But Mac’s our number one customer. His smiles tell the Mac Ride story better than I can.
Trunkmonkey Racing backs Mac Ride! This is insanely cool. What happens when you cross a kid named Mac and a Mountain Bike? You get Mac Ride, a Kickstarter out of Vancouver, eh! From their Web site:
It was my wish for our children to benefit from these same outdoor adventures as well as my passion for engineering and mountain biking that led to Mac Ride.
Riding is not the safest activity on planet earth. But when set against the chaos of traffic and the bubblewrap boredom of an overprotected childhood, I think Mac Ride strikes a balance. I worry about the wimpification of today’s children. I think kids should be exposed to the power of their bodies and the risks of the outdoors. Then they can learn about good choices, while building confidence and resilience.
If my nephews were still toddler-sized I’d be all over this thing!
Fezzari unleashes the new Timp Peak as part of their 2014 lineup!
Fezzari has totally revamped its Web site and unleashed the new Timp Peak 650b line as part of its new 2014 lineup. Check out all the new models on their Web site.
It’s just a single photo, but Airborne Bicycles has posted a sneak peak photo of their new Guardian 29 on their Facebook page. Since the caption reads “A sneak-peak of one of the new models coming soon~!” there are probably more fresh designs in the pipeline! Speculation is running wild, but so far the consensus is a Full Suspension BMX 29er eDH Hybrid Rig with Integrated Smoothie Machine.
The PowerShot D20 is the latest generation of Canon’s waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, and dustproof D-series point and shoot camera line. It keeps the same 12.1 megapixel spec as the previous PowerShot D10 but gains GPS, Intelligent IS, better zoom, larger screen, higher ISO sensitivity, and an increased shockproof rating.
So what does this have to do about Mountain Biking or Motorsports? Simple. This is beater camera designed specifically for harsh conditions where you might not want to carry a full-sized DSLR or risk taking out your camera phone. Toss into the mix built-in support for GeoTagging and a low energy consumption GPS Logger and you have an all-in-one unit that can be used to record trail information and ride statistics.
During the 2004 ice racing season Trunkmonkey Racing was approached by Donald Cooke of Geographic Data Technology for assistance in collecting data for his upcoming book Fun With GPS. Both Sean Sosik-Hamor’s 762 PGT Subaru Impreza 2.2 L and Kris Marciniak’s 761 P Dodge Neon were outfit with GPS receivers and external antennas and spent the day logging data. A two-page photo spread entitled Sean’s Sunday drive appears on pages 30-31 in Chapter 3: GPS on snow and ice.
Since I’d been experiencing some moaning and groaning from the power steering pumps in both the Impreza and the Explorer, I topped off both reservoirs with Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak. After idleing for a few minutes, all strange noises went away. I’m highly impressed. The Explorer is now silky smooth and it’s like driving a whole new truck! Good stuff! I can’t wait to see how the steering on the Impreza feels at Team O’Neil Rally School this weekend.
I finally installed an I/O Port Camera Mount on the crossbar just behind and between the seats of the Impreza. Its perspective is just above the shoulder which may be a little low, but the mount can easily be moved to one of the diagonal braces without blocking my rear view. I used electrical tape to protect the cage from scratching, but I may add a rubber or urethane donut around the bar to act as a secondary vibration dampener since the mount will accept up to a 2″ pipe.
Since I installed the mount, I decided to get my Canon ZR50 MC MiniDV camera ready for the season. It’s a good thing I checked after a few years of use it has finally succumed to the eating tapes problem that older Canons are famous for. It looks like the camera is now a record-only unit because high-speed fast fowarding and rewinding causes the problem. Good thing James picked up a couple of MiniDV cameras so we have backups to capture video.
After surviving Maine Forest Rally this past weekend, I started looking into antenna options so the service truck could talk to the rally car. I checked out Radio Shack for CB antenna options and, on a whim, asked the clerk if they had any 102″ whip antennas in stock. Turns out that Radio Shack are liquidating all of their 21-905 Fiberglass CB Whip Antennas for free!
Be sure to dig deep into the rack for vintage dusty packaging. In addition to the free anteanna, I managed to find hardware with old price tags and got quite a few bucks taken off the final bill! Now all I have to do is see if Ham Radio Outlet has any 2.4 GHz mobile antennas and I’ll be ready to rock!
