it's a _______ freak out!

The more things change with the seasons...

what clothes?
It is now officially a Good Idea to carry an extra layer for staying warm during your stops to stand around in the cold with a beer in hand. Down vests are good for this. When it's off the beaten street, I'm currently riding/commuting in Filson wool bibs (and the reason for the 2 buttons at the waist on your overhauls? It is so's you can button the upper button in the lower hole and give the seat a natural pooch- so's it fits just right as you assume the riding position. No small thing, and you're welcome.) but I hope to be riding in this Tin Cloth version soon. I think it'll be a good wet weather/bushwacking option. If I had all my waxed cotton ducks lined up, I'd have sneaky ankle zippers installed so as to make them narrow/more pedal friendly. I also find that I am that much less willing to wear cycling shorts since they require shedding all layers to remove them (and to put them back on again, and plus they are damp and cold- ugh.) so I wear cut-off wool long johns. In thinking about wool, Ibex makes a fantastic liner glove which is super warm while being very light, but does wear out really quickly since it is so thin. Finally- any wool shirt is better than that smelly plasticky garbage promoted as "cycling specific" clothing. Go get yourself a nice Swobo jersey; couple it with some Dead Man's Plaid from the local thrift shop, and you're all set.


The fenders are back on. I also like the fender flaps, which for best clearance with the fat ass tyres should be mounted outside the fender. Reminder: Watch yourself in the woodsy trails with fenders- errant twigs can ruin your day quick. On the recently moustachioed LongHaulTrucker, I reversed the nominal rightness and leftness of the Tektro brake levers and angled them down slightly to allow easier access (swinging the fingers over the top).

All this helped a lot with the finding of the velocache.