Usually every spring when I'm putting up my heavy winter jacket I tuck a 10 or a 20 in one of the pockets. Since I have the mind of a child, every time I pull it out for winter I get to win my own personal lottery :)

my landlords that live upstairs are nice people, but literally every day its a balls out **** **** ******* screamfest.

ive had an increasing urge to say something but i really dont wanna get involved in their personal crap

I cannot imagine living that way! How about folks who do not get along going their separate ways, in place of raising kids in a version of hell....

Yup still do! Has some more gnar gnar but it's mostly as you last remember.

Smart. I love that. I kinda did that with some cycling gloves unintentionally. Thought I lost them bought some new ones and then I was letting a friend borrow the jacket since I didn't need that particular one and boom there were my lovely Gore gloves just stunning in their brilliance. If it hadn't been absolutely storming like a muhfuka that day I would have loved to ride.

It occurred to me how spokes types and their configuration are really the stars of any wheel build.

Got a second interview at the shop. I'm excited.

Gonna try my hand at an earlybird crit this sunday, too.

Second interview, very good sign.

Crit racing, just adds credibility to your resume as a bike mechanic.

today I built these for my buddy's rivendell. http://s16.postimg.org/49bx7okrp/image.jpg

^Nice. Can't wait to start mine.

Wait, what? you"re building a Rivendell?

today my new horse got to the LBS. tomorrow morning; we build, we ride.

Hey [MENTION=303015]Mumonkan[/MENTION] - what are some good sites to look for bike camping gear, etc. I've been looking at Amazon, but I'm sure there's better stuff out there that I'm not aware of.

key things:
shelter(tent or bivy)
sleeping bag
sleeping pad
kitchen
clothes
bike repair ****
food
water


to find what to buy:

Bikepacking Gear - BIKEPACKING.com - probably the best source of knowledge, easily accessible, lots of big names in the bikepacking world write the articles

Bikepacking.net forums - Index - if youre up for some detective work and reading threads, this technically has more information, but less pretty pictures. also big names post here and people generally know their ****

Bikepacking and Bike Expedition - Mtbr.com - less info as above, but mtbr is sorta like bf in that people are dumb and troll and sometimes offer **** advice. sometimes youll see a well known person on there

most of all these are geared towards mtb style bikepacking which means generally ultralight gear, but it still applies to any form of bike camping/travel, and they wont have you strapping half your house to the bike which is a good thing.

where to buy it:

if youre an REI member, buy everything you can from there that you get money back with your dividend, otherwise get it from amazon. this **** aint cheap and 10% back on a few $300+ purchases is a sweet check at the end of the year

stay the **** out of dicks, modells, or any other similar craphole unless youre getting basics like wool socks and fuel

A 2nd wheelset.

Oh, I see.
I too am working on a wheel, for my folder.
I cut down a 100mm front hub and spliced it down to 75mm to fit the Dahon's narrow fork.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=498632http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=498633

Excellent sir! Thank you very much!

I've been looking at the ultralight stuff on Amazon...it won't be so much offroad, but I still don't want to be weighed down.

I have a trip scheduled to REI tomorrow. I'm pretty geeked. My buds want me to go with them next weekend and said I could borrow most of the stuff until I figure out what I really need. I'd still like to get a sleeping bag tho and few other necessities.

ask them questions, theyre generally good at explaining things without being overly salseman-y

dont get a super cold rated bag, they take up a lot of room and weight. couple it with a shelter and pad and the right clothes and you can effectively double the R-factor. i have a 46º bag and SOL bivy inside a big agnes 1man tent. our last trip went down to 28º and i had no sleeping pad. if i had a sleeping pad and down jacket i could probably be ok down into the upper teens.

borrow everything for now, itl help you establish a baseline for stuff you need for your style

protip: always always bring at least one thing thatl make you feel like
http://media1.giphy.com/media/8fn9oF6IPZoEE/giphy.gif

Best day of the year!!!

Commuted with my new iSSi triples today, iSSi makes a pretty darn good pedal.

Today I decided that I am going to make the nishiki a 1x8.

Bike party tonight, couple of us had a pretty good paceline going towards the end. Bikes are fun

i destroyed mine bashing them on rocks.

dont bash yours on rocks.

otherwise they were indeed great pedals

Excellent!

Between the REI site and Amazon, I feel I have a pretty good handle on things now and have started making notes on how to carry everything on the bike.

For a sleeping bag, I'm considering one of those zipless ones but need to investigate once I get to the store.
Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed 1.5-Season Sleeping Bag - REI.com

Right now my biggest concern is what to eat. Living off of clif bars doesn't sound that great, so I need find some good portable food...and then a way to cook it. I figure REI should be able to help with that as well.

Thanks for all your help with this. I haven't been camping in almost 10 years, and when I used to do it often in college, my packing was usually a case of beer and some brats.

I carry an alcohol stove (made from a beer can) or an Pocket Rocket gas stove for more serious cooking.

For lightweight food you can't beat the dehydrated packets that REI sells for "Mountain Climbing Expeditions" the aren't terribly expensive and don't taste too bad.

Ramen also works but Udon noodles are better and probably a bit healthier.

Peanut butter and tortillas (flour) are easy to pack and keep for a while.

I worry more about water in some locations, I make sure to carry plenty.

I will also carry a can of mixed veggies to put in the soup or noodles. Sure it is heavy, but if you use the water then it makes sense because the empty can doesn't weigh much more than a plastic container.