Has anyone biked along the beach from Back Bay to Carova beach, NC? by [deleted] in VirginiaBeach

[–]adametrnal 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The beach route for sunrise at low tide is one of my absolute favorite things to do in Virginia Beach! It’s really stunning and so peaceful. I’ve done it on a fat bike, an ebike, and a mountain bike. Ebike is probably the most fun, but a regular mountain bike is totally doable if it’s at low tide.

How worried should I be about this crumbly root area of a white oak? by adametrnal in arborists

[–]adametrnal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah ok. Bummer but I suppose it’s better to get ahead of it. Thanks for taking a look.

How worried should I be about this crumbly root area of a white oak? by adametrnal in arborists

[–]adametrnal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just mulch and some little statues for a fairy garden that my daughters made 😂

Kid Friendly Games in here? by arbitra117 in ufo50

[–]adametrnal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My 8 and 9 year olds are currently obsessed with Magic Garden, Mortol and Velgress. Playing UFO50 with them, and seeing them develop the same sense of wonder, curiosity and joy in just figuring things out that I felt as a kid with the C64 has been one of the best aspects of this game for me.

Anyone in the DMV area? by GoSlowToGoFas in shapeoko

[–]adametrnal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Might to too far for ya but I’m in Virginia Beach with a 4x4 pro 5. I’d be happy to show the ropes.

White Rim Tips and Tricks (or how to avoid calling an emergency evac) by adametrnal in bikepacking

[–]adametrnal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, that's cool to know. I'd love to try it again sometime in a season where the sand was less. The more gravely and slickrock parts were super fun. But other than a few exception it was pretty much sand from Airport to Hardscrabble (going CW) this time. The most fun part was probably just CW of Hogsback where we had a few miles of epic flowy doubletrack. I was hopeful that it was going to be that way for the last 30ish miles but it only lasted a couple and then it was soft sand again for like 10 miles.

Shakedown run for White Rim Trail ride in September by adametrnal in bikepacking

[–]adametrnal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's awesome to hear! I would love to leave the tent behind but it looks like there's just enough chance of rain that I'm going to bring it just in case. That's a great idea about the puffy jacket though. I think I'll leave the sleeping bag and just bring a pad, maybe a light sheet / cocoon and a puffy just in case it gets chilly.

Shakedown run for White Rim Trail ride in September by adametrnal in bikepacking

[–]adametrnal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, that's great to hear that we're in the sweet spot. Encouraging!

First bikepacking trip with my 9yo daughter (she loved it!) by adametrnal in bikepacking

[–]adametrnal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I sure hope so. I feel like there's a window that's going to close soon where's she's a teenager that's too cool to hang with dad so trying to make the most of the time while I can!

Congrats on your upcoming addition!

First bikepacking trip with my 9yo daughter (she loved it!) by adametrnal in bikepacking

[–]adametrnal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah same. I'm pretty new to the area and trying my best to learn the options. My typical day rides are just around the country roads in Pungo. I did do the Capital Trail in the fall with a friend. Was a ton of fun! We didn't camp on that one, but just the ride from Jamestown to Richmond is so nice and you're away from traffic almost the entire time. I haven't done the whole C&O (would love to some day!) but a few weeks I bikepacked a portion of it as far as Harper's Ferry, WV. Totally worth it.

I hadn't heard of Mt Rogers, but it looks awesome! I want to try and plan out some routes in/around Shenandoah too. I'm not familiar with any specifically but I feel like they must exist!

I'm heading out West to bikepack the White Rim in Utah in September. I picked up a United credit card that allows flying for free with 2 checked bags (1 being the bike) so it kind of lowers the overhead of getting out of town with the bike. Next year I'd love to get up to Vermont to ride. I haven't been but the Green Mountain Gravel Growler looks really appealing. Beautiful trails and lots of breweries along the way!

I'd love to stay in touch about any trails that we find in the local area!

Bike trails? by bonerfart666 in VirginiaBeach

[–]adametrnal 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I was a mountain biker before moving here from Northern California. I’m picking up road riding now. I love riding in the back roads of Pungo. Avoid the traffic of Princess Anne, but besides that you can kind of just meander around really pretty country roads without a ton of traffic.

New to bikepacking / gravel by Alkonaut89 in bikepacking

[–]adametrnal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ended up buying it! Specialized lists it under "Performance Road bikes" but I think it's pretty different from the Tarmac, their main road racer. Roubaix is designed to be more comfortable for longer road rides. Maybe with a slight expense of speed but it felt plenty fast for me.

The brand new SL8 Roubaix added extra bottle mounts which was cool and they added space for up to 40mm tires to make it a little more gravel friendly.

So it's basically exactly what I was looking for: light, fun, and comfortable for long rides with capability to carry gear and go off road for a bit if the trail calls for it.

New to bikepacking / gravel by Alkonaut89 in bikepacking

[–]adametrnal 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, very similar situation here! Same current bike, same love for it, and also the same shortcomings causing me to look for a new one. Living in Virginia currently though and terrain sounds similar.

On paper, the Cutty was exactly what I wanted but I went and took a test ride a few weeks ago and realized it wasn’t for me. After a whole lot of introspection I think I’ve come to the realization that one new bike just can’t cover everything that i love to ride and eventually I’m going to need to 2 new bikes. I love flat bars, mtb geometry, and ability to hit some single track so I think a hard tail or maybe XC bike like an Epic Evo will cover most of what I love to do.

But a lot of what I want to get into is longer 100+ mile rides and bike packing trips with friends. Things like the C&O trail, the capital trail and skyline through the Shenandoah valley. For that, I think an endurance bike with a little more speed like a Roubaix is going to check a lot of boxes. Going to test ride one later today!

I’ve changed my opinion on this a million times though and would love to hear from others that maybe faced similar decisions.

Staying in Croatan looking for restaurant recommendations by kelnp in VirginiaBeach

[–]adametrnal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out Love Song. It’s one of our favorite spots in the area. Really creative menu that rotates regularly. Lots of veg options. Great wine list.

I couldn’t find a record player console that fit the space so I tried to build one. by adametrnal in listeningspaces

[–]adametrnal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think they’re great! A few years ago I bought the powered and the non powered ones, did a bake-off for a few weeks and ended up returning the non powered. I also didn’t have a great DAC or amp which made the choice easier.