Karate Monkey squishiness

Don't think for a second I'm going to give a spectacular technical review on the workings of the new Reba fork I installed. My brain just doesn't work that way and I get bored quickly reading other's thoughts on it when numbers and big words come into play. Either it feels good and I go fast or it doesn't, that about sums it up for me and my reviews. I finally made it out to the trails on the Karate Monkey since the installation of the new squish up front. So far all of my testing have been hot laps around the yard with Jackson barking at my heels. I do have a couple of new obstacles, (not dogs turds) and a couple of short but punchy climbs to throw at it. I'll have to say I was quite pleased with it even on the climbs what little climbing I did yesterday. I headed over to Alan's house around noon for some much needed help with a crank issue, something that has been plaguing me for a while. This issue is a bit different than my dealings with the Truvative on the Mamasita. I'm running a Race Face crank on the Monkey and although they are very similar in looks they work a bit differently and come apart differently which is what threw me off. I am no mechanic by far but thankfully Alan is and has the patience to waste an hour sweating on his front porch teaching me how to work on my bike. After school was out the crank was spinning like it was supposed to and ready for action. Alan had not been to the Hampton watershead trails before so we headed that way watching the sky for a nasty shower that was supposedly threatening us. The watershed trails are short but if you do a few laps it can make for a pretty nice ride when the local trails are getting stale and there is no time for a day trip.
As for the front end squishiness, the Monkey handled nicely even on the climbs which were alot easier than I remembered. I didn't bother to lock-out the fork because well, I usually forget and with just 80mm of travel it just doesn't seem worth the time unless the climbs are really long or steep. It's been a while since my last outing at the watershed trails and I guess my fitness level is a bit higher than my last trip because on the way to the trailhead I told Alan the shed had one good tough hill but it was nothing like I remembered. It must of been some of that Karate Monkey magic working for me. I plan to get the KM out to Warriors today and give her a bit more of a challenge where the rocks and roots have really grown in the last couple of years. Maybe I'll catch some of the wussies who are too scared to ride over rocks out there rerouting a tough section and point them over to the Greenbelt.