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Thank you - yes, we feel very lucky to have these bears share our home!

Thanks for watching and Pepper is especially happy with your comment about her. She works hard to maintain her shiny black coat and is always appreciative when people take note!

@@AGNT997 ~ I can’t take the credit for that one. I watched your video on the big 📺 screen and my boy, actually named Tuxie, requested the edit after he saw her. 😸

This is in Western North Carolina.

🤣

Thank you so much for the comment! I absolutely agree - these bear moms are so obviously deeply dedicated to caring for their children. Just don’t get between the mom and kids!

@@AGNT997 Yes bear moms are highly engaged focused and deeply dedicated to caring for their children, and never get between them and their cubs especially Grizzly bear moms! Great video you really obtained such poignant imagery of the mom's facial expressions, she is looking right at the video camera, so much intelligence in her face!

An absolutely fantastic looking bear for sure!

Thanks for watching and commenting!

😂

Thank you! It really depends on the bears…they’ve walked through a few times this week but I’m waiting for more footage prior to posting any additional bear videos.

Ha! It’s pretty amazing how easily they can move up and down the trunk!

Absolutely! (Most) black bears are easily startled by humans with loud noises, etc but brown bears are certainly a different animal! I encountered a mother brown bear and two cubs that were on the other side of a stream a 1/4 mile away while hiking in Montana and was STILL nervous despite the distance!

Neither did we! The replacement hummingbird feeder is hanging 20 feet off the ground from a wall the bears can’t access. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@@joell2411 Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Thank you for the note. I never imagined this video would reach so far away as Spain!

Yes, this is behind our house in Asheville.

@@AGNT997 this must be Ruby the bear from Patrick conley imo

@@kabiebebe2332 Looks like it might be!

Thanks! I’m having quite a bunch of fun with this AI music. It eliminates any copyright issues and while it’s no masterpiece, the music is just fine for the background of a video.

Thanks for watching and commenting! I’m not planning to ride this year but will likely do it again in a few years (I rode the 2017 event too).

@@AGNT997 this year will be my first. My son in law decided to come along for the adventure. should be a great time.

I don’t know for sure, but she looked like she was 7-8 years old but she was the youngest one I saw riding her own bike. (It’s also unclear if she rode the entire ride or just the day/portion of the day) There were others that age that rode tandem. Of course, every individual is different, but there was boy in my extended group that was about 13-14 and he did fine. Thanks for watching and good luck on your ride!

I use the “FoodSaver” branded bags. One other note - I’ve found that breaking up the sauce into a powder in a blender works best (rather than just tearing it up into small pieces like I did in this video) for when you rehydrate the mix as it dissolves faster.

Thanks for watching this one - it might have been hot (to put it mildly) but we sure did enjoy an adventure of a lifetime!

Thanks! Shot on my phone and 360 camera. The 360 has great stabilization which helps a lot!

Thanks for watching. We did this the first week of April, 2022.

How was the heat in April for you? That is my biggest concern about a start date in April. I would like to start earlier but I don’t think I can, but I am worried about the heat. How did you manage it?

I’ve done section hikes of the AZT twice in the month of April. This particular one (first week of April) wasn’t particularly bad. The first one (we hiked Loma Alta trailhead and planned to hike to Summerhaven but were cut short by injury) was mid April and it was cooking with highs in the 90s at lower elevations. The real challenge both times was water…you end up having to carry quite a bit of weight in water in order to make the stretches if you’re not really speedy on the trail.

@@AGNT997 That is helpful to hear that even though it was that hot and dry you were able to make it work. Thanks for sharing your experience

Wow - thanks so much for the compliment! It sure was fun putting it together and we’ll all enjoy remembering the experience in the years to come.

Thanks so much for watching!

From Field of Dreams. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!

Makes perfect sense now. Ragbrai, Iowa, cornfields, Field of Dreams! Thanks! Will enjoy watching again.

Thank you for watching and the comment! The 360 camera is great for this sort of thing - no need to worry about aiming it until you edit…sure helps when you’re riding a bike!

@@AGNT997 I’m also curious: do you have the extra long selfie stick or the “standard” size? There’s a shot at the first tire dip that looks incredibly high. Thanks again for the video!

