 Transition Patrol and now identifies as a rider vs a runner. I would say it all worked out.

 Kazimir and Ryan sound exactly the same in this podcast and I can’t tell them apart and it’s freaking me out.

 Question: has anyone of you ever tried shigura brakes or other mix and match stuff? I know kazimer did the Foxzocchi, but I’d be interested in some of the hacks that you guys did over the years. Especially shiguras are pretty popular around here and I’d be interested in a professional review and not just mtb-news.de forum chatter.

 I'd loooove a podcast on what works for heavier riders. I've never been under 200 lbs in my life, closer to 230 today, and I've blown up a couple of shocks and worn through bearings and bushings faster than would be considered normal.

Today I ride a slack hardtail and that works really well! I wonder if we should all just be riding e-bikes :/

 Saying hi to other riders and strangers who dont say hi back. I always assume one of those people would be super nice all of a sudden if they had a mechanical! Also those stuck up dog walkers annoyed by bikers, walking on trails built by bikers...yea

 I work for a bike share that operates bosch-powered ebikes. The thing to do to prep for potential battery fires is a metal bucket half full of sand. If the battery starts smoking or getting hot while charging, drop the battery into the bucket, fill the rest of the bucket with sand, and put the lid on. Then set it outside. The thing that causes the fire is called thermal runaway. That's why normal liquid extinguishers don't work. You put the fire out but the battery cells are still heating up.You can get extinguishers designed for electronics, but they are a whole lot more expensive than a bucket and bag of sand.

*** The vast majority of ebike fires are from shitty home built or modified batteries. We've never had one, it is just smart to be prepared.

 Interesting point about heavier riders getting a different shock tune. Would a different tube be a good suggestion for someone on the opposite end of the spectrum (much lighter)?

 The last time a ate a whole bag of flaming hot Cheetos by myself I had to skip school because of bowel distress.

 @henryquinney thank you for the deep thoughts. Never thought you guys would go there talking about road trips. Thank you and the other guys for being authentic about real struggles.
On a less serious note, @mikelevy and @ryanpalmer @mikekazimer I also am annoyed at the serenity of nature being ruined by Bluetooth speakers blasting. My theory is that people in general may be uncomfortable with their own thoughts and don't know how to enjoy the moment and lift their eyes up to see the beauty around them. I just saw an ad for an outdoor BT speaker that is waterproof and has crazy battery life aimed at outdoor activities saying that we can bring our "own life soundtrack with us wherever we go". But why though? Be in nature. Enjoy it.

 Mountain bike podcasts are great and all but it's obviously time to release an alien Formula One racing podcast. Henry and Mike would be able to talk for hours, however it might be hard to hear them over the sound of Kaz rubbing his temples in grief.

 Road trip gone wrong yesterday….drove 5 hours to camp for a few days with the dogs in the Eastern Sierras. 2 hours after setup my dog pukes in the tent and it’s everywhere. Bedding, tent, my only pair of pants. She ate some Covid campers poo they were too lazy to bury (and apparently high as now my dog is loopy and stumbling) and now it’s all over the tent and me. That’s ok, I have my pajama pants….promptly rip a 10” hole in the crotch. Time to give up and drive home. 12hours of driving, 650 miles, setup and breakdown camp, and now wash the dogs at 3am when I get home.

 I have a question I hope you guys can provide some insight to.

What am I doing wrong regarding Tire pressure?
It seems like 90% of people run lower tire pressure than me and often times with a lighter casing tire.

On the latest daily driver bike video thing with Christina people were even in the teens of PSI. How the hell is that possible??
I know for a fact I am dead average if not slightly below average at bikes, I assume most people ride as hard if not as hard as me and I cannot make a tire feel comfortable below 27r/24f. That's with a DD maxxis in the rear also. Running anything less or running an exo in the rear and I feel like me tires are folding over and my bike is trying to shoot out from under me on even the slowest corners. Am I just being a hypochondriac or does anybody else experience this?

Even on the latest Goodyear tire thing just posted it sounds like Dan was able to get along well with a decent amount less pressure than I ride with and I know that guy is fast enough to make most people look like rookies, let along make me look like I'm standing still.

