I have been thing about starting to post again on my site.
Until I figure out how to work WordPress again, and I find things to write about. Here is a video Angel made during the first new back in the beginning of December, Enjoy!
I haven’t been posting a lot lately, not because I haven’t been doing anything. If anything it’s because I have been doing too much. With the winter months coming, the day light is getting short, but I still find lots to do. Here are some photos from things Angel and I have been up to, but haven’t had time to post. Spent some time trying to make my grandma’s recipe for pizzelle vegan for Angel. It worked out alright, although they ended up a little more crunchy then they should be. I still need to spend some time tweaking it. I ended up making 2 batches, the first batter failed miserably. *reminder to self, don’t use the solid fat from coconut milk, It just melts everywhere, and doesn’t work.
I got some new rain gear for this winter season. Showers Pass makes great rain gear, the Club Convertible 2 Pants, and Club Shoe Cover are the new addition with my rain cape. The pants and shoe covers work awesome. My good old rain cape on the other hand, hasn’t ever really held up to heavy wind and rain. Maybe someday I will replace the cape with something nicer, but until then my rain cape is great for shorter rides around the city, and my rain pants and booties will do their job well.
We spent some time hiking around Mount Pisgah Arboretum. With a nice break in the weather that day, we spent a couple hours exploring around. You can watch a video of the trip in my post from yesterday, or here on YouTube.
The days around Thanksgiving were spent cleaning and setting up our Christmas tree. My mom sent me all my ornaments so we had something to hang on our tree this year. And we just lazed around a bit. I had some time to organize my work space, hang out with friends a little, meet new friend, play with tesla coils, and go to the library. What could be better?
Angel made some great baklava! It was the first time I ever had it, it was delicious, so tasty and sweet. I don’t normally eat too much sugar, and after having a bit I felt a little rush. *After writing that last sentence, I must go to the fridge and eat some more.**reminder to self, don’t eat more then one piece, again, too much sugar.
I got a pair of Novara Arosa Bike Gloves at the REI Year-End Garage Sale. The gloves MSRP at $29.50. I already have colder weather gloves, the Novara Stratos, but I wanted some suited for cool/dry weather wearing. They are built very similarly to the Stratos gloves. They have synthetic leather palms with nice grip, and a small amount of padding, with added grip on the finger tips of the thumb, index and middle fingers, to allow added grip on brake levers. These are cool weather gloves, so they won’t cut the wind, or repel water, like the Stratos but they are extremely breathable. There are large reflective accents across the whole back, and a nice amount of fleece on the outer part of the thumb for wiping your face. The cuff allows for a good fit, with no bulk or hassle with straps. They have a pull tab to help fit them on and elastic cuffs. They fit very nicely. These are size XL, the same size as the Stratos I own. I think these are great gloves and I am happy I got them. If you are looking for excellent cool and dry weather gloves, you won’t go wrong with these. Disclaimer: I bought these at the REI Year-End Garage Sale so I got a great deal on them, and paid a sale price of $9.83. I would still be willing to pay full price for them. The reason for return on them was “not warm enough”. They might not have realized they are cool/dry weather glove, and they are fine for me, and do what they advertise. If you need gloves warmer than this, think about the Stratos.
Angel and I both picked up new gloves for this winter cycling season. We got the Novara Stratos Bike Gloves (Men’s and Women’s) from REI. I have normally just worn whatever gloves I could find around the house. In Illinois I wore the cheap knit gloves you can find at most all stores, with wool mittens on over them. It worked for the short rides I had to work, but didn’t block the wind at all. Mittens don’t really work well with drop bars. So I started using some Fox River Gripper Gloves. They worked well for gloves but just ended up being too loose after a while, and also didn’t stop the wind. After moving out here to Oregon, I ended up just using those rubber palmed winter garden gloves that I also used at work, working in the freezers. That style of garden gloves work well in fall and spring, they cut out some wind and kept my palms dry if my bars got wet, but didn’t cut it for really cold days and rides longer than 15 minutes. I would sometimes show up to school with completely numb hands.
So this year we decided to get some real winter cycling gloves, and we are happy we did so. We both got the Novara Stratos Bike Gloves (Men’s and Women’s) because we liked the idea of lobster style gloves, but having the index and middle finger separate allows for the dexterity needed for drop bar brake levers. These gloves have large cuffs with synches to go up around your jacket. The synch has nice set up, locking cord on one side and unlock on the other. They have synthetic palms with nice grip, and a small amount of padding, with added grip on the finger tips. They cut the wind, repel water, and are nicely breathable just like they say. There are reflective accents and a nice large amount of fleece on the outer part of the thumb for wiping your face. They fit nicely, I went with the XL, which might be slightly larger then I needed, but it allows for good movement and the ability to fit a glove liner with out being too bulky. I think these are great gloves and I am happy I got them.
I grew up in central Illinois. In August of 2007, I bought my first real “adult bike” after needing a bike to save money on gas. Since then I have had many bikes. In April of 2010, after moving out to Oregon, I got my beloved Surly Long Haul Trucker. I have put a lot of good miles on the bike. This blog is about my life in Eugene.
Bread Bike 