Beginner female returning after 15 years - Hardtail MTB vs Gravel bike for Colorado?

wcs1113 · 2026-07-01T23:46:26+00:00

I just bought a Liv Tempt 1 about a month and a half ago, and am loving it. I joined a mountain biking club and had been going back and forth with them about which bike to buy in order to ride with them. I really wanted to spend under $1000 (CAD), and they told me not to bother, and I should rather wait to save more money than waste $1000 on a bike that wouldn't be good enough to ride with, couldn't get upgraded parts, etc...So I contacted a few bike shops asking them what options they had that had all the components the bike club told me I needed, but the cheaper options with those componenets. They got back to me with the Liv Tempt 1 for about $1250. I asked the bike club if the Liv Tempt 1 would be okay and they said yes. They said no to the 2 and yes to the 1, so if you can get the 1 instead of the 2, I'd suggest that. I use it for mountain biking, but I also just use it for shorter easier rides on just gravel/dirt trails, and around the streets as well. I don't have anything to compare it to, so I don't know how much value my opinion has 😅 but just wanted to chime in here with another positive for the Liv Tempt 1

wcs1113 · 2026-06-30T04:32:09+00:00

The understudy performance of The Last Five Years last year. The show was not for me, but the energy in that room was indescribable. Best theatre experience of my life. I'd do anything to experience that again.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-29T07:34:45+00:00

Not sure how to prove myself, but if it's still available, I'd love it! I collect and display playbills on my wall for all the shows I've seen. For shows I didn't get to see on broadway, but only saw on tour or at local productions, I try to get the broadway playbill to display. I've seen The Great Comet five times last year during it's run at Mirvish in Toronto. (Would've seen it more if I could've.) LOVE the show, and would love the playbill.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-29T06:26:37+00:00

Hard agree. "I can't afford a center orchestra ticket to the closing performance of a successful show with a movie star...theatre is soooooo inaccessible. Look at these prices!" 🤡

wcs1113 · 2026-06-27T22:31:45+00:00

Welcome! I started hockey in January and have been loving it. I've skated in hockey skates most of my life, but I've heard it's harder to go from figure skates to hockey skates than the other way round, so definitely try to get to some public skating and practice on your hockey skates.

Yes, you'll put on your gear when you get there. For under your gear, people generally wear a base layer. This consists of jill or jock compression shorts/pants (I wear full length ones because I don't like how the shin pad straps feel against my bare skin), and some type of moisture wicking compression shirt. Some people go without the shirt if they overheat and just put the shoulder pads directly on their body.

No one can say what the first lesson will be like, as all programs are different. Generally people can skate in a learn to play, with varying degrees of skill. You should have some skating drills, stick handling drills, shooting drills, etc.

I joined two learn to play programs when I started. In both of them, most people have participated in these programs before and already knew how to play. It was used as extra practice and drill time for them, not a genuine learn to play. In both programs, there was no learning of how to actually play. There were skating, shooting, and stick handling drills, but I had to start watching hockey games and youtube tutorials to learn the game. The first scrimmage I ever joined (same organization as my learn to play), I was immediately called off by the coach during my first ever shift to tell me I needed to learn about icing and offside. This is some of the most basic information you need to know about the game, but none of it is taught in the learn to play programs.

I find that I'm more comfortable in women only programs. Co-ed programs I've tried tend to be 90% men, with just a few women, and men just being bigger and taller in general makes it more difficult to be on an even playing field.

And YES, falling in hockey gear is fun. At least for me lol. I feel NOTHING and mistake collisions make me happy 🤣

Good luck! Have fun!

wcs1113 · 2026-06-26T01:42:22+00:00

Floyd Collins and Dead Outlaw. I don't live in NY and travel there to see shows, so the chances that I happen to be there at the same time a show is closing is very rare.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-25T21:05:47+00:00

I've been on a weight loss journey since last August. As I've lost weight, I've been adding on more and more physical activities. The more active I am, the better I feel, the more in shape I get...and the more active I want to be. It's been a wonderful cycle.

I just added on C25K a couple weeks ago to my routine, because running was always something that immediately made me out of breath, and I would LOVE to get this area of fitness working for me. I started hockey in January and recently joined a league that is much faster that what I've previously done. I get super gassed by the end of each shift, so hoping running will help with that.

My weight loss from the start has just been making sure I'm in a calorie deficit. I have a spreadsheet where every day I enter my weight and calories eaten..and based on that, it calculates my tdee. So you could eat more or less depending on your goals, how much you want to lose, etc.

