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Dual Power Eyewear Dual SL2 Sunglasses

Several years ago I needed to have eye surgery and when I started looking for a surgeon a good friend of mine, a man who had been blind for about half of his life, insisted that I see on particular because he was “the best.” My friend said, “God only gave you one set of eyes so you better take care of them.” My friend has since passed away, but I remember his advice every time I buy a new pair of cycling glasses. One of my favorite pair of cycling sunglasses is the Dual Eyewear Dual SL2 Sunglasses.

Dual Power Eyewear Dual SL2 Sunglasses

The simplest way to explain the Dual SL2 Sunglasses is to tell you that they are a great pair of sunglasses with a pair of reading glasses built-in. The reading glasses portion is available in three powers (+1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 spot diopters). These sunglasses are incredibly lightweight (only 20 grams) and the shatterproof lenses are made of scratch-resistant polycarbonate. The glasses provide 100% UVA, UVB, and UVC protection. The rubber nose pieces on these glasses are perfect for cyclists—I’ve not had them slip a bit even on off-road trails. The lenses are available in two colors (smoke and brown). In addition to the SL2 Dual Eyewear offers several other models of sunglasses and every pair comes with a nice storage bag/cleaning cloth. They also sell lenses in three other colors: clear for night rides, and both amber and rose lenses for cloudy days.

My distance vision is a perfect 20/20, but I do need a bit of help reading fine print (8 point type or smaller), and especially in low light conditions. I can read a text-message on my iPhone without glasses, but I have trouble reading the very small type found in the maps application. The Dual SL2 Sunglasses look like regular sunglasses, but they have a barely noticeable magnification area built into the lower part of the lenses. What this means is that now you can read even the smallest print on your GPS, bike computer or cell phone without having to switch glasses!

The Dual SL2 Sunglasses retail for $50 online and I would highly recommend that you buy at least two pair. Once you have tried these on your bike you are going to want another pair for your car. After my first bike ride with these glasses I ordered another pair the same day.

The highest bit of praise for these sunglasses came from a U.S. Marine (my youngest son). I had these glasses sitting on my desk when my son came in and picked them up. He doesn’t need the magnification area on the lenses, but when he tried them on he said, “These look and fit better than my Oakleys.” If you know anything about Marines, you know how much they love their expensive Oakley sunglasses!

Dual Power Eyewear is based on Boulder, Colorado. They offer a generous 30-day 100% satisfaction guarantee, but I doubt if you will ever need it—once you try these out you are going to love them!

11 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on May 13, 2013 in Bicycle Safety, Product Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, exercise, eyewear, fitness, sports, sunglasses

What Is In Your Vitamin Supplements?

18 Mar

It is with great fear and trembling that I approach today’s subject, i.e., vitamin supplements. It seems like every time I mention vitamin supplements I make someone upset—so here is the deal: If you think vitamin and nutritional supplements are a waste of time and money then please stop reading this article and come back in a few days when I have another product review. However, if you do take supplements then this article will probably be of interest to you. In an ideal world we would be able to get all of our needed vitamins and minerals through a normal, healthy diet. Sadly, I’ve never met anyone who has been to that ideal world, so, like many of you, I take a handful of supplements every day.

What Is In Your Vitamin Supplements?

The problem many of us have with taking supplements is finding a place where we can read current, accurate information about the quality, dosage, and side effects of the vitamins we take. For the past several years I have subscribed to ConsumerLab.com, an “impartial and independent third-party evaluator of health and nutrition products.” To put it simply, ConsumerLab.com tests many different brands of supplements and then makes a report about how each brand stacks up. It is amazing to me how many times a company will sell of bottle of vitamins that claims, for example, to have 100 mg of vitamin C in each tablet, but after testing it is revealed that each that it only has 60 mg. of vitamin C per tablet. ConsumerLab.com recently reviewed nearly fifty different brands of Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) and they found one brand that only had 3.8% of the amount of CoQ-10 that was listed on the label! However, under-reporting the active ingredients is only half of the story—many supplements also contain contaminates! Do you really want to take a vitamin supplement that has lead in it?

