Our friends over at Outside Magazine have posted their Summer Buyer’s Guide. If you are trying to figure out what sleeping bag to pickup for your affair with the Sierra or pair of boots for time in the Rockies then head on over to the buyer’s guide and get an educated opinion.
This Friday, June 26 at REI stores and REI.com the summer sale clearance begins. Items will be up 30% off. Be sure and get there early to grab some product for your summer adventures.
You can expect to save 20% – 30% on selected clothing, footwear, and camping and cycling gear. Selected bikes will be 15% – 20% off.
We all find ourselves scouring our collection of iTunes music for training music. Before my last half-marathon I carefully chose just enough music to finish without hearing one song twice. I timed it just so I would make my goal. As the race came to a close (iPods were legal) I picked up the pace as the final song came on. Normally I would have waited much later to pick up the pace for the final sprint – but the song urged me on. And so I only heard the first few seconds of the first song. Mission accomplished.
Finding the right music takes a little time. Our buddy Fitz Cahall over at The Dirtbag Diaries has sweet music on his site and I from time to time grab it and go.
My latest find from KCRW in LA is Loney Dear. The lead is Emil Svanangen an ex-pro cyclist. Spin Magazine says of Loney Dear, “Despair has never sounded so sweet.” But I beg to differ. There have been a few long climbs I have made where I could have used his music. Check them out on their site and their myspace page.
Saturday morning I got up early, dressed quietly, made my lunch, grabbed the dog, slipped quietly into the garage to hook the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour.
The wind was blowing 50 mph. I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad throughout the day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. There I cuddled up to my wife’s back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, “The weather out there is terrible.”
My loving wife of 20 years replied, “Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?”
I still don’t know if she was joking, but I’ve given up fishing.