Gear Army: Mountain Hardwear Lightweight Chockstone Jacket
Mountain Hardwear's softshell-like Chockstone Jacket ($100) shoulders the changing weather from spring to summer like a champ. Especially in the Northeast, where the weather can go from sleet to sunshine in one afternoon. Its water-repellent finish sheds drizzle, and when the sun comes out it scrunches down to a 10-ounce ball that can fit into a small hydration pack.
Because it's lightweight, I wouldn't call it "warm." Over a t-shirt on a brisk hike, I was comfortable. But when I put additional layers under it for leisurely, early-morning walks or outdoor movies at night, the Chockstone didn't cut the chill. But that's okay. It wasn't made to surround you in warmth. It's lack of a liner or insulation is what keeps it so light and packable for cooler summer days.
If you are tall with long limbs, like me, this jacket is for you.
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July 02, 2009
Q&A: Bob Roll
This summer, after the doping scandals and Lance Armstrong's three-year hiatus, cycling—and Tour De France—is back. And the man dishing out the color commentary is Versus’ Bob Roll. A former Tour rider who is now in his ninth year as a broadcaster, Roll, 48, called all seven of Armstrong's Tour wins—always referring to the race as the Tour Day France. He’s known in the cycling community as Bobke, has a flair for wild gesticulations while talking, and spouts one-liners with Don Rickles–like aplomb: “Kilometers are passing like kidney stones,” “Lance Armstrong is the eye of the hurricane and he's headed straight for the Jan Ullrich trailer park.” In other words, the most interesting person to watch at this year’s Tour may be the man in the broadcast booth. —Will Palmer
When you're at the Tour, you're not exactly known for speaking perfect French. Do you have any animosity toward the French?
Oh, that's just kind of a runaway thing. When we were racing over there, we said "Tour day France" because that's just the way we talked amongst ourselves. And then ten years went by and I hadn't changed my pronunciation of the event, so when I started doing television I found that people didn't like it that much. But me, personally, I love France. I love covering the Tour, I love the country of France.
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Take Better Fireworks Photos
Tired of taking blurry fireworks photos? Do you wish your photographs from the last Fourth of July fireworks display didn't look like they we're finger-painted by a gorilla? Whether you're trying to shoot Macy's pyrotechnic display in New York this weekend, or a bottle-rocket launched from your back porch, the folks at Wired got you covered. They'll help you take better fireworks photos whether you're using a $5,000 camera or a $2.00 disposable.
--Dave Costello
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How Did Armstrong Get So Good?
Lance Armstrong simply can't stay away. The man who posted: "Was winning the Tour seven times that offensive?!?" on his Twitter page is actually gunning for eight this year. He's now 37, so the odds seem to be against him. But, then again, he is Lance Armstrong.
John Wilcockson probably wouldn't rule him out. In Lance: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion (Da Capo Press, $26), the veteran sports journalist chronicles the athlete's life, from birth to present day, and how he got crazy-good. If you read Armstrong's autobiography, It's Not About the Bike, you see that he had people who helped him along the way to the top, but the first-person account is necessarily limited. Wilcockson complements Armstrong's autobiography by bringing in the perspectives of the people who have been close to Armstrong over the years. There are musings here from his mom, ex-wife, old buddies, coaches, and other partners. You'll see what really drives Armstrong: a constant quest to prove himself.
On that note, the book doesn't shy away from the doping controversy surrounding the athlete, and Wilcockson makes a sound argument for Armstrong being clean. It's evident that the writer has much respect for him, and there even seems to be a friendship there, but Wilcockson doesn't beat you over the head with boosterism. He shows you Armstrong's flaws. The result is a portrait of a still struggling man who's fought against personal demons, rivals, cancer, and harsh criticism. Now he's fighting for his eighth triumph at the Tour de France.
--Aileen Torres
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Aschwin Faber Sets New Backstroke World Record
The previous 100-meter backstroke world record of 52.54-seconds, set during the Beijing Olympics by American Aaron Peirsol's, was broken yesterday, according to The Associated Press, by Spain's Aschwin Faber at the Mediterranean Games. Faber clocked in the second leg of the 4x100 medley relay final with a time of 52.38-seconds, beating Peirsol's time by 0.16-seconds. Spain won the relay with a time of 3:34.22. Greece took second at 3:34.71, and Italy finished third in 3:35.55.
--Dave Costello
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104 Climbers Rescued In China
A group of 104 amateur Chinese climbers required rescuing last Sunday, June 28th, in Huiyang Lover's Valley in the Pingshan Mountains after getting lost in the dark , According to Backpacker. Local officials assembled a team of 230 rescuers to search for the missing climbers after none of the 104 climbers happened to notice the impending darkness or where they were. After four hours of search and rescue, the climbers were found.
--Dave Costello
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The Gear Junkie Scoop: Lazer Tardiz
Belgium-based Lazer Helmets was established in 1919,
making the company among the oldest helmet manufacturers in the world. But that
doesn't keeps the company from looking forward and innovating in the realm of
head-protection products.
Lazer's latest, the $175 Tardiz helmet, was made for maximum aerodynamics in bike time-trial events. Available for the first time in the United States this summer, the Tardiz -- which is an acronym for "time and relative dimensions in space" -- includes a two-part shell design to minimize air resistance.