In addition to rating the contents of the supplements, ConsumerLab.com also does a price comparison for all the brands they review. One of the biggest things I’ve learned from reading their reviews is that the price of a supplement has almost no correlation to the quality. Sometimes the most expensive brand of a certain vitamin will fail their tests, but one of the cheapest brands will pass with flying colors. Before they give you the test results for any vitamin or supplement they reviewed, ConsumerLab.com will also tell you what the vitamin is supposed to do and how they evaluated to product.

The membership fee to join ConsumerLab.com is $33 a year and this gives you access to all of their reviews (and there are a lot of them). I realize that many people will think $33 for an online subscription is pretty expensive, but that price is nothing compared to what some people spend on vitamins that are mislabeled, missing key ingredients or contain hazardous additives. As regular readers know, there are very few products that I have ever placed in the “highly recommended” category, but a subscription to ConsumerLab.com is definitely one of them.

43 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on March 18, 2013 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, fitness, nutrition, sports, vitamins

HooRag Seamless Bandana

14 Jan

Because I ride in just about any weather condition I have accumulated a large collection of cycling caps, bandanas, hoods and balaclavas. Most of these items are one-trick ponies, i.e., they are only designed for one specific weather condition. A few weeks ago the folks at HooRag sent me one of their products for review and it has turned out to be a very versatile piece of outdoor wear.

The HooRag as a Balaclava and a Pirate Rag

The basic design of the HooRag is fairly simple: it is an 18″ long tube constructed of 100% polyester microfiber and it is open at both ends. You can pull the entire HooRag over your head and slide it down your neck and wear it as a neck gaiter—you can also pull it up halfway for a face mask or pull the top all the way over your head and use it as a balaclava. I need to point out that this material is fairly thin, so it is not a substitute for use as a deep winter balaclava. You can also quickly fold the HooRag and wear it as a pirate rag or beanie rag. If you just want to keep the sweat out of your eyes you can wear it as a head band, and if your hair is long enough you can use it to wrap your ponytail (sorry, but I couldn’t try this one myself).

The HooRag as a Neck Gaiter and a Face Mask

The target audience for the HooRag is pretty broad, i.e., anyone who engages in outdoor activities. The polyester microfiber on this product wicks away moisture extremely well and it is small enough that you can stow it in your pocket when not in use. The HooRag is not just for athletes—fisherman or even fans sitting in a stadium for fall sports would enjoy it.

The HooRag retails for $15 or less and they are available from the HooRag Website. They offer free shipping for orders mailed to within the continental U.S. The HooRag I tested was Tactical Black, but they come about fifty different styles—from numerous camouflage patterns to bright colors and paisley designs.

11 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on January 14, 2013 in Bicycle Clothing

Tags: balaclava, bicycle, bike, cycling, exercise, fitness

The RealAge Makeover by Michael F. Roizen, M.D.

11 Jan

The RealAge Makeover

I am a 53-year-old distance cyclist and, according to the doctor at my last complete physical, my overall health is listed as “excellent” (i.e., I have perfect blood pressure, a low heart rate, a decent cholesterol level and all that other good stuff they look for in your blood test). Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. Twelve years ago I was morbidly obese and was being treated for problems with my lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and a host of other conditions. In fact, twelve years ago my regular doctor told me that the way I was going I probably wouldn’t be alive in another five years! Surprisingly, he didn’t even make a single suggestion about how I could turn things around. Therefore, I decided to change my diet, start an exercise program and get in shape. I took up cycling, weight lifting and kayaking. My efforts paid off and I dropped 50 pounds rather quickly. I also read a lot of books on healthy living and somewhere along the way I found The RealAge Makeover by Dr. Michael Roizen and it changed my life! If you are looking for some guidance in changing your overall health then I would suggest, in the strongest words possible, that you pick up a copy of this book and carefully read every word.

The full title of the book, The RealAge Makeover: Take Years off Your Looks and Add Them to Your Life, is rather long, but it sums things up quite well. This book not only tells you how to look younger, but how to feel younger as well. You will learn how to reverse arterial aging, boost your immune system, reduce stress, and increase your energy levels. The major premise of this book (as well as a few others that Roizen has authored) is that “70 percent of how long and how well you live is in your hands.”

