Rivendell Reader #35

The ultimate destiny of outdoor gear manufacturers is to be bought out, and end up selling women's clothing and accessories. Burberry outfitted the Shackleton expedition in 1914, and now its biggest market is women in Japan. Eddie Bauer used to be an expedition outfitter. Bean, Orvis, and Patagonia are going that way too.

I don't believe it

If you're rich, you can afford advisors who can get you fantastic rates and good advice. Heck, you could pay me for similar advice. It's us middle income folks who have to scrounge around for every penny...

Scott Burns endorses my position on I Bonds

If you haven't invested in I Savings Bonds before now, this is the time.... To put that 4.8 percent yield in perspective, Bloomberg.com tells us the yield on 30-year Treasuries is only 4.51 percent. It's 4.19 percent on 10-year Treasuries and 3.88 percent on five-year Treasuries. While we can hold I Savings Bonds for as long as 30 years with interest tax deferred, we can't redeem them before five years without a penalty of three months' interest. The long-term yield may be uncertain, but these securities currently offer more yield with less risk.

I've been putting my money where my mouth is. It's only May and I've already maxed out my $30k a year allocation in I bonds.

Why we buy, by Paco Underhill

A great book on the science of retailing and product placement.

There are two main strategies for coping with the presence of men in places where serious shopping is being done.

The first one is passive restraint, which is not to say handcuffs. Stores that sell mainly to women should all be figuring out some way to engage the interest of men. If I owned The Limited or Victoria's Secret, I'd have a place where a woman could check her husband---like a coat... If I were opening a brand-new store where women could shop comfortably, I'd find a location right next to an emporium devoted ot male desire---a computer store, for instance, somewhere he would happily kill half an hour...

Cavedwaller, by Dorothy Allison

"I won't marry you, Nolan," Dede said. "I love you. No lie and I'll live with you. But I won't marry you. I won't marry no one."

In reply, Nolan put his mouth over hers and kissed her. His hands stroked her shoulders and slid down to caress her back. "Dede Windsor, you are the most difficult woman I ever met, worse than my mama. And you know damn well I'd rather live in sin with you than be carried off to heaven with any other woman in the world. Only thing you need to know is that I will want to be a real daddy to this child."

EE Bonds go into fixed rates

This makes them an extremely bad deal. That takes them completely off the table for me.

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Jared Diamond's new book, in which he claims a cautious optimism:

I already mentioned the seeming political impossibility of inducing First World citizens to lower their impact on the world. But the alternative, of continuing our current impact, is more impossible. This dilemma reminds me of Winston Churchill's response to criticism of democracy: "It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." In that spirit, a lower-impact society is the most impossible scenario for our future---except for all other conceivable scenarios.

Yet the entire books rife with examples of not just other conceivable scenarios, but scenarios that have already happened. Of ancient people desecrating their environments to the point of no recovery. I fail to see how Americans will ever become environmentally conscious enough to act soon enough to prevent an environmental collapse in the world. We're even in denial about global warming.

Shimano touts dual control levers

Do the people in the ad look happy? After seeing them, do you want to run out and buy a Shimano product? Or do they look like someone who just gave you the finger?

Joe & Mike enjoying the gentle grades after climbing and descending Crother's road. 

Dick & Donna climbing Mt. Hamilton 

Joe enjoying the view after a brisk descent 

Springtime in the California desert 

Fields of yellow, lavendar and green on the backside of Mt. Hamilton 

Joe Gross enjoying the view just before the descent to Rest Stop #2 

Western wheelers taking a break at rest stop #2 

Mike fixing his second flat of the day 

The 3 of us at the end. I look worn out, Mike looks kinda funny, and Joe looks ready to do it again. 

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Back to waterbottles

I experimented for a bit with cycling with a camelbak. After 3 decently long rides with the camelbak, I'm going back to waterbottles. (Yes, they're heavier, no, I'm not getting rid of my Camelbak completely --- it's still a great solution for hiking)

Why?

1. Balance. When cycling, the camelbak has a tendency to slip and then put all the weight on one shoulder or the other. This is extremely annoying, and at times painful. And all the contortions I go through to try to correct that while riding is dangerous.
2. Comfort. Having something heavy on my back when it's hot is uncomfortable. Plus it puts pressure on my lower back, which already is the most vulnerable part of my muscle groups.
3. Hygiene. I like having one bottle for Cytomax or other sports drinks, while having a second bottle for just plain water. If I put Cytomax in my camelbak, I'm stuck with Cytomax and no water, or I have to put a water bottle cage on my bike, in which case why not reduce back pain and have no camelbak? If I carry just water on my Camelbak, then I end up using Endurolytes or some other pill based stuff, which just isn't as effective as Cytomax (because I have to stop to take them). If the point of the Camelbak is aerodynamics of saving weight, then having to stop to take Endurolytes kinda defeats the point, doesn't it? On top of that, once you've put something like Cytomax in your Camelbak, it's impossible to clean it out completely, so you risk your Camelbak gunking up and becoming a nest of horrid biology experiments.

With that, I ended up putting water bottle cages on my Fuji, and also putting on a pump mount and mountin the pump on the frame. It's not a bad way to go, and it's proven its value for years and years and miles and miles.

By the way, the Camelbak is unbeatable for hiking. It lets you drink while walking, and it carries a lot more water than a few waterbottles. I frequently find that I drink a lot more than I normally do, just because it's so convenient.

Booty from the Cupertino Bikes Swap Meet

Shimano M520 pedals (new in box): $20
Solvang Century Socks 2 pairs: $5
Pedros Orange Peelz 16oz drip bottle: $2
Entrance fee: $2

Not bad at all!