I am an avid bike commuter. Especially with the spring thaw going on all around me. I have been making an effort to not touch my car, instead choosing to bike to places like the post office and grocery store (thanks massive messenger bag!). I went through a big lul when I first moved to my current hometown, Milwaukee. Its not the most bike-friendly place I’ve lived, and I tend to get nervous riding on the sides of busy roads where the drivers in my area tend to view bikers as their enemy. Not until recently have I become fluent in the best routes, paths, and bike-only shortcuts in my area.

The new bicycling directions in Google maps hopes to change this. They’ve added data pertinent to bikers right into the already fantastic Maps program. With 12,000 miles of trails mapped out and added in 150 US cities, the directions system for biking incorporate a lot of variables to find the most efficient routes: trails, large hills, dedicated bike lanes, ‘rider friendliness’ of roads, and even business of intersections to cut down on wait times to cross.

To switch to bike directions, simply select it from the drop-down when getting normal directions. In your directions, you’ll also notice that the roads are coded 3 different ways:

• Dark Green – bicycle and pedestrian-only trails
• Light Green – dedicated bike lanes
• Dashed Green – preferred roads for biking without a dedicated lane.

The system is only in beta so they are aggressively adding more data and taking input from riders to add recommended roads, trails, remove busy roads, and any other advice that could improve the program. For more information, check out the official Google Blog and the official Google Earth and Maps blog, Lat Long.

Head over to http://maps.google.com/biking/ and take a ride!

Hydration packs are increasingly common, and it seems companies are more and more desperate to make themselves stand out (I’m looking at you CamelBak). Most of the time for a pack to support hydration it means that its got a pocket where you can slide a bladder in and a few elastic bands to thread the tube and nozzle through. That’s about it.

Osprey Hydraulics changes that. Their support really raises the bar a few notches. One major feature is their HydaFrom Reservoir line, co-developed with Nalgene. These bladders feature an anatomically molded plastic sheet between the reservoir back and a layer of nylon fabric, forcing the reservoir to conform to the complex shape of the back. This also helps keep it from barreling out from the internal water pressure when you fill it. On top fo that it features a rigid spine that serves as a handle to make it so that you can load or remove the bladder with a full pack. Nice!

The bags themselves are engineered to work with the reservoir designs too. Their HydraLock internal frame maintains a space dedicated to the reservoir so that it will always fit back in. This also helps squeeze so that the motion of the water is minimized. Another nice feature is a magnetic attachment point for the bite valve.

Osprey Hydraulics is available on bother their Raptor series, geared toward mountain biking and trail running, and Manta series, a more general multisport daypack.

I view writing as a form  of meditation. Writing every day can help with personal development, from working through personal issues to boosting communication skills such as – well – writing and formulating arguments. In the last few months though I have fallen off of my writing habit (with the exception of this and the other blogs that I write for) – no essays, journaling, or poetry.

Enter Buster Benson’s web app 750 Words.

Here’s the idea: every day, you write 750 words. It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be a full journal; it could be an essay on the Bose Wave Radio; it could be simple stream-of-consciousness (my personal preference). You can log-in using your Facebook account, and everything you write is private by default. So don’t worry about being inhibited by the feeling of being on a public stage in the age of social media – 750 Words is a private venue. As a bonus, you can export what you’ve written to edit, post, or print, and you can even use a search tool to look for bits you’ve written in the past.

Also, at any point you can check a whole array of analytics, including data aggregated about your feelings and subjects written about in the form of snazzy looking pie charts. Sort of interesting and only appropirate from the king of personal metrics (check out Buster Bensons’s homepage to see what I mean).

I’m really looking forward to spending time on this site! Let’s hear what your thoughts are about this sort of daily writing in the comments!

750 Words

I can’t say that I have ever had one, but last year I decided I wanted to make one. Unfortunately it was too late in the year. This year I’m going to nail it. I’m going to make and tend to a vegetable garden.

So for all you sustainable-types; or perhaps, for all you frugal types; or… for all you crafty types- now is the time to start figuring out your garden plans and layouts. Although in the mountains it’ll be a bit before plants can be put into the soil outside, get an early jump by sowing seeds indoors though.

Also, take the time to set it all out on paper. Lay out what plants you want to grow, then figure out about when in the year each needs to begin growing based on the last day of frost and how long they should be grown before being put outside. The NOAA site is great for figuring out freeze and frost timing. Also check Victory Seeds’ site and The Farmer’s Almanac for information on specific seeds. Then map out when each plant will become mature.

Making a garden is an awesome way to get beyond the limbo between winter and full-fledged spring. Its also a great way to reconnect with the Earth, linking your life more strongly to the ebbs and flows of seasons and variation in plan life-cycles.

Check out this excellent post from Keeper of the Home for more tips. Also, lets hear from you. What are your personal gardening tips and experiences?

Photo courtesy of sscornelius

A good sleeping bag can be the difference between a really pleasant camping trip and a miserable, exhausting adventure. Since it’s a somewhat hefty investment, you don’t want to make an uninformed decision. So when buying a sleeping bag, you should try on as many as possible, no matter what store you enter. Get inside and zip ‘em up. Roll around a bit. Wiggle your feet and toes.

To help you make sense of modern sleeping bags, we’ve compiled some info as a starting point to choosing a good bag. We’ve tried to keep it relatively simple.

First things first –

The Anatomy of a Sleeping bag:

• Footbox – A roomy contour in the foot area that helps your feet lay in a natural position.
• Baffles – Lateral compartments sewn into the bag to keep insulation evenly distributed.
• Shell – The outer fabric of a bag.
• Draft Tube – Insulated tube running alone the zipper to help insulate this heat leak.
• Liner – The material that sits next to your body.
• Hood – The material that surrounds the head, helping to lock in heat and greatly improving the efficiency of the bag.

Key Factors

• When/Where: Determine what time of year and in what kind of temperature you’ll use the bag. What’s its intended use?
• Insulation: You will have a choice between down and synthetic fill.
• Temperature Rating: Get a bag rated to the coldest temperature in which you’ll be camping or sleeping. Do you need 1 bag for all year, or will you be budgeting for multiple bags?
• Weight/Packability: If you’re backpacking a lot, ounces have a huge impact.
• Fit: Have you had problems with comfort of previous bags? What made you uncomfortable?
• Women Specific: Designed with more insulation in spots where women lose more heat then men; They are also shorter in length and tighter in the shoulders to reduce air pockets.

Click to Read the full article!