Archive for October, 2007
How to ruin a weekend… Yeah So last weekend I wrote that “ohh what am I going to do for fun this weekend, I live in wonderland..lalala” blog and I think some guy in a Iowa cubicle used his voodoo doll to wack my Shred/Race CX/Get Radical plans.
Did get a World Series ticket, that was pretty cool. “Come on Rockies, I just learned a couple players names, you can’t be out already!” Crutching around amongst 20,000 drunk baseball fans is an adventure sport of it’s own.
SOOooooo as far as the snow report goes, It’s raining in the Valley. Yeah Rain, cool. Lots o rain. Probably getting some flakes up top through the night. So bad news for playing outside, good news for snow report and Vail’s opening
Guess I’ll spend weekend ringin a cowbell in Boulder and admiring the beautiful Purples and Greens my ankle is turning.
October 31st, 2007
As many of you know I climbed Kilimanjaro back in 2005 and it was a huge accomplishment for me. I summited via the Western Breach and the climb was tough, but definitely do-able for anyone in good physical shape and a good backpacking skills and high altitude experience. I saw this over on The Adventure Blog and the Best Hike Blog and it is definitely cool!
The New York Times has created an Interactive Kili Climb by using Tom Bissell’s climb as a resource. Interactive maps and video help you understand what it’s like to get up high on this amazing mountain. If you watch this, look where he dips down into a valley about halfway through the climb. That is where I turned up and the above opening near the summit is the Western Breach.
Check this thing out, it’s worth the time.
October 31st, 2007
Just watched Into the Wild… finally! It came within an hours drive of me so I set off, Into the Theater… (spoilers coming, so stop reading if you don’t know the story)
It really is a great rendition of the book. I felt many of the same emotions that I had when reading the story. Sean Penn did a great job directing this one and if Hal Holbrook doesn’t get best supporting actor this year then something is broken in Tinseltown people…. BROKEN! Emlie Hirsch did a great job as McCandless and I really was impressed with his performance too.
Synopsis:
If I had to sum the movie up in 3 sentences, here is what I’d say. Christopher McCandless had a rough childhood. He set out on a physical and emotional journey to find himself and to resolve his inner demons. In the end he was ill prepared and made a series of bad decisions that ended him.
That’s it. But the real story in this book/film is that he spends so much time trying to get away from meaningful relatinoships and all he can seem to do is make connections with people. It’ll make you cry if you have a heart. And you’ll be pissed off at him if you have a brain. There are a few sprinklings of nudity and an animal got field dressed. Just thought you should know it’s not for the kids or people who don’t like naked bodies or blood. What did McCandless realize at the end of his stint in the wild?…. “Happiness is only real when shared.”
My wife has a great way of simplifying these complex stories with great one liners. So I’ll quote her since she summed things up so well as we walked out of the theater.
“Wow, all that, and he could have just gone to a therapist…”
October 30th, 2007
Old School
5. 1987 Jeep Wrangler
Jeep…the ultimate outdoorzy vehicle. The freedom of a convertible without all the hassle of driving a college girls 21st birthday present from mommy and daddy. Throw on a winch and a jack up front and you are out of any situation the outdoors could throw at you in this ride.
4. 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS
I will be honest here. I have no idea if this is good for the outdoors or not. It is a 4×4, so that is good I guess, but other than that I got nothing. I can’t guarantee that it will haul your canoe, but I can guarantee that you will at least get looked at each time you pull up anywhere to park.
3. 1995 Land Rover Range Rover
Newer Range Rovers are going to cost you 70K +, but you can get a 13 year old one for around 7K. If you are going to be outdoors and in the thick of it all, you might as well look good doing it. Range Rovers are one of the nicer looking outdoor vehicles and some of the more unique.
2. 1983 Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Oh it’s a thing of beauty. It’s large enough to haul just about anything or anyone and can also tow a ton of junk behind it. Just look at that wood paneling, that alone tells you this thing is ready for business or pleasure. Of all the old school rides, this would be my personal choice!
1. 1960 VW Vanagon
This is the official dream ride of Outdoorzy.com. With a Luggage rack up top, sleeping room for a few friends and windows for days this machine is the tool to make outdoor memories galore. Once ODZY blows up, we will have a fleet of these bad boys.
New School
5. 2008 4-door Jeep Wrangler
The new 4 door Jeeps are very nice. All the amenities of the regular Jeep Wranglers except a little more room for your friends. And by your friends I mean your gear. The friends can drive themselves.
4. 2006 Honda Element EXP AWD
This may not be a true SUV or Truck, but it is a nice ride, which is what you can expect from Honda. The inside of an Element is very forgiving on those muddy trips down the river banks since there is an option for rubbery type flooring (read quick clean up). The inside height is also great for those of the taller persuasion.
3. 2007 Hummer H3
If you have to have a Hummer you might as well get the baby one. Who really needs one of the other two? This one is big enough for any job you might have for it. Honestly I have to say, for a Hummer, this one isn’t that bad looking. I’ve seen worse…I’m talking to you Pontiac Aztek.
2. 2008 Mini Traveller
Not much is known about this new mini, however it should be a hit with those who already love the Mini Coopers but need some extra room for their longer equipment (skis, boards, and what not). I know I would love to get one of these whips if they had a little more leg room up front. Hopefully that is taken care of with this new version.
