Obama Spokecards

Time to spoke up!

I have quite a few Obama spoke cards from the last election. If you want some email me your mailing addy [or leave a comment with your email] and I’ll fire a bunch off in the post to you. They are plasticized and meant to be put in the spokes of your bicycle, but they can be used just about anywhere as they are weatherproof. They are free and I’ll pay for postage.

My Boulder Bicycle spokecarded...

I will delete any political comments on this post so don’t bother. I support everyone’s freedom to vote how they wish, but I rule this blog with an iron fist…=-)~

Retroshift

Aaron turned me onto this product – Retroshift.  It essentially allows you to mount a bar end shifter on your brake lever so you can get the benefits of the bar end shifter [which I love] without taking your hands off the brakes.

If anyone out there has tried a Retroshift drop me a line I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Retroshift Two in red...

Liquid Force Envy Kite Review Update

Sharon rigging her 9m Envy...

I demo’d and reviewed 2010 and 2011 Liquid Force Envy kites the last two seasons. I posted my thoughts on this blog and you can read them by clicking on the image above. Bottom line with any review is would you spend your own $$ to buy the gear and are you stoked to use it? As an update to my previous Envy kite reviews let me answer that question by saying:

• Sharon bought a 9m Envy as her first kite and loves it.
• She liked it so much she is buying a 7m Envy for higher winds.
• I liked riding her 9m Envy on my strapless surfboard so much I’m buying a 12m Envy and we are going to share a quiver of Liquid Force Envy kites.

I don’t think a reviewer can make a stronger statement than that. These kites rock for new kiteboarders like Sharon who are just finishing up their lessons and heading out on the water by themselves. I knew that based on my previous reviews. However, the more time I spent flying her Envy the more impressed I was how much fun it was to fly when I was strapless on a surfboard. The Envy turns fast on its axis and pulls consistently through the turns. It’s light and stable enough that if you ride underneath it or get worked by a wave it will stay in the air and do its best to get you back riding with as little drama as possible. And if the shit does hit the fan the construction is very robust – ideal for new kiters who crash their kites a lot and experts who are pushing their limits.

Here I am "borrowing" Sharon's Envy...=-)

I gotta give Andy at Kite Paddle Surf Bellingham a shout out.  He was trying to turn me onto the Envy back in 2010. Everything he told me back then was spot on – even if it took me 2 years to appreciate the finer points of his advice. I can be a slow learner! So of course that’s where Sharon and I buy all our Liquid Force gear. On my way back from La Ventana Baja this year I emailed Andy and told him to put a 7m and 12m Envy on hold for us. I’m sure he had a chuckle realizing that I had finally “got it”! Great advice – great service and great prices – KPS deserves my business. Liquid Force KIteboarding also deserves a shout out for making a solid kite that’s so much fun to ride. I definitely appreciate the 2012 graphics as well! Yeah that’s my polite way of saying I wish Sharon didn’t want a quiver of pink kites…hahahaha….=-)

2012 Envy colours...

Here’s a 15 second summary of my review of the Liquid Force Envy kite:

• stable
• beginner friendly
• easy relaunch
• great depower and safety system
• turns fast on its axis
• constant power through turns [excellent low end]
• lightweight so it floats back in the window if you lose tension in the lines rather than falling out of sky
• robust construction that can take some abuse
• super easy to inflate with single point pumping and huge Liquid Force inflation valve
• low/medium bar pressure [less than old LF Havoc more than OR Rise]
• ideal for new kiters and strapless/wave riding
• not the most lofty jumper [if you want huge air pick a kite with a flatter profile like the Liquid Force NRG]
• 2012 colours & graphics are HOT!

Chromag Surface 29er…

Chromag Surface 29er...

I came across this bike and since sharing bike porn on the internet is bound to net me bonus points with Santa and any post-death accountants I may have to deal with I figured why not share it? Chromag is making so few of these bikes and they are selling so fast they haven’t even bothered to advertise them on their website. If you click on the image you can read a review and see a few more lovely images of this bike.

Homebrew All Mtn 29er…

Click on image for more info.

I stumbled across this homemade 29er hardtail on MTBR.com. The builder made this in his garage in his spare time while helping his wife out with their new twins. Build quality is stellar and the whole post is worth reading just for the bike porn alone.

