bRiaN

Going green? no way, we INVENTED green!

2011-12-09T04:15:00.000-08:00

With the new house we have had many plans for continuing our quest for "greenness," such as building garden beds, installing rain barrels, composting our food wastes, and keeping chickens. The rain barrel demo was recently posted so i wont go into detail about that, but Peanut and I recently worked on building a chicken coop and a compost turner.

At the trailer that Peanut and I shared with my brother Chris, we had a compost "pit" in the far corner of our garden. The pit idea isn't realistic in the new house, and wasn't great in practice anyway because you had to turn it with a shovel and couldn't move it readily. Another thing is that the food waste would attract critters of all kinds and could stink. The compost tumbler keeps the decaying process under control and away from animals and other outside influences and helps the keep it aerated with out having to use a shovel and bend over so much.

Also, the chicken coop there... it is not finished and we wont be ready for chickens for some time, but we got a head start... this is going to be the permanent coop house as it is sheltered and will be secure, but we will also have a "tractor" style run that we can move around the yard to let them truly be "free-range" chickens, without fear of the local red-shouldered hawks snatching up a quick meal of our egg layers. There will be more pictures to follow as we finish more of the chicken house and runs.

Quiver of quizzical quibble

2011-12-05T05:29:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to hunt for a long time... and I know what you are thinking... environmentalist, animal lover, former vegetarian, etc.... well, it is precisely these things that have led me to this decision. The food you get in stores is terrible, full of hormones and antibiotics, made with animals that barely have room to move, never get to roam and be free, and possibly never see the light of day. The term "free-range" has been a buzz word for some time in the organic food industry, but are they really free to range? Nothing is more "free-range" than wild animals.

Now ethically people may consider that what hunters do is cruel, barbaric, and possibly disgusting... I assure you if you ever took the time to trace the food you eat from source to table you would never eat the same way again... from the confinement to the inhumane slaughtering practices done by our food industry, hunters are far more humane, far more sanitary, and far less cruel to the animals they take out of respect for the planet.

Last but not least is the idea of land management... The animals I intend to take are animals that are possibly introduced species and have been allowed to over populate the areas they are found, out competing the local wildlife, and possibly destroying the ecosystems they inhabit. For one, wild hogs were brought in from Europe and have been a nuisance ever since, destroying habitats as well as trail systems built by us for the enjoyment of the outdoors. Hogs are very destructive creatures, and from what I hear they are very good eating... So with this new hobby I plan to live up to my environmentalist ways both by eating healthier animals that weren't inhumanely obtained, and by contributing to wildlife management.

I will try to keep this page updated as I get more into things, but for now it is only still an idea...

I plan to buy a compound bow and hunt with a few friends, but I will have to practice as an archer before I ever attempt to take down an animal.

Flat Repair Plus

2011-12-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

Got this little idea whilst eating Emerald nuts... said to myself.. "hmm... this looks like a waterbottle..." and after some experimenting this is what came of that... for a long trip or a trip that may require some extra tools or parts, this thing may come in handy. I was able to fit everything on the counter there into the container. I also wrapped some electrical tape around the outside of the container for other just-in-case emergencies though I think duct tape woulda been more handy. I took this with me on my 225 mile ride and though I never needed any of it, i was grateful to have it for peace of mind.

225 miles in one day...

2011-11-10T04:37:00.000-08:00

Donned in brightly reflective clothing, Bill and I rolled away from the house at 4a.m. not knowing exactly what adventure me might find. The plan, was, well, insane... our intended goal was to ride 350 kilometers... in one day. This trip was starting out as an emotionally challenging event to begin with considering that my brother Christopher was supposed to be going with us... He always did enjoy an adventure like this, in fact he was with me the first time I set out to do a personal record when him and I did 120 miles together... I planned this trip to see how far I could go, and I intended for him to go with me, and he would have made it.

Bill and I had my brother with me in spirit and though I wanted to quit for the first 100 miles, I feel my brother encouraged me to stay the course.

The green post may look familiar to others who have followed my blog in the past, for it was the very post that my brother, Caleb and I have used for very similar bike poses... The caboose picture as well has been used to pose one a number of occasions that we had made it all the way out to Inverness... this time it didnt take two days to get there... this was only our halfway point. The Istachatta General Store has changed a bit, though it is still neat inside and has become more of a thrift shop, they have repainted and taken down the sign outside.

All things being said, despite some serious emotional challenges, passing by a murder scene, and being extremely depleted by the time we rolled into my driveway again at 1a.m. the following morining, we completed our goal and improved my personal one day distance record by more than 100 miles, completing 225 miles in just 19 hours of riding time. This is a trip I will never forget. And the personal reflection that I had to put myself through over hours of saddle time will not soon be forgotten, as well my brother will never be forgotten.

The end of an epic era.

2011-11-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

The hardest thing I have ever had to face has been the death of my little brother last month. Christopher did much adventuring with me as my blog will attest, and we were very close friends. No one understood me in the way that he did, and I will never be able to replace him as a friend. My brother and I shared our entire lives together, both in time and emotionally. I do know that he will be with me in spirit on any adventure I take, and when I am working on something in the garage, and when I'm just standing around enjoying a beer. I love my little brother. I will miss him greatly.

Riding the Monkey

2011-10-11T08:09:00.001-07:00

Starting to think like a cyclist... I have been yelling back at my legs, though they put up a good fight. I tell them to shut up. Riding is more consistent than ever before, though I may not be as strong as I once was, my progression and dedication are better than ever and I am on my way to being faster than I ever was. Though that aint sayin much!
Looking forward to racing this weekend at Alafia River State Park. I haven't been on the monkey in some time so this will be more for fun than competition... but we'll see what these legs of mine have in them.

Put it together... collect the rain

2011-08-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

The previous owners of our home had intended to turn this pile of bamboo into a fence... I tried doing that without tying it and it fell into the same pile that was here when I arrived. Today I had the bright Idea to repurpose this pile.. unfortunately it was only a small portion but I did my best to make a dent. There was also a barrel that had been left behind so i figured i could harvest some rain water. here are the pictures... im sure you can put the rest together.

The Predecessor and the Successor

2011-08-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

been riding a lot lately. have done longer and more difficult rides than I have done in some time... on the road bike at least... I have been riding the Peugot Success, which has earned the nick name "Old Betsy", for the fact that she is an old, heavy bike, and the fact that an english co-worker of mine calls many older bikes that he works on by the same name. I had been holding off on a 60 mile, sunday morning ride due to it's length and the fact that most of the guys that do this ride, that I know well enough to know better of their abilities in the saddle, make this ride a difficult one for even the most accomplished riders. This past sunday morning Old Betsy and I accomplished this sunday training ride, despite her hefty 25lbs of steel, and despite all these other thoughts floating through my head. I figure I have been able to keep up with the local 22 mile, morning rides, now I should be able to keep up with these guys. Well I was right... for about 45 miles... I got dropped. The hard part of this whole ride was that I knew I had a new bike being shipped to the shop... I had been waiting for a brand new Cannondale CAAD10 on the previous friday and hoped that it would have been delivered to the Fish prior to my sunday ride, but no such luck. I could have been climbing some hundreds of feet of elevation on top of 17 lbs of pure race developed technology, but I was on 25lbs of steel and rubber that seemed to be doing everything it could to keep me off the back of the group. The whole while reminding myself that I chose to do this ride... knowing that I had not yet received my new super-light, race worthy bike, that may have given me a better chance of keeping up. Well.. I didnt keep up, but I did show up, and I did try. And I am proud of myself for having done so. The day after that ride I did receive that nice, light-weight, expensive road bike... and it is beautiful, lightweight and very fast... but though I am happy to have this new race machine, I am happy to have accomplished some major challenges on Old Betsy that I had previously reserved for her predecessor.

Day dreaming of camping and bicycle touring

2011-07-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

These afternoon summer rains have led to cooler mornings around here... cool mornings lead to good tent sleeping. With the training for this triathlon, which will be tomorrow morning, I'm starting to see that my strength to ride a fully loaded touring bike will be more than adequate for a 3 day trip. Ellen has been riding quite a bit lately as well and her bike will be great for taking a nice trip. The important thing now will be to build up something that Caleb will be able to ride for a couple hundred miles. The lure of the trails and tent camping has got me dreaming of the smell of a camp fire and the sounds of the woods at night... this year will be a good one I am imagining. This house is settled and soon we will be able to afford time to get out and explore. I am looking forward to our next family tour, and whatever else I can manage to squeeze out of my schedule.

Riding

2011-07-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

I have been riding a lot lately... to work, from work, group rides, fun rides... I have been keeping the triathlon in mind and have lost a bit of weight during the process... my most enjoyable rides lately have been around the neighborhood of the new house and with my family... here are some photos of our recent ride down to Coffee Pot Bayou in St Pete...

New house!

2011-07-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

ahhh, its been a while. Over the few weeks I have been focused on moving into the new home. My Fiancee and I have recently purchased a new home and our efforts have been focused on getting things done around here. a few pics to post...
I have a separate garage/man cave, a fenced in yard for the dogs, and a lot of old pavers left behind by the previous owner that I am turning into a base for a raised garden... of course I have to have a garden ;) the barrel will be used as a rain barrel to keep the garden watered.
Ellen and I are excited about our new home and especially that we can do as we please with it. We have been busy finishing the floors, buying up furniture and decor, unpacking boxes, and cleaning things up. We hope to have a party as soon as things are finished and cleaned up as we feel is fit.

Teaser...

2011-06-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ellens new Cross Check, "light weight touring bike." The new robins egg blue color with mid blade fork rack mounts. Killer light weight racing wheels, Hugi made (now DT Swiss) Coda hubs on Mavic Open Pro rim... spared no expense on this guy. I know I didnt document this one quite like my Giant but I certainly spent the same time getting it up and running. I have been so busy with moving into the house lately that my internet access has been limited... more pics of this bike to come ;)

woOt! new house!!!

2011-06-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

Ok... so crazy as hell the last couple weeks. moving into the new house and getting it tented for termites has been nuts. riding has been going, though not as frequently due to moving stress... for sure there will be more to post about... I built up a bike for Ellen so the pictures of her bike will be up as soon as we have more internet access and when I can find my camera after they take the tents down. WooT! new house! ok laters.

Testing the Waters

2011-06-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

Wow... so... yeah... I just signed up for my first triathlon. Last night I registered for the Top Gun sprint triathlon at Ft. Desoto Park coming up at the end of July. I have considered doing a triathlon for some time, but finally decided to sign up and do it. I have been on a kick to loose some weight lately as I went from about 160lbs to 210lbs in the last three years. Most of the guys at the shop (flying Fish) do triathlons and their fitness and drive have motivated me to get back in shape, as in my mtb racing days. It was really merely whim that drove me to sign up for this tri as my interest over the last few years has not been geared towards triathlons, but as I have been running a lot lately, and my skill on the bicycle... it just made sense. So the training begins... or rather continues... this tri will be a continuation of my weight loss project but also an adventure in territories yet unexplored by myself. I have competed in many difficult types of racing: XC racing, single speed racing, 6 hour mtb racing, a 13 hour race, several long distance tours, two Trail to Trail Races (in the all MtB Catergory, even one before the all mountain catergory was available) a couple unofficial brevets(120+ miles in a day), and even the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race which is well renown long distance mountain bike race that takes place in the mountains of Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina(Which I did on a rigid single speed mountain bike). But a triathlon is something that I dont have to explain when bragging of my accomplishments. Everyone knows what a triathlon is, and the difficulties associated with it are known well enough by the lay person that I dont have to go into any great detail over what the acronyms mean, or how much climbing was involved, or how far I went, or how difficult it was on my type of bike. I am excited to test the waters, literally and figuratively, with triathlon racing, and to add it to my repertoire of endurance adventures. I will be looking to this triathlon as the first, but possibly not the last, of my adventures in triathlon racing.

My new (old) bike, and an aside on solitude.

