I stumbled onto the photo blog of MASH SF rider Walton Brush recently- there’s not a ton to elaborate on but if you like what you see you should check out his regularly updated blog here.

Suggested reading: Jordan Clark Haggard

I have quite a few parkas hanging up at home but chose to highlight these two because of the fact that they’re lined, the Holubar with wool and the Penfield with what seems to be cotton. Both are made from a 60/40 cotton-nylon fabric pioneered by Sierra Designs in their parkas- also in my parka stash but I think you’ve probably seen enough pictures of those if you frequent blogs like this one. 

The Sew-It Yourself Kit Holubar came from Countyline General and seemed to have never really been worn when I received it. Funny that someone would go to the trouble of constructing the parka without really wearing the thing since they did a great job sewing it. Since the lining is the nice scratchy kinda wool it is extremely warm and zips up all the way past my nose for really frigid days.. haven’t been a ton of those lately though.

The Penfield was bought new, the cut of it is much more modern than the Holubar of course and a lot easier to wear without looking like I’m going to climb a mountain. I’m a big fan of the oversized lined flap that covers the backside of the zipper when closed all the way to the top- the Holubar lacks such a flap and the one on my old Sierra Designs is so small that it hardly does its job. I thought it odd Penfield chose to line the underside of the pocket flaps and not the slanted handwarming pockets which of course would be a lot warmer if lined- fashion prevails over function here. Additionally, the stitching on the velcro cuffs have already started to come undone after only months of wear which is a bummer. All in all it’s a good jacket but if you’re good at hunting vintage then your money might be better off spent there.

When the lack of winter daylight sets in a set of reliable lights are super important to me- I implore you to not be one of many “bike ninjas” riding city streets without any sort of lighting as it can be dangerous for you and others around you. Dan at Portland Design Works was kind enough to let me try out some of their lights recently which I’ve been using since early December. Up front I have the Cosmic Dreadnought 110 (110 lumens of light output) and in the rear their bolt-on Fenderbot.

I’ll start first with the Fenderbot: I very much like having a bolt-on rear light that can’t be removed by petty bike accessory thieves if I forget to remove it when parked (RIP all the Knog lights I’ve ever owned). The light has two modes: steady and flashing. Below the bright red LED is a reflector for extra visibility which is also useful should you run out of battery power in the middle of a ride. No pictures of the light in use, there’s not honestly much to photograph but if you lack the imagination please refer to this review.

The Dreadnought proved to provide plenty of light and likely more than the average commuter/city cyclist needs but it should be good for riding the unlit packed dirt trails just outside the city that I usually ride on my mountain bike. The headlight has three settings: high, low, and flashing. I generally keep the light on low- high is more than necessary in most scenarios and the flashing mode just gives me a headache. A quick release tab on the mounting backet makes removing the light a breeze- the bracket itself has three sizes of adjustability to fit whatever kind of handlebar you’re running. Mounting to the handlebar puts more light ahead of me which is good for urban visibility but when I’m using my front rack bag much of the light is blocked. Thankfully my Nitto M-12 rack has an eyelet to attach the light to with the help of a Paul Gino style mount that my friend Dan over at Rack n Roll whipped up with some scrap tubing.

In its current position I get a little “splashing” of light on the wheel and tire but not much ahead of me is really lost, certainly not as much light loss from mounting at the handlebar when the bag is mounted. This can/will be avoided by installing an arm that will place the light closer to the front of the bike.

The top image is an example of the light on low and the bottom is on high. The exposures are identical and no editing has been done to either image so that an accurate difference in settings could be seen. Plenty bright. Thanks again to Dan at PDW for providing the lights and keeping my paths bright.

Cabin Time is a four day artist residency and wilderness retreat whose first session took place recently in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.The whole thing was organized by Geoffrey Holstad whose name you might recognize as the man behind So Sweaty and a contributor to Cold Splinters. Photographs by Colin McCarthy, see more here.

These photos were taken one December weekend during two fun races in which I participated as both a rider and spectator, except for the first shot of Chris riding on the Schuylkill trail. The later photos were from Bilenky‘s junkyard cross race which I had been wanting to race in ever since I moved to Philly but have only recently owned a bike suitable for the terrain. Check out In the Crosshair‘s footage below to see how crazy it actually was..

Matt, author of The William Brown Project, made quite a find in New Hampshire with this WWII USN footlocker filled with personal gear. Extra buttons, personal stencils, chewing gum, correspondence, and of course the clothes- caps, shirts, and a thick turtleneck sweater. Matt is currently looking for a buyer; I myself am not a dedicated enough militaria collector and prefer to get lucky here and there. Check out more details of the contents here.

