Category: Outdoors

USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Strider World Cup Answers the Challenge

While the riders are probably too young to handle the climbs, not to mention the descents, of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, they’ll get their chance to make the podium as part of the Strider World Cup. Toddlers, age two to five, will take to the track at the Downtown Denver Finish Festival on August 28.

Every rider will receive a Team Strider t-shirt, Strider handlebar bag/number plate and souvenir cowbell, and every racer will earn a medal for participation, while the top-three finishers in each age group will be awarded trophies during the podium ceremony. Riders will race on the Strider No-Pedal Bikes, which can help toddlers age one to five learn balance and coordination.

Pre-registration is required, and limited to 200 racers. Entry fee is $25, but the chances of a podium finish… priceless. Just ask Cadel Evans!

(Video after the jump) Continue reading USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Strider World Cup Answers the Challenge

Road Bike Grips Heat Up!

For years motorcyclists or snowmobile riders have had the option of heated grips to warm their hands during times of colder weather. If your hands get too cold, the ability to control your ride can be made much more difficult and become dangerous. Coming this September, A’ME Grips is introducing their new Heated Road Bike Wrap for cyclists. This unique product will be a nice cold weather option for road cyclists, cyclocross riders and bike commuters; and provide a comfortable hand temperature to improve blood flow reducing fatigue and maximizes dexterity and performance. Continue reading Road Bike Grips Heat Up!

Go Deep With This HD Pocket

Summer may be winding down, but there is still time to hit the beach. Most cameras don’t play well in the water, but now you can record those fleeting moments of summer, and time in the sand and surf with the new Vivitar DVR 690 HD underwater digital pocket video camera. While a sleek camera, it might still have you feeling almost like Jacque Cousteau.

The camera is sleek, easy to use and offers waterproof features with a built-in microphone and speaker, and even includes an SD memory card slot. The HD camera, which is available now for $59.99 also features 4x zoom capability so you can get your close ups.

The camera also comes with software so you can upload your underwater adventures to Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Picasa Albums, Photobucket, and YouTube, so you can remember what it was like when life was a beach.

Vivitar Official Website

Transforming Laptop – More Than Meets the Eyes

The popularity of “Transformers” is a mystery to me, as I don’t exactly get why a robot would want to “transform” into the shape of a car or airplane. What’s wrong with being a robot? But when it comes to computers, transformers make a lot more sense.

GammaTech proves this fact with its newest mobile, rugged and convertible Durabook, the U12C. This computer is both regular laptop with a full-sized keyboard and is a tablet computer with LCD touch screen. It is ideal for on-the-go field technicians, mobile professionals, journalists who don’t work in a press room and just about anyone who needs to take their computer on the go.

“U12C is designed so it can be easily used in the most demanding professional environments,” says Jen Chen, GammaTech president. “Mobile professionals should have access to fully featured, convertible notebook computers that are rugged enough to stand up to grueling conditions. The GammaTech U12C has answered the call for dependability in mission critical situations.” Continue reading Transforming Laptop – More Than Meets the Eyes

USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Spectator Information for Stage 2 – Buena Vista to Aspen

Top of the last climb of Stage 2 - Independence Pass

The second half of Stage 2 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is not going to be any easier to get around and watch than the first half from Gunnison to Buena Vista, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying.

Not only will you get to see some great cycling in action, you’ll be treated to some of the most scenic beauty that ‘Colorful Colorado’ has to offer.

After riding this stage (The Riding of Stage 2 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge – Part 2: Buena Vista to Aspen), we agree that a much better viewing experience is to be had by selecting a spot and soaking in the action. The following are our thoughts regarding spectating of this stage for the portion after Twin Lakes.

Continue reading USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Spectator Information for Stage 2 – Buena Vista to Aspen

USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Spectator Information for Stage 2 – Gunnison to Buena Vista

12,126 feet above sea level on Cottonwood Pass

If you can’t ride the course with the pros, the next best thing is watching them in action, and next week you can get your chance if you head out to Colorado to watch the “Queen Stage.” After riding the course (The Riding of Stage 2 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge – Part 1: Gunnison to Buena Vista), we thought we’d share our thoughts on the best way to take in the course.

