Charlottesville Bike Polo Video Clips

Found some youtube videos of bike polo in Charlottesville at McIntire Skate Park back in October. This first one is the best:



In the following ones, I'm in the UVA orange & blue jersey giving up the ball a lot.

Product Review: Hi Vis Safety Parka

I've been in the market for a waterproof cycling rain jacket for quite a while now. It's been a tough search, but I finally settled on a VEA Safety Parka from RAF. Although it's not a cycling-specific jacket, Chris bought one and convinced me to give it a shot. Every jacket I've come across is missing at least one or two key features, this one seems to be my best bet.

My ideal cycling rain jacket would be/have (in no particular order):

• Waterproof
• Windproof
• Breathable 
• Highly-Visible (safety green, safety orange, or yellow)
• Reflective piping
• Hooded
• Zip front
• Durable
• Lightweight
• Economical
• Compact
• Good Fit
• Exterior Pockets
• 4-Season
• Machine Washable

I know that this list is wishful thinking, however, identifying my main desired features has helped focus my search and provide a detailed review (I couldn't find any others out there).

So how does this VEA Safety Parka stack up?

• Waterproof - Yes. I was surprised to find so many rain-type jackets on the market that are only "water resistant." The hood is detachable with button snaps, but well below the collar. Should not be a problem unless you're laying in a puddle.
• Windproof - No / Kinda. Very wind resistant. Monday was the windiest day I've ridden in recent memory. The wind blew me around a bit, but I didn't feel any noticeable penetration with only a jersey underneath. Unfortunately there is no elastic or drawstring at the waist, meaning that headwinds go up the jacket when pedaling.
• Breathable - Yes. The lining is polyester mesh and seems to take moisture off the body quickly on a cold day. Unfortunately, no armpit vents. 
• Highly-Visible- Yes. This jacket is ANSI Class III compliant and is intended for law enforcement & safety applications.
• Reflective piping - Yes. 3M Scotchlite reflective piping on upper chest & back, lower chest & back, over shoulders, and upper & lower arms. I happened to see Chris ride by an intersection yesterday evening while wearing his jacket, and this stood out very well in headlights.
• Hooded - Yes. Drawstring hood stows and is detachable with buttons. It fits 2/3 over my helmet and will stay with drawstrings cinched, but definitely restricts head motion.
• Zip front - Yes. Zipper & buttons. Unfortunately there are jackets out there only with buttons making them much less waterproof and a huge pain for quick temperature regulation while on a bike.
• Durable - Yes. Quality construction, fabric, and double sewn seams.
• Lightweight - Almost. The long cut of the jacket and heavier quality fabric prevents it from being light. Certainly not heavy.
• Economical - Yes. At $46 + $10 shipping from the above retailer, an unbeatable price for its features.
• Compactable - Mostly. I can roll my medium-sized jacket into a 12" wide & 4" diameter roll.
• Good Fit - Eh. The fabric is a little stiff and the jacket is cut long and is loose in anticipation of layers of fleece underneath. Does not come in a small. I am a 36S and a medium looks large on me. The wrists are adjustable. The neck is too tight to ride zipped-up with the hood stowed away. With hood out the neck is fine.
• Exterior Pockets - Yes. Two small button-pockets in the front at the waist, and one velcro cell-phone pocket at the left breast. I cram my keys in the cell phone pocket. I wish the bottom pockets were larger and used velcro for quick access and closing.
• 4-Season - No. I will not be wearing this in the summer. However,  it is a good 3 season jacket. You can also purchase a fleece liner that zips in for winter.
• Machine Washable - Yes. Machine wash cold with mild detergent. Tumble dry low. 

OVERALL: Certainly doesn't get any cool points for fashion, but will keep me dryer and help other road users avoid killing me. Two thumbs up.

Beer #1 = Almost Done & Extract Kit #2 = Frustrating

 Recap on beer #1, Brewer's Best European Bock.

1 liter Hacke-Pschorr mug and a gusher on the right.

Nate drinking a birthday gift.

Working on my part.

Filled these mugs from a 2-liter Blue & Gray growler.

Had nothing important to do yesterday, so it turned into a brew day with Brewer's Best Dortmunder extract kit.

Paperweight.

Steeping grains.

It was really cold outside.

This time the brewing was frustrating. Everything that I should have learned from the 1st batch, well, I didn't. I boiled with the lid on most of the time, which you're not supposed to do to prevent DMS (dimethyl sulfide) buildup. It also took forever to cool the wort in the ice bath (or maybe my thermometer is busted). Oh, and I added too much water to the wort so it falls outside of the original gravity range. It's at 1.04 instead of the 1.05-1.054 range in which it should lie. I think all of this stems from weak preparation and impatience. Also, I don't think it helps that I have to run through every room of the apartment to brew either. I store my equipment in the utility room, sanitize it in the bathroom, boil the wort on the patio, chill it in the kitchen sink, pitch yeast in the kitchen, move to lager fridge in the utility room. I swear I can see an LME (liquid malt extract) trail on the carpet.

RDWHAHB
relax,
don't
worry
have
a
home
brew!

SWEETNESS

I'm engaged to a beer-laden cyclist!

I'm happier than that picture lets on.

Beer & Ride Report

So my first homebrew batch ever is... a little over carbonated, but drinkable! It's sweet & malty, even for a Bock. I didn't reach my target final gravity, so the ABV is about 5.1% instead of the 6.2% that the recipe should have reached. The over-carbonation may be due to the fact I had extra fermentable sugars in each bottle from an incomplete primary & secondary fermentation. However, the over-carbonation definitely cuts the sweetness and allows the beer to be more palatable. Overall, I'm very excited that I'll be able to celebrate great recent events with my family over my first homebrewed beer.

The Old, Fat & Slow ride today at Walnut Creek was also great, although I did have a mechanical in the last mile:

A RockShox suspension seatpost cam failed

The bold pulled the threads right out of the cylinder cam.

So, I rode my Scott Paisley MTB the rest of the way without my seatpost.

'Twas most fun.

Stolen Bike, Walnut Creek OFSMBC, First Taste

Yesterday, I received a pretty crappy phone message from Will Canup. He had his bike stolen over at UVA. Most people that see this blog are in Charlottesville, so I figured I'd pass it along. His craigslist post:

I had my black Trek fixed gear stolen from on grounds at UVA sometime in the last 48 hours. It was a black frame with black rims and camo handlebars. The right side of the carbon fork had a huge crack down the middle so it may have been ditched somewhere.

Let me add that he didn't have horizontal dropouts, instead had a magic gear with kinda loose chain tension. Here's a picture, but it no longer has a steering wheel:

Good luck Will. I'll keep my eyes open.

Onto good news, riding over at Walnut Creek with the Old, Fat & Slow Mountain Bike Club tomorrow morning. Really it'll be just 3 of us. Can't wait to get back on the mtb. It's too fun with the current setup.

Cracking open my first homebrew ever... NOW...