According to his biography, Roizen is a professor of medicine and anesthesiology at SUNY Upstate and chair of the Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Comprehensive Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic. If you were a fan of The Oprah Winfrey Show (I was not) you might have seen Roizen on one of her programs—usually along with Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Dr. Michael F. Roizen is also the co-founder of RealAge and chair of the RealAge Scientific Advisory Board. If you go to the RealAge.com Website you can take the RealAge Test, which is a scientific calculation of how young (or old) your body thinks you really are based upon your height, weight, daily exercise, education, stress, friendships, emotional health, the supplements you take, family history and a few other items. I took this around 2003, when I was 43 years old—the test claimed that my “real age” was 65! OUCH! I have taken the test several times since then, and as I have modified my lifestyle I keep getting younger! According to the calendar I am 53 years old, but according to the RealAge Test my “real age” is 43!

One of the things that Roizen keeps going back to is your diet and how it not only impacts your lifespan, but your quality of life as well. I thought a lot about this book a few months ago when my wife and I went back to our hometown and took our parents out for lunch. My mother-in-law is 90 years old and still shovels snow, cuts her own grass and keeps up an amazing garden—and if no one catches her she will get up on the roof to repair her own shingles. In addition, my mother-in-law is not on any medication and the only time in her life she has been in a hospital was over 50 years ago (when my wife was born). On the other hand, my parents are both around 80 and in very poor health—they now spend half of their time sitting in a doctor’s office or in line at the pharmacy waiting for a refill on one of their many prescriptions. While we were eating lunch I saw what I believe to be the major reason for the difference between our parents. My wife and her mother both ordered a simple vegetable platter—as is their custom. My parents both ordered a deep-fried appetizer, a deep-fried main course, and then they ordered desert (yeah, that’s the way I used to eat).

When I bought The RealAge Makeover back in 2002 I paid $25 for the hardback version, but now it is available in paperback for under $7 from Amazon.com. A hardback version is still available for $20, and a Kindle version for $10. By the way, some of the Amazon.com retailers have used copies of the hardback book available for only $4 including postage (they claim the books are in “very good condition”). The first edition of this book was published by HarperCollins in 1999.

Can The RealAge Makeover change your life? Absolutely! Will it? Probably not. I loved this book so much that I have bought at least 20 hardback copies to give as presents to friends and relatives who told me that wanted to “get in shape.” I am sure these people read at least part, or maybe even all, of the book. Unfortunately, I don’t think a single one of the people I gave the book to even attempted to make the needed changes in their life. Knowing what you need to do and actually doing it are two separate issues.

39 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on January 11, 2013 in Book Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, diet, exercise, fitness, health, nutrition

Finding Your Fitness Motivation

04 Jan

How are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? A lot of people start a new year with the best of intentions to change their eating habits, start a fitness routine and get in shape. However, without constant encouragement from family and friends some people just can’t seem to stay motivated to exercise and eat right. I’ll go back to writing product reviews on Monday, but today I would like to help you find a way to stay motivated this year!

Welcome To My Gym

If you need a bit of motivation to help you reach your fitness goals I would suggest you follow some of the blogs I read (listed below). On the right-hand side of this page you should see a partial list of the over 200 health and fitness blogs I follow (so glad I took that speed reading class). I wish WordPress would rotate the avatars (or as they call them, blavatars), but at the moment they only display the last fifty blogs I decided to follow. These avatars usually show a photo of the blogger (sometimes a logo) and if you move your cursor over the photo it tells you the name of their blog and their tagline. I just started using the widget that displays these avatars last week and, unfortunately, as soon as these avatars appeared I stopped following two of the blogs because I felt their avatars were very demeaning to women (and the sad thing is both of the bloggers were women!). Here are some of my favorite blogs (and I am so sorry if I forgot to mention your blog)…

Cyclists and Triathletes: Kent Peterson’s blog, aptly named Kent’s Bike Blog, is the blog I have followed for the longest length of time. There are two Minnesota-based blogs I thoroughly enjoy, The Adventures of Joboo and His Trusty Pugsley and Bill’s Magical Mystery Tour. Rounding out the list is Sip, Clip and Go (Massachusetts), IowaTriBob (Iowa), Tracy at SpringfieldCyclist (Missouri), elisariva (Ohio), and Elizabeth at Triathlon Obsession (New York). Annie at anniebikes is seasoned commuter who also loves to tour (Vermont). A little further away is Kitesurf Bike Rambling (UK). Jim at Fit Recovery is a recovering alcoholic/addict—I am not sure where he lives, but his blog is great!