2011-06-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

I know I have been obsessively recording the steps along the way towards changing this old Giant Nutra hybrid bike into a capable touring machine. But to me this bike is more than a simple build up from an old bike to an old bike with bags and racks. To me this project is more than just a mechanical exploration of what is possible with an old bike, but rather a reintroduction to the things I love.
The Long Haul Trucker was a beautiful bike, and while I loved it, it was too small for me, but that bike was a vehicle for my travels, not only in the sense of going bicycle camping, but into my own thoughts and solitude. A side note on solitude to follow. This new(old) bike is not only a way to get into exploring these things again, but its build has led me to feel more attached to this bike than I ever have with the old Surly.
I have documented the visible changes, such as the bars, tires, racks, and bags... but I haven't said much about the mechanical things that do not show up in pictures. The things such as the bottom bracket rebuild that replaced bearings and grease, the meticulous lubing and readjustment of the derailleurs, cables, brakes, stem, seat post, frame bolts, and truing of the wheels. These seem minute details, regular maintenance, boring necessities, things that would have been done to the trucker no doubt and by me.
So why the hubbub? I have grown close to this old bike, giving her meticulous care, updating necessary components, and even some not so necessary. While the Trucker was built and bred as a touring machine, this old betsy is breathing a new life as a re-purposed machine... but less a machine, and more a living breathing life, that has the ability to start over as something else and live a life it had not had the chance to do.
This feeling of rebirth is something that I imagine most people go through... things in life change situations. New choices lead to new paths, and in this case new journeys, and new adventures, and new life. The care I have given this bike, seeing that she will be ready for the next trip, seeing that she will have the right parts to see her through to the end, has really made me grow close to this bike. Though the Long Haul Trucker didn't need this meticulous attention to make it tour ready, it is this attention to the Giant that has given me a closeness to her that I never had with the LHT. I have been through some things in life and though nothing of real note to speak of, not being able to enjoy my adventures in life can be just as depressing as losing a loved one.
I have re-kindled a sense of adventure within me by growing close to this old machine, by bringing new life into her and into my sense of adventure. Every minute I have spent rebuilding this bike has gotten me closer to another adventure tour, and towards my exploration of nature and solitude on my new (old) Bike.
Post script on solitude:
Solitude, as it may seem does not necessarily mean alone. Adventure and the exploration of the beauty of nature in solitude doesn't take away the idea of sharing this solitude. The dictionary definition of the word lends more towards the idea of a quiet place away from human activity. Though I have been on several hiking and touring trips with Ellen, and with other people, the company of others never took away from the individual appreciation of those things that Emerson, Muir, and Thoreau describe so eloquently about nature and solitude.

Project: Budget Touring Bike - Part 3

2011-06-16T09:04:00.001-07:00

The front racks came in for the bike yesterday, and though they needed some bit of modification to make them work with my front fork, they are mounted up and ready for some camping! The bike as you see it is pretty much Trail Travel ready, but with some upgrades to be seen in the future. So I wont call this the final chapter... It will continue to be a work in progress as is any bike, however, with less than $250 and some bit of patience I was able to put a touring bike together that could haul me across the country if I asked it to. Woofreakinoot!
These front bags (for some reason) did not have the spring attachment that the rear bags did to hold the panniers to the racks, so I got a flat bungee cord and made some modifications to make it useful. The front racks also seemed to be intended for a fork with less rake than mine, so I used some old disc brake adapters as extenders to make the whole thing fit. I will say that some of these mods were much more helpful being mechanically enclined, and extremely much more so since I am employed by a bike shop. but either way, I made things work and it looks stock.

It feels great to be on a bike.

2011-06-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Rode the touring bike into downtown Tampa yesterday. Got a couple decent shots with the cell phone camera. There is a certain peace that comes with leaving early for work, but especially when you have a couple hours to kill before you have to clock in. It was beautiful to see the river and some parts of the city I have never ridden through. It feels great to be on a bike.

Wisdom comes with age

2011-06-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful place. I went for an early morning ride through south Tampa on the Peugot, from Ellen's work on Henderson near Dale Mabry, down to Bayshore Blvd and out Davis Island and out to the point near Peter O'Night Airport. Starting to realize the appeal of this place... as a child you become complaisant of your home town, I guess wisdom comes with age, or maybe I'm starting to settle for this area. Either way, there is beauty to be found, and the subsequent joy that comes with viewing it, in the Tampa Bay area. Whether I am settling or truly starting to find joy in my home town, either way I'm sure I'll be happy with either.

Looking forward to the next chance

2011-06-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

What could be better than riding to work? Takes the dullness out of the morning commute, turns a normal ritual into a nice ride, gives you a chance to see things you usually hate to see whilst headed to work all day. Great ride this morning! I also had the chance to test out my new rear panniers... I have to say, it felt great to be on a touring bike again... after loosing my LHT I was ecstatic to be on a real touring bike again. It just makes me wish that much harder for a chance to take another tour. I have been riding and running a bit lately to get in shape for my next tour... as soon as my bike is ready i'll be looking forward to the next chance.

Project: Budget Touring Bike - Part 2

2011-06-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

I got the Panniers in today, and yesterday I got a free rear rack from work that was intended for the donation heap. The front pannier is not mounted to a rack yet as those were much harder to find. In this picture the front panniers are hanging from the brakes. Two seconds after this picture took they both fell off, you can kinda see the left one going. I like the red though... it really pops off of the black bike. Im planning on making some darker rain covers for them to keep them discreet for stealth camping. so far though the bike is REALLY coming along.
The Cannondale panniers are very small but more than enough to carry all of my backpacking gear with plenty of room for food and souvenirs. All 4 bags have an outside pouch for organizing smaller things. My tent doesnt fit in the bags but will fit nicely on top of the rear rack. Which will be necessary anyway after rainy nights, to allow the tent to dry.
These panniers are great... it seems as if someone bought them years and years ago and just kept them in storage... they are in perfect condition and if they were used it could only have been once or twice. there is no sun damage to them at all, and not a bit of dirt. GREAT ebay find!
I am waiting on front racks, rims, and need to find fenders and possibly a better headset that is easier to adjust.
So far I have spent less than $200 and with my front rack and rim order I will still be at just under $250. I do understand that for most this number might be a little higher as I do work in a bike shop and have access to things others do not, but so far I have only purchased the tires, rims, and front rack through the shop. The rest of the stuff could be found on craig's list or ebay.
Until next time....

30th Century

2011-06-08T04:37:00.000-07:00

Neat shop in Iowa City... take a look! http://30thcentury.wordpress.com/
The owners are completely car free and their shop promotes utilitarian cycling and touring. If I am ever in Iowa city this will sure to be a stop on my route.

The Health of the Planet!

2011-06-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

It has occurred to me that I have not said much about the daily grind here... I am again working at a shop that I worked for years ago. I left then to concentrate on school full time, but recently was invited back by the fine folks at Flying Fish Bikes in South Tampa. I am again wrenching on bikes, this time though, it feels more permanent as my major is Environmental Science... now i dont think I really need to explain the correlation, but for the sake of having something to blog about im going to go ahead and say it anyway: I am not merely a bicycle mechanic, but rather, an ambassador for environmentalism. Let me explain. Bicycles are the most efficient form of transportation as they have ZERO emissions, get INFINITY miles per gallon, and are much less expensive than cars. I am doing a service to the environment by keeping folks rolling on two wheels. I am not merely working a job repairing and cleaning POS BSO's, I am doing a service to my field and to the world! So if you ask me what I do I will no longer tell you simply that "I am a bicycle mechanic" I will have much more to say about the things I do for the health of the planet.

wow

2011-06-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

This guy is the Rodney Mullen of the Cycling world. freakin amazing!

Project: Budget Touring Bike Part 1

2011-06-07T04:40:00.000-07:00

So I had to sell my Long Haul Trucker... I wasn't happy with the decision but at the time I was in need and the bike was too small for me... I must be growing... anyway, recently I was given an old Giant hybrid bike which I thought could be made to be a decent touring bike. So far not much has been done but just enough to make it really road worthy. Here are some of the mods so far: in the first picture I have added tires(Vittoria Randonneur 700x35), my Brooks saddle off my mountain bike, and a bag that I stitched up just for this purpose. The bag is actually quite nice... it will act as my "handlebar bag" as it is very easy to access while on the bike and actually makes more sense because it puts the load lower in my center of gravity and takes the weight off the handlebars... im a freakin' genius... anyway.
Next I ordered a set of these trekking bars on ebay, which I have been wanting to try for some time... I have since wrapped these with bar tape and they have proven to be very comfortable with endless hand positions... these are great bars for touring... highly recommended. Another nice thing about these bars... they use mountain bike components... very inexpensive compared to road parts and very easy to find for replacement whilst on the road.
Lastly, so far, I picked up these old Cannondale panniers on ebay at a great price. I went uncontested. nice. I like the color of these bags, but I may either re-cloth them or make dark colored rain covers in order to be more discreet whilst stealth camping.
Well so far that is all for part one... I need racks and fenders yet, and i will eventually lace up some better wheels, but until next time...

True Temper!!!

2011-05-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Dont think of this as an advice piece, but don't cast it off as unintelligible angry rambling either. I do not wish to own a carbon fiber bicycle... ever. I heard today the angels sing of the glory of carbon fiber from a co-worker and I just cannot subject myself to this in the same way that I will not subject myself to the trash of modern sci-fi or romance novels. Carbon fiber is the equivalent of Nora Roberts and Micheal Crichton as Hemingway and Kerouac are to a good Columbus or True Temper steel. You see, I have never, ever, seen a broken steel frame bicycle... ever. Oh, sure, components break... but i have never seen a steel bicycle even one that had been hit by a car, that wasn't repairable... on the other hand... I couldn't count on fingers and toes how many broken carbon fiber components I have seen as a mechanic. Carbon is lighter than steel... but that is where the benefits end. Steel is a much more comfortable ride, it is stronger, it lasts longer, and it is actually possible to build a light steel bike. Dont listen to the hype... Steel IS real.

Bike Day Commute...

2011-05-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

OK... not much to say... I rode to work on "Ride Your Bike to Work Day" and I took some photos with my phone to capture the moment... it was a nice ride... I was late too. :D

I really do.

2011-05-19T14:07:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when one is left to his own devices for a length of time the absence of anything productive to do can drive one mad. It is harder to truly understand or appreciate this fact until you have not only been left to your own devices, but had a chance to recuperate and reflect upon the times when you were so severely bored with life that you were driven mad. Often it is not the condition that teaches us about life, but the rebound and the subsequent reflection through which we can gain an appreciation for the hard times that we had survived.
Boredom, or rather "a lack of something useful to do," often puts me into a depressive state that consumes and paralyzes me. Without both mental challenge and physical stimulation, both of which to take my mind off of the other, I get bored. For the first time in a while, full time employment and full time enrollment in school seems like a great idea. Wrenching on bicycles gives me a chance to sort out my personal thoughts and to think through the complicated ideas that often keep me awake at night. But being in school feeds me the idea that i wont be working on other peoples bicycles for the rest of my life. So in essence I have hope for the future whilst being able to take care of my immediate needs. Not just hope for the future, and not just the thought of living forever with a mediocre 9 to 5. Not that I dont enjoy working at a bike shop with some great guys... I really do.

Tales from the Emergency Lane

2011-05-19T04:43:00.000-07:00

I have been commuting quite a bit the last few weeks, that is to say, riding more than I have all year. It is quite refreshing to feel like a cyclist again. I feel like referring to myself as one is no longer a lie, anyway. But it is also quite refreshing to be out there in the world again and on my bike. I ride across the Gandy bridge on my way into work and the view there, though I have seen it my whole life, takes on new meaning when you are that close and personal with it. Riding your bicycle feels quite different than being caged up in a box with windows going 70 mph past the blur of scenery.
When I ride sometimes the pelicans will float next to me as they scan the water below for breakfast, before they tuck into their dive and quickly disappear from view, I assume to bombard some unsuspecting fish. I feel like a part of nature... the cars screaming by me are loud and distract from this serene experience to some degree of course, but I'm able to block them out in favor of this day dream. I used to wear headphones, I'm starting to realize that just taking in my surroundings is a far more effective tool for distraction.
I have begun collecting things of sort from the bridge... the strangest things fly out of peoples cars and onto the side of the bridge; the other day I grabbed a Frankenstein's Monster lawn decoration, I also found a visor from some cheap car, and a small orange cone, I assume used for some kids game. They call it the emergency lane, but it is seemingly also the trash lane. I see the same bolts and piles of glass every time I ride the route. I think of it as MY lane... I rarely see anyone else along my route, even though the weather is great for it lately. I think of the car lanes as the "emergency" lanes, as in, people should only take their vehicles in an emergency. Either way, I'm riding again, and its making me happy.

Catching up

2011-05-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

SOOO.... update... hmmmm... lots to say:

My Life:

LIFE, life... Im getting married. Me and Ellen will be tying the knot next February. We have had an excellent life together so far and we are making it official. She is the love of my life and a great gal. She does so enjoy to go on touring adventures with me and i will surely be posting some stories of the touring trips we have taken, and will take together. Also we are hopefully getting a house soon... fingers crossed.

School... switched from St. Petersburg College to USF St. Pete... Majoring in environmental policy and geography. Go Bulls.

