Lots of Bags

Here's the result of two busy weekends of sewing.

Shipping to everywhere from local pickup to across the US, to Italy and Australia.

Note the Everything Bag with two bolts instead of three - that's an easy custom build so this customer can mount it on the down tube of his touring bike, which has just two water bottle bosses.

Also note the new Camo X33 fabric and custom high visibility Everything Bags with reflective tape and storm orange fabric for safety while snow biking on snowmobile trails!







Not much else to say now, gotta get back to antenna manufacturing, but my mountain bike is a dinglespeed now (probably not for long, spinning to the trail head is no fun), and I got a 29+ tire and rim on trade so will try that out sometime when I get a chance.



Here's an example of what we're building at the antenna factory... careful electrical design followed by exacting mechanical design yields a superior finished product.  This one's a 3 element 40 meter Yagi with bent back tip sections on the driven element.

For all of you that aren't radio geeks, that means you can talk all the way around the world with a very focused radio signal.

4.8 oz frame bag...

Made from 2.94 oz/yd^2 cuben fiber fabric that includes a 50 denier polyester laminate for better abrasion resistance.  This ultralight ultra tough fabric is about 1/3 the weight of VX42.  This is an optional upgrade for $50 in a variety of colors including camo.  Notice the cuben fiber seam tape in the second photo.

This 4.8 oz frame bag is for a small Salsa Fargo bound for the Tour Divide next year.  It has a left map pocket and a tapered front (but no padding to save weight).



There's also been a bit of panel loader action recently...



Tower Mountain in Silverton, CO.


Pneumatic bulldozer for small mines... and my pregnant wife!

Vote for my photo

I use a Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1 sewing machine and it works great.  I also buy thread, sewing tools, and some materials from them.  They're having a photo contest that I've entered for sewing projects done using their products.  So feel free to vote for my picture since most of the other ones are pictures of boring sailboats with bad scenery!  Vote here: https://www.facebook.com/sailrite?sk=app_515720611858523&app_data=entry_id%3D2267067

In other news, the commuter bike got some new wheels since I found a great deal on craigslist on an unusual wheelset: DT 240s singlespeed non-disc hubs laced with fancy DT spokes to Stans 355 rims.  The rear hub was a prototype that never saw production.  So I got a really light wheelset that can go tubeless if I want to, both front and rear hubs are dishless for a stronger wheel, but I have to run only 5 cogs in the back (from an 8 speed cassette) but that's enough for almost everything I ride.  The wheelset and changing back to a v-brake up front saved a whopping 2.8 pounds with the same heavy 40 mm touring tires still.

Summer Wanderings

Here's a few photos from some recent summer adventures - a day biking on the Uncompahgre Plateau and a few days backpacking and trail running in the San Juans.

There's a few pairs of Everything Bags in stock and ready to ship, I' just out of logos for them right now.

Non bike sewing projects

Here's a few interesting sewing projects from this spring that weren't for bikes.

Custom e-chain covers for an electronics manufacturing clean room
Special fancy fabric and special fancy thread for a clean room environment.



My study Bible was in need of a new cover
The new Storm Orange VX21 seemed like a great fabric choice.



Ever been on a big rock climb and put some snacks in your chalk bag, but it was cool enough you didn't need the chalk?  Here's an adventure climbing "chalk" bag meant for carrying snacks, hat, gloves, headlamp, etc but not chalk.
Still awaiting testing.
Made from really bright Storm Orange VX21 for visibility and durability

B.S.M.E.

Here we are, finally done with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and wondering/looking for what to do next!

(Incidentally, this is a really good time for any of you to order custom sewing - turn around times can be really fast since I'm out of school and looking for work.)

Before spring semester the commuter bike speedometer read 8,456 miles... but I really wanted to hit 10,000 by the end of the semester, so I took the long way on the commute whenever possible and it worked!





After finishing a senior design project involving a scale model oilfield automation system using MATLAB and Arduino, then driving to Denver to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, I needed a brain dump day in the woods.... Corcoran Peak was the goal - a small peak with a long approach with a vehicle or a shorter distance but harder approach on a mountain bike.

I set off from Grand Junction towards the Bookcliffs north of town, rode through the desert to the end of 25 road, and had some entertaining hike a bike up the Tellerico trail to the top of the Bookcliffs.  My Hike a Bike Shoulder Strap came in really handy.  It has two side release buckles that attach with webbing and a tri glide buckle to either end of the top tube, then a removable padded shoulder strap clips into that.  Let me know if you want to order version 2 - $20 shipped.  It would be easy to just tie on a piece of webbing, but this thing is really easy to deploy and adjust...

Once on the Ute Trail, there's some great but short lived singletrack winding through the junipers, but then the trail kinda disappears for a little ways... more hike a bike ensues then eventually the trail comes back and turns into a dirt 2 track with wild horses.







Ute Trail joins a nice dirt road that goes up and down some hills towards Corcoran Peak.  Near Corcoran Peak are some weird formations labeled "hoodoos" on the map that were fun to check out.  I parked the bike near the hoodoos and went on foot from there, through a bunch of sharp, scrubby bushwacking that would be nearly impossible without elk trails to follow.  I was getting low on water so upon finding a small patch of new spring snow, I crammed my bottle full of the cold, wet goodness.








Then I had to come all the way back home.  Its good to feel tired again!

The Two Towers

Over my last spring break probably ever, I worked 4 days but went climbing on Friday.  Five of us climbed two classic desert towers in Colorado National Monument, Kissing Couple (5.10, 5 pitches) and Otto's Route on Independence Monument (5.8 4 pitches).  We had a great crew and perfect weather.
Here's a few pictures.