Fitness, Weight Lifting and Body Building: You will notice that all the blogs in this section are written by women. I am not a sexist nor am I following these blogs for aesthetic reasons. However, if I am going to read an article about weightlifting or body building I would rather have the photo next to the article be of a smiling female than of some dude flexing his muscles with a strained look on his face that makes me think he needs to increase his intake of dietary fiber. Lisa Traugott at She’s Losing It! became my hero when I read that she does 400 lunges a day with a 50 pound weight! Dani Cee is a certified personal trainer and works as medical content writer and nutrition adviser. Joy is a certified personal fitness trainer and she writes at joyfitnessandstyle. Sara, a group exercise instructor, writes at Shh…Fit Happens. Sarah, a certified group fitness instructor, can be found at Strong, Fit, Beautiful. Katie at Fit Butt Fabulous is a first-grade teacher by day, health and fitness enthusiast by life. Newlywed Laura at Fit And Busy has a great motto on her site, “If you don’t make time for fitness now, you will have to make time for sickness later.” Joanna at Sports Bras And Sippy Cups is a fit momma who lifts more than just babies! Heather at Run Eat Play writes about every day life experiences with exercise, food, and family.

Diet and Nutrition: Even though I am not a vegan I enjoy reading what Laura at The Daily Meal has to say. Christy at Christy Fit is a fitness instructor and model, but she also has several recipes for great protein shakes. Even though she is no Martha Stewart, Doctorate Housewife also has some great recipes. You should also visit Carrie at Fitness And Frozen Grapes for some healthy, great-tasting recipes. Katie at Gettin’ My Healthy On is not a professional dietician, but she does have wonderful recipes (and a killer smile). Dr. Madeleine Vanstory at Rants, Rules & Recipes has an excellent blog—she explains why diets don’t work and why most food is garbage (you really need to visit this site).

Interesting People: Anita Mac is a world traveler and I enjoy reading her posts at traveldestinationbucketlist. Heather is an “explorer” with four young children and she writes at 7feetnorth. Melissa lives in a “small town in Illinois” and blogs at Spicy Homemaker. Stephanie at The Stolen Colon was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in 1999 and her blog is both uplifting and inspiring. You should also see Anka at Keeping it Real and Melissa, a Michigan photographer, at Melissa Not Dusting. Erin at Hey Hey, Erin May is a designer, writer, marketer and all-over creative for hire. And last, but certainly not least, there is Irish Katie, a frequent commenter on this site and the proud mother of a teenage daughter.

52 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on January 4, 2013 in Life On Two Wheels

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, diet, exercise, fitness, health, motivation

330,000 Views In 2012

01 Jan

My sincerest thanks to every visitor to this blog! By reading the comments you leave here and by visiting your blogs it seems like I’ve gotten to know some of you fairly well. Most of the visitors to this site are interested in cycling in one form or another, while others just have a general interest in fitness. Regardless of why you read this blog I wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 330,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 6 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!

Click here to see the complete report.

49 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on January 1, 2013 in Life On Two Wheels

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, exercise, fitness

The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery by Sage Roundtree

19 Dec

The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery

I am always amazed by cyclists and other endurance athletes who spend thousands of dollars buying the best equipment so they can get a competitive edge in their next race, but then neglect the steps necessary to help them recover faster after the event. A great bike ride doesn’t begin when you put your Lycra on—it actually started the moment finished your last ride. If you would like to improve your athletic performance I would highly recommend you buy a copy of The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery by Sage Roundtree (VeloPress, 2011).

This book is divided into three sections. The first section is rather short and deals with how we measure and define recovery. The second section is the heart of the book and deals with specific recovery techniques, such as nutrition, hydration, supplements, sleep, massage and other recovery aids. The third and final section discusses how to put all the pieces together.