Work... I'm FINALLY back at Flying Fish Bikes in south Tampa. I left there initially to concentrate more on school, but now I'm realizing that family and real life requires real employment. I still have a couple years left of school, but I need to find some income that is decent and steady.

Riding... I'll say that my riding has really been on the crap side lately... i think depression over lost things has led to this. I had to sell my long haul trucker. there I said it. I hate this idea. but it had to happen. At the time i needed the money. I have obtained two new beasts in her place, but not enough to fill the void. I bought a Peugot steel road bike from the 90's for about 150 bucks that was in like new condition. I ride her on a regular basis as my main steed these days. I also more recently picked up a Giant hybrid that I am attempting to convert into a touring bike. It is all loose ball bearings so I am having to rebuild all the pivot points(headset, wheels, BB) when I can find the time.

Transportation... I no longer own a 4 wheeled vehicle. I sold my truck because it was in constant need of repair. Also, I bought a motorcycle. Its a suzuki sv650 standard. looks like a sport bike but i have her set up for comfy commuting. I have had a few close calls since her purchase including one pretty good wreck. maybe i'll go into that some other time, but not now.

Trail Travelers... I have started a touring club. The main page is on face book and possibly needs a subsidiary website, but i just dont have the time for that now.

Tattoos... I have gotten several new tattoos that I havent taken photos of yet because I have not gotten them finished... SOON. and photos to follow.

thats all I have for now... im sure Ill come up with more. next week is ride your bike to work week. You can bet ill be riding on the days that I can (ie not taking the kid to school) and will look forward to seeing other out there. thanks.

Jumping back on again

2011-05-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

For a long time face book has kept me from posting here because no one cares about anything else. Well it seems to me that I was nevcer posting here because anyone else ever cared, but because I enjoyed the writing. I knew from the beginning that this was more of a public journal than a news paper column. But I guess I lost hope... i left all my shit on facebook instead of my old friend here on my blog. well here I am, hopefully trying, again, to start posting on my blog regularly.

Thoughts on life and cycling.

2010-05-10T04:36:00.001-07:00

Thoughts on cycling and life.

Another semester in the books and another semester closer to the dream of spoiling the minds of the youth of the country with my rhetoric. It was a great semester but I was looking forward to taking some time off before the summer semester begins. I will have three days off, but it will be a positively enjoyable three days of not knowing what the hell to do with the time. The last month has been a busy one, with extra hours wrenching on other peoples bicycles and what with preparing for final exams and end of semester projects. I did find lots of time to ride the 32 miles to and from work as my truck was in the shop for a week... I got over 100 miles in in just over a week. It taught me that I love riding to work no matter how far it is. I have since ridden to work several times with a perfectly good truck parked in the driveway. I was always the bike commuter before, but now I am learning to enjoy it. Both for the monetary advantage and the physical workout I am getting, but also an even more important sense of saving the environment and being a visible presence for cycling advocacy. I am attempting to get the entire shop to ride to work on May 21st which is national bike day, I will probably ride to work that whole week, bit if the lot were empty of cars I think it will make a great statement. Anywho... its great to be able to share some thoughts on the old blog again, even though I know no one is reading it anymore, its still good to talk about it with whomever may accidentally stuble upon this post. Cheers.

Florida Trail Croom Hike

2010-03-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

Caleb, Jack, and I went on a backpacking trip on the Florida Trail in Croom this past weekend to try out my new Tarp Tent RainCloud 2. It was also Caleb's first backpacking trip with his Deuter Fox 30 backpack. We parked at Silver Lake Camp Ground near Brooksville and hiked around 8 miles. We stayed just south of Crooked River Camp Ground. The recent rain had provided us with nearly impassible trails that required some nerves to negotiate. Caleb was the one who decided we should just push right on through and wade through the water. The picture of Caleb here walking through the water doesnt do justice to the sections that I was careful not to stop to take a picture. There was one section that was up to my knees and the nearest "shore" area was a complete tangle of completely impassible brush. In all it was a fun hike and a great way for an 8 year old to spend part of his spring break. Jack did a great job on his first hike, im honestly surprised he didnt chew his way out of the tent that night. Oh and we also got a chance to try out Jack's Kelty K9 pack... the rear D ring ripped up from its stitches... I assume from Jack being such an avid mushing dog but i hope he doesnt break it all the way off. Ill have to contact Kelty.
Being Caleb' first real backpacking trip he did extremely well and proved to be a real adventurer. All the bike touring trips we have done together have prepared him for the kind of walking we did. Im hoping to take Caleb out for our next trip on the AT. I also hope that this is the first of many section hikes of the Florida Trail as well... perhaps he will become the youngest person to ever section hike the entire FT? ...we'll see about that ;)

New to Touring

2010-03-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ellen and I went on an over-night trip up to JB Starkey Park to test out her newly built Fuji touring bike. It was a great trip despite pouring rain the next morning and having to hide under an overpass. Rain gear REALLY helps with the not getting cold part but there is something about rain that just crushes the soul. The trip overall was a great experience, and being Ellen's first over night bicycle trip, was a trip we wont soon forget.

Starting out our section hike of the AT

2010-03-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Ellen and I spent a few days on the Appalachian Trail a couple weeks ago. I have been a bit busy so the post comes a little late, but, we hiked from Amicalola Falls to the official starting place of the AT at Springer Mountain in Georgia. We plan to return in May to do a few more days and hopefully in the years to come we will continue the routine until we have completed the whole trail. Im looking forward to Blood Moutain which is the next major scenic view on our trip since Springer. Take a look at some of our pictures.

Crocs are keen...

2010-03-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

I love Crocs... I used to buy up the 8 dollar croc like shoes at walmart and target but it seems they have stopped producing those... today I got myself a pair of Croc brand shoes for the first time and im going to try them out as comfort shoes on the trail. A lot of people are Croc haters... but i think for all those fasionistas out there that they couldnt possibly understand trail fashion... meaning, comfort and weight before fashion... so eat it! anyhow... Crocs are almost a way of life for hikers and I will not apologize for my lack of fashion sense on the trail... though my latest Crocs are not quite the ugly rubber things that most people think of... they are called the Santa Cruz and are the lightest shoes i could imagine bringing on a hiking trail... i love them and you should too.

AT - Commitment

2010-03-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

In two days I'll be standing next to Ellen at the base of Amicalola Falls looking toward the summit of Springer Mountain in Georgia. Adorned with backpacks and cold weather gear we will begin a 7 day hike covering some 40 miles along the Appalachian Trail, and ultimately we commit ourselves to a journey that may last much longer. For those who don't know(those of you living under a rock), Springer Mountain marks the official starting point for the Appalachian Trail, or AT for short, that meanders up the East coast of the United States for some 2175 miles before ending, just short of our 51st state, in Maine. Though we will be committing ourselves to 40 miles for this hike, we ultimately have opened up the can of worms that many AT section hikers start and spend years trying to finish. We will have committed ourselves to a lifetime pursuit that is the AT.
What does all this mean? It means blood, sweat, and tears... it means love, commitment, and facing fears... its means a journey that may take years...
I'm looking forward to the journey ahead.

...i'll take the bears.

2010-02-25T05:42:00.000-08:00

Its funny how when I tell people Im about to take a backpacking trip on the AT the first thing they do is worry for me about my safety. "what about bears?" "are you gonna bring a gun?" "people get killed out there!" Then I take a look around at the city... at least someone gets killed every day in the city I live in... car accidents abound, and there are unsolved murders with murderers wandering around the city, perhaps preying on their next victim... Where I am going there will be no cars. When I ride my bike to school or work I risk getting killed by every car that passes me... thats 50+ chances for DEATH everyday! When I drive its the same thing... I get cut off in traffic, people around here cant seem to figure out what to do when it starts raining... I risk death everyday of my life living in the city. Now to take a vacation into the woods... where there are no cars, very few people, and maybe, if im lucky, ill see a bear... I think I'll risk that possibility of seeing a bear that will more than likely run from me. Will I bring a gun? no. Maybe a knife to cut up my summer sausage... do people get killed out there? yes... but the chances of me getting killed on the AT are far less than that of me getting killed on my daily commute... im sorry guys... Ill take the bears.

Trail Travelers

2010-02-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

So im starting a new club and I'm hoping to build some interest. I love to tour by bike and the local area has not seen a dedicated touring club as far as I can tell... enter Trail Travelers. I have a trip planned for club members (really anyone who signs the waiver so far) that will be held in conjunction with the SPC Bike Club Tour that I also planned. The trip will be from April 9th through the 11th and will take my standard 3 Rail Trail route, starting in Clearwater and making a loop out to the Withlacoochee Forest and back by means of Suncoast, Withlacoochee and Pinellas Trails... this time I will be going through Tampa using the Upper Tampa Bay Trail as well. To anyone who is interested in the club or the trip please get in touch with me.
I am excited about the future of both the Trail Travelers and the SPC bike club considering both are new and are requiring a lot of planning and some dedication. I will have a more proper flier for the trip by this weekend (fingers crossed).

Life begins again... in the Blog world at least

2010-02-23T17:39:00.001-08:00

It has been way too long my old friend... its good to see you... I almost forgot the password to even post anything here. I will admit it has been quite some time... with my fall from cycling, and the invention of facebook... people have stopped reading my blog and I have stopped posting... busy? maybe, lazy? probobly more likely... has the adventure stopped? likely not. my life has always been lived by the idea that to make a living is to get out and enjoy life, regardless of your income status. well... my friends, and perhaps, lost, faithful readers, Here I am, returning, for who knows how long, but to post another post. youd think with a new DSLR that I'd be busy as hell posting all kinds of pictures... right? but i guess I've just been too caught up in the life I've been living to post anything on me ol' blog. well... like an old friend I will come crawling back and ask for the chance to tell the stories of the life I have lived in my absence.

So... I have been elected as the president of the St. Pete College bicycle club... what does that mean? Im not sure but it may look good on my resume. ALSO... I have decided to start my own bicycle club... still very much in its infancy, the Trail Travelers is my new baby... check out www.trailtravelers.com ...though there isnt much to be seen yet hopefully there will be more soon.... also I recently purchased a new road bike to replace the Klein I had to sell over the summer to support living expenses... the new ride is a Peugeot Success... and yes... i do see it that way... 7 speeds of pure enjoyment! and by the way i rode a nice 20 miles today on her and rather enjoyed her... uhm... semi-maiden voyage... as she is... well... used... but really? the guy must have bought this thing back in 95 and BARELY riden her... as she is practically in new condition... check it out.
Honestly though.... I like her more than the Klein because the Klein was aluminum and the Success is steel... the way I like it :D and the ride is much more smooth.
Ellen and I are going to be taking a trip to Springer Mountain in a few days to do some hiking on the AT... thats right... Ellen and I have been together again for some months now... and we are making a commitment to hike the WHOLE AT together... whether she realizes that or not I dont know... but shes doing it... if I have to hand cuff her to my pack. Any how... Im glad to be back into the Blog biz and hopefully I will stick to it this time... and not be a pussy about it and just forget that it exists again. well.. until next time... Shalom.

2009-11-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

Ok so I hate the idea of leaving this blog behind after 3 faithful years dedicated to it... im bringing the pages from the other blog back to here and keeping this one alive. stay tuned for new blogs. It feels good to be back.

change...

2009-09-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

Im changing to a new blog... in the interest of stating reasons once, go to my new blog here http://thelifeofbrian.blog.com/ to check out the new blog and add me to your feed.

The turning of the leaves changes my blues

2009-09-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

ok... so... long summer.... finally over. This must be the feeling people up north get after a long snowy winter. Well the temps are finally down and the humidity isnt attacking with quite the same intensity. I have started a new job working with the Y, I am a youth specialist with my own class of 4th graders. They are perhaps the whiniest group of kids I have ever had to work with, but they are good kids. I have a full set of classes this semester, which will be my last semester pursueing my AA degree before I get into my Bachelors program. I have been riding my bike more in the past week then I had all summer due to the fact that I have no gas in the truck, and I have been needing to get to work... I put in over 50 miles last week, it feels liberating.
I have planned a hiking trip to return to my beloved Pisgah National Forest; a friend and I are hiking the Art Loeb trail starting in the Shining Rock Wilderness and ending at Davidson River Campground, where I stayed when I did the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race last year. This time the plans are set and the plane tickets are already purchased, so backing out would mean losing money, and a very sad bRiaN. I am really looking forward to spending sometime with mother Earth and just being out in the wild.
I am hoping that this very depressing summer will meet a very happy end in this hiking trip.

grr

2009-08-15T19:35:00.001-07:00

Another summer gone and classes are starting again... I had many plans this summer that got pushed off due to heat and depression. This state can be ridiculously hot this time of year and it wore on me more this summer than i can ever remember. I haven't spent a whole lot of time outdoors this summer and I have been longing for adventure. Im hoping that with the turn of the seasons I will spend some more time getting out and doing things rather than being stuck in this house.

