Book of the Week: Of Men and Mountains by William O. Douglas

William O. Douglas was a Supreme Court Justice that grew up in Yakima, Washington. He has a crazy story during his childhood where he ended up bedridden and was told he would not walk again. Lucky for him, he did walk again and he savored every moment from then on. This book is collection of stories from all ages, about fishing, camping and hiking in the wondrous Cascade Mountains. He has stories of hiking by himself or with wild friends. Stories of near death experiences and soliloquies about how the outdoors has saved his life and changed men. He has a bit of a philosophical take on the world but also has a great sense of humor. This was one of my favorite books for reading when I could not get out into the woods. I have read it 3-4 times and enjoyed each and every moment. My copy has been passed around and shows its use. Out of the dozen "Best Outdoor Books of all Time" list that I have read this book made it onto... none of them and I can't understand why. This is a much better book than a lot of the books on those lists. This is a must read for any outdoors lover, especially if you are a Washington State native.

Book of the Week: Intro

I have been compiling a list of great outdoor books that have somehow not made it on  "The Best" outdoor books lists found on the internet. Some are current, some are historic, others are hysterical, some are young adult and some are old codger but all are amazing for one reason or another. I was going to post them all at the same time but then I figured that I would just do one, in depth review a week. This is good because it will allow for time to reread in order to really do a quality review. Hope you enjoy and let me know if you have any good reads to add.

Car of the Week: Lotus Elise

If you were one of my Auto students then you would know that I am in love with the Lotus Elise; ever since its introduction in 1996. It has gone through a few design changes, but the central ideas are still there. Small, light, and nimble 2 seater with a mid engine. Weighing in at 1,800lbs it is about half the weight of a normal sedan. Where did all the weight go? It is mostly aluminum and it has gone without a lot of excess weight like carpet, power windows and complex traction control bs. Check out this pic of the interior:

The engine was either a normally aspirated Toyota inline 4 or a supercharged version of the same layout. The Elise has become a cult classic for people that want something that handles well and is inexpensive to run. The MSRP is around $45,000 making it an affordable sports car that will blow away most anything as long as there are corners involved. Specifications are also not too bad: 0-60 in 5 seconds or less and a top speed of 120 mph. Gas mileage is around 30mpg which is best in the sports car class. Used ones are still in the $30,000 range and don't seem to depreciate like other cars (yes, I have been watching!). Some day...

Car of the Week: Mini Cooper (The real one)

The Original Mini Cooper

The first Mini Coopers were a revelation in many ways and were so successful that they were built from 1959 until 2000 with only minor changes. The Mini was voted the second most influential car of the last century behind the Model T, and just ahead of the VW Beetle. For those that have never seen a Mini in real life they are little anomalies. The are small on the outside but surprisingly roomy on the inside. In 2000 the mini was redesigned resulting in a larger car and a smaller interior... how do they do that? (probably as a result of improved safety features but still...)

Here is the interior of the original. Notice the thin seat backs and the large amounts of space behind the front seats.

This is the interior of the new Mini. Notice the 2 inches of rear leg room that make the back seat a padded luggage shelf or a dog run for your purse dog, not a seat.

The Mini was a giant slayer. Upon its introduction it became a successful rally car, beating v8 powered cars. It was what cars should be; small, light, nimble, good on gas and easy to maneuver. Even the new Mini is a pain in the butt to drive because it is uncomfortable and it has a larger turning radius than a Volvo 240! Don't even get me started on the other behemoths on the road. Literally tons of metal that have to pushed around for no reason. One person in a Ford excursion when all it would take to is a Mini. It is brilliant!

Mini was also influential because of its transverse mounted front engine and front wheel drive setup. A setup that most car manufacturers are still emulating today. Though mini was not the first to use this layout, it showed the rest of the automotive world that it could be successful.  Now for some specifics: Engines were inline 4 cylinders from Austin (the British manufacturer not the town in Texas) and came in 970cc, 997cc, 998cc, 1071cc, and 1275cc sizes. To give you some perspective three of those are smaller than a lot of motorcycle engines. 0-60 times were slow (12 seconds) and the top speed is only 100mph (faster than I need to go). Fuel mileage is a respectable 30 but I am sure with a modernized injection system that number could be much improved. Over 5 million mini's have been produced!

The potential was recognized by a few people and tuned versions of the mini became available. John Cooper being the most famous, but others jumped in too: Jack Knight, Innocenti. The added a second cam, or supercharged them, tuned suspension etc. These are the cars that are really exciting. While these specialty cars a hard to find and expensive, regular minis can still be found relatively cheaply and are good fun for the money. You will never get the feeling you get driving a mini from any other car, maybe a go-cart but not a car. Think of the space you could save in your driveway...

