Sunday Post: I Removed the Tire Chains Too Early!

WV’ers as you know, we are being bombarded by snow, day after day after day. You’re becoming jittery, no? Waking up in the mornings and putting on your bib shorts only to remember that there is a foot of snow out there and just crawling onto the rollers instead? Is anyone else worrying that their cycling tan-lines are going to be non-existant in the next few weeks if there isn’t a break in the weather?

Yeah. Me too. 😦 Take a look at how much snow there is around the house after shoveling:

I think I removed the bike tire chains off the MTB too early..

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Saturday Post – New Multi Tool!

My old multi tool, the E-3 Multi Tool and Chain Breaker (one of nashbar’s generic outsourced product lines) has started to rust on me, due to keeping it in my jersey back pocket every ride for one season.

Luckily I came across a new multi tool that weighs 1/3 of the previous one; the only drawback is that it does not come with the chain breaker. Weightweenie cyclists say the lightest tool is the one your friend is carrying… I hope this is true in my future for chain breaking, as for everything else, my new tool will do just as well as the previous:

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Charity Spin-a-thon in Huntington March 16th

Thanks to Why Huntington WV (found on 304blogs.com) for posting this article about a charity Spin-A-Thon that is going down in Huntington on March 16th.

It is happening at the Marshall Recreation Center on Marshall University’s Huntington campus, and all proceeds are going for, according to Why Huntington WV’s post:

…a proposed 26-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail system in Huntington named in honor of Paul Ambrose, a Marshall University graduate and young doctor who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Once completed, the trail will run from Westmoreland to Guyandotte.

Check it out if you are in the area!

http://www.active.com/cycling/huntington-wv/pedal-for-path-2010

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Upcoming Projects

The planets of our solar system have alligned and are causing odd effects in West Virginia. It is still on/off snowing, and somehow I have an increased amount of time to start new projects.

Projects List

• New Book
• New Repair Stand
• Mountain Bike Cross Training

That is right, I am done with Bill/Carol McGann’s Tour de France books and have moved on to Joe Parkin’s A Dog in a Hat autobiography. I have heard positive things about it, but I have barely delved into it, so no review of it yet…

Great Cold Weather Reading

I found an interesting DIY blog with a makeshift repair stand out of a Speaker Tripod, pony clamp, and some cut iron pipe. I have started on it, but waiting on parts to arrive.

Here is a link to the instructions: http://afajarito.blogspot.com/2010/01/diy-portable-bike-repair-stand.html

I know the pipe is in backwards... just waiting for the other pieces...

Lastly, I’ve been off searching unknown lands while more than a foot of snow is covering the untouched area of many trails. I think I found a really nice downhill run with little climbing needed to get to it. (Lots of climbing with the damned snow being ever so present…)

Sadly, my tires cut through the snow like a knife

It is almost the end of winter, so I hope to start a few more projects before I become too busy with life and being out on the road. Wish me luck.

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Review: Optimus Crux Stove and Optimus Solo Cookware

I received an Optimus Crux Stove (from now on called stove or crux) from Optimus of Sweden a little while ago, but finally had the time to properly review this product. Once the stove was in my hands, I decided to buy the matching accessory cookware set; the Optimus Terra Solo Cookware, and also a few tanks of fuel from a local sports supply store. Before I was even able to use the stove, I was in awe by its size and weight (or lack thereof).

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