One of the most valuable sections of the book is the one on Nutrition And Hydration (chapter 9). Most athletes have heard of the recovery window (AKA, the glycogen synthesis window). This window is the short period of time after exercise when, if you follow the right steps, your body can quickly absorb nutrients and give a jump-start to your recovery process. Consuming the right amounts of carbohydrates and protein after exercise will replenish your energy stores and help rebuild muscle fiber. I was surprised to find out that “female cyclists responded very differently than male cyclists when they ingested a recovery snack containing protein” after exercise. In addition, if you are a vegetarian you need to pay special attention to your protein intake since plant proteins are not digested the same way as animal proteins.

The section of the book on Technological Aids (chapter 13) discusses products like therapeutic ultrasound devices and electrostimulation (E-stim). A few years ago I bought both an ultrasound device and an E-stim unit and they make a world of difference in my recovery time. However, I know of very few cyclists who have invested in these devices—even though they are both cheaper than a good saddle.

If you suffer from muscle pain very often you are going to appreciate the section on Self-Massage (chapter 15). Not only does this chapter explain the importance of foam rollers and beaded sticks, but it shows you how to use them properly. You can buy a foam roller at most sporting good stores for around $30, and if you follow the instructions given in the book you can massage your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and IT bands and you will feel like a new person in just 15 minutes or so.

This paperback book is loaded with charts, graphs and tables (for my fellow visual learners). This book is very well documented and illustrated. There are some chapters that will probably tell you more than you want to know, but I am one of those people who likes to see authors “prove their work.”

Like most amateur cyclists, I’ve never had a coach or fitness instructor and everything I know about muscle recovery had to be learned the hard way. If I could have found a book like this ten years ago it would have saved me from a lot of grief and pain.

The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery is 248 pages long and retails for $19, but Amazon.com sells it for under $13. If I haven’t convinced you yet that you need this book, you can download a free preview of The Athlete’s Guide To Recovery from the VeloPress Website (see link the bottom of that page). The preview is a small PDF booklet that contains the table of contents, preface, and first chapter of the book, along with a few other sections.

31 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on December 19, 2012 in Book Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, exercise, fitness, health, recovery

Thermal Convection Boot and Glove Dryer

03 Dec

A few years ago I bought a new pair of winter cycling gloves and the first time I used them they kept my hands warm for over three hours on a dreary 25 degree day. The next day it had warmed up to around 30 degrees so I wore the same pair of gloves again—but this time I had to turn around and head home after just three miles because my hands were freezing. On the way home I was trying to figure out what the problem was, then it dawned on me that the gloves had not completely dried out from the ride the day before. When I put my hands into the gloves on the second ride they felt dry, but there must have been a good deal of moisture in-between the liner and the outer shell of the glove, and after just 15 or 20 minutes in the cold that moisture had turned into ice.

Thermal Convection Boot and Glove Dryer

Many winter cyclists, runners and skiers leave their wet gloves sitting on top of the heat register in the floor to dry out—and this is certainly a lot faster than just leaving them on a table to dry. However, forced air has a tendency to not only dry gloves, but shrink them as well. If you exercise outdoors in the winter your gloves are going to get wet inside and a boot and glove dryer will make your life a lot easier. While some dryers work by blowing warm air into your gloves or boots, I like the convection dyers the best—they have a heating element at the bottom of the dryer and through thermal convection (hot air rising) warm air is drawn into your boots or gloves. Thermal convection dryers are a bit slower that those with blowers, but they are a lot more energy-efficient and won’t shrink your gloves. In addition, thermal convection dryers are a lot cheaper to run and they are also completely silent.

Thermal convection boot and glove dryers all have long tubes so yo can put your gloves or boots over them as they dry. Most of the time my gloves are totally dry within six to eight hours. Many of these dryers also have a “drip tray” that will catch any water, snow or ice that falls off the outside of your gloves or boots as they dry.

The boot and glove dryer I use was manufactured by Pacific Outdoors, but this product is no longer available. However, at least two other companies sell nearly identical models. I do not normally give direct links to products on Amazon.com, but since the brand I use is not available I will. The PEET Dryer M97-FSB Original 2-Shoe Electric Dryer retails for $45, but Amazon.com has it for $34. The MaxxDry SD Boot, Shoe and Glove Dryer has a retail price of $40, but Amazon.com is selling it for $29. Please read the customer reviews before ordering either of these dryers (since I have not tried either of these products I can’t recommend one brand over the other).

