First time doing mixed terrain (as in, I rode to the trails rather than drove) with some upgrades

And wow the new fork, handlebars and tape are amazing! Switched out the stock 52cm Venturemax XL bars for some 46cm Beacon bars (similar total length but more flared with narrower hoods, and without the annoying bump in the drops), put on some Wolftooth supple bar tape that’s definitely worth the weight, and took a gamble with a Fox Factory Tapercast 40mm fork that absolutely comes alive at high speed on single track. The fork feels fairly useless on the road (although 1 of the 3 settings is a powerful lockout), but when I finally pointed the bike down some singletrack it just entirely unlocked flowy spirited trail riding. I was waiting for the wheel to get knocked off line and it never did, I had to adjust my riding to be more aggressive and forwards-weighted like mtb, and the front end was just erasing the problems that would catch me a week before, with extra traction and buffer zone that let me rip some skinny 40mm tires without fear of an instant washout. I got this fork because for me “there were no downsides”, I don’t mount fork cargo or front racks, my steel fork was practically the same weight as the suspension, and I wasn’t a big fan of max 2.6” tires on my gravel bike (the forks official max is 50mm, my 2.25” does fit but I don’t wanna ride it in wet), but if you’re skeptical of the advantages off road, don’t be. 40mm of good suspension, pointed downhill, is a complete gamechanger. The $12 stem bag is pretty sweet too.

https://imgur.com/RHkNLY8