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Archive for August, 2008

Can someone give me a push start?

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Are you looking for adventure?
Looking for a new exciting fast sport?
Do you like going downhill?
Is all of that pesky skin covering your body bothersome?

Well, maybe you should give Gravity Racing a try! The 2008 Maryhill Festival of Speed (IGSA World Championships) is being held this weekend in Goldendale, Washington. During this 5 day celebration of speed you can witness Street Luge, Downhill Skateboarding, Inline Skating, Gravity Bikes and more. I must say the video I posted below is the first time I have seen Gravity Bikes. Skip to about 3:30 in the video to check them out if the skate boarding is boring you. I think gravity racers have some pretty large almonds shooting themselves like rockets down skin eating cement over and over. Maybe I will give this new sport a try? Um, no.

Posted in racing | No Comments »

Who said

Friday, August 29th, 2008

You can’t have fun for 25 cents anymore?

Posted in Random thoughts | 1 Comment »

I can't believe it

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

About 5 miles into my mountain bike ride yesterday I was in shock and awe. My feet were slipping all over the pedals, the balls of my feet were getting numb like the old days, my legs were cramping from having to adjust my feet constantly and my climbing ability was lagging. For the past two years I was “that guy” that still rode on flat pedals when everyone around me was telling me how stupid I was and how much better I could perform on the bike in clip-less pedals (still boggles me why they call pedals you clip in to, clip-less). A few weeks ago I finally decided to put a set of Crank Brothers Candy pedals on my Ellsworth (btw Ellsworth has a new website you should check out. Cool redesign but sucky how it opens your browser to full screen without asking) and try to stick to it. Previously, I had tried Candy’s off and on and always returned to flats not feeling confidant. Well, after 3 weeks of riding clip-less I gave my Kona Wah-Wah flat pedals a go and was disappointed. It’s hard for me to even believe.

Clip-less pedals have finally grown comfortable to me and given me the ability to stop worrying about where my feet are on the pedals. That was and is my biggest complaint with doing XC oriented rides on flats. If your feet aren’t set just right on a flat pedal you lose time and momentum. There are still moments however when I enjoy the freedom of flat pedals. During certain water crossings, climbing short burst hills and on rocky descents. All of these terrain conditions leave me a little uneasy because I am still not PRO at getting out of my pedals in time to save myself from falling. Falling is part of mountain biking, I just hope I don’t do it when I am riding through a trail littered with exposure (you know edge of mountain crap).

Posted in bikes and trails | No Comments »

The glamorous life

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Oh the joys of a downsizing company. Bleh! Our company has been “transitioning” since it was bought and sold earlier this year. The latest “move” was to shut down one of the floors of our office building and shove everyone into another floor already occupied leaving no room to breathe. My boss and I are now sharing a tiny office which you can see in the pictures below. We also found out that our archives storage area is no longer available which means you guessed it, our office is now archive storage too! yay! My favorite part of this “adventure” is they keep saying “It’s only for a year and then we are moving to another building when the lease is up”. Do they not realize how long a year is? The person I feel bad for is my art director. He has the worst seat in the house. He is in a cubical in the hallway where everyone who comes in the building walks right by his desk and looks him in the eyes. Shitty. I can do much of my work from home and when I am on the road so really this isn’t a huge knife in my side just inconvenient.

Posted in Random thoughts | No Comments »

I love my job sometimes…

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

What a week, what a week, what a week. A great week actually! This post is going to be long and contains over 50 images so I hope you have some time on your hands. Leave me some damn comments too!

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Posted in It has wheels, hotel reviews, road trips | 3 Comments »

Okay, now with some speed

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Being a photographer it’s not often I see photos of me, especially photos of me working. Kelli was nice enough to snap some pics of me while directing a recent photo shoot in Primm, Nevada. I thought I would share them with all of you. This shoot was for Offroad Magazine featuring the trucks of G&R Racing. Stay tuned for the December 08 issue when they are featured. Also, I have a pretty long post coming later today when I make it back home from the Bacara from the road trip. Check back.

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Posted in It has wheels, more on me | No Comments »

Looking for some new kicks

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Over the past few years I have been wanting to buy a good pair of water/adventure/hiking/go anywhere I want pair of shoes. I have it narrowed down to a few choices. As an outdoor photographer, I spend a good amount of time trekking through various terrain. Having the right shoe is crucial I have learned. It’s tough to put into words how much my feet hurt and how many times I slipped off the slickrock in Moab a few years back. Never again will I hike in normal Nike sneakers. Weeks after leaving Moab, I purchased a nice set of Merrell hiking shoes from REI that have treated me well. They are heavy shoes and since I am not hiking up vertical rocks I don’t think I need such bulk surrounding my toes.

So, I was looking into the water shoes that Columbia, Teva, Keen and New Balance have (thanks Steve for the reco). They all have their own unique advantages which makes my choice tough. I don’t really need something to trek through water all the time but it would be nice to have a shoe ready for it if needed. Pricing ranges from $50-$100 which is very reasonable. They all have the quick-pull lacing system I need, water proof or water resistant, and good breathability.

Based on looks alone I am leaning towards the Columbia Aquatooth (top left) and the New Balance Watershoe SM9200L (bottom left). The Teva is not very attractive and the Keen shoe looks too much like a sandal. Fortunately, both the Columbia and NB shoes are in the $50 range. The Aquatooth also features Columbia’s trademark Omni-Fresh and AgION technologies. Omni-Fresh is an antimicrobial anti-odor treatment that keeps shoes and sandals fresher and cleaner longer (or so they claim). AgION is an antimicrobial technology, based on silver ions that protects against a broad spectrum of bacteria to keep the footbed clean and neutralize odors (sounds nice). Both seem like outstanding qualities to have in a shoe that requires no socks. I need to go find all of them in stores and give them a try. If you have any experience with these shoes or can recommend anything to me please drop me a comment. I will be sure to report back what pair I choose and my review of them!

Posted in adventure, outdoor products, shoes | No Comments »

Beautiful things to lounge on and look at

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Susan and I headed down to Crystal Court across from South Coast Plaza yesterday for a little shopping. We stopped into a few cool furnishing stores and found some neat stuff. I had heard about Environmental Furniture about a year ago and may have even shared an image of their drift wood bed on here, can’t recall. They have some really cool digs that are a bit too pricey for me but would look damn good in a nice big home.

Check out that drift wood bed. Beautiful lines with deep rich natural wood.

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Posted in Cool Stuff | 1 Comment »