one less car news

i have been having a lot of knee pain lately- riding a pedicab is pretty rough on your knees. having read all the things people have said about Glucosamine Hydrochloride, i decided i should give it a try. Glucosamine is expensive, so when my family asked what i want for christmas, i just said "glucosamine". well, i opened three different bottles- it was pretty funny! i think maybe i'm a little too into riding bikes!

anyone else out there on the information super highway have any experience with this? our web guy's surgeon says it works for about half the people that try it. it takes a few weeks to get into your system, so i'll report back with my own experience in about a month!
stay tuned...


ps this is what our web guy had to say

some additional knowledge from my surgeon- glucosamine/chondroiton works in about 50% of people- definitely worth a shot if you can afford it- so if you quit smoking, there you go! asshole... but, you probably won't notice much of a difference until you've been taking it daily for 3-4 weeks... so don't skip a dose

it has just come to our attention that there has been a problem with our email server, and it should be fixed by monday, dec. 22.
if you wrote us or placed an order and it got bounced back or didn't go through, our sincerest apologies.

we have set up a temporary gmail account to use until this gets straightened out.
that address is 1lesscarcs@gmail.com
the cs is for customer service, because without you, we wouldn't be here!

thanks for your patience, and we'll keep you posted!

also, everyone that placed an order by the 18th are in the mail and should arrive in time!

happy holidays!

one less car

i love a good snow storm... although the one that just passed us here in chicago wasn't as big as all the weather guys predicted (they never are)- it still left about 6 inches of heavy snow mixed with sleet... i was reading the bikeportland blog the other day, and they mentioned that you could use zip-ties like chains on the rear of you bike for traction in snow. now i'm not new to winter riding- i have a good amount of west-michigan winters under my belt. i'm not afraid of deep snow, but this idea seemed pretty solid.
so today i gave it a shot. i put a zip tie around my wheel and spaced them every other spoke. make sure the tie part is facing in, and you should clip off the extra piece of each tie, but i was cold so i left them on. as soon as i stepped on the pedals i could feel the difference- no slipping, just traction! it was a blast!!! i was flying through deep, loose snow- even through car tracks, and by not clipping the excess of the ties it sounded like it did when you were kid and put baseball cards in your wheels. anyway, it totally works and makes snow riding more fun than it already is! try it out next time it snows!!!

Lynn form transit is really cool. She hand makes all of her bags and even screen prints on them. She said the bag she sent has all the bells and whistles and I can tell.

The bag is very well put together. There are a few spots where the stitching is kind of ugly, but personally, I like that. I like the look of a hand made bag. The spots are small, and unless you are looking for it you would never notice. The bag has a lot of nice sized pockets- two on the outside, two on the front of the inside, and a large one on the back that fits my laptop very well. I'm not so sure that this is a pocket it came with- a really nice removable back pad in it. One of the most amazing things about the bag is the strap system. It's padded really well and has a ton of adjustments. This is really nice because you can make the bag ride on your back however you like. It took me awhile to get it just right, but once I did it was great.

In an email Lynn also said that if she's making a bag for a girl she will alter the straps to make it more comfy in the chest area. This is what I like about this company- she has a lot thought out. I believe the bag she sent is the biggest she makes and is comparable to the Chrome large. It's not too big but will carry a good amount of stuff. The bag is very water proof as well. I had it out on some pretty heavy rain the other day and everything was nice and dry. I have worn a lot of bags and nobody ever said anything to me about them, but people always comment on this bag. They're impressed with the silk screening on it and I agree- it looks super rad. If
you want a nice bag that fits well and like to find that cool little company out there then Transit is for you! Email Lynn and hook it up. see more reviews on our review page

cole

hi all-

just a reminder it's the last day for christmas orders. if you order by early tomorrow they will ship tomorrow night. anything after that i will ship before i leave on the 23rd. i sent out a ton today, so if you're waiting, it's probably on its way and you should see it in a day or two. thanx for all the orders and for sticking with us. www.1lesscar.com

happy holidays!!!

cole and the rest of the o.l.c. crew

just a reminder to everyone the 18th is the cut off day to get your order in time for christmas! if you order by then, i will get it in the mail for sure, so you should get it by christmas. most places are 3 day delivery by priority mail so it should be fine. of course we already passed the date for international orders, but if you order now they MIGHT make it. thanks to everyone who already ordered- i'll be working hard to make sure i don't spoil anyone's christmas morning!