1. 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser
When this came out from Toyota a few years ago I was in LOVE. In the next few years when I get rid of my truck, the FJ is what I would like to get. That and maybe that Mini Traveller…and maybe the Grand Wagoneer. There are too many choices.
Let us know in the comments what your favorite Outdoorzy vehicle is and if you have any of the ones mentioned above, what your thoughts on them are.
October 28th, 2007
Awwww yeah. Could you have a better locale to recover from a tough off-road triathlon? Our buddies down at Jakes are putting on their annual tri there in Treasure Beach.
Now in its 13th year the Jake’s Jamaican Off-Road Triathlon takes place every spring, featuring a 500-meter ocean swim, a 13.7-mile mountain bike course and a 4.3-mile cross-country run and can be done as a team or individually. The race is the main fundraiser for Breds Treasure Beach Foundation, a local non-profit that helps raise funds for sports, education, environmental initiatives and health programs in the small fishing village of Treasure Beach. Also, local mountain biker Andy is available to take people around this course. Rates for Jake’s start at $95 based on double occupancy now through December 14, 2007, and $115 from December 15, 2007 to April 19, 2008. And as an Outdoorzy member you’ll get a 5th night free when booking 4 nights through December 14th.
Mark your calendars, the date is April 27th, 2008.
October 26th, 2007
I’m watching the minutes tick away on my weekend countdown clock and I’m freakin out. This whole weekend warrior thing is going to take some serious adjustment. Life was way easier when I could play everyday. What am I supposed to do?
Make another run at Fruita? Looks like conditions are going to be about perfect.
Or do I brave the “White Ribbon of Death” at Loveland or A-Basin and mix it up with the gapers and Longhorn Luggage?
The bike trip looks way better on paper, but my desire to jib is strong.
October 25th, 2007
Sometimes I am asked to test products like backcountry water filters, backpacking stoves, and other rugged gadgets. Other times I get requests to test products which don’t quite seem so Outdoorzy… or are they? Febreeze to Go didn’t seem related to outdoor sports at all, until the light bulb went off…. THE FUNK! My SUV had this… and now my new outdoorzy mobile has it. It goes like this…
- Wade goes running
- Wade gets sweaty
- Wade drives back from the trail or park
- Wade forgets and leaves sweaty shoes in car
- Wades car smells like booty
I sprayed 5 or 6 sweeping sprays of this stuff into the back seat of my ride like fairy dust (the kind from disney, not the kind Al Pacino loved in Scarface) and wowee-wow-wow, THE FUNK was gone. Alas after about 4 hours THE FUNK came back. But after a second application it was kept at bay.
I think this product has some real potential for us active lifestyle folks. Whether it be freshening the gym bag, car FUNK, that not-so-fresh feeling you emit after a hard mtb ride and you see your old high school prom queen in the mini-mart …you get the picture. And for those of you who don’t get around to washing clothes often… just pull that outdoorzy.com t-shirt from the hamper, spray, and head out in style.
The bottle says its safe to use around cats and dogs. I’m assuming that means they could lick it off your furniture and doesn’t insinuate that you can spray them with it or use it as a spice on their chow. I’m also assuming this stuff isn’t the greatest for the environment. Nothing smells this good naturally. But then again, its not something that you’d need to use every day, or that you’d need a big bottle of. Heck the bottle is only 2.8 oz. and is made of recyclable plastic. It should be in a store near you soon. Or you could swing by my house and I’ll hose you down with it.
Oh, and it makes for a nice cologne.
October 25th, 2007
Yeah whatever, I was busy yesterday. I spent a bunch of time yesterday Blogging on insyde.com about my new gym membership. It’s pretty awesome, lots of chicks doing this and squash courts too.
I was also pretty busy reading The Onion and watching snowboard videos. The ThinkThank guys came from another universe to bless our world with snowboard moves guaranteed to blow mere-mortal knees out… so you should watch them. The first effort from the Stepchild/Nomis/Duo looks pretty good too. And always a crowd favorite the Role Model guys in Breck. They set the bar pretty high with ManStew a few years back and have been killing it ever since. “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to see it again and again. Way better than Cats.”
All this CycloCross talk has got me pretty inspired. So I thought I would add some variations to my already intense indoor training routine. 
The Old.
The new!
It won’t be long till we ditch the spandex for Gangsta-Saggin-GoreTex, so after a freezing ass road ride I came home to work on some new “Whips” on my scoot, check the heat. Gotta get Radical with your cross-training whenever you can.
October 24th, 2007
We are happy to announce we have another benefit for all you Outdoorzies. Ron Jon Surf Shop has joined our benefits package and you will now get 10% off your surf and water sports gear at Ron Jon. Not on boards guys, sorry, there are limits to even the best deals 
So check out our list of benefits to see how you can redeem your offer. Once again, you have to be an Outdoorzy member to get the deal, but hey, it’s free dude….
October 24th, 2007
Sorry, but kind of a busy day for us, all we gots are some links. But man they sure are some awesome links!
How Not To Get Hit by a Car
Concert on Everest
Custom Made Sleeping Bags
Fly Fishing the Scottish Lochs
Portable Toilet… For your Car?
October 23rd, 2007
Previous Posts