Commuter Style

Leaving for work on a dark chilly winter morning...

Sharon tries hard not to look like a traffic cone when riding her bike while still being visible to other cyclists and drivers. She’s found a bunch of clothing that’s practical for cycling without being garish. That’s important because if you want more people to ride bikes you need to make them excited about the idea and for a lot of people the traffic cone chic is not an acceptable way to look when arriving at work or a social event. Luckily there are lots of cycling specific clothing and cycling adaptable clothing options these days that you can find to match your personal tastes while staying comfortable.

For visibility Sharon has two powerful rear lights, a powerful [considerately focused] headlight and some reflective trim on her clothing and bike bags.

Not only is it cool that Sharon has found a bike and gear that she is into and reflects her own tastes I think there are a bunch of other potential commuter cyclists who need to see someone dressed stylishly yet sensibly so they can get motivated to start riding to work themselves. Hopefully Sharon is setting a positive example for them as she rolls to work on her Cross Check.

Aaron taking a break after tagging a fence...=-)

Just so the guys don’t feel left out Aaron and I took some male cycling style photos. Aaron always turns up for our rides dressed super nice so I figured I should tap into his fashion wisdom. I’ll be putting up a whole post with his bike clothing tips shortly, but the image above is a taste of what’s to come.

Here I am all coned up!

To avoid a bunch of comments telling me there is nothing wrong with the traffic cone look let me say I agree there is nothing wrong with it. There is also nothing wrong with the bike commuter who dresses up in a Tour de France replica kit and rockets to work on a carbon fibre race bike. However, those two schools of cycling fashion are well represented on the streets around here and are what the general public think about when it comes to riding a bike around town. Since a lot of potential commuter cyclists wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing a traffic cone or skin tight spandex I think it’s important to show them there are other clothing options that are comfortable on the bike, will keep you warm and dry in inclement weather and would be acceptable to a wide range of fashion palates.

Seeing more people on bikes makes me happy and to make that happen we have to give people options they are stoked about.

Bob Keller Fatbike

A Bob Keller custom fatbike...

I saw this sweet custom fatbike over at MTBR.com and got excited because unlike all the new fatbike designs with super low toptubes this one keeps the TT high. That looks much nicer and provides a ton of room for a framebag inside the main triangle. I’m sure the owner won’t be repeatedly injured by TT to groin contact…it seems like toe overlap it’s only a problem for some people. I’m glad I got a first generation Pugsley with a taller TT – although it’s not nearly as sweet looking as this bike…=-)

Fat by design...

More info:

• MTBR.com thread
• Bob Keller’s Blog
• Owner’s first ride photos 

Ladies Only…

Info about the video.

The 70′s…

So true...

I had a bike for at least a decade of great times before it became a dangerous activity that I needed to be protected from. I may have been born too late for the free love era, but at least I got to enjoy a childhood of carefree bicycling.

Shit MTBers Say!

Santa Cruz Nomad Porn

Saw this and couldn't resist sharing...so hot!

Stealing a bike…

A brand new bike is locked up in NYC and left abandoned, but photographed daily in this video. I’m very impressed with how long it takes for stuff to get stolen – literally months! And although the bike does eventually end up entirely gone I don’t look at it as bike theft in the normal sense [ie. your spanking new commuter bike is taken while you have lunch]. It seems to me just a function of urban salvage – once something is clearly abandoned and decaying the smart move is to use it for what value it has left and at the same time prevent it from becoming an eye sore.

I’m not sure what the point of the video was intended to be, but for me it was amazing to see how long the bike remained unmolested in a city famous for bike theft.

Seaward Kayaks Factory Tour – Part 4

Painting the seam...

You can read my previous Seaward Factory Tour posts here.

Painted seam drying...

I visited the Seaward Kayaks factory in Chemainus BC in December with my new Canon S95 camera and a tripod. I had hoped to video tape/photograph a thermoform kayak being produced, but my timing was off so I settled for simply taking some better photos of their operation. With a tripod I could make the best of the less than ideal indoor lighting. So here is a bunch of photos from the visit.

Bird's eye view of kayaks in progress...

Seaward Passat tandem...

The other side...

A tandem partially built...

Nicely contrasting hatch and cockpit combings...

