Pedal the Ocean

I want one. Not that I have anyplace to use it around here but a bike capable (hopefully) of pedaling across the Atlantic is just cool. Greg is still working on the design and the 43-day crossing isn't planned until December so there's still plenty of time to become a sponsor if you're so inclined.

Great concept and a worthy adventure!

Via Straight To The Bar.

Galley Time

Just shipped the galleys for my training book so getting that ready was I haven't posted lately. For those of you who haven't published books, there are several stages of editing after a manuscript is turned in. 

First an editor goes through and fixes all the grammar mistakes you made (out of 100,000 words, you can bet there are a few) and they ask questions and make suggestions. All of this comes back to you as a hard copy printout and you get a week or two approve changes and add new content.

Then next step is called the galley. This is the first rough layout of the book, sans the photos. It is the authors last chance to make substantial changes. So when you ship the galleys back, your book is pretty much a done deal.

I'll get to look at it one more time in the form of proofs, which is my last chance to correct mistakes. But the catch is that no changes can affect layout. So if you add 5 words, you have to take out 5 from somewhere on the same page (usually). It's pretty much impossible to add a sentence or paragraph. 

Then it's off to the printer. And I should see a new book around July.

This really is a new book, even though it's a second edition. It went from six chapters to nine. I don't know the final page count but I'm guessing it will go from 240 pages to near 300. I've added a lot of content, took out some exercises and included new ones, and recommended roughly 40 products for training or recovery. Hopefully it will help some people have more fun!

So now that the galley has shipped, I begin collecting information for the third edition that may appear in five years. That's part of the reason I started this blog.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Cognitive science comes to the aid of the cycling world. Now that it's road bike season, this is a good one to pass around.

Do The Test.

Study: Climbing hurts

Half of the climbers in gyms and at crags have been injured bad enough in the past year that they had to take at least one day off. One third have chronic overuse injuries such as elbow and shoulder tendonitis. Over a quarter suffer an acute injury, such as a torn A2 pulley in a middle or ring finger, from pulling harder than their body could handle. Yet only 10% of the waylaying injuries came from a fall.

That's the result of a survey of over two hundred climbers in Britain that was published last December in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Titled "The epidemiology of rock climbing injuries," the authors also found that climbers are a stubborn lot when it comes to seeking medical attention. Only 11% went to a doctor and 18% to a physical therapist for treatment while 14% asked the advice of other climbers.

While half of all climbers bashing themselves up isn't a good thing, at least we aren't as bad as dancers at abusing our bodies. Another survey in Britain found that 80% of professional dancers had suffered an injury in the previous 12 months.

The study of dancers also found that 25% have had eating problems (anorexia and/or bulemia) and 10% were underweight to the point that it threatened their health. This question wasn't tackled in the climber survey but it's quite likely that eating disorders are nearly as common in the sport climbing and bouldering communities.

This study reinforces the danger of overdoing it in any sport. Overuse injuries are the ones most likely to take you out of action. But they are also the most easily prevented by getting sufficient rest, training underdeveloped muscles, and eating properly.

Review: Mountain Hardwear Transition Jacket

My closet floweth over with wind shells, soft shells, hard shells, ultralight shells, burly shells, and shells that defy classification. My first mountaineering shells in the early 70s were a wind and water resistant 60/40 parka and a waterproof cagoule. Then along came the miracle GoreTex fabric in my Early Winters parka that was supposed to replace the others. It did for a while but the concept of the one-shell-for-everything never panned out in the real world.

Now, decades later, I have found the one-shell-that-does-damn-near-everything. I've used the Mountain Hardwear Transition Jacket with great success for highly aerobic activities (road and mountain biking, skate skiing, running), interval activities (climbing, lift-served skiing, whitewater rafting, hiking), and inactivities (hanging around camp, around town, outdoor cafes). The only thing this shell doesn't excel at is keeping me dry in a heavy rainstorm but it isn't intended for that and it does great in light rain.

The Transition Jacket uses the latest generation of the Gore Windstopper SoftShell (formerly called Next2Skin). I've tried most of the previous versions of this fabric and was only mildly impressed; some were heavy, others uncomfortable. The interior laminate of this shell is brushed polyester, which is very soft and helps transfer moisture. The outer laminate is a jersey knit that disperses moisture for fast drying. The total fabric package is just warm enough for chilly days without being too thick for working hard.

If you are familiar with the Marmot DriClime Windshirt, a true classic piece of outdoor wear, this Transition Jacket is the modern replacement. Like many of you, I wore my DriClime for almost everything but now it hangs sullenly while the Transition is my go-to shell due to superior comfort.