6 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on December 3, 2012 in Product Reviews, Winter Cycling

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, exercise, fitness, glove dryers, winter

Looking At My Road ID In The Back Of An Ambulance

26 Nov

Like everyone says, “I never thought it would happen to me!” Two weeks ago I left home for a quick 50 mile bike ride and an hour later I was sitting in the back of an ambulance. I had ridden through the back roads of southeast Wisconsin and cut through a small, quiet neighborhood to avoid riding on a major highway. Less than a block into the neighborhood and guy in a large Ford work truck cut a corner too wide and we nearly had a head-on collision—I headed off into the gravel to avoid the grill of his truck. I yelled at the guy (hereafter known as The Jerk) and he slammed on his brakes, got out of his truck and started yelling at me. The Jerk told me that cyclists have no right to be on the road and that he was sick of them “ruining his neighborhood.” The Jerk was a lot bigger than me and had a face that resembled an armpit. As he was yelling I stood straddling my bike and out of nowhere The Jerk hit me in the chest with both fists—I was knocked off my bike with great force and hit the pavement hard, then rolled back into a side ditch. Even though I was a bit dazed I remember The Jerk yelling, “If I ever see you back in this neighborhood I am going to kill you!”

Road ID Stainless Steel Dog Tags

Fortunately, a woman in the neighborhood saw what happened and called the police and an ambulance—the double punch to the chest knocked the air out of my lungs and I has having trouble breathing. A few minutes later an ambulance showed up along with a couple of great paramedics. While I really didn’t think I needed an ambulance, the paramedics insisted that I get “checked out” anyway. As they were checking my breathing the ambulance driver opened the door and told them to lock it because The Jerk was back. The punches to my chest and the impact of the fall triggered my first asthma attack in over ten years and as the paramedics were asking questions about my health I had trouble answering. It was at that point I was so happy I was wearing my Road ID dog tags. If needed, these tags could give all the needed medical information to the paramedics.

Road ID makes high quality stainless steel identification cards—depending on the style you choose, they can be worn on your wrist, ankle, shoe or around your neck. The information on the cards is laser engraved and this provides a very crisp and easy to read tag. I’ve worn Road ID products for a long time and would never go out for a bike ride without them. At first I used the ID that attaches to your cycling shoes, but about five years ago I switched to the dog tag version. Regardless of which tag your choose, it can be engraved with your basic emergency contact information.

Road ID tags start at around $20, and for only $10 a year you can add emergency response support, i.e., your tag will give paramedics and emergency room personnel a secure Website so they can get access to detailed medical information and emergency contact information for you (for when you cannot give the info yourself). The secure Website gives them as much information as you allow, but I have my health insurance information, allergies, name and address of my family doctor and a list of the medications I take on file.

In case you were wondering about what happened to The Jerk, I will finish the story. When I exited the ambulance I saw two police cars and The Jerk was sitting in the backseat of one of them (in handcuffs). Apparently, he admitted to the police that he hit me and when the cops ran his name they found out he was wanted on an outstanding warrant, so they cuffed him and were going to take him to jail—he could not get bailed out until he appeared before the judge who had issued the warrant.

The cops asked if I wanted to press charges. I would have said yes, but as I was talking to one of the cops The Jerk’s wife arrived (the police called her to take custody of his truck). Believe it or not, I had spoken to this woman back in March when she was teaching her little boy how to ride a bike! Even though she was crying because her husband was being taken away to jail for the outstanding warrant she came over to apologize for his actions.

I told the cops that I did not want to press charges against The Jerk. My reasoning was this: If the idiot had no problem hitting me then I’m sure he wouldn’t have any trouble hitting his wife as well. Since I didn’t want to make her life any more miserable than it probably already was, I decided not to press charges because I thought he would take his anger out on her when he got home. The woman thanked me and then said they had a fight just before he left the house that morning—which explained why he was in such a bad mood to begin with!

One more note: I have not told my wife about this incident yet and I am trying to think of the best time to do it. At the moment it seems like the day after she drops me off at the nursing home would be a good time.

