Awesome to hear you saw some trails in RRG. The fellow that runs Red River Outdoors (cabins/guiding) I know has been working on some mtb trails around the area. If you are wondering about riding down there, he should definitely know what's up.
I'll probably be adding some riding to my next climbing trip - looking forward to seeing some trails in that area for sure.

was all clipless for my first 1.5 seasons riding and then I tried Schooner.  getting clipped back in while starting in the middle of a pile of rocks was too tricky so I got some platforms to avoid walking my bike through sections that I got stuck on.  I ride platforms if I'm hitting schooner and clipless other wise now.  Maybe someday I'll be good enough to ride schooner clipless but for now I like being able to get my foot down quickly and then start riding again without having to clip in.

I do fear for my shins since I recently upgraded my platforms however!

Chainlove.com has had a Lights & Motion stella 300 setup for under 300 bucks for sale lately - check out that site for some good deals.

I rode last night with an old L&M vega 120 on my bars and a nice Black Diamond headlamp on my helmet and it was great.  Got the vega for $45 bucks off chainlove.com last year.

Rode Nebo last week and it was glorious! I thought the trail conditions were excellent and it's a clear ride all the way.  not sure what you were expecting KKeg but that's as good as it gets out there and that's super duper in my book. 

Thanks for the feedback so far, sounds great.  I have a request in to have their tech call me before starting on the work so hopefully we can get it just right.

Just went to Chattanooga last weekend and had a blast riding Raccoon Mtn.  It's a bit of a drive (6.5 hours) and can be closed with lots of rain, but it's about 20 miles with all levels of riding including rock drops up to 5 feet tall.  We hit hamilton creek park outside of Nashville TN on the way back to Bloomington and that was also really fun/rocky.  It was so fun to ride on rocky trails where you can pick different lines to take. we were in shorts and tee shirts

When I rode by that bridge on Tuesday, the rails were both down

I have a question for you racers, just something I was wondering about:
Do you feel that your downhill speed is what separates racers, or is it ability to crank hard uphill, or is it just an overall, all-around thing?

I've been riding about one year now and have a bud that is so fast downhill that I can't even learn anything watching him; he's out of sight immediately. This guy's not too worried about cranking fast uphill like a few of my other friends, but when it's time to turn it downhill he's gone. This is a very experienced rider by the way, and I wouldn't consider myself slow but I know I have a lot of learning/experience to gain.

Is the downhill speed where it's at for racing?