Tooting my own horn

2009-07-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have always considered myself, with great hubris, to be a renaissance man. I am in constant search of physical, intellectual, and artistic pursuits to please my insatiable palate for humanities. I am ever the athlete competing in running and cycling races, i like to consider myself an intelligent guy as I am pursuing my bachelors degree and read constantly, and my artistic pursuits have included playing the guitar and most recently photography. Well I have one more to add to the list of the arts. For a long time I have wanted to learn how to paint... since i was a kid actually. I always thought i would need to take a class to learn how to handle the brush and know what to buy. I got tired of waiting to find a decent local class and decided to just go for it. I finally got myself a cheap set of watercolor paints, a set of brushes, and some watercolor paper. Over the last two days I have been playing with different techniques and getting to know my brushes and different strokes. I have used some of the bird photos that I have taken as models for my new found hobby. The pictures I am posting are of pictures I have painted so far. There should be plenty more to follow the few I have painted already. The first is my first painting since the finger paintings and paint by numbers I did as a kid, it is a yellow crowned night heron. The second is a brown pelican near the Skyway bridge, and the last there is a tricolored heron. I am getting better with the brush strokes and details such as feather definition and shading. We'll see how things progress as i learn to paint more. :)

Going native

2009-07-30T10:10:00.001-07:00

Few of you may know this about me, but I am part Penobscot. The Penobscot native Americans are a canoeing people from what is now Maine and parts of Canada. I really dont know how much of me is native or really who it was in my family that was but I have been told by my family that the herritage is there. And though it may be very little, I still take pride in my canoeing bretheren of the north. Recently I borrowed, with eventual intent to buy (and restore) an Old Town Camper from a friend. I have been out on the canoe 4 times in the last couple of weeks and it has proven to be an adventurous endeavor. I have gotten some great photo opportunites that I would never have imagined on foot, and getting into those tight spots has been quite fun. Nothing beats getting up before the sun and silently paddling out into the reeds or mangroves searching for nesting egrets, roosting night herons, and other wading birds. But as I have AADD (Adventure Attention Deficit Disorder) I am constantly in need of new things to do to have fun, and a vessel such as my canoe is a great platform for adventuring and camping and photography... I think my Penobscot blood is coursing through my veins happier then before i had the canoe and it is certainly a nice addition to the adventure quiver which I use to constantly seek new means of outdoor fun. These are some pictures I have taken on some of my trips on the Camper so far.

Summer SAD

2009-07-12T00:20:00.001-07:00

With the end of a very stressful summer semester looming I am hoping to be able to get out and do something worthy of posting here in my blog. I have been out and taken a few pictures in the last couple weeks but for the most part I have been locked inside trying to keep up with classwork.

I am planning a trip to JB Starkey Wilderness Park in New Port Richey for some riding and some hiking and some photography. I will hopefully go within the next couple weeks. I want to try to take it easy along the route there so as not to upset my knee as it has been some time since I have taken a longer trip. well in the mean time... here are some pics ove taken locally recently.

The adventure of life (perhaps a note to self)

2009-07-03T01:15:00.001-07:00

Adventure and the pursuit of happiness isnt always full of fantastic views and smooth trails. A lot of preparation goes into backpacking and bicycle touring, and a lot of training and equipment is dedicated to the "what if" factor of adventuring. You dont always expect to use it but things such as first aid and emergency survival techniques are sometimes used. And beyond that even, things that dont make your event an emergency, but just add to a level of discomfort. These are all things that can really get to your head. A persistant rain that causes mud to get all over everything, a headwind that puts your mileage below your average mark, a cold front that brings unexpected low temperatures when you figured a summer bag would do for the trip, noticing an unusually large amount of unused gear that is weighing you down, mosquitoes... do these things take away from the enjoyment of the trip? Perhaps in the moment, but when remembered these things add to the stories you tell your friends. We wear those hardships as a badge of courage, and though while possibly slightly annoyeddurring the trip, in retrospect the story often makes it sound worse than it actually was. My point is that no adventure is ever perfect, sometimes things go wrong, sometimes things just arent perfect, sometimes things can be a little annoying. But we learn to recognize these trailside hardships and love them for what they will become. I have hiked through the mountains of Georgia, backpacked across the Florida Prairies, bicycle toured through most of central Florida's rail trails over hundreds of miles, and have done some canoe camping through out the area as well. What I remember about those trips are the suprises, and way in which I handled them. I am proud of my triumphs, though they came out of diversity. In this same token, I cannot help but look at life in the same light. I am getting to the point where I can recognize a crisis in real life and conquer those challenges with the same perspicacity as I would reaching an unexpected river crossing or a flat tire on the road. We have our doldrums in adventure and life is the greatest adventure of them all. If we can learn how to truely tackle these annoyances with fervor and tenacity instead of beat down by the lack of scenery we can come to truely appreciate this adventure we call life.
(In the spirit of its motivational poster like bantering i figured I would include some of my own motivational scenery shots to go along with the blog post... :) call me a geek if you will )

People are evil

2009-06-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Are people so miserable in this county that they have to bring everyone else down around them? I was nearly run over today by the same guy twice... I went for a short ride around the city just trying to clear the cobwebs and take in some parts of the city I have never seen. Some douche in a gray Cobalt came within inches of me going down a street... i yelled at him and told him to give me more room the first time. The guy must have waited for me to turn around and this time came EVEN CLOSER. If this guy thinks he was going to try to hit me I wonder what the hell could be going on in his life that made him so miserable. And I was on a small two lane road with no other cars coming the other direction. I hate this fucking county... every time I get out on a bike people dont pay attention to me. And this isn't the first time someone has tried to hit me. I hate the thought of it but it makes me want to give up cycling when I realize how dangerous humans beings are to each other.

Bill has made it past half way!

2009-06-21T22:45:00.001-07:00

I have been following Bills adventure across the country on his blog for the past 40 days. Its like reading a live adventure book, and I am quite jelous at the views of some of the pictures he has taken during his trip. I noticed the last link I posted to Bills blog didnt work so I found a better link for all who wants to try to catch up to what I have been following. heres the link... http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/bills2009ride ...for anyone who doesn't know, Bill Hemme a friend of mine who travelled with me on the guided trip I led last year, is riding from California to Clearwater on his bicycle. It is a trip I too hope to make one day and it seems like an incredible feat. He has just passed his halfway point after just under 40 days on the road. Good job so far Bill and good luck.

the joy of a sad song

2009-06-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats the joy of just getting it out of your system in song.

Smelly old books

2009-06-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

I have been making it a habbit lately to go thrift store shopping for old books. I have gotten a few neat classics that I am proud to own. Among them a 1947 copy of A Field Guide to The Birds by Peterson, a 1941 copy of Don Quixote, a 1967 copy of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, and a 1941 copy of Ben Franklin's Autobiography. They arent really worth much but the smell of old books beats anything else. I really enjoy reading the classics and believe there is no greater knowledge than reading about our past through its literature. I am currently working my way through a 1969 copy of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. The story is great, and I get a kick out of burying my face in the spine and inhaling the scent of old book, and perhaps the decades of life this book has seen, and perhaps the many people who have flipped through these same pages generations before me. What has happened through the life of this book? who owned it? who read it? Why did they get rid of it? did someone who owned it die? The story of the life of this book is almost as intriguing as the story within its pages.
My proudest find to date isnt a book all that old but a very unique book still the same... a 1987 copy of Rob Van der Plas' The Bicycle Touring Manual. The technology described in this book is completely outdated, some of the advice is a bit antiquated and the pictures are classic, but this book was certainly a neat find. It is interesting to see how far we have come since I was a wee 6 year old boy.

Getting in shape and thinking about racing again.

2009-06-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Ok it has been some time since I have mentioned anything related to bicycle racing. In fact my last race was over a year ago. The Karate Monkey has been leaning patiently against the wall in my bedroom for quite some time... oh sure Ive been on the trails... once maybe every three months, but I believe the time is coming that she will spend some time on a race course. I have been putting in some mileage on the bike and on the running shoes, not much, but enough to spark some curiosity about how well I would do if I started training again for the fall mountain bike series starting this september. The scale has been teasing dangerously close to a milestone no one wants to accomplish and I am battling the climb with all my strength... ORRR perhaps with a lackluster, semi-hearted motivation that is held back by my inability to break free of stress (coughexcusescough). For the last two weeks I have riden at least two days for a minimal amount of mileage, I have been attempting to walk more and even jogging from time to time, and most importantly I have been training at my local MMA gym. Now, they call it "mixed martial arts". For my purposes the acronym is doning the new definition "move my ass". With the added intensity and doubled pace of the summer coursework I have spent a lot of time sitting on my ass in the house(coughexcusecough). So to get me out of the depressing, cabin feverish shlump, I have been trying to do some of these things just to get me outside and active. Well.. and also to take my mind off of probability, pascals triangle, and espanol... but the rewarding benefit is double fold... it takes my mind off of things just long enough to revitalize me but it also makes me sharper. And, now that I feel I am getting into a decent enough training regimine the ideas are floating around about racing my mountain bike again. We'll see how it goes... but if I am out there in September, you better believe I'm coming out to win.

Falling from blogging grace.

2009-06-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

It seems that every where I look my fellow bloggers are all quitting.. The dream of posting pictures and stories for anyone, and perhaps no one to read is falling off into the jaded land of I Give Up. Well here is an alert to all my faithful follower, I will not quit! The idea of spilling countless rants and stories of adventure through time and space and perhaps just my maniacal quip is a pure and thorough joy that I cannot put to pasture. I dont care who reads my stories and I do not care who does not read my stories but if you read my stories and enjoy them my high horse can certainly be hard to climb down from as the flattery of another soul enjoying my writting as much as I do can be more than this self indulgent braggart can handle. I do not necessarily think that I am anymore capable and perhaps not nearly as friendly as some of those that I have seen fall from the ranks of blogdom, but it sadens me to see the empty spaces of those blogs of you who have disapeared from the land of let-it-all-out-and-tell-everyone-online-your-life-stories. I will surely miss reading your sporatic updates of life, adventure, and nonsense. Farewell my blog jumping friends... farewell.

Advice on roughing it from a softie

2009-06-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ok so every great adventurer has tricks they pick up over time spent in the bush, on the road, on the trail, in the field... ect... well... I cant say that I am any different. After a few years in the Army and several on my own adventures there are a few things that I have picked up and modified into my adventuring routine to make life easier, and because I can be a softie, a bit more comfortable. Whether you are going hiking in the Florida plains, bicycle touring across the country, camping in the field on an archeological dig, or just going for an over nighter with the family, these are things I have found that have worked for me.

Mat advice... This picture is actually a pair of Thermarest Ridgerests stuffed into a pillow case.
The problem I had with buying the blow-up mattresses is that most of them cost nearly 5 times that of the closed cell mattresses... and the ones I could afford were twice the weight. Now the Ridgerests are a bit bulky but 70$ is better spent elsewhere. Well one way to minimize the size of the ridge rest is to cut it down, you simply cannot do this with any other mattress, and all you really need is enough to cover the width of your shoulders and the length from under your head to your tail bone. Incidentally this works out to be the exact width and almost the same length as a standard pillow case. On a hot night in the Florida plain when a sleeping bag is out of the question and the sweat is making your body stick to your mattress a cool silk or polyesther pillow case is a nice place to lay whether a closed cell or blow up mattress is used.
Another good reason to cut this mattress down is to save a bit of weight... at 9oz the small Ridgerest is already nearly the lightest of Thermarest's offerings... cutting this matt down proved to cut about 25% of its weight to less than 7oz. Less than any other matt on the market for a small fraction of the price, and though the bulk is still there, it is reduced enough to fit into my pack for a summer load(yes both of them). I use 2 matts because I am a wuss and need the extra cushion, but this is still less than 14oz, which is still less weight than many other more expensive matts on the market.
A couple more things about this matt is one; that it is very sturdy and does not get cut like other matts do on rocks, sticks, thorns, roots, etc... thus not requiring field maintenance or home maintenance for that matter. And second, because of this durability I have used them as camp chairs on logs or even on the ground for added comfort, because once again, I am a wuss.

