I like zippers [part two]

Commute By Bike just posted my latest review of the completely zipperless Ortlieb Saddle-Bag.  Read on, should you care to learn all there is to learn about my opinion of basic, black, waterproof, German bicycle seatbags.

Riding with Rockman

Any time you get to ride in Sedona with Rockman it's a special occasion.  Few know their way around the area was well as he does. Today we rode a bunch of trails I'd never ridden before: Last Frontier, Special Ed, Witch Doctor, Cakewalk, Under The Radar... this list goes on.  Here's a little (crappy) video of  today's adventure, set (as always) to good music (Silversun Pickups):



A few stats about today's ride.

• Total distance: about 13 miles. 
• Total elevation gained: about 3000 feet. 
• Total elevation lost: about 3000 feet
• Riding time: about 2 hours. 
• Time on trail: about 3 hours. 
• Average speed: about 4 miles an hour.  
• Real average speed: about 6 miles an hour
• Broken parts: zero. 
• Broken riders: zero 
• Flats: zero

That's a very good day in Sedona.

GPX file and other ride-data available on Everytrail.

I like zippers

I like zippers. Zippers do important work.  But I prefer zippers with zipper pulls. Zippers that lack zipper pulls are often more difficult to use than need-be.  And they tend to rattle.

Of a like mind?  Nice. Then perhaps you will enjoy my recent review of the Green Guru Spinner backpack at Commute By Bike dot com.

Orange hat and pink hood

Today we went walking in the snow.	Bekah wore her orange hat and pink hood.
Snow was thrown.	Most of it at me.
I used to wear this same orange cap when I was about her age.	I think it's cool that she wears it now.
Lisa often wears her Muppet gloves.	But she throws a killer snowball with them.

A lot of people think this is a dumb thing to do

I got a new lens this week... Took a few first-pictures with it this morning... No flash, manual focus, just messing around, really.  But thought I'd write a blog about a few of them anyway.

This is the Onza H.O. clipless pedal.
I use these pedals almost exclusively, on several bikes, even my new one.
A lot of people think this is a dumb thing to do.

I don't use them because I think they're the best.
 I know that there are many other fine, newer pedals available.
I use them because I own about 20 sets of Onza pedals.
And because I've used them pretty reliably since 1995.

This is the Suntour XC-II platform pedal.
I use these pedals on several bikes, too.
The Suntour XC-II a great big, flat pedal with easy-to-service bearings.
For riding in real shoes there's probably never been a better pedal.

This is Pikachu. He sits on our mantle-piece.
When I visited Japan in 2001 a girl gave him to me.
If you push the button on his back
he says, "Pee-kee-kah-choo."

Boot Deep

Know what I did today? I stayed home from work. Sick. Haven't done that in a while.

What did I do while I stayed home from work today?

• Worked. Some (mostly answered emails and made phone calls). 
• Did a bit of homework (gotta take classes if I want to keep this job). 
• Lay around waiting for my temp to come down (it did). 
• And, right around lunchtime, I watched this awesome film:
  
  

I watch my fair-share of ski-videos and -movies, to be sure. And some of them are pretty good. Too often, however, in the films and videos I watch, I feel like the essence of skiing (basically: trees and pow and friends) gets lost in too many heli-drops, or too much slo-mo footage of big backcountry jumps and jibby park-stuff that just doesn't usually hold much appeal for me.  Mostly 'cause I can't or never will do that stuff...

There's some jibby stuff in this film. And there's at least one massive backcountry kicker, too. But, they hike to it all. So I gotta say, hand-to-heart, this film (shot near Alta by Janky Films) is one of the funnest, most essential and legit ski films I've seen in a while. Why?  Trees, pow, and friends.  Exactly that.  In my opinion, these guys nail the experience, the essence of skiing in this beautifully shot 30-minute short.  I enjoyed the heck out of it. Hope you do, too.  Make sure you full-screen-HD it, for sure!


BOOT DEEP! from JANKYfilms on Vimeo.