My wife Julie and I have an ongoing battle. I want to shave my legs and she does not want me to. Dave shaves his legs and people still like him, (just not girls) so I figure I would be fine. To be honest, I have really good calf muscles and I want to show them off. I’m not being cocky, this is confirmed. My buddy Ty Mattson was riding behind me the other day and said “your legs are looking good”. I was so pumped after that!

What should I do? Shave or no shave?

Andy B
outsideallday.com

2007 has been the year of the “run” for me. In June 07 I did my first marthon and I have maintained good weekly run mileage since then. It has never been anything that I have been good at but the last 8 months running has been really enjoyable. The enjoyable part for me came when I discovered that I love trail running. Lizards, lose dirt, rock blisters, horse poop, snakes, posion oak, etc all add up to create a memorable outdoor experience (or the worst one ever if you encounter that list all around the same blind corner). Last night I did a 5 mile hill run through O’Neil Park and when I finished I felt so refeshed from how much fun I had. It was the perfect release from my balled up stress. It was also preparation for the death march Xterra Sprint Triathlon I am doing this weekened. It’s by far the hardest 4 mile run I will ever do and at 7,500 feet there is a chance I just might drop dead. Or maybe I will just drop dead because I am still fat and fat people should not do triathlons.

To carry me through all the pain will be my good and reliable Brooks Men’s Axiom 2 Running Shoe that are now on sale at Amazon.com for like $30.00 less than I paid for them (I paid $90.00). I cannot recommend this shoe enough. It is light, sturdy and really seems to hold up.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Keeping track of your time is important in almost all sports, at least sports that are fun. About a year ago I picked up this watch from Amazon.com and have had a great experience with it. It was cheap, it’s comfortable and has all of the features I need. No problems with swimming with it so far. If you are looking for a good sport watch I highly recommend this one.

Amazon.com has a really good price on the watch right now.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Tonight Julie is out scrap booking (waste of time) with a bunch of girlfriends and I am home with Carter. Since Carter cannot stand to spend more than 50 seconds in the house we decided to play in the front yard. By far his favorite toy in the garage is the bike pump and he most enjoys blowing air into his mouth.

Maybe there is hope for Carter to do the maintenance on my bikes since Dave is no longer reliable.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

Altrec has a BACK TO SCHOOL SALE going on now that can save some dollars!
Plus, check out the opportunity to win a North Face Back Pack, Water Bottle and Hat in their online contest; and all you have to do is sign up to receive their newsletter. Just don’t forget to tell them where you heard about it or come here to find the latest on outdoor product sales.
North Face on Sale: Back to School at Altrec.com

They also have a great deal on shipping:

-DSheek
I love a good sale

It’s going on now… Good deals on hot products:

And, remember their FREE SHIPPING DEAL:

Get some!

-DSheek
Outdoor Love

After yesterday I now realize I should run more or it is just not for me. My legs hurt to move, lower back, and there are blisters on the bottom of my toes. Anyway, now that I am inspired to run more I found a god sale for shoes and clothing from Paragon Sports.

Happy Shopping!

-DSheek
Oh, my feet!

Today Andy took me up to Snow Valley Ski Resort in Running Springs, CA to participate in a little XTERRA triathlon training session for his race next Sunday. I now appreciate mountain bikes and racing one discipline in a day rather than three.

It was a nice day and we went to listen to the race promoters discuss nutrition, altitude racing, and show those participating the course. The lake was a little to low to swim so we passed on the swimming portion. We started off with a short ride on sandy steep fire roads, a little boring! But, then came the run. I must let everyone understand that because of injuries I don’t run much so it was a painful challenge. The run was only four miles but it felt like 100. It had some crazy hills that we ran down, hoping over bushes and hurtling ruts, and the uphills were so steep I could touch the ground in front of me as I climbed.

It was a fun day, although I was beat by two women, Angel and Lani (my love). Andy, please post their pictures. I love seeing attractive active women out on the trails and you tri-people are crazy!

Now I am off to ICE MY KNEES, Seriously!

-DSheek
Running is hard

Take a look at some of the recent sale items at BackCountry.com

The shoe sales are great for on and off the trails…

Gravis Lowdown Slip On – Shoe – Women’s

The green shoe looks amazing in this model!

-DSheek
I love shoes

It started great as our group of four met in the back-bay of Newport Beach, CA for a ride, on our cyclocross (cross) bikes. It was my buddies Dean (the best driver), Eric (the best surfboard shaper Christenson-EC), myself, and a new riding partner, Justin, who Dean wanted to introduce to our group (punish). We started and cruised through the hills of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) onto the roads in Turtle Rock and climbed up through a few secret dirt trails to Newport Coast on some average dirt grades, but when your on a cross bike they are painful.

The problem starts when Dean invited Justin to go ride and climb, what I call Hell Hill, our secret spot, and the guy has a single speed. When Eric and I saw the guy we just laughed because this is typical Dean (the punisher) behavior. He will start rides at a fast pace to see how long it takes before he can drop you, push it to the limits always, and make you climb insane $H%* to see if you will die. Well the good thing Justin was a sane and easy going guy because, as Eric would say, “He was lovin’ it like McDonalds!”

Fun ride, good weather, friends and being outside…

Buy a cross bike they can do it all!

-DSheek
The Outside Junkie

As we enter these beginning stages of OUTSIDE ALL DAY we are testing a lot of different ideas to see what spawns an interest in people. With this said, I want to know what you want to see? Do readers want to see camping gear and what types, running gear, cycling, snow sports, etc?

Let us know…

-DSheek
Outside Gear Junkie (If I had enough money I would but it all).

When I return home in the afternoons I always make it my goal to not drive anymore. So, as usual, tonight I decided to go by bike to get a ride in and visit a local bike shop to take a look at product, being the gear junkie I am. I did not come across any new product, but the guys at the shop talked with me about the cool bikes Specialized has for 2008. However, tonight I realized how much I hate riding in traffic.

The first reason is people don’t look for cyclist, hence me running into the side of a mini van turning right into a gas station. I was calmly riding straight down the road and almost lost my life…

The second reason is people in California hate cyclist for some reason. I understand we are all in a hurry but I have at most 17 pounds of steel and you (the driver) literally have tons…

And, last the stop and go pattern that lights bring when one rides the road in Southern California. I recommend bike trails/paths or better hit the dirt.

-DSheek
Ride Safely!

When my brother or Andy trust me enough to take their kids on a ride, I am buying this child seat to mount on the back of my mountain bike. How cool would it be to have my little friends on back hooting and shouting, “Yeah!”, as we jam through singletrack… Well, maybe not on the trails but it would be fun to ride around town with the little guys.

Check this item out from one of our new affiliates, buy.com:

Bell Cocoon Rack Mounted Child Carrier

-DSheek
Introduce the youth to outside fun, Couch potatoes suck!