Pillow Advice... Now some purists scoff at the use of a camp pillow in the field... I cannot fathom how on Buddha's green Earth how anyone could possibly go without this loving ball of soft, fluffy down and nylon. Now I have tried the rolled clothing method, the stuff sack method, and even the soft sided stuff sack method... but nothing was comfortable enough for me to get any amount of what I could call sleep on a first night in the woods, on the ground, on a hard and possibly tilted(and usually the wrong way) ground. I use a camp pillow, and I DO NOT regret it, it is worth every bit of its weight and I would bring it before any other piece of sleepy time equipment.
You may also notice that my pillow seems slightly modified... well after severl nights on this guy it has lost a little bit of loft and I have had to use it in tandem with the stuff sack full of clothes so it would hold my head in the right position... well this stitch job kinda serves both purposes in one. By folding the pillow in half i double up the loft and effectively raise my head to a comfortable position, by leaving the opening in the middle I can also stuff a couple things in there, a t-shirt or my pant legs, to improve that loft even more so.
Camera Advice... Now this advice can probably be found in photographer's and journalist's blogs and for good reason. My camera is attached to my backpack by means of backpack straps... These are made by Op Tech USA but other brands are out there. These pack straps take the weight of the camera and distribute it into the backpack straps, instead of on your neck. This also keeps the extra heat of the strap off of your neck as well, which is nice in Florida... anytime of the year.
Clothing advice... Now here in Florida especially the tendency is to wear shorts in the summer... and I couldnt agree more. BUT... I wear the convertible pants that zip off into shorts... two reasons: mosquitoes and mosquitos. As the sun starts to hang low in the sky the stagnant pools of Florida's swamps (and marshes, and swimming pools, and puddles etc...) become a mess of swarming mosquitoes ready to search for your bare ankles and annoy the BLOODY HELL out of you. I dont care how much repellant you use for some reason they always get your ankles and the itch makes it hard to sleep.
When it starts to get late just zip the legs back on (which weigh next to nothing) and tuck the bottoms into your socks. This keeps both mosquitos and other nasty critters out of your pants. They weigh very little so the added comfort is well worth it and if a night should turn cold they are an added layer of warmth as well. You can probobly pick up a pair at REI for around the price of a pair of jeans.
Other tidbits... bring a book, not 3; Leave the Peterson's guide at home, and leave the Edible Wild Plants book at home(trust me if you cant ID it by sight anyway, you probably shouldn't risk it, ask the McCandles Family).
Wool or synthetic over cotton, DUH.
Bring extra socks, and dry wet ones on sticks NEAR the fire at night. dont cook them.
Thin sock liners inside of thicker hiking socks keeps blisters down.
Moleskin... should always be in your first aid kit if the sock trick doesnt work.
Dont forget to restock said first aid kit... not having that itch relief in the morning after you forgot to zip the tent less than an inch further is another annoyance you could avoid by not being stupid.
I've said it and Ill repeat it, bring a water filter, tabs are slow and dont suck water from puddles.
Bring enough dry food that you don't have to cook if you cant find enough water or have stove issues, which is an inevitable annoyance when you're looking forward to that beef stroganoff and only have trail mix to eat.
Do you really need that flask of tequila? the answer is a most certain and resounding yes.

Good things from the garden

2009-06-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes, chili peppers, bell peppers, a giant marconi, sweet corn and onions.

(perhaps) unconventional fatherly advice

2009-06-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

What would be the reason for even considering walking across the country? The pure freedom? Unencumbered by the reliance on any machine or man made device... or perhaps the ability to hop in the back of the next passing pickup with a quick hello and a thanks? To stop and work for a couple bucks to catch the next bus out of town, to jump in with a friendly passing motorist who may possibly be your new best friend... or have we become so jaded of hitch hikers due to scary stories and serial killer movies? Has the idea of hitch hiking across the country gone the way of the Chia pet? My parents did their share of hitch hiking up and down the east coast in the 70's. Kerouak speaks of it as if it were a standard form of public travel in the 1950's, and the plethora of stories that became his career as a novelist ensued. The heartwarming story of Christopher McCandless, otherwise known as Alexander Supertramp, has more recently brought the idea of travelling the country on a fleeting whim into the minds of the youth (and not so youth) of America. The story told by adventure columnist and writer Jon Krakauer, puts Christopher in the passenger side of many a vehicle including cars, semi trucks, RV's, and even train cars as he thumbed and hiked his way back and forth across the west and eventually to Alaska where he found his final resting place. But the sense of freedom! The reliance and the trust that this guy in the Daewoo who just pulled over for you isnt going to end your trip, before you intended. The sights you may see, the people you may meet, seeing the country first hand with only the things you have on your back that can be quickly thrown into someones backseat. I cant imagine that this could be so easily discarded because some people think its dangerous. Lots of things are dangerous... BASE jumping, motocross, mountainbiking... but the ability to get out and see the country, perhaps the world, and meet its people... I couldnt say I would not jump at the opportunity to do it myself, or that I could ever advise my son that this would be a bad idea.
Perhaps if not by the fate of a wandering gypsy but by the means of travelling with friends who arent idiots. Its important to see the world and meet its people before you can absolutely feel attached to the world that surrounds you. To shed cynicism and don hope for a philosophical vision quest, in search of the wisdom of the open road and its peoples...
There are three pieces of advice I will make sure my son follows through with before I am certain to release him into his life of manhood; 1. Be well read, read the classics and biographies of people who made a dent on our society, and surround yourself with people who also value these things. 2. Before getting a job to make money for yourself, spend some time giving to people who may never be able to fend for themselves. Volunteer, intern, hell... join green peace. 3. Travel the country (the world) and seek the wisdom its people, dont just travel to have a good time, spend time meeting people and sharing stories, and do this travel with friends from fatherly advise #1. Whether by foot or by car, train, bicycle... see the world and learn from her, nothing is more important than learning.

Intracoastal adventure

2009-06-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

My brother Chris and I went for a boat trip through the intracoastal waters of the Pinellas on Monday. It was a beautiful day as the weather was cooperative and the water was smooth as glass all day. We motored from Bay Pines War Veterans Memorial Park all the way down to Shell Island and Sister Key where we had lunch and snapped some shots. All was great until on our way back to the boat ramp, the prop somehow disappeared from the boats motor leaving us to have to paddle for a couple miles before being able to get back to the truck.

Dreaming of another day on the road!

2009-05-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I leave mid-day for my first over night bicycle tour in a long time and I am excited. I have been thinking about doing some travel for some time and this is due time. I have gotten caught up in all my classes and am ready to take the trucker out for ;some real life, to breath the coastal air and see some thing I have not seen in too much time. The wind in my face and the the rubber on the ground, my bags are packed and ready to go and tomorrow I leave for an over-nighter. This wont be the first time I have done a one night trip and it certainly wont be the last... it is a great way to get away for a while and get a taste for touring without having to commit much time. It is certainly something I recomend for anyone who may be willing to give it a try. It doesnt take a whole lot... it is possible to do it using a hotel, though I will be going with my tent.. because it is over night I will not need much more than sleeping gear and shelter. If all you have is a bike and a small backpack these over night trips are reachable. You can eat along the route by buying food or even just bringing some power bars so you would not have to bring cooking equipment or bulky food. There is certainly some beauty to be found in over night trips like this because it is a way to get away withoutt having to take an entire vacation... you could do it on a friday or saturday night and be back in time to get showered for work on sunday night. It is a good way to get out and breath some real air and possibly spend a night in a good book. Some nights that Ihave been out in my tent I could spend 2 hours in a book just enjoying the night air. Peace and quiet and the great open. Ill see you on the trail tomorrow if you would like to join me.

Bill and BOBs excellent adventure

2009-05-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine and a professor at St. Petersburg College has recently departed for quite the journey. Bill Hemme joined me on the trip I lead around the state in November, our trip then was a 200 mile trip that ended for me when I lost the use of my knee. Bill continued on to finish that trip. He also used my trip as a testing ground for the big journey that was to come. Over the summer Bill will be travelling from San Fransisco, CA to Clearwater, Florida entirely by bicycle, pulling his BOB trailer with all his rations for the journey. As of today Bill has been riding for 5 days and though he has had some delays along the way I suspect that he has prepared himself sufficiently, and will most certainly have some great stories to share. In fact Bill is sharing his story from the road as he rides. Bill brought with him a laptop to record the story of his journey along the way in real time. His blog is on CrazyGuyOnABike.com at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=5091&v=6a . Go check out Bill's blog and say hi on the guest book.

Garden Update

2009-05-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

The garden is doing quite well... The tomatoes and peppers are producing and the corn is flowering. I made dinner the other night with the one red tomato and a chili pepper. The lettuce and spinach I had did not work out so I spread the onions into the area where they were and planted some pole beans as well. The caterpillar problem I had is completely gone.
Nothing is more calming and relaxing than spending time weeding, watering and spraying my garden. It is quite peaceful. The most rewarding part is the delicious food that comes from the work I've put into it. Not only are the vegetables good but Ive followed them every step of the way and I know exactly what went into keeping them clean and organic. If anyone wants some tomatoes, peppers or corn let me know... I will have plenty in the next few weeks.

Studia Humanitatis

2009-05-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

“Enjoy the present hour, be mindful of the past; And neither fear nor wish the Approaches of the last. Learn of the skilful: He that teaches himself, hath a fool for his master.”

Benjamin Franklin

In psychology we learn that there are different areas of the brain that are stimulated by different things. Beyond just the idea of left-brain vs. right-brain, but also in the sense of learning new things and learning new ways of thinking in general. By taking a new route home from work we stimulate our brain by the sight of new things, by trying new foods we open ourselves up to new tastes and new stimulation. But this goes far beyond the simplicity of the immediate senses directly involved, it is a spark that increases your capacity. It gives your brain the opportunity for further stimulation and growth, and with it the IQ. Generally people stop growing in their late teens to early twenties, and in fact start the long process of deterioration. This generally happens after high school and into college for those of us who go. But what some fail to realize is that the brain never stops changing, your IQ never ceases to have potential for increase. In high school I learned some things, earlier in college I learned some more things, but the most valuable lesson I have since learned is learning how to learn. To seek out information constantly and to become what I like to call a "lifetime learner" is far more important than any wealth of information could possibly give you. To learn to love to learn and to continue to add to that wealth of information increases the potential for your IQ, and it also prevents you from following the condemned paths of mistakes made in history. From the moment you decide that learning is beneath you, and that you have become as smart as you wish to become, your true intelligence begins its steady decline. You begin to forget what you once knew and without new knowledge your IQ begins its steady decline. You begin to live by fallacy, "learning" things the hard way. Not truly understanding, but finding reasons to explain away the troubles of life. Believing hearsay as fact, instead of seeking the truth in a reputable source. I believe firmly that the study of humanities in general is one of the most important ways to stimulate the intellect, to increase your brain power, and to further your potential intellectually. Taking the time to stay on top of current events, reading how it relates to our history on this planet, studying the impacts of the great men and women who brought great change to our society, even knowing what influences art and architecture has had on our past and present. These things are all important in becoming a well educated, contributing member of society, and to deny the explorations of the humanities is to deny real potential for making your own impact in the world around you. The greatest lesson I ever learned was to become a lifetime learner, and that I can accomplish anything I want. By stimulating my senses and by increasing my education I can truly be a great teacher and a renaissance man. History, sciences, the arts, physical education, music, social sciences, humanities... these aren't just things we have to take to get through school. These are things that make humanity understand itself. By standing on the shoulders of giants(as newton put it) we can understand our future by knowing our past. Or we can be condemned to be frustrated by following the same circles in life and wondering why.

a healthy start -- new diet day 1

2009-05-12T11:05:00.001-07:00

I haven't been on the road bike in quite some time. Today I took her out for a leisurely 22 miles around the county. Not enough to be painful but just enough to sooth the aches from the running from yesterday.

My girlfriend and I are starting our own version of the biggest loser. We are shooting for 13% weight loss by the end of the summer and loser buys the victory dinner at the restaurant of the winners choice.

Tonight is our initial weigh in and I will try to keep some sort of report on the site here as to the results and the goings along the way. i will also be shopping for some veggies to start the diet portion of my new weight loss challenge, it'll be nice to bring out my creativity in the kitchen again. I do love to cook! I just hope Ms. cant-eat-onions can stand some of the meals I come up with.