The trim fit of the Transition keeps it from flapping in high winds and allows you to throw a fleece or hard shell over it when conditions warrant. The athletic cut gives plenty of arm reach when climbing and biking and allows excellent freedom of movement that is aided by the 3-way stretch of the body fabric and even greater stretch of the side panels. Seams are taped to minimize any chaffing and help reduce water leaks in light rain.

Amenities of the Transition Jacket include a nice hood that fits under helmets and lays unobtrusively when unused, reflective patches, and Lycra cuffs with thumb loops. The interior zippered chest pocket and exterior zippered rear pocket both have holes for earphones, plus there is an elastic routing loop to keep the cable in place. Total weight for a men's large is 15.0 ounces.

The slight downsides include limited abrasion resistance of the outer jersey knit (it tends to pick) so this isn't a great choice for bushwhacking but that is a necessary tradeoff. The only detail missing is the ability to use the rear pocket as a stuff sack.

With a suggested retail of $150, it does cost more than a DriClime ($85). But this is a shell that I wear so often now that it seems like a great value.

Study: Climber's High No Myth

No doubt you have heard of the "runner's high," which is the buzz achieved by an endurance workout. It has long been speculated that this blissful feeling results from the release of endorphin, a natural opiate produced by the body, but it had never been proven and some scientists considered this a myth.

Recently, scientists in Germany demonstrated that two hours of running does indeed cause the brain to release endorphins. In addition, the opiates preferentially bind to the prefrontal and limbic areas of the brain, which are involved with emotional processing and the suppression of pain.

As reported in the journal Cerebral Cortex, ten runners worked out for two hours and then underwent a PET scan. This is similar to a CT scan that digitally dissects the body except a radioactive isotope is injected into the bloodstream and the PET detects where it is metabolically active. In the case of the runners, the scan showed that opiate receptors in the brain after exercise were occupied by far greater amounts of endorphin. This also corresponded to an increase of euphoria and happiness at the end of the runs; the more intense the feelings, the more endorphin was binding to receptors.

While this study was conducted on runners, it also applies to all athletes and you don't have to work for two hours to experience it. Runners, cyclists, and other endurance athletes can fairly easily get into the "zone" after a half hour of working out.

It's fair to say that most climbers feel a strong buzz when they get to the top of a long, strenuous pitch. We may get a similar feeling on easier terrain only after a lot of vertical gain. In the case of crack climbing, that endorphin blast helps us ignore the pain in our feet. Climbers are frequently accused of being adrenalin junkies but we may really just be addicted to endorphin.

Review: PAST Balance Trainer

A good sense of balance is vitally important for most outdoor activities but especially things like climbing and hiking through boulder fields. One of the major focuses of functional training is combining multi-plane resistance exercises with balance challenges. These routines require the use of less resistance but offset this decrease by invoking more stabilizing muscles, including those of the core, and integrating the whole body.

There are numerous training aids for balance such as wobble boards, BOSU trainers, and slacklines. While working on the new edition of my training book, I've tried a wide assortment of these products. Among the best that I've found are the PAST balance boards.

Sold as a pair, these are unique compared to standard wobble boards and bongo boards because there is one for each foot. While a wobble board uses one half of a sphere attached to the bottom, the PASTs have a central rubber column. The difference is that you can't really balance on a wobble board but you can with the PAST, with practice. Also you start out of balance with a wobble or bongo board and must try to bring it to balance while you step onto the PASTs in a position of balance and work to maintain that position. Since the feet are independent and the platforms can rotate, you can perform a number of twisting motions not possible on other balance products.

The other unique aspect of the PAST system is that you can flip the platforms upside down and attach two handles for pushups. If you've seen the obnoxious commercials for the Perfect Pushup gizmo, this is basically the same thing only better. The wide, padded handles rotate as you perform the pushups to allow a natural hand position at all times. What is better is that you can make the grips unstable to increase the challenge or you can turn a collar to make them stable like with the Perfect Pushup. The unstable PAST pushups are nearly as good as performing pushups with Elite Rings and you don't have to worry about installation.

The PAST system also comes with elastic cords that attach to the platform for doing easy resistance exercises. This sounds good in theory but I found them to be essentially useless for any sort of workout. Also included is a cheap nylon gym bag and two rug adaptors. And you can view a selection of training videos on the web site (no DVD included).

All in all, I find the PAST system to be a superior balance training product to most of the alternatives. However, I have two major gripes: comfort and price. The platforms are very uncomfortable in bare feet, which discourages use around the house (pain is never a good enticement for training of any type). A smooth deck would be a huge improvement. The system sells for $120 (plus shipping), which seems pretty steep; if they sold for $80 (or $60 without handles) a lot more people would be interested.

