Check it out here: Bicycle Traveler Magazine.  Extra points if anyone can spot the quote by yours truly.

Before I say a word about my favorite outdoor gear supplier, let me say that I am in no way affiliated with the retailer.  This is a totally unsolicited review of what I believe to be the best source for most anything camping related.

Campmor has been around since 1978.  In 1978 I was a poor kid living in a mountain community with few opportunities for shopping around for gear.  This was years before Al Gore invented the internet and even if he had there were no computers to use it.  Catalogs were my only choice for lusting after gear.

Campmor’s catalogs were small un-glossy things without photographs.  All the goodies, from snow shoes to Swiss Army knives were simple line drawings and still are to this day.  Campmor must have a team of artists locked away in some back room feverishly drawing each and every item.  Of course today (thanks to computer scientist and former VP Al Gore) you can go to their websight and see pictures of the items.  I sincerely hope this new technology doesn’t put line drawing artists out of business.

But anyway, if you’re new to outdoor sports or have never happened across Campmor, give them a look.  After several decades of buying tons of gear from them, I have never had a bad experience and their prices are usually the best around. ~ Here’s the link: Campmor

Just my opinion, Jack

As the temps drop into the single digit range in the ridge tops of the Smokies, I have two choices if I want to avoid the cursed stationary trainer.  One, seek out lower elevations.  Two, say ‘frostbite be damned, I’m riding as high as I can go”.  As often as possible, I’ll take choice two.  A good pair of booties is worth the price to keep toes toasty, warm and dry. 

I’ve owned this pair of Sugoi Resistor bike booties around four or five years now.  They’ve ridden from the mountains of North Carolina to the coast and on countless shorter tours and day rides and are holding up remarkably well.  They’re always with me on tours, stuffed away with my rain jacket and helmet cover and are very easy to put on and take off.  In the dead of winter they provide just enough wind resistance and insulation to keep my feet comfortable in the coldest weather.

The 8 inch high Sugoi is made from a fleece lined rubberized material.  Features include a full length rear zipper held securely in place with a Velcro tab. An un-coated yellow material in the heel and toe creates a nice snug fit and an elastic band runs across the middle.  The bottom is open to allow for cleats and this also makes them more durable for walking around during the ride.  Reflective trim and logo adds to visibility. Cost is somewhere around fifty bucks and we bought ours from REI.  Well worth every penny.

This was an unsolicited review.  I just like them, Jack

That was over thirty years ago. I think I’m in full remission and not likely to relapse. My palms no longer get sweaty when I see an all carbon bike and I can’t even remember how to spell paleton or have a clear recollection of what VO2Max is (a shampoo maybe?).  I pawned my heart rate monitor decades ago to pay off a bar tab.  I can’t remember the last time I rode a bike with a computer on it.

I’m 48 and getting thick around the middle.  I’m no longer aerodynamic.  My knee is shredded and pops out of joint if I try to sprint, not that I ever try.  But every year my love for cycling grows deeper.  No, that’s not it.  Every year my love for where bicycles take me grows deeper. 

If you’ve stumbled across this blog, and for some odd reason, keep returning, maybe hoping it will get better, 2012 will be an interesting year. 

Thanks for reading, Jack

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 48,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 18 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

HA1KU, if indeed that is your real name, following a random drawing, you are the Grand Prize Winner of a custom hand crafted alcohol stove and wind screen.  Cash value is less than nothing of course, but fame and adventure is your true reward.

I’ll be contacting you tomorrow via e-mail to get your shipping instruction.

Thanks, Jack

Check out the map at:

 » Tour Over: here’s a rough map of my route PB & J All Day. 

Jack

                           ha1ku | Twenty-two Hours.

All this in only 22 hours…now this is adventure cycling!  Follow the link above for the rest of the story.

Another friend caught my tweet and asked how my stay was.  I jokingly replied that the room smelled like a cheap hooker.  Whatever.  I showered, watched t.v. and surfed the web for two more hours before giving in entirely to exhaustion. ~ ha1ku

As the years end is drawing near, I sit here reflecting on a pretty active year of cycling and camping.  For me, an ailing Basset hound (who we finally had to put to sleep), a new position at work, studying for my substance abuse counselors’ certification and family obligations has kept me from putting together a longer tour this year.  Still I managed several S24Os and ‘base camp’ bike tours within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  I’m hoping to get back to more multi-day and week to 2-week tours in 2012. 

At the beginning of this year I posted a contest of sorts.  We have a couple of entries so far.  If you have a trip to enter you can leave it in the comment section or email me.  Internet access here is a bit sketchy, but I’ll be returning home next week.  I’ll put all the names in a hat and draw the winner.  Schlocky prize to be determined…perhaps a hand crafted stove.

Follow this link for more details:   The 2011 Velo Hobo Challenge

As always, thanks for reading, Jack