@RideAlongAdventures I have both. I used Velcro to strap the extended version to my top tube and was able to fit the standard one in the handlebar bag I used to carry all of my stuff for this ride. The extended one is awesome and I regret not taking the time to use it more.

@@AGNT997 thanks for the reply. Yeah, I have the standard one too but I was just too nervous to use it very often on the ride...I was fearful of taking my hands off of the handlebars! one rider actually swerved in front of me and ran into the camera. ;) per your recommendations, I'm going to look into the extended stick. Again, I really liked how you pulled together those shots--very cool. You had one shot where you not only changed the view but also the perspective. Very cool. And the small planet shot during one of the stops was very interesting.

Thanks and congratulations on your ride! It was fun at the time but now a few weeks past the ride I’m already forgetting how hot and hilly it was and only remembering the good times!

Thanks so much for watching and commenting! Yes, Lyndsey’s bike is beautiful. I’m guessing we did see you at some point as I noticed a couple of other Wiliers during the week. They really stand out in a good way. Congratulations on your ride!

Ha - glad you enjoyed! Sharp eye picking people out in the dark like that. Watching other videos of the week, my group definitely was out a little earlier than a lot of the other people that were recording it…I guess they don’t like trying to record when there isn’t any light!

Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and comment! We had a great time together and I can wholeheartedly recommend anyone who is interested in the ride to do it - there’s something for everyone!

@carolcunningham950 - You should do it. Won't be as crowded as it was this year since the anniversary will have passed. RAGBRAI is a blast and even if you can't ride everyday, at least do a couple of days during the week. You'll have a lot of fun. Plenty of things to do, places to go and food to eat. If that thought has crossed your mind, you should train early so you'll be prepared.

Thanks for watching!

Thank you - hope you have a great trip!

Thank you! This is mostly that loop. We started at the trailhead at Mortimer Gulch campground on the east end of Gibson Reservoir. From there we took the South Fork Sun to the West Fork Sun all the way around to the Gates Park Trail (rather than the South Fork Sun on the map you refer to) finally connecting to the NF Sun River Trail which took us back to the trail running along Gibson Reservoir. I have it mapped as about 71 miles with 7700’ of elevation. The hike was stunningly beautiful throughout - I highly recommend!

@@AGNT997 Thanks for the reply and info! I usually go in from Benchmark or Monture so was curious where you started from. I’m the opposite of bears, I hibernate in the summer. There’s nothing like fall in The Bob! But it looks like you guys had fantastic weather.

Ha - don’t think I’m going to make it this year. Hopefully I’ll get out there again soon!

Thanks for watching and for the nice comment!

Ha - I wondered if you ever found the video…not exactly a huge channel here! I’ll be honest. Normally when I see someone taking my picture/video getting “all creative” I cringe and think “why doesn’t she just take it like I set it up?!” but in your case I really appreciated the variety you gave me to work with and love the shot I included - it provides such a sense of scale! In fact, a shot you snapped also made it on to my mother’s Christmas cards this year! Thanks so much for taking the time to find this and comment. 😁

Thanks for watching and subscribing!

Thanks!

Thanks Tony!

Thank you - appreciate the comment! It does take a bit of time but I really do enjoy both filming and putting together the material!

His name starts with a “T!”

I’m happy to know that you understand that reference!

Thank you for the comment and for taking the time to watch!

The Academy Awards? Haha - only the future will tell!

Thanks - it was a lot of fun!

Storing in the freezer sounds like a great idea! Mine ended up working out well for my trip. I’ve considered switching to a powder-based sauce to further simplify things. Good luck!

Thanks for the nice comments! That’s a big chunk your doing, but, after seeing how busy it is at Newfound Gap, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a ride into Gatlinburg. And to be clear, other than the regular open vistas I largely missed, those mossy areas are my favorite...so lush, green and fresh feeling - I absolutely loved them. To be honest, this is the only video on which I’ve placed a “controversial title” lol. I still enjoyed the hike and, assuming you’re leaving in the relatively near future, you will see much better views from the ridge given the lack of foliage present at this time of year. Have fun!

@@AGNT997 The trip got pushed back a little but I’m leaving tomorrow, and I just re-watched this video as well as your friend’s video! You’re both awesome. :-) Also, subscribed! Don’t know why I didn’t do that the first time!

Have fun! I look forward to seeing your video! (Also subscribed!)