Car of the Week: Triumph TR6

Two beautiful examples. The one in front is pretty much my dream settup: factory hard top, minilight wheels and the frond bumper removed. Photo from http://classicmotorsports.net/reader-rides/948/ unknown photographer.

I have decided to make this Car of the Week a more accessible car, something that I might actually own one day. The Triumph TR6 has always impressed me as a beautifully simple car design-wise. The amazing thing to me is the masculine look which is odd for a small two seater. Think of all the Miata, Afla spyders, Fiats etc. which are hard to picture men driving. The TR6 was (and is) a lot of car for an affordable price. It was built from 1967-76 and sold new for $3,300. For this you got a carbureted OHC inline 6 engine that produced 104 bhp (Eurpean models were fuel injected and produced 150 bhp) independent rear suspension, front disc brakes and a 4speed gearbox with optional overdrive. The 0-60 time was a respectable 8.2 seconds (more like 10 for the US carbureted version) and a top speed of 120 mph. This thing was not a road carver or a drag racer but it looks good and I bet it would sound great blowing through some twisty sections of road.

Another nice example this one is from http://kevinwarrington.blogspot.com/

Make Your Own Mead

So, I have run out of brewing kits here (Gasp!) and am almost out of my home brew. In a moment of clarity I decided to see what I could make with ingredients on hand. I could use sugar cane juice, which is readily available here but I was not sure about the quality of the resulting beverage. Mead however is a more proven drink, and people have been consuming this tasty nectar for thousands of years. Mead is wine that is made from fermenting honey. I unearthed a cool fact while researching mead: the term "Honeymoon" came from the practice of drinking mead for a month (more accurately, one cycle of the moon) after your wedding night because it was supposed to increase fertility... huh huh cool. Another source says that the father of the bride would gift a dowry of one months worth of mead, hence the term honeymoon, but I like the first one better. After lots of research it became apparent that becasue I was using pasteurized and filtered honey I needed to add nutrients to the honey so that the yeast would survive. Here is the recipe for one gallon I finally settled on:

• 3 lbs of honey
• 4 quarts of water
• 1 handful of raisins chopped
• The zest and juice of one orange
• 1 tablespoon of black tea
• Autolized (dead) yeast from old batch of beer (for nutrients)
• 1 packet of yeast

Technically this is no longer mead (mead is just honey water and yeast) but I thought the added ingredients were needed to make the yeast survive. With the added ingredients the technical term is now metheglin (or spiced mead). I boiled all the ingredients for 20 minutes and skimmed the foam of the top. I measured the specific gravity at 1.092 (which means a potential alcohol content of 12-13 percent!) Then cooled the mead and pitched the yeast. The yeast that I used was from my last batch of beer (Russian Imperial Stout). The yeast went dormant and its job with the beer was done so it would either be poured down the drain or get to live the life of milk and honey! There is not much info out there and I was flying by the seat of my pants. I pulled the yeast from the secondary fermenter so there was no that much but since I was only making a gallon of mead it seemed like enough. The fermentation of the mead was slow compared to the beer but I attribute this to the small number of yeast cells that were added. I racked to the secondary fermenter after 10 days and it continued to ferment for another month! I just bottled today and the results are encouraging. Here is a picture showing the clarity change which is impressive without filtering.

                    After cooling, while checking SG            After a month of fermenting in secondary

The specific gravity at bottling was 0.995 which means 14% Alcohol! The taste is definitely wine like. You can tell it packs a punch and the flavor is the right amount of sweet and dry. It is recommended that mead be aged 6 months in the bottle before drinking so it should mellow with age. I also think that the little bit of bubbles and serving cold will make it a really enjoyable drink. The only other time I had mead, I was disenchanted with the sweetness but this is just right. It has been a fun experience and I can't wait to really drink some at April Fest!

Bucket List

I have been thinking about some of the events that occur in this world that I want to experience. Some of them are events to attend and others are events that I would like to participate in. The purpose of me posting it on the blog has three parts. First, I think there is something to vocalizing your goals. If I tell the world that I am going to do something then I am more likely to do them becasue I think it is a matter of pride. If I say I am going to do something, I want people to know I will do it. Second, I want some feed back. Is the event lame or worth it? Is there anything missing from the list? While some of these are easily obtainable some are going to cost some serious coin. Does anyone out there have any insider info on any of the events? For example, does someone out there know the organizer that runs Pebble Beach Concourse d'Elegance and can get me a volunteer position so that I don't have to shell out the $200 fee? Or do you know someone that races Baja every year and needs a navigator or crew member? I know it is a long shot! Third, do you have the same event on your list? Do you want to pool our resources? The layout is Event Name, Location, Date, website and thoughts. So here is the list in no particular order, what do you think?

