• cycle: 215 miles (347 km)
• run: 30 miles (48 km)

Dry and warm weather means more trail riding in November. “Don’t mess up a good trail.” I’m happy to see these signs replaced as the old ones included a rather embarrassing typographical error. These signs look nicer, too.

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Frostfall and Skyrim Survival Mode allows your armor to provide various warmth. Without proper keywords an armor mod will have default warmth value which may be unsuitable for the player if the armor appears very warm or skimpy. So, let’s edit our armor mod to provide the right warmth and coverage for both Frostfall and Survival Mode without Frostfall or Survival dependancy.

If you’re only interested in adding armor support for Survival Mode, jump to Step 3 and ignore the Frostfall part. You may use SSEedit or Creation Kit.

References

• Chesko’s “Armor Compatibility Guide” for modders

Review this guide and note the following:

• Make Update.esm a master
• keyword “FrostfallEnableKeywordProtection” is required
• only keywords for the warmth and coverage ratings you plan on using are needed; others may be left out
• If Frostfall sees the enable-keyword-protection then it looks for the rating keyword to replace the default
• If no keywords are found then Frostfall defaults to “fair” rating, so you could leave fair out
• Do not make Frostfall a master so all players may enjoy the armor

Survival Mode notes

For “Survival Mode” the default body slots (body, head, feet, hands) work with a simple keyword, but cloaks may require extra effort. If no keyword then armor item defaults to normal (between warm and cold). The keywords are Survival_ArmorCold or Survival_ArmorWarm which are found in Update.esm, so they may be applied without having “Survival Mode” from Creation Club.

Requirements

• TES V: Skyrim Special Edition
• your armor mod (I’m using Blades Hakama SE)
• (optional) Creation Kit (CK)
• SSEedit (xEdit) by zilav et al

The assumption in this guide is that the reader has basic understanding of how to use SSEedit. The Creation Kit may help make some steps easier, but xEdit is all that is required. If adding Frostfall support for the first time, xEdit is needed anyway. These steps for Frostfall also work for 32-bit Skyrim, but obviously “Survival Mode” is only available on Skyrim Special Edition.

August - October

• cycle: 195 miles (314 km)
• run: 155 miles (250 km)

My first ride on Jacob’s Ladder trail, and I saw this rock, so I stopped for a photograph. The day started cloudy, but a break made for an interesting picture. I took Peak View trail up and rode Jacob’s Ladder down which is the direction I recommend. Peak View makes for a nicer climb, and Jacob’s is fun riding down.

When trail riding I feel naked with a half-shell helmet. Helmets for downhill rarely include vents making cross-country riding less comfortable. This vented Fox helmet is rated for downhill events and happens to work well for rugged cross-country riding. My head tends to heat up, and I perspire more than average, so a good helmet that won’t cause overheating is a must. During hot summer days, wearing the helmet was no bother as long as I kept moving even when climbing steep trails. Good airflow, good visibility, and face protection. As a bonus, keeps the wind away from my ears in cold weather.

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The Creation Club is an in-game store to purchase and download new content for the game. Interestingly, the Fallout 4 update, v1.10.20.0.0, includes assets (textures, meshes, scripts, strings, or sounds) for currently available Creation Club content. Basically, Fallout 4 players have downloaded the assets (26 BA2 files for 13 downloadable items) with the update working out be an extra 680 MB. After purchasing the item from the in-game store, players then get the plugin that allows any new abilities, quests, or and other important functionality. For players having no interest in Creation Club, tight on drive space, or rather reserve that space for other mods this may mean moving that unused data somewhere else.

(Edit: PC updates no longer include content.)

June

• cycle: 137 miles (221 km)
• run: 41 miles (67 km)

July

• cycle: 189 miles (305 km)
• run: 50 miles (80 km)

Timpanogos from along Hwy 92 near the Pine Hollow Trail. Nice area for bike rides or hikes.

Allergy season was somewhat brief but furious. Grasses and thistle exploded out of nowhere and grew taller than I hugging the trail so close in spots as to drastically limit visibility. That’s all behind us now. My cycle and run counts turned out exactly the same in July as June and not as many as I would have liked. No matter, life happens. I just mounted new tires on the mountain bike, so I’m itching to try them out on soft, dusty trails and through rocky terrain to see how they feel.

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