The end of an era
This is a hard one for me to write. Two nights ago local Idaho legend Brian Grieger passed away in his sleep. Brian was without question the best bike mechanic in idaho. His wheels where the wheels you wanted to be on when it came down to the wire. He was always at races smiling, cheering, and lending a helping hand. He taught me so much of what I now know as a bike mechanic. He taught so many things that will never be found in any book. Things like, "if it's stuck, and won't come out, use some Liquid Wrench and a hammer."
I'll always remember his pricing system when dealing with me. He'd get done working on my bike and I'd ask him how much I owed him. He'd then sit there for a while calculating things in his head and pondering parts and labor (and likely a pain in the ass tax) and finally spit out "20 bucks." It was always 20 bucks. No matter how major the work, 20 bucks. I'm going to miss Brian.
Some other folks thoughts on Brian:
Tire commercial worth watching.
So i saw this little commercial over on The Goat and have to say that it is pretty cool to think of a day when we are actually seeing this on TV in place of Car tire ads. Now i know that is a pretty far stretch but hey a boy can dream.
via:Â The Goat
Alpinist RIP.
I have read about this on quite a few different sites and have yet to post it due to the fact that i just can't get my self to actually accept it. Aplinist magazine is calling it quits. This is by far the best climbing / mountaineering publications that will exist in my life time. I will miss looking at the thin red lines marking the different routes up mountains that i dream of one day seeing. Reading over the trip reports and hoping to take my climbing to a level that i can experience half of their adventure.
In the farewell letter, I think that Christian Beckwith says it the best.
"One more metaphor. Alpinist was not a standard route to magazine publishing. It was a new route: a subscriber-based publication, big and bold and beautiful. In 1979, as George Lowe described in Issue 15, he and four partners climbed more than 100 pitches on the north ridge of Latok I only to descend short of the top when one of his partners became ill. Though they failed to reach the summit, Lowe calls it his best climb. Alpinist was our Latok, and you were our partners. This was our best climb. Thanks for joining us on the adventure."
Such a great leader in good quality publishing will be missed and i will keep my issues on the book shelves so that i and many others can continue to enjoy them.
To everyone at Alpinist thank you for doing what you have done and the inspiation that you have provided.
The Good Stuff
You may... well, more then like may not have, noticed the new section:
These are pages we want to keep visable for a while. Original material we think has greater value the than rest (how can anything be of greater value then Play Boy Bunnies on Snowboards? Trust me). One of the main features of this section, will be guides from our omniscient, talented, and wise staff along with contributions from our equally awesome friends. We stayed at a Holiday in Express last night.
Burton keep’n it classy!!!
*****THIS IS A SNOWBOARD GRAPHIC.******
From Burton's product description.
"Hi. My name is Love™ and I’m on the market for someone who’s looking to score serious action, no matter where they like to stick it. I enjoy laps through the park; long, hard grinds on my meaty Park Edges followed by a good, hot waxing. Whether you’re hitting it from the front or the back, my mid wide shape, supple flex, and twin tips like it kinky. Keegan and Mikkel love riding me, I hope you will too."
This just kills me 
and from what i hear there are already resorts that are banning it making this even more famous. Nice.
*Yes i know this is a bit old.
I did it all for the Nookie.
So at last summers' Outdoor Retailer, one company that stood out to us, was Nookie wear out of the UK. They are a pretty cool paddling company and make some amazing gear. I am still drooling over their 3/4 guide short that is just sweet. Well i just noticed that they are having a clearance sale on a bunch of their gear. So if you are looking for some great gear and don't mind paying a little more for shipping, head over to the site and check out what they have. It's worth your time.