hardtail XC bike

This might be part of your answer. Modern mountain bikes aren’t nearly as good on the road as vintage ones were.

However, don’t replace your bike before you check your technique. Did you get a professional fit when you got your bike? If not, did you talk with anyone experienced about setting up a bike for a comfortable riding position? Bikes do NOT come out of the box or out of the aisle set up well for most people, and it’s not always intuitive what the best position for you might be without experience.

Average speed is going to be highest when you can maintain pace. Straight, flat paths with few stops. Are you able to find a stretch of, say, 2 miles that has few to no deviations or stops? Including curves - if you have to slow down and then accelerate again, that’s inefficient and will tire you out.

How’s your tire pressure? Rolling resistance is greatly affected by tire pressure.

Gears? Are you able to pedal at your most comfortable speed of pedal rotation at a maintainable pace?

I’m by no means a pro - I’m also old and overweight, but 10 mph average over a long ride comes very easily when I compensate for those factors.

Corporations can’t suffer. It doesn’t matter whether you “steal” from them or not.

Nope.

They’ll take what they choose to take. It’s 2025. Social mobility doesn’t exist, our votes are meaningless, and economic policies change with the seasons.

I have no agency, so it’s not worth the stress.

40 here. Pretty much what I was thinking.

The way you behave in public is visible by the public, kids. No matter how you feel about it. If you don’t want it read, don’t post it.

I mean, okay.

If I already said something publicly, I expect it to be read publicly.

The block tool is because I’m tired of dealing with their bullshit, not because I’m afraid of them reading what I’ve posted.

Still nice to know though, I guess.

In this order:

1. Tell other adults you trust about the situation. Your wife. Her parents if possible. More than one other person.

2. Explain to her in very clear terms that you can’t have that kind of relationship. It’s not about what anybody feels, it’s about what is possible.

3. At the FIRST sign of any type of revenge seeking behavior, that’s when you consider the authorities and rely on backup from the adults you spoke to.

She very well might listen to you, process the rejection for what it is, and move on. Or she might flip out and cause you a mess. If she handles it well, she’s learned something and you’ve treated a growing human with respect. If she doesn’t, your ass is covered.

I couldn’t give a single shit what any Starbucks executive thinks about any decisions anyone else makes.

Oh my god these comments.

You assholes would gatekeep oxygen if a fat person was breathing it next to you.

Shut. Up. Let people have fun.

I mean aside from the glass eye, he seems relatively healthy.

Cool. I’m out then.

Yeah you’re a dick.

E-bikes make the hobby accessible. Distance cycling or touring on a manual bike takes a large amount of regular intense conditioning, not to mention youth and health. Someone with an old injury or a disability or just a partner of a cyclist who wants to share the hobby with them and can’t dedicate the time to training can get real enjoyment from the help an e-bike brings them.

The fact that people enjoying themselves is in your way is you being a dick, not the bike being a nuisance.

E-bikes make cycling accessible to people who have disabilities and to people who don’t want to put in the conditioning but want to enjoy a hobby with their friends who do.

I love riding rural trails. I train for it. I do distance rides for fun. My wife and several of my friends love the adventure of it but don’t want to put in the consistent training. They’re healthy people, just not 75-100 mile per week riders like I am. Because of E-bikes, my wife and I can go on a few long rides a year together - me on a manual bike and her on our e-bike.

Don’t be such a dick. If you don’t want to use a motor, don’t.

You are incorrect. The republican party is the party of bigotry and cruelty. To vote for them is an explicit endorsement. Adults are accountable for their allegiances and their actions, and we have had decades to learn.

When you need to resort to “but I have black friends” to defend racism, you’ve lost.

Upon death of the HUMAN artist, and with no transferability.

Electing republicans is in itself blatantly racist.

I certainly hope your turn to fight it never comes.

People said everything you’re saying 30 years ago and used it to justify letting fascism grow unchecked. Now we’re here and you are still afraid to be firm. You are why they’re in power.

No more compromises. No more chances. No more conversations. People are being abducted. People are dying. There’s no time left for patience.

They change NOW. Or they can fuck off.

I’m not interested in the reasoning behind bigotry.

Call them out so that resistance is visible, then block them to remove their agency to engage you.