Intro DIY Glow: Ground Effects Lights For Your Bike!
An easy DIY project to add ground effects lights to your bicycle or other means of conveyance, utilizing inexpensive and commonly available cold-cathode lights. They look cool, and really do increase your visibility at night.
Is this cool?
Maybe not.... but might be fun.Click the Link!
GORC Gloves?
Helmet Cam Videos
Some pretty amazing/interesting/other? helmet cam footage including ghostriding bikes while hauling ass down the middle of the frozen Charles River in Boston, and umm, let's say, not necessarily obeying traffic signals or directions during an urban race in Baltimore which requires pounding a 40 at each checkpoint.
Starting fires in the forest
Here is a decent article from the Post last November about the US Forest Service's prescribed burns in the Mark Twain National Forest. The newspaper always likes to present both sides, even when there's not that much controversy. The opening line reads like porn for pyromaniacs. Hey, that could be a band name...
Wildlife biologist Klaus Leidenfrost drizzled an oily, flaming mix of diesel fuel and gasoline on the forest floor - sometimes in swirling loops, other times just wavy lines.
Don't light your christmas tree on fire, at least take it outside first.
LINK
The Bonk Hard Chill
I don't know who the folks of Bonk Hard Racing out of Kansas are, but they're putting on an adventure race in Lake Ozark State Park on February 11th.
WHAT: Up to 18 hours of continuous mountain biking, paddling, running, trekking and orienteering.
FORMAT: 2-person teams only (male, female, co-ed)
More info at the website of course. http://www.bonkhardchill.com/bhc06/
Anyone feel like putting all their expensive outdoor gear to a good thrashing? Don't forget your orienteering skills. That's a big factor at these races. No GPS allowed.
Let's avoid work today!
Nobody wants to work today anyway. Here's some places I've been. These pics are courtesy of www.anthonysloan.com. He's got a great collection of trail pictures. Now, on with the show!
Pictures of trails that I've ridden and you haven't!! Click the green text, they're links to the pictures NATCH!
I rode this trail in a drizzling rain, with Ben Mitchell, Sam's son. The pics of the rocky sections DO NOT do it justice. This was some of the most technical/difficult trail I've ridden. On the Van Dessel (The orange one). This place is just west of Denver. Literally 5 minutes from Hwy 70.
Dakota Ridge/Red Rocks
This next one was my first ride in Denver. Again with the VanDessel. It was a ton of climbing, but I was rewarded with sweet sweet singletrack. Good stuff. The quote at the bottom about the enchanted forest trail is true.
Apex Trails
Here's another place I"ve been, but you haven't! Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City Nevada. It's just outside Las Vegas. Good riding. Great combination of gnarly singletrack, and swoopy bench-cut. Some sections overlook a golf course(about a 1/4-mile down hill), and it's kinda funky since everything is so brown, and then you look down the hill to this golf course and see this lush green place…ah chemicals!
Viva Las Vegas!
Here's a place we've been together. Mary's Loop in Froota. Ahhhh memories.
Loop de Mary
OK, time to set the wayback machine! Me 'n Kirb and Durango-Doug rode this place many moons ago. I think it was 1999. Super nice riding, hundreds of miles of singletrack. Good beer. What else could you possibly want. Hint…hit the "next" button at the bottom. Kirb will remember the supa-fast downhill run, and the cool roller-jumps that this guy is hitting. We were getting like 3 feet of air dude!
Winter Park
Ok. One more. This is back to "Places I've been that you haven't". Don't you wish you were cool like me?
Sourdough trail, Nederland, Colorado. Nederland is where Dan Vardamis lives, and is also the home to the company that makes those cool Colorado topo maps. It's just northwest of Boulder, and is surprisingly close, by trail, to Winter Park. Any way, we did an IMBA group ride up there, that climbed about 2500 feet over the course of 7 miles, followed by 11 miles of flowing downhill back into town. Oh yeah, I was on the singlespeed! Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
Nederland Mojo
Now. Get back to WORK!!!
pimp
Pictures of trails that I've ridden and you haven't!! Click the green text, they're links to the pictures NATCH!
I rode this trail in a drizzling rain, with Ben Mitchell, Sam's son. The pics of the rocky sections DO NOT do it justice. This was some of the most technical/difficult trail I've ridden. On the Van Dessel (The orange one). This place is just west of Denver. Literally 5 minutes from Hwy 70.
Dakota Ridge/Red Rocks
This next one was my first ride in Denver. Again with the VanDessel. It was a ton of climbing, but I was rewarded with sweet sweet singletrack. Good stuff. The quote at the bottom about the enchanted forest trail is true.
Apex Trails
Here's another place I"ve been, but you haven't! Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City Nevada. It's just outside Las Vegas. Good riding. Great combination of gnarly singletrack, and swoopy bench-cut. Some sections overlook a golf course(about a 1/4-mile down hill), and it's kinda funky since everything is so brown, and then you look down the hill to this golf course and see this lush green place…ah chemicals!
Viva Las Vegas!
Here's a place we've been together. Mary's Loop in Froota. Ahhhh memories.
Loop de Mary
OK, time to set the wayback machine! Me 'n Kirb and Durango-Doug rode this place many moons ago. I think it was 1999. Super nice riding, hundreds of miles of singletrack. Good beer. What else could you possibly want. Hint…hit the "next" button at the bottom. Kirb will remember the supa-fast downhill run, and the cool roller-jumps that this guy is hitting. We were getting like 3 feet of air dude!
