u/BrianLevre

I'm really freaking out here.

It doesn't hurt or anything. Maybe I'm like Ellie and I'm immune.

I've always done a bunch of trail work in the woods (I ride mountain bikes) and I've never known what Poison Ivy actually looks like. I've never had a case of it in my entire life, and I've spent a lot of time in the woods giving zero craps about coming into contact with it.

I was clearing up a downed tree earlier this week (in West Tennessee) and another rider came by and said it was covered in Poison Ivy. I didn't care much because I've always been out there in shorts and short sleeves and bare hands just diving into whatever is in the way. Even when I'm not clearing messes off of the trail, there's stuff brushing up against me as I ride and walk around off trail.

I've always taken a shower right after riding. I've heard that's how to keep from having a problem with it and figured I've either washed the oil off of me or I'm immune to it, because I'm sure I've come across it.

I didn't get any pictures earlier this week, but I came across something else that needed to be cleared up today and took a picture of some "leaves of three". Is either one of those Poison Ivy? I've looked online at pictures of it and it's sort of hard to know for sure, and I've read articles that say it can look several different ways.

The stuff on my arm in the 3rd picture popped up a couple of days ago, but it doesn't itch. Did I get a case of it? I figure it's something else because I was probably getting covered up by whatever Ivy was there and assume I'd be breaking out everywhere on my hands, arms, and legs, but it seems pretty localized.

Every time I get a different bike it takes a while to get the right feel for everything, and suspension is a big part of it. To be honest, I've usually set the pressure at whatever level is required to get the stanchion rings to go almost to the limit on the trail.

This is a new (to me) bike and I took the first ride on it recently. I took the time to actually measure sag beforehand, going 15% for the front and 20% on the rear as a starting point.

The pressures seemed way high to get the suggested measurements, but whatever. The industry standard suggestions should be a good ball park, right? The ride felt pretty harsh though and it looks like there was a lot of stroke left to use.

The rear was at 220 psi and the front was at 120 psi. I'm probably 190 pounds geared up.

(To be fair, I wasn't going fast and didn't ride the tougher side of the trail. It was the first ride I've taken in months after a surgery.)

For riders with a similar weight, what sort of psi and sag % are you guys running?

If it matters, it's a Rocky Mountain Element with 120mm up front and 100mm on the rear.

This is only driving it every other week too.

2020 Limited Edition. Bought it with 44,000 miles on it in April of 2024. It's got over 125,000 on it now.

(I'm a medical courier, and I know other couriers that get way more miles than I do.)