Suggested reading: USAAF Collector

Jordan Clark Haggard is a Los Angeles based cyclist and photographer who keeps a blog/visual cycling journal called The Blue and Red. Sure, there’s a bunch of pictures of kitted-out dudes on road bikes but there’s also a lot of other nice moments that Jordan’s put on film ranging from the greatest scenery to the worst mechanicals imaginable. Check out his other (non-cycling focused) photo blog while you’re at it, too.

Jordan Hufnagel forwarded me these photos of his new porteur that he’s offering as a complete build with plenty of options to make it the ultimate city bike. A couple details really caught my interest that separate it from the pack of porteurs with front racks and 650B tires that other builders are doing. I’m a big fan of “1 by” drivetrains, it’s a big trend in the mountain bike world and serves perfectly for city bikes as well since having more than one chainring isn’t really all that necessary unless you ride really hilly terrain. Jordan’s custom stem mounted shifter and chain keeper make for a clean and simple drivetrain- one ring, one shifter.

Here’s a bonus photo Jordan sent over of him hauling a Poler Rucksack on his porteur with yet another clean custom shifter component- a brake lever with a mount for a shifter so that a gear shift is always within thumb’s reach (closeup). For most, custom components like these are out of reach but there’s always Paul thumbies.

If the shape of the these camp (and baseball style) caps look familiar then perhaps you remember the post I wrote on the cap from a now defunct Freeman Transport. Benjamin Ferencz (pronounced “fair-ends”) formerly of Freeman Transport and his partner Martin Carvajal formerly of Freemans Sporting Club launched FairEnds with an intial offering of five-panel and baseball caps in their own original patterns. In the coming months Fairends will also be releasing a backpack, tote bag, tote pack, and a set of pouches for odds and ends. Really liking the hickory stripes and polka dots and definitely excited for their bags, all are American made goods.

Suggested reading: Freeman Transport & Hickory Stripes

Before there was mountain biking as we know it today there was Klunking. Take some fat tires, a cruiser frame, and a go down a hill as fast as you can.. foot-out sliding is also a must. Check out both videos to see some old school and present day klunking, the former has a nice little interview with a young Gary Fisher around midway through. If you want to learn about the whole history of klunking check out the documentary Klunkerz.

So, say you know a guy like me and you need help figuring out the perfect present. Well these are some things that have been on my radar that I wouldn’t mind receiving this holiday season. Read on for a full list of links.

1. Cross Winter Hat by Rapha
   Keeps the ears warm, pretty awesome colors, enough said.
2. Archival Rugby Shirt  by Archival Clothing
   Designed by Archival Clothing and produced by Portland’s Columbiaknit, the perfect logo-free rugby shirt.
3. 7 Liter Traditional Saddlebag by Zimbale
   Zimbale makes these handsome saddlebags in 7, 11, and 18 liters and a padded camera insert is even available
4. Brown Suede Derby by Quoc Pham
   An SPD compatible boot-like derby with everyone’s favorite Vibram sole.
5. Instax 210 by Fujifilm
   Got the Polaroid blues? No worry, Fuji is doing a pretty good job with their instax cameras.
6. Wool Socks by Defeet
   There’s nothing like good wool socks, keeps the feet warm and dry unlike sweaty cotton.
7. Silver Bullet by Soma
   A handsome tail light that can be mounted to a braze-on of your choosing.
8. Power Pump Pro by Crank Brothers
   Compact, simple, even has a gauge but available without too.
9. 6″ Waxed Canvas Maine Hunting Shoe by L.L. Bean Signature
   I already have a pair of bean boots and mocs but I’m partial to both olive drab and waxed cotton.

This one’s been long over due, I guess I could have probably called it a late autumn mix at this point. I got a lot of feedback from people who enjoyed listening to the summer mix I did back in July so there’s no way that I can stop now. Download here and read on for a full track listing.

1. Ducktails – Hamilton Road
2. Hank Williams – Settin’ The Woods On Fire
3. Wilco – Dawned On Me (Tiny Desk Concert)
4. Dr. Dog – The Rabbit, The Bat, And The Reindeer
5. Real Estate – It’s Real
6. Atlas Sound – Mona Lisa
7. Ra Ra Riot –  Each Year (Daytrotter Session)
8. Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash – One Too Many Mornings
9. Justin Townes Earle – What I Mean
10. Sam Amidon – Wedding Dress
11. The Velvet Underground – Ride Into The Sun
12. Grandaddy – Go Progress Chrome
13. Au – Sum