one less car news

I know you guys love free stuff. We want to give you some stickers! All you have to do is send us a short story about bicycling- we prefer true stories, with a picture if possible to be published every Friday!
Send them to me- brandon at 1lesscar dotcom and be sure to include your address! Reviews on Wednesday!!!

The asterisked numbers (the little star looking things) in the story below are my two cents & are at the bottom of the story. Without further ado, here's Cole with a short recap of our summer tour:It’s now been two weeks since my childhood friend and I took off on our annual bike tour. *1 I guess it's annual- it’s the second year in a row. As soon as we got back, I started to type up a story about it but never finished. I'm happy I didn’t finish it then because it gave me time to think about what we had done and how it affected me. *2
The route was nothing huge. *3 It wasn't across the country or through India but simply from Chicago to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where we picked up the oldest car ferry *4 running on Lake Michigan *5 and then rode from the ferry dock in Ludington, MI, to my traveling partner Brandon's house in Frankfort, Michigan. *6
In theory, the whole trip was five days long. We left on a Sunday and arrived on Thursday. During that time we rode in oppressive heat *7, on limestone trails *8 for waaay to many miles resulting in us looking like we had been wading in cocaine. *9 I pulled my spd out of my shoe. *10 There was a pretty good storm one night- We found out Brandon’s tent was about as sweet as it looked (and that’s not that sweet). *11 Raccoons stole our pita bread, our dried pineapple, and a banana.
Then we were two hours late on the ferry, because they decided that it would be a good idea to carry 3 large semis with parts *12 of those new giant windmills that are going to save the world. We climbed the .5 mile, 11% grade hill. *13 We fixed some crappy ass fenders with a few glue-less patches. *14 We got fresh fruit from roadside stands. *15 We rode so long we literally fell down. *16 We found out that a natural bug spray that cost $6.00 may actually attract mosquitos. We thought better of staying with the guy who said “the hell with that, you'll be sleeping with me” *17 and then continued on about his dossiers and the 45,000 in his safe- he never did say 45,000 what. *18
We learned self registration did not apply to us. *19 We learned that Kodak batteries that cost $.99 don't last long in a gps. *20 We used Google Maps bike route and think it's pretty rad. Brandon lost his hat…more than once. *21 We tested a crap load of gear for reviews. *22 But most of all, we got to hang out together and just leave our problems and lives behind. *23 It was such a good time to just be with a close friend and have no real place to be, to wake up and know all you have to do is ride 'til you are tired. *24
The night we finished, I was tired, sore, and ready to be off my bike, but the next morning when my alarm went off at 6:30 am I was bummed I had to turn it off. *25

-Cole

brandon's notes:
*1 i wrote the title for this post before reading cole's story. crazy...that's what's rad about an old friend, and I couldn't ask for a better one.
*2 thinking time is good. my dad died a week before & i needed to get away. perfect!
*3 that's what she said! sorry, i love that stupid joke. i swear we rode farther this year though. and my route started earlier- taking an automobile from Frankfort to Holland, MI, then Amtrak from there to Chicago, then bike, boat, bike...
*4 i also love trains. what we know today as car ferries used to haul rail cars, not automobiles. the ferry is also a steam ship running on coal.
*5 not a big fan of getting in water, but i did go in that lake twice this year. splashing around with my niece made it totally worth it. i'ved lived by it my entire life, but can't swim. sucks.
*6 we took the long, HILLY, scenic route. beautiful.
*7 we managed to do this during the hottest days of the year, 2 years in a row. nice!
*8 everything was covered in limestone. i don't know how much i ate just from my water bottle.
*9 or asbestos, but right on! no serious partying took place. sorry.
*10 we need some shoes!!!
*11 it looked sweet on the interwebs, but not so much. review coming soon. needless to say i want a different tent. i'll name names *cough*topeak*cough* later...
*12 three sections of pipe, four trailers per piece with the piece in between. money hungry ferry owners should run freight separate, but it did all work out in the end.
*13 NOT cool or any fun at all. period. accomplished, yet why do i feel like i'm making mountains outta mole hills?
*14 thank you Topeak...for real! no thanks SKS...
*15 mmm...baby love your peaches... your plumbs. all that. good, good fruit.
*16 i did fall down at the top of a hill. i fell a few other times too. don't know why, but i crash a lot. i blame it on bad gravity.
*17 which is odd, because sketchy or not I'm usually up for adventure. looking back it felt a little House of 1000 Corpsesish... but yeah buddy!!!
*18 i always attract the town crazy/goon/challenged in any way people for some reason
*19 free is key...
*20 ...but sometimes you get what you pay for
*21 and somehow it was always on me. go figure.
*22 lots of reviews on the way!!!
*23 long overdue, and i missed my old lady & my dog (always do). ...but yeah- I couldn't ask for a better friend.
*24 i couldn't have said it better myself.
*25 some tours feel like they just shouldn't end yet. so far it's been two in a row, and I can't wait to hit the road again!!!