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Tour Divide Race: Interview With Winner Matthew Lee
I caught Matthew Lee on Wednesday while he put his feet up and enjoyed some real coffee. Matthew just won the 2009 Tour Divide race, a self-supported mountain bike race from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Lee, 38, has raced the Divide an unprecedented six times. He holds the record for the distance; this year he finished in just under 18 days. --Jon Billman
JB: You've just ridden nearly 3,000 miles and climbed 7 Mount Everests while sleeping on rocks in the rain--what's your body feel like?
ML: Jon, at first it felt fine; perhaps still in that numb state you race within for the second and third weeks. but as the hours creep by from the finish, inactivity actually brings on the discomfort associated with inactive recovery. the swelling, soreness, minor dehydration.
JB: How much weight did you lose in 17 days?
ML: I have not looked at the scales yet but by the end, I am about 10 lbs underweight. It was more coming out of MT, ID, WY, but I tried hard to get on top of it in CO and NM by gorging whenever I could and carrying more victuals between towns. I was noticing muscle loss and total fat loss coming out of what was a very, very cold first half of the race so I figured I better do more calories lest I "blow away" across the deserts of southern NM.
JB: You race all year, but you've described yourself as a Divide racing specialist, having raced 6 consecutive years and setting the Banff-to-Mexico record. Please give us a "typical" day and night for the frontrunner of the2009 TD. How do you keep the momentum up in such nasty weather? You'd said you had, what, 2 days without rain the whole race?
ML: That's right Jon. Two days without rain. As for momentum, it's tough. There are certain elements you have to try not to think too much on: comfort, eating well, sleeping well, safety. All those cares are cast with the winds. You establish a new, temporary regime on day 1 and just stick with it religiously. When the alarm on your wrist watch beeps at 4:40am, you don't roll over. not even once. you sit up, rip the sleeping bag off and suddenly you're freezing! The only solution is to get dressed. Then the only way out is to saddle up and ride. This forced routine is the key to success. If you get up and go, the biking takes care of itself. after about an hour you start to feel okay. the soreness is masked, the beauty unfolds before your eyes, perhaps a bear gives you a shot of adrenalin. This forcing continues daily until you settle into a circadian rhythm that is eventually "normal" to you. Nearly pain free (well, sort of). at night of course, the reward comes. I don't ride much after dark so as dusk settles I begin to look for the bivy spot. Fir trees are good for repelling dew. Immediately the bedroll goes down and the remaining activities take place supinated. eating. even teeth brushing! Slumber comes expectantly but still I almost never remember falling asleep. sort of like the way uncontrollable nods subconsciously hit a sleepy driver. one minute I'm there, the next minute I'm waking up to fading stars and a beeping Timex. One hand down my bike shorts, one hand still clenching yesterday's french fries.
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July 01, 2009
Old-Fashioned English Advice: Throw it Overboard!
A couple of days ago, I helped my friend Liz move out of her fancy apartment. She's lived in San Francisco for five years, and, as landlubbers tend to do, acquired nice furniture, a bunch of art, and a few acres of books, as well as all those little gewgaws that sit atop shelves and coffee tables. I was enlisted to help move the "heavy things" and "very heavy things" down three flights of stairs, so that she could transport them and store them elsewhere, until further notice. My help, unsolicited as it was, began immediately, over the phone. "Sell it all!" I said. "Put it on Craigslist. Put it on the street. Just get rid of it!" I tend to treat unwanted objects like jank.
Liz, who fancies her possessions, likes her lot of things, was not amused. And her initial experience with Craigslist -- some scam artist claiming he was hearing-impaired, hence the unusual shipping and payment arrangement -- was not encouraging. She rationalized her situation. If she couldn't sell her unwanted furniture right away, she'd put it in storage, and sell it in a few weeks. This was even worse: this was like being a slave to your possessions. "Just get rid of it!" I said again. "It's not worth the trouble!" Liz's uncle, a sailor, who was also there to help, agreed with me. While Liz crammed things into cardboard boxes, I offered to throw some stuff out her 3rd floor window. He said he's already suggested that. We laughed: a laugh, perhaps, that only sailors can share. Liz didn't laugh. She ran around packaging things up, making her life difficult, chained, apparently, to her stuff.
I've always been a minimalist, but living on a boat makes you an austere minimalist. You don't fret over things, or lament their loss. When deciding whether or not jettison possessions, the default becomes Get Rid of It. I'm sure the habit will come back to bite me in the ass later in life, but for now, I'm proud of it. I am the Jank Remover, and when the question is "To take or not to take," I have my answer in 3 milliseconds. Beat that processing speed, Google.
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Veggies Increase Athletes Endurance
A study from researchers at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health found that an increase in Quercetin, an antioxidant/anti-inflammatory compound found in fruits and veggies, boosts athletes VO2max and endurance capacity. The results showed increased levels of Quercetin over one week led to a 13.2 percent increase in subject's endurance and a 3.9 percent increase in their VO2max. Subjects were not varying exercise levels. Get the full story at Medical Clinic Today.
--Kyle Dickman
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