New shoes

2009-05-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Ok... so after a few months of unintentional bulking up, I decided it was time to figure out a way to spark some interest in getting back in shape. Had to be something inexspensive, had to be something that didnt involve driving anywhere, and had to be something that distracted my attention from the bicycle. Now I know what you're thinking... and yes I do love my bikes, but for some reason I'm just in a phase where the idea of getting on the bike just doesn't excite me the way it used to. I decided to purchase myself a pair of Saucony Cohesion running shoes. I used to run a lot in high school and when I was a young private in the Army. Just the thought of running a 10K again has had me thinking and dreaming of the old days. It will be a great way for me to get back in shape and possibly just enough torture to re-peak my interest in my bike possibly in time for the fall cross country series. I will also be training periodically at a jiu jitsu gym in the neighborhood... getting back in shape is exciting me and hopefully I can get back into racing my mountain bike again.

yeah... because its hilarious

2009-04-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my silly graffiti theme...

HA HA... brian the explorer!!!

2009-04-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Lake Kissimmee State Park

2009-04-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Ellen and I went for a short backpacking trip at Lake Kissimmee State Park in Lake Whales, FL. The weather was great, the birds cooperative, and the park was a unique experience. We traveled back into the 1870's to the park's "Cow Camp" an authentic Florida cracker cow hunters camp where a cow pen and an original "Florida cracker." The thing is, these aren't your average beef cows or milk cows that you see everywhere on the sides of the interstate travelling through the state... these are scrub cows. 'Whats a scrub cow' you ask? Well the Keys are known for thier little deer, we also have little bovine. These "cracker" cattle, as they were also known, are smaller shorter horned bretheren of the Texas longhorn, that evolved into a smaller breed due to the fact that they were feral and needed to survive in the upland scrublands of Florida. History lesson aside, these are cool little cows and they are a unique part of our states past and present.
From the cow camp we set a bearing for the north loop trail. Along the trail we were suprised and slightly startled by the piercing call of a sandhill crane. I stopped in my tracks to take pictures as this bird was within a few feet of me and I feared I might never get the chance to get a shot this close ever again. Much to my surprise this magnificent bird turned to walk right across my path, close enough to touch! I followed her around for a few minutes and took my fill of shots before I decided to leave her alone. We later found out that this bird was distracting us from the rest of her family and chicks which were hiding nearby in the tall grass.
A ways down the trail we saw some deer in a field of tall grass, we moved as close as we could to take pictures before they ran off when one of the does started kicking any deer that would get in front of her, it was an odd behavior to witness but according to a hunting page I found online this doe must have been the dominant fmale of the group.
Our stay was quite nice as the temperature seemed to get down into the 60's overnight and proved cool and comfortable. We got several pictures of birds and landscape as well as a few of us goofing around. Here are a few of some birds and of Ellen. To see Ellens versions of the weekend check out her pics when she gets around to posting them :)

Ft. Desoto Park

2009-04-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

Spent the day at Ft. Desoto Thursday after class taking pictures. Here are a few of my favorite shots. Brown Pelicans, a cute raccoon in a tree, a rose-breasted grosbeak on migration, and a female scarlet tanager also on migration (could not find a male). The birding thing has certainly hit me hard :)

Backpacking this weekend

2009-04-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

Ellen and I are going backpacking at Lake Kissimmee State Park this weekend. Its only an over-nighter, but I am hoping to find some Florida Scrub Jays and steal their souls with my SLR. Story to come :)

A monochrome day

2009-04-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

This last sunday Ellen and I went walking in Tampa. We took a bunch of pictures and generally had a good time. Here's the results of my shots. To see Ellen's shots see the link on my links page.

Where to next?

2009-04-09T06:35:00.001-07:00

The touring itch is creeping up again and I'm thinking of planning my longest trip yet. I talk about it all the time and things often come up, but this time I'm planning life around it. This summer semester I am taking all online classes lending myself the ability to take my classes from local libraries as needs be. I have been doing strength training to hopefully assure that my knee is healed up and strong, combined with the hiking I have been doing hopefully that will help. Though I could be spending more time on the bike. I still dream of taking that trip to DC to see our nations capital. I definitely want to make it out of the state this trip around, possibly a trip to Kitty Hawk?
Well, as I lighten my load with "upgraded" gear i can see the plans forming for another trip and another story. Suggested routes and locations will certainly be heard and If anyone is looking to do a similar trip let me know and maybe we can plan something out.

When drinking has more purpose

2009-04-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

So I have been messing around with the idea of making a denatured alcohol stove for camping/touring/hiking etc.. There are lots of different plans for making such a thing online, and though you can buy one that is pre-made from a reputable manufacturer(and seemingly safer) I decided to go the cheap and easy route. The prep for this job is basically how I prep for just about any such daunting task, downing two beers. Cept this time I saved my empties and instead of throwing them into the recycling bin, I re-used them for this project. Now I'm not usually a fan of Heineken, and this task was no exception, but I put on a half-hearted grimace and comenced with the drinking, trying all the while to keep myself from just pouring the beer down the drain, repeating to myself "get to the third one and the taste wont matter". I lied. to myself. After shotgunning two... or was it 5? 6? uhm... at some point I switched back to something I can stand, good ol' Sierra Nevada... mmmm, but any way... I got strait to cutting these cans to use for my stove. two can bottoms one pressed firmly inside the other with holes drilled into it for the burner (note to self, next time try using the power tools before getting to the nth number of beers.)
One large hole in the center for filling and pressure control will be covered by a penny durring burning, and six smaller holes in the outside ring of the top can... the instructions on the website do a better job of explaining than I do. http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/stoveinstruct.html but here are some pictures of the results of my half hack job. After doing this I realize that anyone can build a stove in a pinch... I used bicycle spokes and scraps of the beer cans to build the pot base, obviously the Heineken can works well but I imagine other beer cans might work as well, and the the denatured alcohol was picked up at home depot, but can be found at a hardware store in any small town. just knowing how to do this I now see this as a necessary survival skill.

The fruits of labor

2009-04-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

The garden is in full bloom and the fruits are starting to blossom from our labor. This year Caleb and I are growing all kinds of things. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, corn, and onions. We are starting to see tomatoes and peppers and the rate the corn is growing we will see corn in a few weeks as well. It is exciting to work so diligently with something that requires attention and care. I believe this is teaching Caleb a lot of things and I am proup to use this garden as a teaching tool for my son.

Who says bird watching is boring?

2009-04-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

I had to do a biological collection for my Intro to Florida Field Biology course that I am taking as a requisite to my degree. We had to choose from either plants, crustaceans, insects or birds. I thought that plants or insects would be boring and I dont like the beach so that pretty much ruled out the shell thing... which would have been boring as well. I chose to turn in photographs of birds. This was a decision not only for a class project, but it turns out that it was a life decision to become a birdwatcher. With camera in tow everywhere I go I constantly find myself shooting pictures of birds no matter who is around to see or how far I had to trek to get the best shot.
I have always been the type to have my camera with me everywhere I go, but having a purpose has made my camera wielding nonsense much more exciting. I really enjoy watching these birds in thier habbitats, whether natural or right in the city. I have taken thousands of shots and only a few have come out as good as these but finding a great shot in a pile of "ehh" can be almost as exciting as finding the bird itself.

Sharing my pride

2009-03-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

I cannot for the life of me think of anything that could make a man more proud than to watch his 1st grader read. Every once in a while it is accepting for a man to give himself a pat on the back. And to think other kids his age are learning to play complicated video games or memorizing the words to re-runs.

Top Secrets Revealed

2009-03-21T21:02:00.001-07:00

Ok. so im letting my Army experience come through here for the first time on my blog... we did a lot of what the Army calls "road marching" while I was in training and otherwise with the US military. If anyone does some serious hiking it is the US Army, miles and miles of road marching which is really just sleep walking after you get used to it. I mean seriously, after months of training it got to the point where I would wake up to find myself walking with an M-16 held firmly to my chest, clutched tightly in my leather and wool gloved hands, 30 lbs of gear hanging from my shoulders down my back in an alice pack that was probobly used for the previous thrity years, and a heavy kevlar helmet weighing down my head. I mean serisously... I would WAKE UP and realize that I was in this situation... "oh shit! here I am walking 5 meters behind the soldier in front of me, and I dont remember how i got here" it was an experience. Well... I guess i can reflect on the things I learned while hiking with the army... or for now at least one of them. While in training at Ft. Benning, GA my L.T. (or butter bar as I called him) taught us what he knew of pacing and the use of Ranger beads. Well... he didnt really teach us, but he used them, and I learned by watching. While hiking, most hikers know (by use of compass and map) which direction they are headed, but they can rarely acurately tell you the distance they have travelled without a GPS system.
Well the topic was recently brought up in my Florida Field Biology course of forest measurement. Foresters measure by a unit known as a foresters "chain". A foresters chain in 66 feet long, or 22 yards... why is it 66 feet long? let me explain... If I pace out a forester's chain i get 13 paces, or 16 steps, while hiking normally, with no load. 5 foresters chains is equivalent to 1/16th of a mile, which is 110 yards. 8/16ths of a mile is a half mile... make sense? Now let me introduce you to a handy little measuring device I learned about in the US Army. The Ranger pacing beads. This set especially is modified to include foresters chain measurements to make things easier for me... from the bottom to the top the beads represent the following: the 4 bottom beads represent foresters chains(5 chains = 1/16th of a mile), when you get to the fifth chain you move the to the next step, the next 7 beads represent 1/16th of a mile(8/16ths for all you fraction disabled out there represents a half a mile) each, and the next 6 beads represents one half mile each.
This set up is a modification to the true Ranger bead set up which measures Clicks (Kilometers) for use with UTM grid lined maps. The metric version would be from the bottom up 9 beads which represent 100-meters each, and there are four upper beads which represent Clicks or 1000 meters. The beauty of this is that 100 meters is roughly the same as 110 yards, so using the forester's chain beads is still possible with this set up as 5 forester's chains would equal 100 meters. By knowing your pace you can fairly accurately tell how far you travel when you hike, and by using pacing beads you can keep track of how far you've gone with far less counting and remembering.
Click on the table to see a larger version.. these are easy to make.. boot laces and wooden beads..

Lessons learned from my Myakka hike

2009-03-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Based on my experience this past trip to Myakka I have a few thoughts on some difficulties I ran into and some ideas, here is a list of the things i came up with...

-less weight... lighter=better. There was a few things that I could have done without:

-Reading Material- In anticipation of the trip I would have brought less book... i would suggest getting a cheap copy at a used book store and burning the chapters previously read.

-Photo gear- though I used the tripod a couple times, it wasn't worth the extra weight for the hike. The wide angle lense was not necessary either... I used my telephoto lense exclusively.

-Clothing- i brought two cotton T shirts... I should have brought one synthetic. I had a pair of cargo pants.. based on the weather, shorts would have sufficed. The rain gear and extra pair of socks... eh... maybe if I had a better guess as to what the weather and terrain would have been like... who knows... but i dont regret having them.

-FOOD- i carried way too much food. I planned for my changing tastes with normal living in mind.. while on the trail your taste buds dont really give a shit, your body is screaming for nutrition. In other words... I could have eaten the same meal three days in a row and would not have cared so long as i was eating something. Now mind you it would not have had to be this monotonous, but the extra lengths i went to be "gourmet" were useless. oh and spicy foods... NO!
I should have brought more powdered foods such as soup mixes and potato flakes.. dried veges and ramen. the half pound of trail mix, nuts and dried fruits... not even touched. I would bring power bars chopped in bite sized pieces to snack on along the route and possibly candy and peanuts. I certainly recomend trying eating something at home before going out on a tedious hike, to get an idea of what might be palatable, and take into account how much it takes to go into one serving.. the meals i prepared were more than too generous. which in the long run added extra weight.

There are some other things I could have done to be rediculous with weight, and the weight weenies will jump with delight at my recognition of these things... my tent is traditionally a two man tent, and with two people it is great becauase you can split the weight, but with one person the added comfort of a higher roof and a double wall tent really may not justify the added weight. A tarp or single walled tent that can be less than a pound when used with trekking poles would be a great idea to save a couple pounds. Another thing is the stove I use, this is being really picky because the set up I use really isnt bad, but an alchohol stove or a purely dry diet would have saved a little bit of weight... I WILL look into alchohol stoves when i start getting more involved with bike packing... a whole 'nother adventure I havent even begun to truely explore.

Some things I learned beyond saving weight:

Though I have heard those say that solely using water purification tablets make things lighter, I believe that school of thought depends on the sources of water available, and how much you consume. I needed to consume about 2 liters a day at least on my trip and in the dry prairies of Florida the lack of usable water made things difficult, what made things even more difficult was by the time I found water i had to wait FOUR HOURS for the purification tabs to do their trick. With this in mind I had to carry more water with me in fear of having to wait so long next time a water source was available. I recommend carrying a water filter.. the water is instantly drinkable and you don't have to carry extra water in anticipation of the purification lag. If I were able to drink it instantly I would have had my fill then filled the bottle or bag I had with me. dont get me wrong.. I will always keep a couple water purification tabs in my first aid kit for emergency purposes but to rely on them soley... never again.