146 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on November 26, 2012 in Bicycle Safety, Product Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, exercise, fitness, safety

JetFlow Hydration System

19 Nov

One of the first purchases I made after I took up cycling was a Camelbak Hydration Pack. At the time I was mainly riding on off-road trails and water was hard to find. A few weeks after buying the Camelbak I had to go back to the sporting goods store to buy a cleaning brush kit and some cleaning tablets. Then I had to go back to buy a reservoir dryer—a plastic device allows you to hang the bladder of the Camelbak upside down so it will dry faster. After a year of messing around with two different Camelbak Hydration Packs I finally gave up on them and just started carrying my drinks in the water bottle cages on my bike. A few weeks ago the folks at JetFlow Hydration Systems sent me one of their new Tomahawk Hydration Packs to try. If you are tired of messing around with Camelbak packs, but still need a way to keep yourself hydrated, then the JetFlow products are going to be of great interest to you! This product is not only for cyclists—runners and hikers will also find it to be a great addition to their normal gear.

JetFlow Hydration System

JetFlow’s Tomahawk Hydration Pack is similar in shape and function to Camelbak products, but in terms of functionality there is no comparison. Instead of relying on an internal bladder (water reservoir) like the Camelbak, JetFlow allows you to use almost any plastic bottle instead. JetFlow has a complete list of compatible bottles on their Website, but the list includes almost everything you will find at a convenience store from a 16-ounce bottle of Pepsi to a 24-ounce bottle of Aquafina or Dasani water, or even a two-liter bottle of Mountain Dew! The advantage is that you never have to worry about a moldy bladder or bad tasting water again!

Use your favorite bottle instead of a moldy bladder!

If you’ve ever used a Camelbak Hydration Pack before you are familiar with the two major parts: an expanding bladder holds the liquid inside the pack and a long hose leads out of it and ends with a bite valve (the business end of the system). JetFlow eliminates the hydration bladder and lets you use disposable water bottles (or Gatorade bottles, soft drink bottles, etc.). When you get home from your run, bike ride or hike you can simply throw the disposable bottles away. Since the JetFlow system also works with many insulated bottles or Nalgene bottles you can just put these items in your dishwasher for easy cleanup.

A thermos bottle connected to the JetFlow manifold

You attach a bottle to the JetFlow system using what they call a manifold—a piece of plastic where the water hose and bottle adapter meet. The manifold also has a second hose that lets air into your bottle to release vacuum pressure. The manifold is built to accept a standard 16 to 24-ounce water bottles—if the bottle you want to use has a larger opening (like a Gatorade bottle) you can use one of the two included adapters to connect the bottle to the manifold. Once connected to the manifold you just place the bottle upside down in the backpack and you’re good to go. I tested the JetFlow Hydration System on several occasions. The first time was with a 24-ounce Aquafina bottle, then I switched to a 20-ounce thermos bottle I had. The water delivery was smooth and the product never leaked.

Two adapters for different size bottles

JetFlow makes several different hydration packs. The Drone can hold one bottle up to 1.5 liter bottles (48 oz.) and has 250 cubic inches of storage space. The Tomahawk (featured in this review) has a maximum capacity of two 1.0 liter bottles with 250 cubic inches of storage space. The Raptor has a maximum capacity of two 1.5 liter bottles with 600 cubic inches of gear storage. The Warthog is the biggest pack they offer—it has a maximum capacity of two 1.5 liter bottles with a whopping 1350 cubic inches of storage space and 14 organizational pockets.

Earphone / headphone port on the backpack

The important thing to remember when looking at these hydration packs is not the design of the pack, but the way the water is stored inside the pack! This product has two big (and very important) selling points: ease of use and ease of cleanup. However, I do want to mention a couple of things about the backpacks anyway. These packs all come with an earphone / headphone access port on the top of the pack. You can keep your iPhone or MP3 player inside the pack and still listen to your tunes. All of these packs also have active harness suspension, an adjustable sternum strap, and reflective piping.

JetFlow hydration system products are new to the market, so they are not yet available at your local bike shop. The Tomahawk retails for around $55. The best way to buy these products is from the JetFlow Online Store. You can also find their products on Amazon.com and at your local Cabela’s store (but not their online store).

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Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on November 19, 2012 in Product Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, camelbak, cycling, exercise, fitness, hydration, mtb

All Seasons Cyclist

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