 Can you talk about any animal encounters you may have had where things had a lot of potential to go wrong or even went wrong. I live in Colorado and have been reading a lot of stories of people encountering mountain lions, snakes, etc. lately and am interested to hear your experience. Some of those stories took an ugly turn. Is there any preventive measures you take in the case you do encounter a not so friendly animal?

 How about a topic: What to carry on a ride? I usually carry my decades old Camelbak backpack with as much water as I expect to need, a couple multitools, some chain pieces, CO2, mini pump... Unless it's a super short loop ride, then I just carry a water bottle. I've heard a few passing comments on the podcast that have a different approach.

 Yay I got a mention. Admit I hadn't considered the low volume loadspeaker use, maybe I've never (knowingly) encountered one.
Met quite a few people who insist on blaring out at max volume though, biking, skiing, just walking through town.

 Did anyone else think Kaz was Palmer for a half-second when he started talking?

 Not MTB but insane roadtrip story, some parts are hilarious, The Misfits Podcast, #1 - The Poland Story. If you do listen to it, tell me you can't picture Quinney in there somewhere.

Not horribly wrong, but went over to cycle the Malvern trails. Stopped for lunch, chatting away and not paying attention while preparing a European style lunch, I sliced through the food and my finger of the hand holding it. Blood all over the place. Had to tape it up and cycle slowly to the local hospital with that arm raised. The worst part was being in A&E in my MTB getup and having to explain a bunch of times that I'd not been in a gnarly heroic cycling accident but instead been careless prepaing the emmental.

 What ever happened to the enduro elite.
I love the specialized enduro family but ever since the disappearance of the elite model it seems there’s a larger gap in price points. With now only the comp and expert, can we expect the return of the elite or is it really gone forever?
The mid grade build with GX and a zeb ultimate or fox factory package seems to be the ideal price point $7800 for an amazing performing bike that could do any thing you throw at it. With room for upgrade, and a build quality that doesn’t lack performance or weight seemed ideal. I’m not willing to blow my bank account on the expert for the $10000 price tag, but yet want parts such as sram gx and a zeb ultimate.

 Also great chats regarding mental health. Often isn't talked about. Bikes are the best anti depressant. Thanks Henry. Don't ever kill yourself please. Xx

 @henryquinney thanks for staying with us and being so real on these podcasts and in your "waffle house". Every time I see a podcast upload with you and @mikelevy on it makes my day because I know I'm going to crack up laughing for a good hour and get stoked about bikes (and then I go ride of course).

 Great Podcast as always, Henry brought a very valid point. Have you guys considered doing a podcast about Mental Health, we are probably all guilty of the MTFU attitude

However if it strikes a chord & helps just one person...

 re @henryquinney's experience of tragedy intruding on a road-trip and the "f*ck it, guess we'll go ride." reaction.

I was on a road trip, driving I-395S across the northern Nevada desert on the way to Tahoe on the morning of 9/11. Listening to live coverage on NPR. It was f*cking surreal. Got to Tahoe, stopped in a diner to grab some breakfast, saw the smoking towers on the tv while eating. Stopped in a bike shop after to get a replacement for a part broken on a previous ride, and grab a local trail map. Same thing on the tv there, everyone just kind of in shock and glued to the coverage.

Nothing to do but ride, so that's what I did. Actually had a great ride. Came across a friendly local near the trailhead, as I was consulting my map, who played tour guide and shared a couple drags off the little one-hitter that he pulled out of his pack during a rest stop (Another subject touched on in the podcast. That was the first and only time I've ever toked while riding, but it seemed appropriate at the time.). Camped out that night, and headed off to the my last stop before home (Mammoth, where I had friends to stay with.) the next day. It was actually a really great road-trip, but for some reason I couldn't help but feel weirdly guilty after that day, like I should cut it short and go straight home to mourn or something, and I didn't even know anyone in the towers. Can you have survivor's guilt from 3000 miles away?