Sweet fade deck paint...

High volume boat for the bigger paddler...

Thermoform boat being joined together...

Thermoform hulls trimmed and waiting to be built...

Colourful thermoform decks waiting to be built into boats...

Thermoform plastic hull and deck with seam installed...

Deck, hull and seam taped into place will glue cures...

CNC machine building new kayak form...

Router in action...

Partially finished hull...

Bird's eye view of router...

Prepping interior of kayak...

Thermoform kayaks with transparent bottoms being glued together...

Short recreational plastic decks waiting for a hull...

Glued boats waiting finishing details...

Inspecting glued deck and hull while transparent bottom is being installed...

New prototype rudder system...

Retracted position...

Recessed rudder control...

Current model Seaward rudder...

Rudder control...

Rudder deployed...

I’ll be taling to Seaward and hopefully getting a video made of a thermoform boat being built. Stay tuned if kayak porn interests you…=-)

Bow seam/bumper detail...

Seaward Cosma 16' 2" Kevlar touring kayak...

Seaward was nice enough to lend me a Cosma kevlar single kayak to try out. I’ll be posting my thoughts on it next week.

Kirt Voreis

Chromag Surface 29er Build…

I’m waiting on some parts to build up my own 29er hardtail [not a Chromag Surface sadly!...=-(] so this video warms my heart on a cold winter day. There is no sound in the video above so start the video below first then start the video on top for the Lazy Rando Mash Up.

The build video is kind of short so hit repeat a few times to enjoy it again and again until the song runs its course…=-)

On One Fatbike…

On One yet to be named fatbike...

Click on the image above to jump to the MTBR.com thread discussing this new On One fatbike. No name yet and details are sketchy other than to say it’s designed as a fat MTB vs. a snow/sand bike.  It’s great to have another [likely to be competitively priced] fatbike option. My only complaint is I wish top tubes weren’t all headed for my ankles. I’d like room inside the frame for a frame bag and have never injured myself on my Surly Pugsley’s tall TT.

Older post from MTBR.com - with some more info.

Thanks Westjet!

Westjet loves kiteboarders!

I don’t shop for plane tickets based on price. At least not on the cheapest price. I care more about the quality of the flight experience and how much hassles I’m likely to encounter en route. That doesn’t mean I can afford my own private Leer jet, but it does mean I’ll always see what options are available with my favourite airline – Westjet. On this last trip to Baja I flew Westjet primarily because the cost was within 20% of the lowest alternative, the number of layovers was limited to 1 either way and the excess baggage charges were reasonable and well understood.

I flew down with:

• beach camping gear for a month [less a tent which was down there]
• clothes
• 2 kites
• 1 twin tip kiteboard
• 1 surfboard 6’2″
• all my kiteboarding gear [wetsuit, harness, booties,impact vest, pump, control bars, etc...]
• backpack with books & computer in it

Excess baggage charges to fly down $75. On the way home I added a 5’3″ surfboard to the mix and the excess baggage charges totalled $20. That’s less than $100 for all my excess baggage to Mexico and back. Sweet!

I don’t mind paying a bit extra when I fly with so much gear, but I want the charges to be reasonable and applied fairly. Thanks Westjet for another great flight!…=-)

I’m back in Viktoria…

Need I say more?

Burning Bush 2012

Burning Bush T-shirt art...

Pre-Bush margaritas at Baja Joe's...

Fire dancing mayhem...

Hanging by the fire...

Blazing tutus....

A different kind of fire dancing...

Mayan temple explodes...I didn't need my eyebrows anyways!

The moon hanging low over the Sea of Cortez lights the long walk back to my tent...

Better than nothing!

We went mental on the rentals!

Sharon scored us two rental bikes for the time she was down here in Baja. An old Trek I posted pictures of last week or so and newer, but not better Cannondale hardtail MTB. Neither bike worked well or fit us, but you know I came to appreciate how efficiently these mismatched steeds got us around town despite their short comings. Even a fairly crap bike is still far better for covering ground than walking and I had a surprising amount of fun riding them. I was not sad to see them go back to their owners, but I’ll have fond memories of our brief time together.

I’ll also appreciate my own bike so much more! Bikes that shift, brake and fit properly – how sweet life is…=-)