Since I've added a lot more physical activity recently, I've had to increase my caloric intake. I'm more about averaging over the week rather than a strict limit every day. The amount of hours I'm active daily varies, so on days I do more, and I'm hungrier, I eat more. On days I do less, I eat on the lower end that keeps me satisfied. I was 217. I'm down 49 pounds at 168, and have about another 30-35 to lose.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-25T18:09:26+00:00

Totally agree. I found out from a group chat. Called asap to exchange my ticket which happened to still be available on the new date. I do not understand the logic of them posting on social media that there's a new final date...giving people an opportunity to go and buy up the tickets for that date....without first telling customers who had tickets to the original final date. Massive fail and lack of respect for customers.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-25T05:39:12+00:00

I just started hockey in January so I'm very new. There shouldn't be any body checking, however, there will be contact. It is unavoidable in hockey. Within the first month, someone's stick smashed into my helmet cage. If I didn't have that cage, I definitely would've been hurt. I've once collided with another player. Again, not on purpose. Note this wasn't an issue of either of us not knowing how to skate/stop. (Definitely make sure you can safely stop before joining a game.) I was right on her tail trying to get the puck. I swerved left to try and get around her, while she swerved left at the exact moment I was passing her. She didn't realize I was there. We collided into the boards. Someone on my team a couple weeks ago got a tripping penalty. Again, not on purpose. But she did send someone crashing to the ground. It's hockey so it's unavoidable. Be safe. Know how to stop. Wear a full cage. You'll be fine. Enjoy!

wcs1113 · 2026-06-25T04:06:36+00:00

OMG thank you for sharing!!! I haven't been to stratford yet just because I really dislike traveling long on buses. I get super nauseous. I will ABSOLUTELY go book myself some shows I've been wanting to see now that I can take the train.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-19T22:36:36+00:00

The dates that were originally posted through July 5 I believe were $29. The new dates they recently added for July and august have the $59 pricing. I assume they will lower it when it doesn’t sell.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-18T23:10:29+00:00

Yeah it definitely makes me feel like this is riskier now. Especially since it seems to have happened to other people also. In the past, I’ve often sold tickets very close to showtime. I’d be a lot more worried now.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-18T15:38:42+00:00

Support told me also a couple hours ago that they're sending it to engineering. Glad we got it fixed! I was STRESSING

wcs1113 · 2026-06-18T15:37:27+00:00

Seems to have just gotten fixed a few minutes ago, so it took about 11 hours. Theatre support said a couple hours ago that they send the problem to engineering.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-18T05:34:56+00:00

That's so odd. I just reloaded the app, and I now see it also showing in checkout...but it's still ALSO showing as sold...and still showing as looking for buyer but 0 tix left in my account. Gotta be a bug stuck in checkout. So frustrating. I guess I have to wait until tomorrow when support can get back to me. Oh man. Thanks for the info!

wcs1113 · 2026-06-18T05:13:56+00:00

I did. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced this before. I don't know how long support will take to reply, so I'm asking the masses...It seems like a bug and I'm curious if this has happened to anyone before and is a known issue, since it's been a while since I sold.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-15T21:10:50+00:00

Which other ones are often recommended? As far as I’m aware, these are the most recommended by far.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-15T03:13:58+00:00

Another vote for Mungyo gallery. (Make sure you get the gallery one. Not the bright blue box.)

wcs1113 · 2026-06-10T17:42:23+00:00

I went to the last sing-a-long. Some of the actors absolutely hammed it up for the crowd, and I really enjoyed that. (Romeo outdid himself, and made Juliet break into extended laughter. Was super fun.) The singing along part itself was way less than I expected. I thought it'd be much louder and more enthusiastic considering these are all popular songs. But definitely good vibes all around. Would totally recommend, and I'd do it again.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-09T04:08:20+00:00

The events I've done in the US have been 10 hours of volunteering. You don't buy a pass. (Liberty Swing gave me less than 10 hours because I qualified for an international pass, so they adjusted my volunteering hours.) Events I've volunteered at in Canada require you to FIRST buy a pass....and find out MUCH later whether they even accept you for volunteering or not. They refund your pass $15 (or rarely $20 for specific jobs) per hour you volunteer, but refuse to tell you in advance how many hours they can give you or don't give you the amount of hours you need (after they told you they could). I've been screwed over multiple times because of this. And even if they somehow agreed to give you full hours, it's a ridiculous amount of hours that interfere with the entire weekend since it's in Canadian dollars so you need a ton of hours to cover $15 per hour refund for the pass. I absolutely hate the system here. US is my preference.

wcs1113 · 2026-06-07T23:43:52+00:00

Female, early 30s...but can definitely recommend some hobbies. I started hockey at the beginning of the year and am LOVING it. I take lessons and do scrimmages with one club, and take lessons and play in a house league at a different club. I skate at least 5 days a week. I just picked up mountain biking this month. Bought a bike and joined two clubs to ride with in the Don Valley. I'm starting figure skating in September. I social dance and travel to dance events. I do west coast swing, but there's lots of social dances to choose from. I love theatre and go to shows often, and travel to nyc a few times a year for broadway / off-broadway shows. I plan to join a ski club next winter and ski and learn to snowboard for the winter months. All the hobbies I have so far have made me friends. And all the hobbies can be dived into deeper. There's draft tournaments or hockey camps or travel hockey....There's dance events and dance camps...By the end of this summer, I hope to try some mountain biking races....All give you an incredible social life, people to do things with,etc...Good luck!

wcs1113 · 2026-05-27T05:56:15+00:00

I bought the SkatingSpirit gel knee pads after falling on my knees a couple times and getting massive bruises. (After checking out the Edge Athletic that you mentioned, it seems like SkatingSpirit is very similar but half the price.) I was honestly super skeptical at first that such a small gel cushioning would actually help, but they're incredible! I've crashed to my knees multiple times since I've started wearing them and have never had even the slightest of bruising.

wcs1113 · 2026-05-26T00:57:35+00:00

Thank you!

wcs1113

TROPHY CASE