 I was on a road trip with a couple of mates from Tasmania to central Victoria, Australia, and on the second last day after riding trails at several destinations, racing DH, All Mountain Trophy and Gravity Enduro, I broke my ankle riding the black diamond Elevation trail at Mystic Mountain.
I left everyone I was riding with so not to ruin their ride and the 10 something kilometres back into the town of Bright.
I got myself to the local medical centre, had an X-ray, they couldn’t confirm a break so just bandaged it up.
I couldn’t drive anymore so one of my mates drove us in my Triton ute back to Melbourne the next day to meet the ferry back to Tasmania. It wasn’t until the following day when we arrived in Devonport that I could get to hospital for a orthopaedic surgeon to look at it when he confirmed a broken talis bone in my ankle.
I did miss a race weekend at Derby but I only missed one day of riding on our road trip.
My ankle is still a bit dodgy but the trip was worth it.

 I’ve been meaning to thank you guys for talking about mental health on the podcast - it seems to come up pretty often and I appreciate it. Normalising the shit we all go through is exactly what we need. Keep it up, fellahs, and look after yourselves.

 I've been waiting for this for a whole week! Thanks guys, this made my day.

 You can’t put out e-bike fires out without mass quantities of water. Once a li-ion battery fire starts is doesn’t stop until it runs out of fuel or its cooled for a long time.

 Can we get “My Buddy” Wayne on the podcast?

 I own several pairs of the “aftrshox” earbuds. I have both the full bone conduction model and the lower end pair that features a speaker as well. That allow you hear the bass but focus on the out of ear benefits

 I'm going to find out where Henry rides and make sure I'm in front of him on a climb while I pump out Imagine Dragons on my phone. We'll see how he feels about ruining rides with music then.

 Just on my way home from a Fruita Moab trip. Had a crash on the second ride. Result was a scrotal hematoma. Spent a night in the hospital and had the biggest balls on the trip.

 @mikelevy @brianpark YES DIY Podcast! I am building a carbon enduro bike and document the whole thing in the forum. would love to participate!
www.pinkbike.com/u/SleepingAwake/album/diy-carbon-enduro-bike-build

 For the love of god @mikelevy can you please pronounce Wasatch Mountains correct... I live 2,000mi from Utah and know it's not Wastach

 I have certainly flirted with disaster with some gas station burritos in Utah…

 I'm trying the Shokz headphones this summer. Lets you hear the bears and the music!

 Any Aussie/NZ rider who grew up in the 90s and watched Mudcows 2 will tell you that Bad Funk Stripe by Grinspoon is the definitive MTB film song

 How dare Katz disparage Omak! That was my first Walmart experience before the Waltons stormed Canada. Fond memories of that desert podunk.

 I like it when you all start going fully “off script” once in a while. Hearing the voices and humanity behind and writing is a good pairing.

 @mikekazimer

I'm sure you'll make it to Nelson when you're ready for it.

You've clearly got a ways to go though... But keep at it!

 This is one of the few PB podcasts that I shut off early from the inane ramblings at intro. But after reading the comments, I want to hear what @henryquinney has to say.

 headed on a two week road trip to arizona in june. I hope this isnt foreshadowing anything

 I think what people are forgetting is that Joe Barnes uses his heated grips more for Enduro races. Climb, climb, climb, waaaaaaaaaait, then race. Plenty of time to cool down and let your warm blood rush to your core. Probably not made for everyday riding?

 Holy moly I've probably said this 100X on here. Every single broken CSS rim is covered under warranty or crash replacement and is shipped back to CSS. There they recycle every singe one into automobile or military equipment.

 I never knew cars left a trail of flames behind them, thats wild. .......the more you know!

 Get well soon Kaz, we love you buddy.

 Kaz's sick voice sounds like Palmer. This made it hilariously confusing when they were talking to each other.

 Kaz sounds like a strip club announcer

 Kaz sounds like Palmer in this one...

 @henryquinney thanks for keeping it real.

 Kaz on auto-tune was a different experience...almost "robotic" voice

 PB Podcast: BIG RIGS edition

 @mikelevy

Nelson is 1 hr from US border.

 Let’s get Mr. Mybuddy Wayne on a Sodcast soon.

 Does Henry not get a caricature?

 You boys didn't know that you cant throw water on electrical fires? haha.

 @mikelevy couple questions for the pod:

 Moved comment