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Went to Mellow Johnny's bike shop in my free day in Austin. They had a Santa Cruz Superlight I wanted to try. On paper it seemed like everything I was looking for -- a little smaller than the Tallboy, and cheaper. It rode OK on pavement but the backend was really loose on gravel or slick grass. Sitting right next to it was a Santa Cruz Tallboy, same bike I rode in Fairfax except maybe different front fork. It was a raw aluminum look and is sweet. When I rode it in Fairfax, I thought it was way too big for me. This time it felt right and I had no problem getting on it. Could the rental have been setup differently, or am I just getting used to adult sized bikes? I rode it and it was great and the size feels good. Then took a rental Giant Anthem on a trail here, which was all rocks and not a lot of fun. The Giant was a size small (all they had), which fit my legs, but I was really cautious about going over the bars and now I see the benefit to a proper fitting size for the torso. Then stopped by Bicycle Sport Shop where they had the exact same Tallboy for $350 less, except they don't want to be accommodating on shipping/sales tax issues. So I left and will keep looking around - Mellow Johnny's will ship for me if i want it. Might need to do some local rentals in VA on home trails

A month ago I visited with a new doctor. Went in for a sore arm but he saw fit to comment on my weight, ordered blood work and wanted to prescribe medication to control my blood pressure and reduce my cholesterol. Had my usual fight to find out and discuss my other options. WE finally agreed that I would reduce my weight and come back in July for a complete physical and discuss further at that time. At 300# I have a bit of tail I can stand to lose. Sadly, I've not had much trouble losing weight, but I've found it damn near impossible to keep it off. I went home and went into research mode. Came across a diet spawned from a study by the NIH (National Institute of Health) that postulated there must be a root cause to high blood pressure, further postulated controlling diet was the key and voila, the study results proved succssful. If interested you can read about it here http://dashdiet.org/. Took another week of reading, and then gathering the foods in the quantities required and started it. The first thing I discovered is how remarkabley easy it is to follow. Then I noticed I had NO cravings. NONE, ZERO. ZILCH. Cravings have been the root cause of my past failures. I went in at the two week mark and my blood pressure dropped by 6 points ... due to diet alone. I can only imagine what will happen now that I've begun exercising again. Jury is still out but I am encouraged. Checked my weight this a.m. and I'm down 8 lbs in two weeks. I normally lose more at two weeks if trying to lose weight, but I'm not really striving for that right now. I'm working to get the blood pressure down. I'm not excited about a new diet. I'm excited that I may have found a plan I can live with day in and day out. My reward tonight will be a toast to losing tail

I think you probably are just getting used to the feeling of barely being able to reach the ground from the seat. If it is set up to your pedal stroke it becomes difficult to mount the bike and reach the ground once you are on. I think Mike was experiencing the same thing when he first got the FS. I know Chris wants to get out on the trails soon so a trip up here could probably get you the rental bike and some people to ride with.

Science Museum, what fun!