With road closures and traffic, it is going to be quite a feat to see Stage 2 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge (UPCC) from both the start in Gunnison and the finish in Aspen. For the brave or those who would rather sit in a car than hang out at the host cities, there is a route that is only a 2.5 hour drive. Getting out of Gunnison, driving the distance between both cities, finding parking in Aspen and hoofing it to the finish line is going to be tough. After riding the stage, we agree that a better spectating experience will be had by not trying to see both ends of the stage. The following is our thoughts with regards to viewing along the first half of Stage 2. Continue reading USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Spectator Information for Stage 2 – Gunnison to Buena Vista

Multiuse Headlight

As summer comes to an end dusk comes a little earlier. This means night time riding is picking up as well, and here is where a little illumination can ensure that you get home safely. River Rocks Designs has introduced a new affordable wearable light for cycling, hiking or even for spelunker helmets.

The TecTrek Headlamp is hands free and compact. It features a weather proof O-ring polycarbonate casing, with a l125 lumen LED light that is ideal for dark inside and outdoor activities. The light features multiple color modes – including red for night vision retention or emergency use, blue for fluid tracking, and green for night map reading. The red can also be switched to repeat to be used as single light.

The headlamp also allows for an adjustable focus, from long range to wide field soft light, and can be dimmed when the brightest light isn’t needed. It can run on full power white light for more than four hours, or low setting for over 20 hours, and green for greater than 100 hours! About the only downside is that it runs on AAA alkaline batteries, but at $34.99 it still sounds like a great deal and a good way to shed some light on your nighttime activities.

River Rock Designs, Inc. Official Website

Tip a Canoe – Make that Fold a Canoe

There are two words that don’t seem to sound right together, and those are “folding canoes,” but yes they exist. In fact they aren’t really all that new. There are many fitness devices that fold up, but then again most don’t have to float. And yet, canoes can do both. The problem is that most don’t pack up to be all that small or light weight. They’re only really portable in the sense that they actually fit in the car or truck.

But an Israeli designer has created a canoe that folds up to be compact enough to take on the go, and weighs in at just nine pounds! And it floats too – that latter point being the really important one of coure. Designer Ori Levin is the creator of the Adhoc, a single-passenger canoe that features a carbon fiber frame and outer hull made of aramid fabric, the same material used in racing sails.

As the video below shows, setup is easy as custom-made locking mechanisms hold the framework together. The whole thing can be stashed away in a backpack and still assembled in about five minutes. So far this is still a very much still in the concept stage rather than being commercial available.

So now you can tip a canoe or fold one too.

[Via DesignBoom: ori levin: adhoc folding canoe]

Video after the jump Continue reading Tip a Canoe – Make that Fold a Canoe

Panasonic Gets Tough With New Tablet

Tablet PCs maybe great for taking on the go, you can do some web browsing, snap and view pictures and even use it as a GPS device. But the iPad and other tablets are so delicate that taking out in the backyard is roughing it. For real adventures you need something that can stand up to a bit of dirt, dust and all the other things the great outdoors has to offer.

Panasonic has introduced such a device in the Toughbook H2 tablet, which runs Windows and has an Intel Core i5-2557M vPro processor running at 1.7GHz. It weighs in at 3.5 pounds so it isn’t feather light, but it is still compact enough for those long treks. More importantly it offers 6.5 hours of battery life and has a fast charging hot swap battery option. Panasonic puts 4GB of RAM inside by default and it has a 320GB HDD for storage. The machine can also be fitted with a 128GB SSD. Best of all, the machine features aTransReflective Plus 10.1 inch screen that can be seen even in backlit, and it supports dual touch with a digitizer and works as a touchscreen.

This is more of a business machine for field workers, but we could see it making its way to the “civilian” market too. It offers GPS, 2MP camera and even an RFID reader. The biggest downside now, besides the hefty price of $3,559, is that the H2 is only available with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as Gobi 200 3G, but 4G will be available later this year. But this very much could be the beginning of truly rugged tablets.