Cramps and Myths

The plague of many a runner, cyclist, climber, boater, and just about any other outdoor athlete, muscle cramps suck. But despite all the suffering, the cause of cramps remains poorly understood. Much of the early research, which was largely funded by Gatorade, has been debunked. Yet this weak science was the basis for a massive marketing campaign that resulted in myths that persist to this day.

It's quite likely that many of you believe that cramps are caused by dehydration. Or perhaps you've heard that they result from a shortage of electrolytes, specifically potassium. Maybe it's a lack of minerals (zinc and magnesium). Not enough stretching and massage is another theory.

Alas, all of these have been ruled out as primary causes by the limited independent research that we do have. That's right folks: None of those expensive sport drinks and electrolyte replacement potions will prevent cramps.

Perhaps the most pervasive myth is that if your muscles cramp you weren't drinking enough (insert bottled brand of over-priced salty water). But as Ross at the Science of Sport blog points out, if dehydration and electrolyte depletion were the cause of cramps, more than one or two muscles would seize up. 

In their excellent five-part series on cramps, Ross and Jonathan explain that when we sweat from heavy exercise the concentration of electrolytes in the blood actually increases. In part 4, they present examples of what happens to an athlete under different conditions of exercise and hydration. The short story is that low levels of electrolytes are the result of drinking too much water and there is no need for salt tablets or any similar product as long as you drink when you are thirsty.

As an article in the New York Times sums all this up, the leading working theory for the cause of cramps is muscle fatigue combined with an imbalance of the nerve signals. These faulty signals can result from numerous causes including too little vitamin D (needed to control excess calcium, see my post on fatigue), inadequate carbohydrates (which you can get without fancy energy bars and drinks), and a host of other factors including genetics, age, menstrual cycles, and even psychology.

The bottom line is that the sport scientists know what doesn't work, and that includes bananas (Super Bowl notwithstanding), but they don't have clear answers yet on how to prevent cramps. The best advice is build up to an event with proper training (don't run a marathon if you've only been doing 10 Ks), stretch regularly especially if you have muscles that tend to cramp (helps relax the muscle cells), and ensure adequate carbs. Of course, if you like spending money on placebos, feel free to support your favorite snake oil purveyor too.

Avalanche Beacon Alert

Last week, the French web site Pistehors.com posted an advisory that has been sent to owners of Ortovox F1 beacons. It warns that these older analog beacons can search just fine but there's a chance that newer digital beacons (nearly all that have been sold in the past 5 years) may not find them when buried by an avalanche. Since many skiers wear a beacon like it's a cloak of invincibility, this should be a scary thought…immobilized under four feet of snow, slowly losing consciousness, and realizing that your friends can't find you because you're wearing an old beacon.

While this Ortovox alert may sound alarming, in truth it's old news and it applies to all older beacons. There are two major issues: signal drift and beacon fragility. And few skiers are aware of either problem.

Although all beacons sold in the past two decades broadcast and receive on the 457 kHz frequency, the newer beacons are much more intolerant of any variation. The ETSI standard requires all beacons to search in this range +/- 80 Hz. Unfortunately, with time and lots of small bumps, some beacons can end up broadcasting outside of this margin of error. The older analog beacons can still receive such errant signals. But many of the newer digital ones cannot.

The Pieps DSP has a unique feature that can measure the signal from other beacons and tells you how close they are to the ideal. But this test must be performed in advance--it does you no good at the trailhead. If your beacon is over or under by 50Hz, it must be sent in for repair. And for most older analog beacons, such as the F1, spare parts are no longer available. Hence the Ortovox advisory.

These analog beacons are not obsolete. In the hands of an experienced searcher, they can be just as fast as any of the fancy new digital beacons. But if you don't test them for drift, they can be a safety placebo.

And herein lies the second major problem with avalanche beacons: they are far more fragile than most people realize. The ETSI standard (ETS 300-718) only requires that a sample beacon operate properly after 6 drops from a height of 3 feet onto a wooden floor. For a piece of lifesaving equipment, that is a very low durability requirement. Skiers likely do not realize how easy it is to damage their beacons. It is quite possible to damage them internally so that they can pass a beacon check at the trailhead (you do one every time, right?!) but malfunction when the shit hits the fan.

That Ortovox France felt it necessary to send owners of their F1 beacons an advisory brings up a overarching problem with avalanche beacons. The outdoor industry as a whole is doing a poor job of educating consumers on what beacons can and cannot do. On his WildSnow blog, Lou Dawson recently discussed 3 myths of avalanche survival: beacons ensure rescue, being buried by an avalanche is no big deal, and you'll be fine once uncovered.

