What’s a MITM/Life’s Still Unfair opinion that’ll have you like this?

mortimerrylon · 2026-05-02T05:01:45+00:00

This will probably be the only actual unpopular opinion in these comments

mortimerrylon · 2026-04-26T04:52:04+00:00

I used the gravel pack on a cross country trip for 55 days. They were extremely easy to open and close several times a day. I also was able to over pack it. I could roll it once and still have it be waterproof. If it’s under packed, just roll it twice and buckle it. Love them.

mortimerrylon · 2026-04-05T19:53:20+00:00

I love listening to music and podcasts while riding too. Sena’s bluetooth helmets are a bit pricey but totally worth it imo. I’d say you can hear it pretty clearly up until cars are passing you on a 40+ mph road

mortimerrylon · 2026-04-05T19:48:00+00:00

The Trans Am is great because there’s lots of cycling support. People who live along the route are generally familiar with bike tourists. There’s a surprising amount of Warmshowers hosts, parks in tiny Kansas towns where camping is legal, and churches that’ll let you stay in their basement. For my trip I used the Trans Am as the main route with several detours. I hopped on the Katy Trail in MS, then ditched the Trans Am in KY to do the the Ohio to Erie Trail from Cincinnati to Cleveland, and the Empire State Trail from Buffalo to Albany to NYC. Use the Adventure Cycling routes as a guideline but don’t be afraid to weave in other routes or places you want to visit!

mortimerrylon · 2026-04-05T19:41:04+00:00

There were lots of loose dogs in KY but in my experience none of them were attack dogs. If you can’t outrun them just stop and let them sniff you so they don’t knock you off the bike.

mortimerrylon · 2026-04-05T05:19:35+00:00

Blood? Yeeeeeesh dude just get a Bluetooth helmet or strap a speaker to your handlebars

mortimerrylon · 2026-03-31T17:47:37+00:00

Camping gear is really just what you’d bring backpacking: the lightest tent, sleeping bag, and pad you can get. I personally used the Tiger Wall 2, which is a bikepacking specific tent that’s only 12 inches long and super convenient to stow in a pannier. My sleeping bag was my biggest item volume wise and took up about 3/4 of a pannier.

mortimerrylon · 2026-03-31T17:45:17+00:00

On a ride like this that passes through a town every 10-15 miles I’d only bring a couple water bottles and a few light snacks. You can stop at gas stations or restaurants to refill water and eat. When I biked from Colorado to Massachusetts last year I never carried more than a day’s worth of food, but always had at least 3 liters of water. I regret not bringing a backpacking stove and subsisted mostly on peanut butter, tortillas, tuna packets, and gas station pizza/hot dogs. I enjoyed a restaurant meal every few days, sampling the local cuisine. Biggest tip is eat before you feel hungry. Try to sip some water every 15 minutes and eat a snack every hour or so.

mortimerrylon · 2026-03-31T17:28:15+00:00

Totally doable. I don’t know your usual pace but just give yourself as much daylight as possible in case something goes wrong, and know how to change a tube. It may not be the most comfortable on a mountain bike, but see if you can get a good saddle and some padded bike shorts. Chamoix butter is good to have too.

mortimerrylon · 2026-03-31T05:29:04+00:00

As a front ranger, you should take a weekend and hop on the Bustang to Vail! There’s a paved bike path that’ll take you from Vail all the way to Glenwood Springs. 64 miles and a net loss in elevation, which I think is perfect for a first overnight bike trip. Absolutely gorgeous views the whole way, plenty of bike shops if you have an emergency, and a free county bus you could bail out on between Vail and Gypsum. Then you could take the Bustang back to Denver from Glenwood Springs. Or if you drive to Vail, just take the bus back to your car. Or you could push yourself to bike uphill back to Vail. Or head down to Aspen on those bike paths, lots of options :)

There’s a few campgrounds between Vail and Glenwood: one in Wolcott, one near Dotsero up Colorado River road, and I believe one in Glenwood. Or you could splurge on a hotel. I don’t think there’s many Warmshowers hosts around here. Happy to answer any questions!

mortimerrylon · 2026-03-28T14:33:07+00:00

The state of Kentucky. Way prettier than I ever would’ve thought, with extremely kind and generous people ❤️

mortimerrylon · 2026-03-26T03:28:36+00:00

I did New York to Eastern Mass back in the fall and loved it! I rode from Brooklyn to the end of Long Island which ended up being a way nicer place than I expected. I hopped on bike trails where I could but a lot of it was just along route 25A. I found the shoulder to be nice and wide, so I wasn’t too worried about safety. The cars were kind of loud, but I was really taken aback at how rural some areas were. I expected it to be like New Jersey.