1. Tour Divide (compete)

• Banff Canada to Antelope Wells New Mexico
• Beginning of June (for mass start but you can challenge any time)
• http://tourdivide.org/

Gentlemen's code race along the Continental Divide trail. 2745 miles. Self support only. Mens record is 17 days 21 hours and 10 minutes, and the Men's single speed record is 19 days 21 minutes! Thats 144 miles a day on a single speed!

2. The One Motorcycle Show (attend and some day show)

• Portland Oregon
• Beginning of February
• http://theonemotorcycleshow.com/

A motorcycle show with no prejudices or preconceived notions. You could see all types of bikes here from Harleys, to street bikes, to classics and customs.

3. North American Handmade Bike Show - NAHBS (Attend and show)

• USA
• First weekend in March
• www.handmadebicycleshow.com

Turns out some of the most amazing custom bicycle work that I have ever seen. I would love to start a bike business and take my stuff there to be critiqued.

4. Goodwood Festival of Speed (attend)

• Goodwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex
• Last weekend in June
• http://www.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed/welcome.aspx

Probably one of the biggest car events of the year.

5. Le Tour de France (attend)

• July (pretty much the entire month)
• www.letour.com

Rent a villa in the french country side, ride my bike to the top of one of the big ones like the Col d'Tourmulet or the Alpe d'Huez, camp out watch the race, ride back to the villa and eat, drink wine etc.

6. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (attend)

• Monterrey
• 3rd weekend in August
• http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/

The meeting ground of some of the most rare, and beautiful of classic cars. And we all know that the oldies are the goodies when it comes to cars.

7. Interbike (attend)

• Las Vegas
• 3rd weekend in September
• http://www.interbike.com/

Can't believe that I have not been yet but I need to see it for myself. The largest bike industry show that I know of.

8. Oregon Manifest (attend/compete)

• Portland
• last weekend in September
• http://oregonmanifest.com/

A bike event with a cargo bike race... yeah I could totally win that! Just seem like a cool atmosphere and a good place to see the latest in bikes that are used to carry stuff.

9. Isle of Man TT (attend)

• Isle of Man
• Last week in May
• http://www.iomtt.com/

Has to be the holy grail of motorcycle races. It is a road race held on closed streets and each lap is 37.75 miles long! Current record for a lap is John McGuinnes 17minutes 12.10 seconds... yeah that is an average speed of 131mph.

10. Syncro de Mayo (attend)

• Hollister Hills, CA
• Uhm... the 5th of May
• http://www.syncrodemayo.com/

Goofy event held for owners of the VW Syncro (the 4 wheel drive version of the Vanagon) Some are there to camp out and talk to other syncro owners, and others are there to challenge their syncros off road. some of the videos on YouTube are pretty crazy.

11. Strawberry Music Festival (attend)

• Yosemite
• 2 times a year: End of may and the End of August
• http://www.strawberrymusic.com/

Another one that I can't believe that I have not ever been to. It was close to home and there are 2 every year. Lots of good musicians and camping.

12. Carnival (attend)

• Rio de Janiero
• Beginning of March
• http://www.rio-carnival.net

This is on the list for two reasons. First becasue I want to see carnival in full swing. Second, I have always wanted to go to Rio!

13. Fête des Lumières (attend)

• Lyon, France
• December 8th
• http://www.fetedeslumieres.lyon.fr/EN_1

The first event that was recommended by someone else. Seems like a cool event! Festival of lights.

14. Baja 1000 (compete)

• Ensenada, Mexico
• Mid November
• http://www.score-international.com/

After watching On Any Sunday and Dust to Glory I know I need to do this.

15. Paris Dakar (compete)

• ?
• Beginning of January
• http://www.dakar.com/index_DAKus.html

Not actually a race from Paris to Dakar but it used to be. Now it moves around every year. If I was independently wealthy I would be working out how to ship a mind blowing machine to South America this year...

16. Olympic Games (attend)

• ?
• http://www.olympic.org/

Summer? Winter? It does not really matter, it just seems like I should go to the Olympics some time.

17. Le Mans (attend)

• France
• Summer
• http://www.lemans.org/en/

THE car race. There is no other I really want to go to. 24 hours on a road course of closed of roads. All types of cars from production 911 to unlimited Audi turbo diesels. Movies have been made about it and I want to see it for real!

18. Twilight Cycling Rides (compete)

• Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey
• Throughout the year
• http://www.mazdaraceway.com/twilight-cycling

Would be cool to race a car at Laguna Seca but the next best thing would be to race my bike there! (without having to pay the ridiculous Sea Otter entrance fees)

19. Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School (attend)

• ?
• ?
• http://www.trackerschool.com/

Tom Brown Jr. grew up learning from elder Native Americans. He has written many great books and that is what got me hooked. After doing some research I found that he teaches courses on tracking, wilderness survival and more of the ways of the Native Americans.