Winter Park
Ok. One more. This is back to "Places I've been that you haven't". Don't you wish you were cool like me?
Sourdough trail, Nederland, Colorado. Nederland is where Dan Vardamis lives, and is also the home to the company that makes those cool Colorado topo maps. It's just northwest of Boulder, and is surprisingly close, by trail, to Winter Park. Any way, we did an IMBA group ride up there, that climbed about 2500 feet over the course of 7 miles, followed by 11 miles of flowing downhill back into town. Oh yeah, I was on the singlespeed! Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
Nederland Mojo
Now. Get back to WORK!!!
pimp
The Case of the Deviant Drill
It's a somewhat dull engineering writeup, but worth a skim. There are so many morals to this country death story I don't know where to begin.
Spade bits don't like to spin at 13,000 rpm.
If you're going to overrev a drill bit, cut it as short as possible first.
Keep your chainsaw tuned so it idles and starts easily.
There's nothing unmanly about using a cordless drill.
Don't be stupid.
Shonkyvision
I grabbed this from stlbiking:
::::::::::
In honor of all the numerous and great things that Critical Mass has accomplished for the city of St.Louis (and the world!) we will be showing Scorcher and Still We Ride as a fundraiser for the Saint Louis Bicycle Works.
Come join us and help raise money for a bicycling group that (drum roll....) does something for the community.
When: Friday the Thirteenth of January. 8PM
Where: St.Louis Bicycle Works; Corner of Thurman and Shenandoah
Why: Raise money for new tools
Cost: $5 if you ride in, $10 if you drive
Pending your response here we might also have bunny hop/track stand/other miscellaneous useless bike tricks competition.
::::::::::
If it's anything like the last film night I got wrecked at it should be a damn fine time. Build up a frankenbike and let the good times roll. Bikeworks is where I got all my stuff on the extremely cheap
Or you could stay home and ride the trainer.
verbage sourceage
::::::::::
In honor of all the numerous and great things that Critical Mass has accomplished for the city of St.Louis (and the world!) we will be showing Scorcher and Still We Ride as a fundraiser for the Saint Louis Bicycle Works.
Come join us and help raise money for a bicycling group that (drum roll....) does something for the community.
When: Friday the Thirteenth of January. 8PM
Where: St.Louis Bicycle Works; Corner of Thurman and Shenandoah
Why: Raise money for new tools
Cost: $5 if you ride in, $10 if you drive
Pending your response here we might also have bunny hop/track stand/other miscellaneous useless bike tricks competition.
::::::::::
If it's anything like the last film night I got wrecked at it should be a damn fine time. Build up a frankenbike and let the good times roll. Bikeworks is where I got all my stuff on the extremely cheap
Or you could stay home and ride the trainer.
verbage sourceage
2 New Brewpubs in St. Louis
One in Lafayette Square run by the same guy who owns Augusta Brewing Company is supposed to open this month.
The other is on Lindell near the Central West End. No website yet, but it's already open apparently.
With another one that's supposed to be opening in Kirkwood, it's good times for beer drinkers.
Upper Taum Sauk Lake dam failed this morning
This is about 10 miles from where we were last weekend (brushy creek). I was taking pictures of Proffit Mountain on Saturday. Now trucks get swept off hwy N by water and people get evacuated. craziness... I swear I didn't do it.
LINKS:
News page about it from KSDK Note, that page changes as news comes in.
News story on yahoo
IEEE link about the pumped-storage hydroelectric plant
Black River watershed hydrology
(c) 2005 The Associated Press
LESTERVILLE, Mo. — A dam in rural southeast Missouri failed Wednesday morning after a night of heavy rain and one person was missing in what officials called a "very dangerous situation."
A family of five was rescued after the Upper Taum Sauk Lake Dam failed at about 6:24 a.m., Reynolds County Sheriff's dispatcher Ginger Bell said. The National Weather Service warned that conditions along the Black River were creating a "dangerous and life-threatening situation." Residents of Lesterville and elsewhere downstream from the dam were urged to move quickly to higher ground.
Small creeks and streams, country roads and farmland will be flooded, the agency said. The dam is in the Ozarks, about 120 miles southwest of St. Louis. Reynolds County has a population of about 6,700
LINKS:
News page about it from KSDK Note, that page changes as news comes in.
News story on yahoo
IEEE link about the pumped-storage hydroelectric plant
Black River watershed hydrology
GORC Schools the Middle Fork or is it the other way around?
(19) riders, bikes & gear took off from Brushy Creek to take on the Middle Fork section of the Ozark Trail. We were met with 12 miles of pristine singletrack and another 12 miles of soggy, energy zapping trail. Unfortunately, you can't predict the weather, but we still had a great time. Look for this trail to be THE destination in the next year or two.
Beer 102
This is a pretty good general article from a more scientific perspective which describes the process of beer brewing. It describes how the chemistry of the various ingredients affect the flavor of beer, including undesirable ones that can lead to that well known "skunky" taste.
The picture is of Franziskaner Hefeweizen, a German Wheat Beer as viewed through a microscope. Here are other similar pictures of beers from around the world.
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