Hang at Jones Radiator tomorrow - 8 PM

Pre-op

Maddie prepares her station for wheel lacing.

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Funny

I saw this over at the Lazy Randonneur blog.

About 8% of my rides are helmet-less. About 92.4% of those rides incur a helpful comment from someone regarding my helmetlessness. I find that maddening, but I never ever ever respond with anything more than a nod and a smile.

Please don't leave a "my helmet saved my life story" comment for me to ponder.

Helmet talk is the abortion discussion in the bike world. Everyone's got an opinion. Everyone's sure that everyone with a different opinion is an utter moron at best, and morally suspect at worse.

I admire the Lazy Randonneur's restraint. He just posted the comic without the sermon. Impressive.

Pre-quick-mini review: Patagonia Nano Puff Pullover

Mr. Photogenic. Pic by Maddie.

After declaring the Micro Puff Vest my best favorite clothing purchase of 2010, I asked the Patagonians to send me a Nano Puff Pullover to review. And they did. I asked for a Large and I requested that it be not-black. I'm done with black clothing. Non-black is the new black. You heard it here first.

So when I opened the package and saw this extremely turquoisey blue, I was a bit shocked. But as a wise woman once informed me: it's not the jacket that makes the man. It's the man that makes the jacket! So I wore it out proudly and without apology.

And by gum, things are looking up.

Seriously. Ok. So I'm probably not subjective since I didn't pay for it. But after a measly 2 weeks of wearing this jacket, I'm amazed. There's the color thing, which is basically just that it's visible from a cycling perspective. But the color thing goes farther. I swear to god I get more smiles from unknowns -- men, women, childers, even dogs -- wearing this super blue jacket, than I ever get wearing anything else. It's both a conversation starter and stopper. Not many blues do that.

Action shot. Photo by John.

But warmth wise, I'm completely and utterly confused. This scrawny-ass, super light, super packable, insignificant pile of recycled plastic is warm. Dare I say it's nearly as warm as a full-on 600ish down jacket? Not sure I dare quite yet on that front. But it might be.

I've been tooling around all week in temperatures that have peaked at about 15F. That's cold by any normal non-Arctic standard. I've shoveled, walked, and cycled aplenty. The most I've had under this wispy little pullover is a long-sleeve medium-weight wool shirt and a thin wool vest. But usually, I've been wearing one ultra-thin weight LS wool + a basic thin wool SS tshirt under it. That's it.

I've been plenty warm. The test is my morning commute, which is 4 miles of downhill coasting into frigid zero degree icy air. The pullover blocks the wind and keeps me warm. How? I'm pretty sure it's magic.

Of course, I have criticisms, because that's how I roll.
1. For serious cardio workouts: forget it. This guy will kill you. I spent an hour or so hammering on the single speed today at about 10 F. Once I start climbing and hammering, I start sweating and this thing gets clammy. I can't imagine trying to XC ski in it. But that's not why I wanted this pullover. I wanted it for tooling around town on the bike and as my main camping pullover: so I can bring a smaller sleeping bag and so I have a for-sure warm solution for the post-ride camp hang.

2. A great little bikey addition would be a rear zipped pocket, with body-facing mesh. With a little design work and ingenuity, this pocket could be used as a pocket, or a vent.

I've got some more hammering to do on this pullover. I need to do a camping season with it. I need to wear it in a down pour. And I need to see how it holds up to a year or so of beating.

And the GoLite folks just sent me their bad-arse 800 fill down anorak. So look forward to a tete`-a-tete showdown between the GoLite anorak and the Patagonia pullover in a future review.

The pullover packs down small into the chest pocket.

But at this early stage of the game, I am seriously impressed with the Patagonia Nano and I can't shut up about it. I'm curious what's next for them though? First it was "micro," then "nano," now what? What's the 11 of small?

Well, turns it out it's pico. The Patagonaia Pico Puff Pullover. I'll definately want a purple one of those. To pick peppers in.

SMKPMMR this Sunday

Ice. Snow. Near-zero temps.

Because we must.

Leave the Foutain at 8:42.

Slow and social. But not really fit for kids.

'nother rack

Deck mostly done.

Sweet. Joe bailed out of class tonight so Pat called me to start on Liza's rack.

It's going to be a copy of this. Which is of course a copy of Alex Singer.

I think the rack scales nicely to Liza's bike.

The idear is that it will be supported by normal v-shaped stays going down to the rack eyelet at the dropouts, but will tie into the fender for stabilization. Simple and light and good for the kinds of loads Liza carries, which aren't huge and 93.6% of the time are in a single "front roller" Ortlieb (the small ones).

Eric is also rackufacturing. Dig those stays!

Stupid is as stupid does

This doesn't quite capture the pathetic nature of the ordeal.

How to puke your guts out, feel nearly dead, have hot/cold shakes/sweats, and be practically immobilized:

1. Take a 70 mile ride on a cold day.
2. Minimize water in take to about 3 cups.
3. Drink coffee instead of water on the ride. Eat a meat stick too on the ride, for good measure!
4. After the ride, eat hot wings and drink 3 beers.
5. Wait a couple hours.
6. Eat half a chocolate bar.
7. Then drink three more beers. Be sure to mistake your body's plea for hydration for hunger and eat a sausage patty when you get home. With cheese!
8. The next morning, ignore every signal your body is telling you that you are on the verge of collapse and continue with your routine as normal: take your daughter to breakfast. Eat a lot, drink 3 cups of coffee and don't bother with the water. Finish your daughter's hashbrowns too. Don't want those going to waste!
9. Take a bike ride with your daughter. Ignore that odd light-headedness and the pain in your back, neck, bones, muscles, tendons, brain, soul.
10. Don't drink any water!
11. Nap.
12. Entertain family. But don't drink water!

That'll do it. If you follow those 12 easy steps, you can then puke until your stomach turns inside out, break out in cold sweats and hot flashes, and then become utterly immobilized as your body conserves every bit of water it can. Fun times. This takes a full two days to recover from.

Liza thought it was my duty to share this embarrassing tale.

Done.