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Wallets in the Storefront

I just added the newest version of the leather Makr / Touring wallets to the store front.

These wallets, like most things here at OAC, were an organic progression. Both designs are rooted in traditional leather craft patterns. I wanted a simple wallet for a couple of cards and a little cash, and the single pocket version was born. Then I needed a business card holder and the two pocket version entered the scene. A couple of year’s worth of refinements and it is something that is ready for debut.

Both are made be me here in our workshop with high quality 4oz leather from Herman Oak, stitched with V92 sailmaking thread, and the up-cycled chain link is stitched on by hand. I treat them with a healthy coat of Obenauf’s leather treatment to keep the look natural. The pockets will each hold a few credit cards or a stack of 15 business cards. The slot can take some cash folded in half, then in half again.

The leather will take on a shiny deep brown tone that only gets better with age.

$40 + 2 shipping and handling will get you one to your door.

Sunday Market at the Harbor

Another chilly, but pretty close to perfect day to go get the veggies.

Riding is fun, riding and getting you food for the week is rewarding and fun!

Cooking Outside

I recently picked up a new stove to lighten my outdoor cooking load a bit. I have been wanting a Trail Designs Ti-Tri Caldera cone for years now, but prefer a wider pot, and it is primarily meant to work with mugs. In the last year or so, the TD guys came out with the sidewinder and a was back to dreaming. With a bit of extra cash I splurged and bought myself the Sidewinder kit.

The kit comes with the alcohol stove, windscreen / cone, tent stake / pot supports, fuel bottle, fuel measuring cup, pot lifter and a basic aluminum 2qt pot. The whole package fits neatly into the pot.

The cone acts as both a windscreen and pot support with the ventilation optimized to get the most from their stove. It is in credibly simple to use. load the measured amount of denatured alcohol into the stove, light with a match, set the cone over and then set the pot on top.

I headed out early this morning to start putting it to good use. I was able to bring about 1qt of water to boil with 35ml of alcohol in a little over 15 minutes. This was with the sea breeze just starting to pick up.

I brewed up a bottle of tea for the road and enough left over to enjoy while things cooled off. I am impressed with what is really their most basic stove kit designed to boil at least a quart of water. Simple to use, quiet, clean, light weight and efficient with the fuel. The stove will also work well with Esbit fuel tabs. For a bit of a bump in price their titanium kits can burn wood as well.

The only down side to this kit is the size. While quite clearly described on their website, it is bigger than I envisioned. That is not really a problem, just what it is. I am sure that this stove is going to see a ton of use.

Low Tide

Yesterday was starting off pretty normal, the task list was more than a day could hold, but the plan as always was to bite off as much as possible. One thing I was not giving up was my regularly scheduled errands ride around own. With all the short stops I can usually get it all done in the same amount of time as the car, and the bike is just a hell of a lot more fun.

The skies went gray for the first time in few days and the fog was rolling in on the coast. With temps in the 50’s it was crisp, but still pretty perfect to ride and barely break a sweat. Everything was going pretty close to routine, and I decided to swing by the beach on my way home.

The tide was super low and dropping fast. I knew this was going to happen, but not so early in the day. This was a perfect chance to seize the moment, do something not on the schedule and grab back 30 minutes of pure fun, and yes you can almost see the idea forming in my mind above.

And so the diversion started, I figured it would just be a quick toodle on the sand. It turned out I had over a mile of beach for an out and back. Even with 20lbs in the panniers the 38mm tires did just fine on the hard packed sand. I found a few small pieces of green beach glass, crossed paths with dogs and their owners reveling in the extra playground space, and had a fantastic time

As always, getting there by bike is highly recommended, and always make a little time for the detours, you will never regret it!

XtraHills

Yesterday I had a couple of quick stops to make, with Grant Park in the middle. If there is time I try to make it a point to go over the hill instead of around. I was on the xtracycle, dropped it into low and set to spinning along at a comfortable pace.

Even the pitches steeper than 10% should not be that big of a deal with the low gearing on my heavy hauler

About half way up and at the top of the steepest stretch I could still crack a smile.

The next couple hundred yards had me wondering if this was such a good idea in jeans and a fleece. Not terrible, but thinking I should probably stop, but that would break any sort of rhythm I had managed to get going. Then cresting the top, the fun begins.

It is just a matter of picking a route down.