[Via Geeky Gadgets: Panasonic Toughbook H2 Rugged Tablet Computer Debuts]

Magellan Adds DigitalGlobe to Help eXplore the World

Adventure travelers and those who like to get off the beaten path and see the world will now know where they’re going, even when doing exploring in distant lands. Magellen GPS has announced a new series of worldwide satellite and aerial imagery-enhanced maps for its Magellan eXplorist and Magellan Triton handheld GPS units. These new maps provide Magellan handheld GPS users with high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery from DigitalGlobe, a leading provider of earth imagery solutions.

Globe trekking travelers can now get detailed and precise overhead pictures of their surroundings while on the go, and this is meant to help users discover nearby environmental features during outdoor activities. This can be used for hunters for pre-season scouting, and for identifying game funnels, while anglers can use to locate new fishing holes. Geocachers can spot obstacles before encountering them, while hikers and outdoor enthusiasts can get a preview of surroundings to make sure they don’t miss something truly special.

The DigitalGlobe images are available to Magellan users for virtually any area on the planet, from well-traveled parks and sites to more remote and rarely visited locations. The new DigitalGlobe-enhanced maps are compatible with the following Magellan handheld GPS units: eXplorist 310, eXplorist 510, eXplorist 610, and eXplorist 710; and Triton 400, Triton 500, Triton 1500 and Triton 2000. Continue reading Magellan Adds DigitalGlobe to Help eXplore the World

Get Closer to the Racers and the Bikes During the USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Are you dreaming of seeing a mountain stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge Tour de France style, but are dreading the drive up one of the passes due to the traffic or road closures? Do you want to see who is using carbon fiber, SRAM, the new Shimano DuraAce Di2 and not just read about it? Does getting an up close look at the latest technology that the pros are riding that may not even be available to the general public yet interest you? The Colorado State Police (CSP), the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) have decided to allow spectators to camp out overnight alongside each state road that the race travels past. For a period of 24 hours prior to the race passing your campsite, CSP and CDOT will not ticket or require campers to move as long as they are camping off of the path of travel, including shoulders and private property. As long as the campsite does not impede traffic, it can stay. This move will allow more spectators and fans to have closer access to the competitors as they struggle to tackle some of the toughest mountain passes of the Rockies and this is your perfect chance to see the racers pass by at a speed that you can actually get a look at their equipment! Continue reading Get Closer to the Racers and the Bikes During the USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Catch the Drift HD-170 Actioncam

In the past couple of years the helmet-mountable GoPro HERO HD camera has caught a lot of attention, but now Drift Innovation is looking to turn heads with a smaller version of its HD-170, making for the former model’s shortcomings.

The new Drift HD features a swiveling 170-degree lens, and is actually sleeker than the previous models, and it already seems less bulky than the GoPro. The Drift HD features a color LCD screen, wireless start/stop remote control, manual iris option and offers full HD 1080p resolution. In addition there is an external 2.5mm mic port.

The new Drift HD also goes a step further than the GoPro offering replaceable lenses, which could come in very handy for those who like to risk life and limb getting the perfect shot. This camera can also do double duty and take 9megapixel still images, supports microSD cards up to 32GB, and is compatible with PCs and Macs. The Drift HD will be available at the end of the month (MSRP $369). This is a drift that those looking to chronicle their activities will want to catch.

Drift HD Official Website
[Via Gizmag: Drift Innovation releasing smaller HD actioncam]

BackTrack Your Workouts to Review Miles

When you get home from a workout, do you want to review every step you took? The BackTrack D-Tour from Bushnell is a GPS device with just such a function. Clip this on your body and it tracks your movement, speed and other variables that you can upload to your computer and review all your stats and check out your distance on Google Maps. You can also share your workout results on various social networks.

The ruggedized device is weather resistant and can stand up to inclement weather including rain. It has a self-calibrating digital compass, time, temperature and altimeter. Even if you venture into territory where cell phones won’t get a signal, the BackTrack D-Tour won’t miss a step.

The D-Tour runs on Windows (XP SP1 or later) and MAC (10.49 or later) and takes three AAA batteries. It measures distances in yards/miles or meters/kilometers depending on your desired settings. It’s available for abou$120.

BackTrack D-Tour web page.