Trekking Poles - serve many puposes... could have eliminated my need for the tripod, could have eliminated my need for use of tent poles and saved weight on my back through the use of a tarp or tent that used them instead of the poles, and would have saved me some energy and strength(and possibly a sprained ankle) in the miles of pig ruts that litter the trails of Florida. Also possibly a self defense mechanism against these same pigs... though only a minor one. ha. those guys freak me out.

No Regrets - glad i brought the extra camera battery and extra memory card.

Hiking Myakka River State Park

2009-03-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

This adventure was meant to be a spiritual quest of sorts, a chance for me to spend some time in solitude in the wilderness of this beautiful state. What I found were the vast saw palmetto praries, pine forests, and swamp lands of Florida. I spent 4 days and 3 nights walking nearly 40 miles testing nearly every muscle in my body in search of this big adventure. I was on a quest of sorts searching for inspiration, searching for some spiritual enlightenment, hoping to find answers to unanswerable questions. What I found... really the answer to that is mostly for me, i guess thats the point of a journey quest. You have to find answers for yourself. But the magnificent views, the endless landscapes, the beautiful creatures ...well those things id be more than happy to share. ;)

Packed and ready

2009-03-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

no fly rod but i found this little collapsing pole.. its super light too. hard to imagine all that stuff fits in there. My scout masters and drill sergeants would have been proud.

Mr. Coffee is more than just coffee!

2009-03-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

If you are a touring cyclist or a hiker that carries food with you for multi day trips I strongly advise you buy one of these.. or borrow one from your mom if she has one... thats what I did... ha ha... most of foods weight is water weight. If you dehydrate it you can save a lot on weight. And you can also save on cooking time and fuel by precooking pastas and dehydrating them before heading out onto your adventure. cook pasta to aldente and then boil in camp to bring it back. For my Myakka trip I am bringing chicken, beef, bacon and macoroni and cheese that I dehydrated so as to have some decent meals while I am out there... yet also have them light enough to not tip the scales. Im hoping to catch at least A fish... we'll see.

being geeky... getting ready for some solitude

2009-02-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

I love reading through these diagrams so I thought it would be fun to do my own. Im going on a 5 day trip to Myakka next week and this is the gear I am taking for the week.
1. most importantly, reading material.. this happens to be Kerouak's "On the Road"
2. Important documents, maps, writing material, and an Audubon Guide to Florida flora and fauna
3. light weight wicking shorts (swim gear, underwear, and sleep gear)
4. Hand knitted wool beanie, knitted by my friend Gladis, whom I think hates me
5. Go BULLS!
6. Marmot Trestles 15 degree bag
7. Princeton Tec Fuel LED head lamp, and a couple pencils, and a Burts Bees tube
8. Light weight wind/rain resistant pants
9. Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight .5 first aid kit
10. Silva compass
11. Mountain Hardwear Epic rain shell, great in the rain, also great as an outter layer.
12. (2) Nalgene(or otherwise) 32oz water bottles
13. Evernew Titanium cook pot, containing my MSR Whisper Light stove, and water-proof matches
14. Fuel, in a bright red MSR bottle
15. my "bathroom" bag.. soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, bug repellant(100% deet, this IS Florida), emergency mirror, shit paper
16. Pack Towel by MSR
17. about 10 yards of parachute cord, for hanging food
18. tent pegs and poles
19. inexspensive tripod
20. Therma-rest Ridge Rest... big but the lightest mat you can buy, and cost less than 15$
21. exactly 4 and a half days and 4 nights worth of food.. with e few extras, including trail mix
22. yes Im a wuss, thats my pillow.. stuffed tightly into that little bag
23. Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 tent
24. snacks :)
25. me shoes, columbia trail runners
26. Osprey Kestrel 48, in paprika, yes somehow all this shit fits in this thing
27. Canon EOS D1000 Rebel XS, wearing EFS 18-55IS, hood and polarlized lense filter
28. Canon EFS 55-150IS, I call it "the long sword", wearing UV Filter
29. my old camera bag, now used as a sheath for the long sword
30. Lowe Pro top loader camera case

missing from shot:
-Clothes to be worn
-fly rod... soon
-plastic grocery bags to pack out trash, as well as trash i may find on the trail

its like stamp collecting!

2009-02-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

A Rebel with a cause!

2009-02-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

New camera... SHIT this thing rocks! take a look at the shots I've taken so far! SLR spells FUN!

To get the full effect, double click the shots! Especially the broad winged hawk devouring that Morhen, I got that shot up on the Seminole SPC campus today, crawled about 10 feet on my elbows and toes to creep up on him. Hire me for your next event! ha ha!

New trails and a new sense of being

2009-02-09T05:53:00.000-08:00

I found myself with an oppotunity to go mountain biking yesterday and I tagged along with Adam (from Bicycle Outfitters) and his gang of misfits. I took the Karate Monkey out to Boyette to ride the new trails that where opening. I also brought the camera along as is expected. We didnt make it out to the grand opening festivities that were rumored to have been going on but we certainly had the pleasure of riding some of the best new trails anyone could ask for. There are several miles of ridge line, tight, technical, and very fun trails. Most of these new trails just happen to be on the more difficult side, which I found very appealing. Here are a few pics of the madness and my first ride on the MTB in months. These new trails make boyette a serious destination trail and no longer will I consider it second fiddle to Alafia. Good work SWAMP!

Kevin Hofman I believe, giving me the "who the hell are you and why are you taking my picture" stink eye. Jon Lowe in tow.

7 years of parenthood, my greatest adventure yet

2009-02-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

Another year gone by and my son has followed suit. Caleb turns 7 today, and with him my years of parenthood. As he gets older and smarter my priorities continue to change, and my role as a parent grows in intensity. Being a parent the way I have chosen is not just about saying the right things and giving him the right room to grow, but has changed my life completely. As my son gets older and more impressionable I have had to grow as a person myself to become the example I would choose him to follow. Parenthood for my has not been about discipline and providing a roof as my father would have had my brother and I believe, though that is part of it, parenthood for the relationship between my son and I has become about lifelong learnership, and learning to love knowledge. Caleb is a sponge and everything he does is a learning experience, I have had to learn not to take this for granted. As he grows I have had to learn to not let anything hold him back, to let him know that he is capable of ANYTHING, and that the expectations of the world will always let him down, that his own expectations, regardless of anyone elses beliefs, are that which will carry him through life. His own teachers seek to hold him back in the sense that they dont see him as I do. When I look at him I see the next President of the United States, I see the cure for cancer, I see a great literary genius, I see what no one else is willing to see, and I want him to see this too. I want him to understand that the world will never hold him to the expectations that he should hold for himself and that he should always strive for learning, to hunger and thirst for knowledge, and for the sake of his own intentions not to please anyone else, for no one else lives by his own standard. Another year has passed and a baby, a little boy, has turned into a ball of information. He has learned to read this year, one of the biggest steps along the trail to learning and I am trying to teach him to love it. This relationship has many years to come and I will never give up on teaching my son above all else to think for himself and to love knowledge. Happy birthday my son! Heres to another great year!

Tent living is the Life

2009-02-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

I put in my first 100 mile week since the begining of last year this past week and it felt great. I have been commuting to school and work every day for the last 5 days rain or shine, though it was mostly rain. I learned really quickly that my "rain gear" was not suitable for anything more than a light drizzle. Better to learn now then when im out there and really need it. being wet sucks.

Caleb and I did a short hike to the front yard the other day to have a slumber party in the yard. It rained nearly all night and not a drop inside the Seedhouse. what a peaceful way to sleep. Another note... i slept without the mattress pad but brought a pillow from in the house and slept comfortably.. bigger camp pillow? perhaps a better stuffed dry sack? anyway..

So the final count is 95 miles on the bike and 10 miles by foot for the week. im going to try to do better than that for this week but we'll see. Was thinking of going to NC this spring break to do some hiking, but now I am contemplating shooting for Myakka River State Park... saving the big NC for this summer when its warmer and I wont need to buy long johns. Though i eventually hope to do some hiking(read potholing) in the winter. Another rad book read under my belt, i finished Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston... highly recomended. more thoughts later.

Less talk more action... or not (thoughts with bRiaN on life and backpacking)

2009-01-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

I realize I have not posted in a while and there are some good reasons for that. Well for one, after not paying bills for 3 months my brother finally moved out and left me with the storm surge. So I have been trying to keep up with the doubled rent, power and water bills, forget the cable/internet. But some good things have happened in the world of bRiaN. I have been trying to ride my bicycle more, mostly for the training aspect, but I have been commuting to school at least one day a week since the begining of the year. Another nifty thing, I have obtained a backpack, an Osprey Kestrel 48, and I am planning on doing some hiking. I know this seems like a bit of a departure from the bicycle touring I have been doing, and your right it is, but it is completely different. On the bike you see roadways and towns and all that goes with travelling some 60-100 miles a day. With backpacking you are going much slower, you are typically as far away from any town or roadway as you can possibly be, and your chances for experience with wildlife are much greater. One thing that I realized though by packing my back pack with my camping gear is that I can fit everything I really need for a bicycle tour into a much smaller bag. With all the added space of the pannier bags I felt obligated to fill that space. It was rather enlightening to see how much i could get away with cutting out of my supply. Between the two the only difference now is the tools and spare tubes I would need for touring, and even then I was able to determine there were certain tools I didnt really need. But as it stands, since I got the Kestrel, the idea of being on foot and not having to rely on a bicycle is a bit freeing. I know that I am a mechanic and repairs are not really a big deal but the fact that I wont have to do repairs, and the fact that I am not worrying about where my next flat will come from... its a sigh of relief. Also the idea that I am not tied down to the big steel contraption opens me up to several new angles I had not considered with the bike. With the bike I have to lock it up where ever I go.. grocery stores, diners, camp.. and I am thinking about how long I can stay in the store without someone seeing my bags and deciding I wont be around long enough for them to go rummaging around through my bags, or to just take the bike entirely. I hate to think in such caloused terms, i hate to have such a distrust for man kind... but I have had things like this happen as well as having heard the stories from some of my friends who have lost bikes and gear to would be good people gone thief. I cannot imagine I would ever cut out cycle touring exclusively, as backpacking does not lend itself to highway travel like riding does, and the length of trip by hoofin' it would be much longer. But the pack opens me up to getting lost in the woods and seeing the beauty of nature. I am thinking about planning a trip to Asheville this spring break to go hike through the mountains of Pisgah, or perhaps even spend some time on the AT. There are several hiking trails in Florida as well and I certainly wont be too snobby to explore my own state.

Tragedy averted

2009-01-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

I was too focused this morning to take any pictures but I had a decent morning of riding, If you can call a near death experience decent. I hooked up the trail-a-bike to the road bike and took Caleb to school this morning. After that I dropped the trail-a-bike off at the house and rode to school. On my way to school I encountered another bicycle commuter on a road bike with a messenger bag, I thought to myself 'cool im not alone out here this morning'.. as I entered the draft behind him a car moving only slightly faster than us moved into the bike lane threatening to plow over the cyclist about 5 yards in front of me.. I matched pace with the vehicle and began pounding on the rear quarter panel of his car which now had his passenger side wheels entirely in the bike lane.. as I shouted for him to "get out of the bike lane" he finally veered off leaving myself and the cyclists ahead of me barely unscathed. This guy was just oblivious to the two cyclists riding within inches of his car.. if i had not pounded profusely on this guys car someone would have gotten seriouly hurt. Pay attention people.. be aware of your surroundings. Everyday you safe a life by not plowing into us cyclists.

Short trip

2009-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

Caleb and I had planned a 4 day trip this weekend, but alas i may have done more damage to my knee than I had previously realized as our trip was cut short.. though no less enjoyable. Here are the pics from the trip.

fixed chain tension- how to

2008-12-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

Ok so my buddy Karlos (hey Los!) needed some advice on chain tension and I figured I could make it public advise.. in fact if any one else has questions about things I would be more than happy to shoot similar how-to videos.. i found it quite fun.