I'd also like to thank the handful of people who ordered shirts & stickers while we were on the road so we could eat, and the following companies for making this possible for me: Raleigh, Arkel, Old Man Mountain, Topeak, Kelty, Profile Design, Axiom, Bern, Pace, and SOG. Most of all, I'd like to thank Cole for taking the risk to start OLC in the first place and making things like this trip happen. It wouldn't have happened without him.

-Brandon

So we've got some HUGE news for you- WE'll have more on it tomorrow, but starting tomorrow through august 15th, everyone that signs up for our newsletter will be entered for a chance to win a Bianchi...that's right! No purchase necessary, no BS- with a big thanks to the fine fols at Bianchi, we've got a bike to give away, and the winner will be randomly picked August 16th from our newsletter subscribers! that's it. sign up for our newsletter- it's a 2 step process- and you just might win yourself a new Bianchi! How rad is that!?!

Now, the reason that there won't be more info until tomorrow is because I thought I had a pic of it (and maybe I do, but I can’t find it...), and I gotsta gets more info from Cole. So I'll have it tonight, and pass it along tomorrow along with any other info about it. open to all ages/races/genders/religious preferences/etc. THIS MEANS YOU!

Speaking of Bianchi, around the time the contest ends, Bianchi will have less than 100 of these limited edition 2009 Pista frame/fork, and we get one to review!


And let's not forget it's wednesday- we didn't! Review day!!!

Up first Cole updates his review of Axiom's Monsoon Panniers

"Just a quick update about these panniers. I had chance to take them on our mini tour and a found out a few more things about them.

First, I used them as front panniers and I know they're rear, but they're a pretty good size for a front in my opinion. One of the problems I saw, and I'm not sure if they do this on front panniers or not- is the handles. There is one on each pannier and they snap together. In theory, a great idea- but when you're going 24 mph down hill and you see those handles flapping dagerously close to your spokes, you start thinking about cutting them off pretty fast." Read More...

Next up, I review Axiom's Journey Series Tubular Alloy Rear Rack

"Cole got this rear rack from Axiom and we threw it on his dad's Trek 7.3 before our 3 day tour, and it handled the job fine.

Weighing in at a mere 700 grams, this rear rack is super light, but super tough with it's triple stay design and sweep-back support for panniers. The stay length is adjustable, fitting 26", 27", and 700cc sizes."Read More...

Then I Review Cyclelogical's Reflective Chopspokes

Remember the review I did a few months back of one of Cyclelogical's backpacks? Well, when they sent that, they sent along these too- their Reflective Chopspokes. Little, round, reflective sticks that snap on the spoke of your choice with ease in a couple seconds. They're pretty sweet and do their job really well, and in my opinion beat the hell outta those old school reflectors..." Read More...

After which Cole and I both have something to say about dznuts...

"Watching the Tour deFrance and seeing Dave Zabriskie, I realized I hadn't done the review for dznuts. It's hard to take something called "dznuts" seriously, and the fact it's chamois cream makes it even harder- I'm laughing just writing this review, but if you ever needed chamois cream its very serious." Read More...

And I wrap it up with some quick words on the Trek 7.3FX

"So this is Cole's Dad's bike that I borrowed for our little trip we made- a Trek 7.3FX. It was my first time riding it- I picked it up the night before our trip, put the rack on, boxed it up, and went to Chicago. If you read our tour stories you know the mini-horror i went through, but come time to go, I was ready and so was the 7.3FX.

With a few slight adjustments- mainly the seat and bars, lubed it up, pumped the tires, and we were ready to go. As loaded down as I was, this bike was smooth and handled well. Shifting was smooth- no problems climbing up long, steep grades, nor any going down them...no wobbles, nothing. Sturdy. The brakes were fine through it all. I really liked the fact that it had thumb/finger shifters as opposed to grip shifts. My mountain bike has them and I've never liked it, but then again I've never switched it out either... but that's what I prefer. It's more comfortable for me."
Read More...

So that's it for the reviews for this week, but check back tomorrow for more info on the Bianchi- and tell yr friends- spread the love...who wouldn't want to win a new Bianchi? While maybe slightly jealous, I'd still be happy for my buddy if they happened to be the winner and not me (and although a newsletter subscriber myself, i'm not eligible to win...). How about you? So sign up for our newsletter- how bad could it be? I heard this story once about how the sun shines on every dogs ass some day...lucky dog!

so it's 1 in the a.m., but the reviews are up. This week we're taking another look at the PBR Ringleader from Traitor Cycles, and a couple products from Axiom- their Monsoon Panniers and QR Urban Rear Grocery Basket. A great bike, and a couple of great products to help you on your commute!

We've got lots of rad things coming up...can't wait!!! crazy stuff....