Mountain Biking Cross-Satisfaction?

It's worth it to get a basic bike specific tool kit with cassette tool and crank puller and spoke wrench, and have a high quality set of metric hex wrenches, master link pliers and a chain press are nice to have too. I'm not a huge fan of bike multitools for on the trail I usually just carry a folding hex set and folding screwdriver. Get a few master links that fit your chain to take with you, some tubes, plugs and sealant and a good pump.

Depending on how you do it you can take the 2 wheels off your bike and stash the bike in your car. I put the wheels in 42 gallon contractor trash bags and put another bag over the chain so dirt and grease doesn't get everywhere. Make sure to put the brake spacer in if you take the wheels off.

Really man you probably won’t need much as far as bike stuff except for some tools. One thing you should bring is a chain link and a mini chain breaker tho. It’s not hard to snap a chain.

It’s possible you could mess up a tire but I never really bring spare tires because it doesn’t happen much if you run proper pressures. 

if you are camping at a bike park in my opinion your stuff is going to be safe, it’s not really anything to worry about. Like you said have a very nice bike lock mainly for going into stores or restaurants while in town. I guess that’s kinda obvious. Sounds like a fun trip planned 🤘🏻

Got some good cardio yesterday 👍

-What spares should I bring? What does your bike trip supply stash look like? I'm thinking Jarrods place and windrock parks mixed with some days at parks and trails so I will be around some common parts. What do you bring? 

On the bike, I run tubeless, but bring a tube in the event that things are so jacked up, they can't be fixed by any other means. Also bring a tire plug kit, an extra chain (quick) link, multi-tool, tire irons (plastic), a CO2 inflator, and some zip ties. In my truck, I always keep a tire pump, shock pump, more zip ties, basic tools (Allen wrenches, torx wrenches, screwdriver), extra tubes, sealant, and a spare set of cleats (I run clipless). Also keep an extra set of grips.

-How do you do bike security on the road? i'll be camping right next to the car in all likelihood so I'm thinking of using my 12 gauge flashbang tripwire and finding somewhere I can get a good park (backed up in the corner of somewhere making it difficult to get to the bike). Bike will be locked and chained also. I'll be operating completely out of the car. If I camp AT the bike parks, this probably wont be an issue. 

I run a tailgate pad on my pickup, and I have a heavy vinyl-coated cable with pad locks securing the bike. Is it impenetrable? No, but it works well enough that if I'm on the road and need to run in somewhere it does the trick. When camping, if I can park close to my tent site, I just leave it on the truck.

For a trip focused on gravity-oriented riding, a set of burlier / more aggressive tires is probably the best bang-for-your-buck upgrade. Maxxis Assegai / DHR II combo is a widely accepted baseline for having a better time in rowdy conditions. 

As to experiences on your local trails, it's worth keeping in mind that there is a lot of regional / local flavor to mtb trail systems, based on whomever was laying out the trails in the first place. Some of the old school high post & lycra crowd loved steep, janky climbs, and were absolutely terrified of anything that resembles speed/flow/drops.

If you are having problems spinning out on climbs, trying shifting down a gear or two in your cassette to a higher gear. With less torque being applied to the rear wheel, you won't spin out quite as much, and the bike goes a bit further for each pedal revolution, giving you better opportunity to time your pedal placement around obstacles. 

Hit me up if you ever make it out to Western Colorado! 

Here's my local riding area. I'm super lucky to live near a world-class "secret" riding area which is continually being maintained and added to by the trail builders. I don't know who they are or when they do the work, but shout out to those guys! 
Here I am, narrating the ride like a crazy person: 

Damn that bike is vintage, and I 100% agree! The best replacement for MX is lift access downhill riding on a full DH bike. It's like having a moto track through the mountains. I still miss MX riding, but downhill gives me plenty of buzz. 

Nice little 11 mile ride after work today. Cold here in az. 

5 of us did 16-1/2 miles at the dog park this afternoon. It was pretty satisfying actually. Ride time 1 hour and 23 minutes. 

Today’s ride, I love trips to flat land florida. Great trails all over the US. Way easier than hauling all my moto stuff around. 

Alafia FL state park. Super fun

That place is fun, rode there a couple times before I moved to az. The climbs back up are no joke

Beastmode!!!!!!! 

One of these days I have to get over there and demo a YT Capra. I'll hit you up and we can do the old man tour! You can show me the trails. 

Yep. Also Spider Kingdom trails is also one spot to check out, it’s also a rad spot

Anytime ! Let me know. During the week is better if you can swing it. 

Alfia and Balm Boyette are both on land that used to be quarries right? It would be cool if in flatland areas instead of reclaiming quarries back to flat they were reclaimed with terrain features for recreational opportunities like this. I think these are old sites before reclamation laws took effect. 

Yep you are right they were some kind of old operation. Makes for really fun terrain to ride, I love it.

Today’s spot, Spider Mountain in Burnett TX. 
 Only ski lift in TX, really fun spot. 

Vintage.  I was out on my '07 Transition Gran Mal today at the local trails for an hour.

It was 21°F and I had frozen sweat on my helmet and on the bike when I got back to the parking spot.
The mineral oil in the brake system felt like molasses.   I'm going to try suspension fluid in the brakes for tomorrow's ride.

It's not the downhill park but it is a fun way to get some exercise outside in January, beats riding the trainer in the basement. Perfect conditions with frozen ground and 3 inches of powder on top.

Guess I’ll stop complaining about riding when it’s under 50 degrees. 

Without knowing what suspension you're running, It appears to be about right on air pressure (it's usually around half your weight on the forks and around the same as your weight on shock). You can play with the adjusters a bit, but I'm going to say this is 90% skill related. Look up some videos on YouTube. There's a ton of good guidance out there for any skill level.

To avoid pedal strikes while climbing uneven/chunky terrain you need to anticipate your foot position and may have to do some half pedals (go half a crank, back pedal and re-crank on the same side) to get past those tight spots.

Are you on flat pedals or clipless?

Is your rear suspension squatting too much while climbing causing the pedal strikes? If so does your shock have a climb setting or the ability to add damping on the fly? 

Hard to diagnose without knowing your equipment and I forget which bike you ended up with. I assume it is somewhere in this 12 pager. lol