Gear & Grit

  • Thule Chariot Cross Multisport Trailer

    Thanks to the new Thule Chariot Cross, having a child doesn’t have to mean putting your active lifestyle on hold. You can spend a lot of money on a good athletic stroller that only works for jogging and walking or on a  stand alone bike trailer. You can also quickly fill your garage with baby…

  • Watch this Great Short About Backpacking with Man's Best Friend

    Ace Kvale became a legend in the  1980s, alongside fellow photographer Marko Shapiro, documenting  the exploding ski bum scene in  Verbier, Switzerland. He moved to the  Southwest in the 1990s and has spent the last twenty years  exploring with his dog  Genghis, who is also known as  Desert Dawg. Ace recently  turned 60, and to…

  • Watch this Great Short About Backpacking with Man’s Best Friend

    Ace Kvale became a legend in the  1980s, alongside fellow photographer Marko Shapiro, documenting  the exploding ski bum scene in  Verbier, Switzerland. He moved to the  Southwest in the 1990s and has spent the last twenty years  exploring with his dog  Genghis, who is also known as  Desert Dawg. Ace recently  turned 60, and to…

  • Apple Watch Beats Out Other Fitness Trackers in Measuring Heart Rate

    In a new study  from  Stanford University and the Swedish School of Sport and Health Services comparing the accuracy of seven different fitness trackers, the Apple Watch was found to have the lowest margin of error when measuring heart rate, besting  the Basis Peak, Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, Mio Alpha 2, PulseOn, and Samsung Gear…

  • Is a Poop the Same as a Crash?

    Tom Dumoulin, general classification leader of the Giro d’Italia,  abruptly pulled over during stage 16  yesterday.  The reason wasn’t immediately clear. The race was ramping up for the final 30 kilometers, a terrible time in the race for a flat or other technical. The reason became much more clear as he took off his gear…

  • One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Gym

    “The perfect is the enemy of the good” In the fitness world I often see people fall victim to the  Nirvana fallacy, in which people never even begin an important task because they feel reaching perfection is too hard. The fall victim to the idea that you must have the perfect equipment, the perfect routing,…

  • Do Pre-Workout Supplements Work?

    Pre-workout supplements make big promises; mental focus, increased strength, more stamina, quicker gains, and a huge pump to name a few. With those promises come high price tags. In actuality, these supplements are really just powerful stimulants. Pre-workout supplements are very popular. Just about every company in the supplement market sells one. Optimum Nutrition, Cullucor,…

  • It's Time to Tell the President How You Feel About Your Public Lands

    Back when I was a Boy Scout on the way to earning my Eagle Scout badge, I spent  a lot of time in the outdoors backpacking, climbing, and hiking. Throughout it all leave no trace ideals and awareness were hammered into our skulls. Public lands were ours to enjoy but also ours to protect and…

  • It’s Time to Tell the President How You Feel About Your Public Lands

    Back when I was a Boy Scout on the way to earning my Eagle Scout badge, I spent  a lot of time in the outdoors backpacking, climbing, and hiking. Throughout it all leave no trace ideals and awareness were hammered into our skulls. Public lands were ours to enjoy but also ours to protect and…

  • Helmet Technology Already Exists to Identify Cycling Head Injuries, Adoption Needs Work

    There’s been a lot of talk  in the cycling world about head injuries in the past few days following  Toms Skujins’ scary crash in the Tour of California. The technological solution to the head injury debate already exists, it’s a commercially available product. Adoption of the technology, however, is lacking. The logical solution to keeping…

  • Mountain Biker Barely Avoids Getting Mauled by a Bear

    Mountain biking is good stuff. You’re in the  outdoors, dirt, speed, wind in your hair and a burning sensation in your legs. It’s all going great, until a bear shows up wanting to eat you. That’s exactly what happened to a pair of mountain bikers in Slovakia recently. They  were riding along, when suddenly a…

  • If You’re Flying Your Drone Over A Bike Race, Please Don’t Crash It Into A Cyclist

    Apparently, drones and crits aren’t a good match. Watch as a drone hits a tree mid-race and crashes into a rider’s front wheel causing him to go over the handlebars.

  • Why You Get Muscle Cramps and What You Can Do About It

    Muscle cramps sneak up on you suddenly. You might be sitting on the couch or 25 miles from home on your bike when one strikes, regardless of where you are or what you are doing a muscle cramp can be excruciatingly painful and hard to treat. Cramps can get in the way of fitness and…

  • How to Stay Healthy and Fit as a New Dad

    When you leave the hospital with a bottle of medication, it comes with a warning label or two; “Don’t operate a motor vehicle while taking this medication.” When you leave the hospital with a newborn, however, you’re handed a baby and told good luck. My daughter should have come with a long warning; “Probable side…

  • Races to Watch: Giro d’Italia

    The Giro  d’Italia (May 5-28) is second only to the Tour de France in popularity, many of you are probably rolling your eyes that I’m even including it in this series.  There’s so much to love about the Giro, which is why I’m including it on the list for those of you relatively new to…