thanks again and happy holidays!
cole and the rest of the one less car crew

www.1lesscar.com

as most of you know, in an effort to make a living riding my bike i ride a pedicab here in chicago. last sunday there was chicago bears football game and with orders being slow i needed to go make some cash. the only real problem was, is that it was only 19 degrees and the field is on the lake front. my plan was to test out every piece of warm clothing that i got to review. i had on more wool than a sheep! the ride down to the field was ok- my wool jacket combo was breathing like a champ- i even got warm enough to take off my baklava. once i got to the field it all came to a screeching halt. i had to sit still and wait for rides, and in doing so i froze. i ended up getting a decent amount of rides and it was well worth my time to go, but i learned about my limits. it was pretty much hell the last hour, riding back to the garage 3 miles in now 12 degree weather, not being able to feel my feet. there is another game thursday night...i'll be there.

p.s. look for the reviews of all the winter riding gear i tested out on sunday. i'll have it up in few days.

The second the box from Swobo arrived, I frantically opened it, took off my pants, and threw these puppies on. In fact, the only time I haven’t had these on is when I go to bed. I wake up, put them on, and start my day. When the day is over, I take them off and lay them neatly next to my bed, ready for the next day. Insert underwear changes when appropriate. Being wool, they tend to collect pet hair and the like, so having two cats I occasionally have to use one of those nifty tape roller thingies really quick and they’re back to new.

First off, color-wise, these rock- I love red stitching on dark colors, and with these, the red stitching is a great contrast to the dark gray (Swobo calls it “titanium”), heavy merino wool, which was woven in Germany! They do feature a super smooth bonded nylon on the inside, so they’re super comfy- no wool against your skin! As an added fashion bonus, the insides of the pockets (front and rear) are lined with a dope plaid print.

Since I’m talking about pockets, let’s talk about these pockets- the Bruno’s feature six pockets: two front, two rear, and one on each side of the leg. The leg pockets are great for riding- super easy access thanks to the zipper pulls! So I guess there’s no need to mention that the leg pockets zip close. The rear pockets feature flaps, but no closures, which would be kind of nice, but they do have a line of nylon lining going across the tops of the pockets to go that extra style mile.

The only complaints I have are that I wish they had a button closure instead of a snap- if you don’t tuck your shirt in, it’s a cold spot in the morning! Other than that, I also wish the zipper was about an inch longer, but these are minor complaints. Temperature wise, it’s been in the lower 30 degrees here in upper Michigan, and with a pair of wool socks and the right upper layers I’m good to go- no long underwear needed just yet!

By the way, these are limited, so get ‘em while they last! They also come with a lifetime guarantee- what other knickers/pants/shorts can say that? Mine are about a size too big, which isn’t a problem at all- I looked at another size from another company when I picked out a size. And even though I’m 33 years old, it still leaves me with a little room to grow! I don’t think I’m shedding these until spring…

lately i've been really into urban bikes, you know- upright position, racks, fenders, panniers, and baskets. my winter/city bike had a big milk crate on a cetma rack. the crate was black but i spray painted it for my et costume so it was starting to look like crap. i decided that i wanted to build a nice porter box. so, while i was at my parents house in michigan for thanksgiving, i made my first one. here are some pics. the dimensions are 19 inches wide x 12 inches deep x 7 inches tall. this one is made of oak with a birch bottom. i think it turned out great, and my dad and i are planning on making more of these with different woods and stain. if anyone is interested in getting one, email me cole@1lesscar.com and we can discuss it. let me know what you think. i'll post picks of it on my bike when is stops snowing out.

hello everybody!

thanks to everyone who helped make our sale a success! the winners of our contests will be announced within the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that.

we also have another sale going on- we've got 7 shirts that are on their way out the door to make room for some new stuff! so through the month of december, these 7 shirts are on sale for $12.99, or $10.99 with any regular shirt purchase!

and holiday shoppers- don't forget- to get your order on time, US orders must be in by the 15th, international by the 8th.

on another note, i went to the doctor today, and he was pretty stoked on the Swobo Bruno Knickers that we recently reviewed- come to find out, he rides his bike to work all winter long. i wonder how many other doctors in the midwest can say that!?!

thanks for sticking with us!
your friends at one less car