Consumers are sold these $200 to $500 electronic miracle boxes without the knowledge to use them safely. Sure the CDs that come with most beacons now cover the basics adequately but they certainly don't discuss any of the above. Magazines just focus on the glitz without talking about real issues that their advertisers would prefer left unsaid. Movies show gonzo skiers and boarders on gnarly terrain but never, ever the consequences. Store employees seldom get cliniced on more than how to get the box to the cash register, along with add-on sales of a shovel, probe pole, and perhaps an AvaLung.

Even avalanche education courses have focused more on what to do after you've screwed up than how to avoid the problem in the first place. A recent study showed that sidecountry skiers are entirely unprepared for what lays outside of ski area gates. And this same group is now targeted with price point beacons so they can have the illusion of being safer.

With this season shaping up to be the worst in North American history for avalanche fatalities, perhaps the outdoor industry will re-prioritize how to educate consumers about backcountry safety. But that could affect too many bottom lines so I'm not holding my breath.

Review: Arc'teryx Dually Belay Jacket

After a particularly frigid climbing trip to Indian Creek over Thanksgiving (the infamous frozen sushi fest), my wife decided that my much beloved Feathered Friends Volant Jacket was going to be hers. Fortunately for me, the new Dually Belay jacket from Arc'teryx arrived soon thereafter.

Over the years, I've tried quite a few synthetic parkas from a number of manufacturers. The appeal was being able to toss it over wet clothing when belaying on ice climbs. But I always ended up going back to down-filled jackets with a WP/B shell because of their warmth, compactness, and longevity. Until now, it just hasn't been possible to get that combination from any of the synthetics in a well-designed parka.

The Dually Belay jacket features a proprietary synthetic insulation that has a DWR coating on each fiber. Arc'teryx calls it ThermaTek, which is a hollow-core, continuous filament insulation--essentially Polarguard Delta with an extra water repellant treatment--that is glued to a 30 denier high-tenacity ripstop nylon face fabric. 

If this insulation sounds familiar it's because Wiggy's has been using pretty much the same technology since 1986. Jerry Wigutow is a maverick in the outdoor industry who has been railing against the marketing hype of the synthetic sleeping bag companies for ages. While Wiggy sometimes sounds like a crackpot, there is also a lot of truth to his rants particularly what he says about laminating insulations. I'm not a fan of his product because the design and detailing is lacking (I've been spoiled by high-end gear for too long to compromise on the little things) and they tend to be heavy (a 3.5 pound sleeping bag does not deserve to be called Ultra Light).

A few years ago, Mountain Hardwear was the first mainstream outdoor company to knock-off Wiggy's insulation concept with their Lamina sleeping bags, which proved less than successful so they had to redesign. Arc'teryx also made an attempt by laminating Primaloft but the performance left a lot to be desired and it had a stiff hand. Now Arc'teryx is back with ThermaTech and it appears they've got it mostly right this time. 

I've used the Dually Belay Jacket most of the winter and it is quite simply superb. The jacket maintains its loft and fluffs quickly after unstuffing so it provides a lot of warmth. Amazingly, at 22.2 ounces (men's large) it is 1.1 ounces lighter than the Volant down jacket and it fits into the same stuff sack. Let me repeat, the Dually is lighter and stuffs to the same size as a high-end down jacket of equal warmth.

Other niceties include a good high collar with wind seal in the neck, Lycra wrist seals, two zippered handwarmer pockets, and two large internal mesh pockets. The cut is trim yet athletic to allow good freedom of movement. The face fabric, which is the same both inside and outside the jacket, is very wind resistant and acceptably durable.

That's the good news, the bad news is breathability of the jacket is not as good as the down parka. Not a deal breaker though since this is more for standing around than working in the cold. The material doesn't have the soft hand and drape of down either but it's adequate. One design oversight is the lack of a pocket that doubles as a stuff sack (should be a no-brainer). And one very irritating design error is unprotected top of the zipper that chaffs at your chin when zipped closed (somebody smack that production manager).

But the really bad news is the cost. The Feathered Friends Volant Jacket with eVent outer shell (arguably the best down jacket on the market) retails for $330 and an optional detachable hood costs $55. The Arc'teryx Dually Belay Jacket has a suggested retail of an astounding $425 or the Belay Parka, which is the same except it adds a non-detachable hood, is $475. Considering this synthetic jacket requires a lot less labor to assemble (fewer seams) and the premise for the technology is twenty years old, it's hard to see how they can justify the asking price.

No doubt, if you need the wet weather performance (or if you get pro deals), the price may not be a factor.  Aside from the cost, the Dually truly is an exceptional piece of kit, no other synthetic jacket is even close, despite a few minor design issues. 

Available from Backcountry.com