Very nice collection 
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Oh, how times change.
Not too long after that post, I took a couple spills on the BMX bike, which really bummed me out on riding. I wound up selling off all my bikes in a fit of depression.
This year, shit, 2024 has been a fucker for me. But I realized that the times in my life when I’ve been happiest, both emotionally and physically? Those times are when I have a bike, and I’m actively riding it. But… I’m well over BMX. And I lost my nerve for road cycling in traffic (getting hit by a car a couple of times will do that). So, I decided to pick up another MTB and get out on the local trails.
It’s a brand-new Kona Lava Dome. 29" hard tail, 1x9 drivetrain. Great frame, decent components. Nothing real aggressive, but easy to ride. Definitely a great “ride it until something breaks, then upgrade it” bike. I’ve been hitting the Fullerton Loop trail and taking it down to the beach on weekends. I’m woefully out of shape, but I’m really enjoying being back out on a bike.
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Super relatable. I’m doing mostly mountain biking lately as well because I get worked up and want to chase down a driver most of my road rides recently (and what makes it worse is that I mostly can catch them at intersections).
I’d say I’m happy that you can attend the church of the big ring again, but I’m not sure it counts on a 1x 
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I mean… if it’s a 1x, then it IS the big ring. Of course, it’s also the small ring. And the middle ring. 
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Oh yeah. I was a motorcycle commuter in the Bay Area traffic. People do the damndest things. Ask me anything 
Seriously, I think my favorite was the time I was up in a lane next to someone driving impatiently, I honked briefly to make sure he saw me, he turned and waved at me, and then pulled in to my lane anyway. “Yes, hello, I see you, and now I will kill you. Have a nice day!”
Or the protesters running from the cops that ran a red light and hit me, but I sympathized with them and asked the cops to let them go.
Good times 
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You ever take it off any sweet jumps?
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Oh and swap out those crappy plastic factory pedals for some nice flats with replaceable pins. It’ll make a world of difference. $40 and it’ll change your life!
Flats for the win @JustTim
But they do eat through your bike shoes. Hey ho!
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We’ll just agree to disagree lol
More efficient climbing absolutely , but pinned through blown out dusty flat corners and you want to get a foot down fast then flats are your friend.
Fine for XC but I’ve ridden them both for years and you won’t get me hitting drops on clipless any more
I don’t think there’s a difference for this TBH. I cannot imagine not having feet attached to the bike through bouncy rooty stuff, but I also came to MTB from the road → cyclocross → MTB side. Last time I watched downhill and Enduro world champs it was quite unusual to see flats though so I don’t think it’s just climbing.
I rode Whistler bike park for years (3 to 4 nights a week) and have a basement full of old pedals. I tried a season on clipped flats. A set of CB Mallets I think.
They were good, but I had my foot step out on a landing once on Clown Shoes and I went down pretty hard (cracked the chin guard on my helmet, broken ribs etc). I never had that issue with decent flats and Five Ten Freeriders.
I’m at a point where 20+ years of MTB riding and crashing means I’m not going back to clip less because I don’t have the confidence in them that I do with flats. I get that all the pros run them now.
I never approach a drop and wonder if my feet will stay on the pedals. I’ve never lost a foot through fast rooty sections.
Now the only thing I think as i approach a big drop is, if I crash at aged 52 how long will it take to recover this time
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Yeah, whatever gives confidence is definitely the answer.