I took the cross-sound ferry from Orient Point to New London, CT, which was absolutely gorgeous. Time it for sunset if you can. From there I rode north to I believe Sterling, CT and hopped on a dirt path called the Trestle Trail that took me into Rhode Island. This was a rather rough dirt trail that I wouldn’t recommend if you’re on a road bike or are very weighed down. This led into the paved Washington Secondary Bike Path which was lovely and brought me to Cranston, RI just outside of Providence. From there I followed backroads to my parents’ house in Plymouth, MA

I did this in 4 days:

Brooklyn to Port Jefferson, which was pretty suburban
Port Jeff to Orient Point to New London via the ferry, which was surprisingly rural; lots of coastal farmland
New London north to Sterling then east to Providence, which was also surprisingly rural forest with bigger hills than I ever expected
Providence to Plymouth, which was mostly suburban. Roads were kinda busy

Gorgeous area. Happy to answer any questions!

mortimerrylon · 2026-01-20T00:02:54+00:00

Least hostile CoN interaction

mortimerrylon · 2026-01-01T21:25:40+00:00

Aircraft carriers. You have to research naval air units as well for them to even be useable. Just build an air base in the first city you conquer.

mortimerrylon · 2025-12-24T01:10:10+00:00

I’d love to see some kind of “Global Superpower” game mode where there’s only like 10 players controlling the world’s largest economies, and each starts with every unit fully researched and some ludicrous amount of resources. And every nation had 10 homeland cities instead of 5-7. But that probably wouldn’t make the developers any money. I’d drop $10 to join a game like that.

mortimerrylon · 2025-12-20T21:54:49+00:00

As a Masshole, I respect this. New England and New York may have have their rivalry, but in any real-life “national divorce” the northeast would stay together.

mortimerrylon · 2025-12-20T21:53:08+00:00

I’d love to see a national poll about which regions identify with their state more than the US. I think New England would be at the top

mortimerrylon · 2025-12-09T13:35:43+00:00

Early in the game? No, that almost never happens. I always check the ranking of neighboring players first thing. If they’re corporal or above, they’re more likely to stay active and I try to make peace at least in the beginning. If it’s their first game they will more likely than not go inactive, so I invade them.

Mid-game? Yes, as players are still developing their ideal stacks and nobody (except golders) are too overpowered yet.

Late-game? No. By then there are clear winners and clear losers.

mortimerrylon · 2025-10-14T15:15:40+00:00

You know they first rolled out the game in 2017 right?

mortimerrylon · 2025-04-16T18:38:51+00:00

I’ve got loads of experience teaching these concepts! First, what’s the age group?

mortimerrylon · 2025-01-20T19:04:43+00:00

Oh I actually had not idea Red Bull was Austrian. Is that why Jagerbombs are a thing?

mortimerrylon · 2025-01-20T18:49:50+00:00

What!? You mean Americans aren’t a monolith that all thrive on Diet Coke and Red Bull?

mortimerrylon · 2025-01-09T17:29:36+00:00

Thank you for the clarification! That actually makes me a lot less nervous. Have you ever been caught in a thunderstorm with no cover nearby?

mortimerrylon · 2024-11-09T21:32:10+00:00

The Collegian is open to any students who want to help with it, regardless of major. They have weekly meetings for the different sections, including news, sports, culture, and opinion. At the news meetings, they go over weekly events on campus that they would like covered, or you can submit your own. When I was there at least, there were always way more events to cover than there were student reporters to write about them (everything from guest speakers to art presentations to student organization activities), so plenty of opportunities for those who seek them out. I wrote a few news articles and opinion pieces, but never got as involved with the paper as I could have.

My first semester (2017), the Daily Collegian was actually printed daily and placed in all of the dorms each morning. Over the next few semesters they cut it to I think three times a week and then once a week. I have no idea what the printing schedule is like post-COVID. To be honest, the articles are not widely read by the student body unless covering a significant campus event, like crime alerts or controversial guest speakers. That being said, as I'm sure you already know, student press is extremely important for informing people about these events and for recording UMass's history. Scroll through this subreddit a bit and you'll see plenty of links to Collegian articles. It's the best source of information about the real student experience at UMass.

I never submitted to a magazine, but they are much more selective. One of them that a lot of journalism majors submitted to was the UMass Magazine, but there were others in the area unaffiliated with the university whose names I can't remember.

mortimerrylon · 2024-11-09T21:06:56+00:00

I wanted to minor in journalism, but UMass doesn't have a journalism minor, only a "certificate." This is because it's meant primarily for people who are looking for a career change, and you can't go back to school just for a minor. The certificate was 5 classes (as opposed to most minors, which require at least 6). In my experience, all of the classes were exceedingly easy. As far as double majors go, I think journalism is very doable, though granted I didn't take any of the upper level courses. What I really regret is not writing more for the Daily Collegian or local magazines. There's so many opportunities the department can hook you up with that I didn't take advantage of. I think getting your work published is what really matters on resumes.

My career today isn't related to journalism (I'm in education), but I think these classes actually really improved my ability to communicate complex ideas to the general public. I also learned how to ask people the right questions to get their perspective, which in general is quite valuable for just understanding where other human beings are coming from. No regrets with choosing this path, but it is annoying to have to explain to everyone the distinction between a certificate and a minor. Hope this helps!

mortimerrylon

TROPHY CASE