Finding chain tension on a fixed gear bike is not a pure science, more of an art. there are a few factors that come into play here that effect the chain tension. The first and most obvious being the foward and aft position of the rear wheel in the drop outs(or track forks, but for my purposes ill call them drops). Second being the side to side position of the rear wheel in the drops.. basically the centering of the wheel between the chain stays, you can center this by looking at the tire between the chainstays at the bottom bracket.

ok so with these two factors taken in consideration you will want your wheel as far back in the drop outs as possible, you want the chain tight but not binding. You also want the tire to be centered between the stays. You can tell if the chain is binding because it will be felt through the cranks when you turn them and the chain will make an audible crunching sound as the cranks are rotated. there will always be a little play in the chain.. but you want to keep it to probobly below a 1/4 inch of play when you push up on the chain with your finger as i show in the vids.

Another factor that you need to take into account is the roundness of your chainring.. it is possible to get your chain tight in one spot but loose in another. Chainrings arent always perfectly round.. this seems unfair and frustrating as hell... its life get over it. BUT... there is a way to attempt to make this work better for you.. by rotating the chainring from one position to another on the cranks can help. This may take a bit of experimentation to find the best postition but the ideal location will give you the least discrepancy in chain tension from loose to tight spots. You can see in my vid that my chain does have a bit of descrepancy in chain tension after I rotated it.. Im lazy i probobly wont rotate my chainring, but then the difference isnt that big a deal to me. like I said.. its an art and it depends on how meticulous you are.. the biggest no no is the sagging chain. if you can visibly see the chain sagging people will call you a poser.. or at least I will.

Ultimately you will feel it when riding if the chain is slightly loose. while trackstanding a loose chain will give you a slight front to back rock. you will weel the chain loosen on one side and tighten on the other as you switch from foward to backward pressure on the pedals. I dont have a vid to demonstrate this so hopefully my description will do.. but i can try to record a vid if you cry like a baby and beg for one.

DISCLAIMER:try not to stick your fingers in the chain while rotating the cranks on a fixie. unless you like smaller digits. I have had more than one friend loose the ability to tell bad drivers how bad they suck because they let fingers get wrapped up in the chain on a fixed gear bike. Yes that means GONE.. no more finger.. oh and IT FUCKIN HURTS... dont do it.

First trip of the year

2008-12-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Following inspiration from the likes of McCandles, Krakauer, Kerouak, and Thoreau I am chasing the dreams of adventure as well as teaching my son the nature of a free spirit and a free mind. Caleb and I are taking our longest adventure yet this coming weekend and will be visiting what Florida State Parks Services calls "the real Florida." We will be riding from our home to Little Manatee River State Park south of Sun City Center by route of Tampa and from there will be travelling south through Sarasota to Myakka River State Park. The trip will be 5 days and 4 nights including over 200 miles on the bike and about 40 miles hiking, if all goes according to plans. We have the new rig set up and pretty much ready to go.. this is a new trip and will include almost no bicycle specific trails as compared to previous trips which were mostly car free routes. We will be hiking through the flora of Florida's finest in search of the beauty that mother nature has to offer, and we will take some of that home with us, in the form pictures of course. The training has been coming along and the thoughts of longer future trips are in the back of our minds. We leave at the beggining of the new year and hopefully this will be a great and safe start to a great year full of adventure and learning.

A year in Review with bRiaN

2008-12-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

So looking back over the past years posts I cant help but get sentimental. As fast as it all went by it has been one of the longest and most difficult years of my life, however at the same time it has been one of the best. From starting the year off at the worst possible job a man can have asside from slavery and getting into an accident that demolished my poor car, to getting my new truck, starting at the best shop in the state for touring cyclists, and starting on a bigger and better path towards an education. At the beggining of this year I was still very much in pain from the loss of my Arkel bags and all my camping equipment, but this year I have slowly re-built my touring gear collection. I Went to North Carolina this year to race with my buddy Ron in one of the most memorable experiences of my life so far the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race. Sheldon Brown died this year, one of my heroes, he will certainly be remembered as a legend in the field. I lost a great girl-friend this year, but in return I have made several new friends, and most importantly I have found more time to spend with my son. Gardening, camping, touring, and just riding. I started a new touring program at Bicycle Outfitters and plans for more trips are in the making. I passed all my classes this semester and I am looking foward to a full load at the begining of next year. I grew a beard this year for the first time. I started a garden with my son this year. I begrudgingly put an extremely painful past behind me to focus on my present and my future. I was diagnosed with manic depressive disorder this year. I read more books this year than I have ever read. I learned more about me than I have ever known. It has been a long and difficult year, but at the same time I have fought hard for the things I am achieving and I am damned proud of myself. Some of the things I lived through have been extremely difficult to bear but here I am, alive and ready to take on the World. I look foward to a great new year, and many new experiences. It has been a great year and I am ready to take on 2009 with a new fervor. More adventures, more classes, more books, more life. Ready or not here I come.

Holiday night critical mass

2008-12-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

Monday night was the holiday lights bicycle ride hosted by the Outfitters. We expected about 25-30 people.. over 70 showed and it ended up being a huge critical mass riding some 11 miles from Seminole into Largo to see a neighborhood full of houses covered with multi-colored blinking lights. Albeit slightly chaotic what with a few people getting lost, we had a great, if not slightly chilly, ride and everyone eventually made it back to the shop. Caleb and I took the Trucker(sans bags) decorated with battery powered Kwanza lights.. or was that the Channukah set? Anyway.. All in all it was a 40 mile weekend for Caleb and I as we finished up our ride back from Clearwater for our stay the previous night. We are still looking foward to testing out the new tent coming up really soon.

Its hard to tell from this shot but there are about 30 people in front of us here.

Heres a shot of Rob from the shop and his Brittney.. somewhere back there is the Jr. but hes nice in warm in his Burley.

Testing out the new rig

2008-12-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

We did a mini tour today to Clearwater to hang out at my friend Gladis' house.. good training and testing of the new rig.. no problems after 14 miles and we'll see how tomorrow goes. The week after new years we are planning on riding somewhere and doing a few days hopefully to Myaka or Possibly Ocala NF. The rig looks great though.. after all what is a Long Haul Trucker with out a trailer and cargo? and what precious cargo. :)

the School Bus

2008-12-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

Ok so we've been using this for a couple weeks now as a means of getting Caleb to and from school. When he sees me after he gets out of class he asks me "did you bring the bike?" He loves this thing. Over this winter holiday break we will be taking a camping trip and this set up will be fully loaded. This will be the the first of hopefully many trips to come with the two of us. But this is also another step for us in becoming independant of the automobile.

Dirty little naked indian

2008-12-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while you meet someone with passions similar to yours and you realize you are not alone in the world. My friend Karlos, the(not so) Naked Indian on my blog links, is an adventure cyclist by true definition. The man is crazy, but crazy in the way that makes everyone want to go crazy with him. He has his Salsa Mamasita rigged for some serious off road touring and it is a sweet set up. check out his posts on his recent tour he dubbed The Dirty Little tour. Do I hear a Great Divide trip coming soon?here is a shot of his bike that I thieved from his blog.. http://www.singletracksamurai.blogspot.com

Canadians ride bicycles in Florida too!

2008-12-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

As if unexpectedly seeing a long lost family member I was sparked to life today to see a touring cyclist pull up in front of the shop today. The sheer monotony of pick up tool, turn cranks, adjust, repeat was broken by something other than stabbing into a conversation with another lame joke. Sometimes I wonder myself why I tell those crappy jokes over and over. But back to the story at hand. Like an old friend Aleks rode into my eager awaiting conversation. Aleks is from Canada and is down here in Florida to ride down to Key West. We chatted a little bit about which routes to take through Pinellas and beyond, 5 days in and he has quite a few left to go. I didnt catch where he left from but he told me of a stay in clearwater where a woman allowed him to camp on her mansion lawn by the water on the beach. Nice. It is good to hear that people are accepting to this idea of travelling by bicycle. I still think its crazy... but that is what makes it so intriguing. Well after Aleks and I had finshed talking I made sure he let me take some pictures and we exchanged some contact info. This is a sign... i think to myself. This open road is calling to me. there is so much out there to explore. I cant sit here much longer. DC becons..

here is a pic of Aleks with his fully loaded Peugeot. eh?

wax-poetic

2008-12-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

everyonce in a while I post something of a more personal nature here on the old blog. I typically like to keep this for my cycling adventures and other related things, but every once in a while I feel I must wax-poetic and reveal a glimpse of the genius behind the crazy.. or is that the other way around? Anywho.. as I sit here amongst a pile of texts, spiral bound notebooks, my calculator, a couple pencils, my warm lap-top sitting in my.. well.. im giving it purpose to its name. I am slowly, but hopefully surely(fingers crossed) getting all my homework and studying done to wrap up my first semester back to school in a few long and trial filled years. I have learned a lot about myself in the past couple years and I am intent on making this my final comeback as an undergrad student. I am hoping to plan a trip this summer to Washington DC as a means of soul searching, or rather, soul cleansing. I am becoming more and more confident in the man and parent I am and I want to take a gander at what this country is all about. I also want to take Caleb with me.
Reading has become an important part of my life. A little less than 5 years ago I was introduced by a good friend to a good book and a great story. The book itself is of little significance, but that book was the first of many that would follow. The books I have read have turned me into the knowledge hungry man I believe I have become today. No more blissful ignorance, no more wondering what.. just knowledge and access to more and more. In turn I have turned my son into a reader and it is an amazing thing to watch him pick up one of his favorite books and sit down with me while I read. It is these books that have lead to my desire to search for this thing we call America, and this thing I call me.
I am excited about the future. I am excited about Caleb's future. There is so much I want to see and so much I want to say. I am hoping my trip this summer gives me something to write about. Another notch in the belt, but more importantly an adventure shared and a story to tell. we shall see where this adventure called life leads us.

North Shore riding in Florida

2008-12-03T10:03:00.000-08:00

With this little set-up in the yard Caleb is training for his text trials competition.. by the end of the week we'll have teeter totters, wheelie drops, and wire spools. :)

The new Home

2008-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Ok so the new home away from home arived.. the Big Agnes Seedhouse 2.. this thing is great! or rather small! ha ha.. very small and light and nice for Florida weather.. very open and breezy but has a nice rainfly with adequate ventilation for cooking and not for sweating yourself to sleep durring a night rain storm. Caleb and I should fit quite nicely in this tent but I wouldnt want to share it with an adult. We'll se how she performs real soon.
its a great color for hiding when needs be.

This thing is all mesh!

plenty of room for cooking and stinky shoes.. wait.. better rethink that.

Tour-lust gear porn

2008-11-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

My wander lust is itching again as I just picked up the book A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins.. lots of cool stories about Peters hike across the country with his dog. Very inspiring. So any who.. I had a good time on the trip with the shop, but my desire to go with just my son and I is driving me crazy. Im gearing up for a trip down to Myaka River State Park this winter break and im really looking foward to it. I got a few new toys for the adventuring to come and I have almost totally replaced everything that was stolen from my first gear rig.

The first and most important piece of gear is our new Trek Mountain Train 24. Caleb is getting awfully fast, but he is getting too big for a child trailer.. easy solution.. :) This way he gets to ride and he helps me pedal! I havent shown it to him yet as It will be a holiday present to him. I will also be using this to take him to and from school.

I got the MSR Whisperlite to replace my old Jet Boil. The reason i chose this stove was for the sake of not having to buy fuel canisters. The bottle is refillable with white gas and is infinately reusable. To me this is a better choice due to the fact that it doesnt require having to recycle bottles of fuel and that it will be easier to find liquid fuel than specialized canisters of fuel. I actually had the chance to use this stove on our first trip with the shop tour on two nights of cooking. So far I am pretty impressed.. i am still learning the nuiances of this type of stove but as I get used to it I like it more and more.

I recently bought a Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 tent that I have not yet recieved.. but it is a much lighter and packable tent than the Eureka 3 man tent my brother and I took on our first trip up to Inverness. The tent weighs a scant 4 pounds soaking wet, a nice departure from the 6 pound tent I was borrowing for the last trip and my 10 pound Eureka.

I got this new Marmot Trestles 15 degree sleeping bag.. I didnt use a bag on our first couple trips and I borrowed one for the last trip we took. I have an old Army issue extreme temperature bag but it weighs nearly ten pounds and is massive, so a nice lightwieght packable bag was in order. It seems like a low temperature bag for a Floridian traveller, but i do plan on doing some out of state trips eventually, and this thing weights less than 4 pounds. Caleb will be getting a bag from his grandparents for the holiday.

One last decided purchase was a packable rain resistant jacket.. its been cold lately and I figured I needed a decent jacket. I got me a Marmot PreCip Jacket. It is nice and warm and works nicely to keep me dry in light rain as I had a chance to test that all day today. Caleb has much nicer winter clothes that Angela bought for him years ago.. thanks Ang. We are looking foward to our next trip to Myaka very soon. Details on that to follow.