2nd Annual St Patrick's Day ride

 Officially the St Patrick's Day Massacre, this year was the second year for the charity ride that raises money to fund a primary school art program in San Francisco. I was pleased to be asked back for another year of pedaling and photos. There were some fantastic moments on the ride and the city delivered on it's foggy reputation. We had a great time and I got to work on my action photography skills between sprints up Hawk Hill to get in position. If only I spent every weekend photographing cycling events...

Emergency Medical Service

Not so long ago I decided to upgrade and certify my medical training. City College has an affordable and accredited program that feeds into the EMS community here in San Francisco and the Bay Area. A few months later I'm half way through EMR training, just earned my CPR AED for pro rescuers credentials. It certainly makes me more useful and makes for a reliable career option, one of those "not going away any time soon" jobs and a fantastic community to be a part of.

In addition to learning the expected things, I'm learning how many organizations are in need of qualified medical technicians, key word being "qualified". Everyone from NERT/CERT, search and rescue groups and schools to private corporations with facilities of any size and a staff or patrons to protect may, or at least should, be looking for certified first responders for their team. Even if the primary "job" has nothing to do with EMS, it's never a bad idea to have pre-hospital care professionals around.
There are endless lists of opportunities open to motivated individuals willing to go after them and all of them have an array of payoffs that go far beyond the obvious. Considering that at one time or another all of us will have an opportunity to save a life, possibly our own or that of a loved one, we should also all be trained to do so.

Marmot Super Mica jacket

Since becoming a Blackburn Ranger and a more serious "adventure rider", I discovered some holes in my gear. Some literal and some metaphorical. In the case of needing a lightweight storm shell it was both. I'd been riding around in a really nice shell jacket from Chrome Industries, I loved the thing. It wasn't super water resistant and certainly not waterproof or breathable but it was a good jacket until I got in a wreck and took it for a slide across the pavement. It never was adequate for really getting out there, more a good looking, cycling specific thing that wold get you the rest of the way to your destination if it started to rain.

I had been trying to lay hands on a bicycle specific jacket when  friend at Marmot offered help with anything I might need. Having seen the Super Mica in a couple stores but not having the budget for it I was stoked. At 9oz the jacket is as lightweight as could be hoped for in a waterproof breathable. It's also single layer so there isn't a lot of garment to fight with and while it's light, it stops wind to the degree that you often don't miss having a lined jacket. Often, being able to manage warmth with base layers instead of having a jacket that is too warm is a serious bonus. It's become my go to jacket for cycling, climbing and travel in general.

I've been wearing it quite a bit for a few months now and it's holding up well. There's a small amount of abrading at the cuff and on the hood but the reinforced areas on the shoulders are good and so far I haven't noticed any thinning or failure of the waterproof fabric itself. Seems to be holding up at least as well as my Air Force issue Gore-tex stuff at a fraction of the weight. Granted it was designed for very different environments and activities but it breathes far better than my Gore gear has. I have been asked by a couple of people who also have the Super Mica if mine was "de-lamming" and while they said they had issues with the lining separating, as noted, I have not. I am admittedly cautious with mine having experienced Gore product self destructing as well as habitually protecting my sailing gear, something equally hard to replace and miserable when it fails underway. It is rumored that Marmot is developing a new version of the Super Mica but I can't personally confirm it.

It's one of those pieces of gear that I'm thankful to have had help affording but recommend to anyone, even at full retail. It's worth the money and I'm not one to say that lightly.

Lighting for carnivorous plants

A while back I wrote a post about a project I did at Instructables.com putting together a carnivorous plant terrarium. It was fun, it looked great and it was a much bigger learning experience than I could have imagined. I learned about the plants, terrariums, the soil for those same plants that is certainly on the tricky side as is the water. It mostly just needs to be as "clean" as possible, meaning both chemical and nutrient free. Dissolved mineral content in soil and water will readily kill otherwise healthy carnivorous plants. This is probably why they are a seasonal or temporary curiosity for most people. A few months in and the plants mysteriously die or for other seemingly unpredictable reasons they do fine and keep on going. Even educated growers often experience difficulty rearing these finicky bug eating wonders.

Someone over at Instructables commented recently asking about lighting. I don't think I really addressed that issue in my how to or the subsequent how to on soil for carnivorous plants. Mine lived in a big jar in a sunny window where they had bright light most of the day. A lot of us don't have access to those conditions, including me now that I am no longer with Instructables.

Luckily, carnivorous plants do well with artificial lighting so even basement dwellers can put together a lovely hungry garden. There is even a fantastically detailed article on the International Carnivorous Plant Society website that explains the lumens, color temperature and hours per day the plants need. There are many commonly available lighting setups or you could just buy LEDs and build your own. With the ease of controlling LEDs with Arduinos and Raspberry Pie microcomputers you could automate the whole thing from lighting to temp and hydrometers. Though, a lot of people have great luck stuffing the plants in a jar and setting them on a handy window sill.

As always, it's hard to beat "doing" as the best way to learn.

Giro Privateer shoes

Earlier this year I got a pair of Giro Code mountain shoes and I love them. Unfortunately riding every day, doing a lot of walking off of the bike and generally punishing them, has worn them out. Far more fortunately, I am still riding for Blackburn Design, so Giro sent me a new pair of Privateer mountain shoes. While technically for trail riding, mountain biking shoes are ideal for getting around in dense urban environments when you need to be on and off of the bike but still want the performance of a dedicated cycling shoe.

After a couple weeks in the Privateers, I can say they live up to the Giro name and while different and lower priced than the Code shoes, I wouldn't exactly say they aren't as nice. The Privateer lacks the EC90 carbon last of it's up scale twin, leaving it more flexible and not offering quite the same efficiency. However, this also leaves the shoe slightly more comfortable off the bike as it has a bit more flex when walking. The hardware and fit are essentially the same with very few cosmetic differences side by side. All said and done, it's probably a better(in some ways) urban and short distance shoe than the Code but it would be hard to go wrong with either.

Refrigerator pickles

It's fall, even in the bay area where it is never really winter. The wild berries are all but gone, root crops, cabbage and other late season crops are coming in. Apples are still in full swing but today we made refrigerator pickles. The kind my grandmother feels is a cop out but we all still eat them, including grandma, with side of Midwestern guilt for not going the full measure and canning them. I hadn't done refrigerator pickles outside of her kitchen before, I was short on time and needing to pickle the cucumbers or lose them soon. The unexpected realization was that even if I can only lay hands on a few cucumbers we can put up a jar or two without much effort. Small investment of time and resources for a fairly big payoff in the pantry, that's good right?

There are lots and lots of various brines and an array of vegetables to get creative with if you want to try pickling but an easy starter project is basic cucumber garlic dills. Most grocery stores carry dill, though not pickling dill, but you can grow it from seed if you can't find a place to buy it. It grows easily without much attention and you can dry it for later use.

You will need:

About 3 or 4 medium to large cucumbers
6 tbsp distilled white wine vinegar
4 cloves of garlic
3 cups water
3 tbsp kosher salt
1 bunch of dill

This will give you 3 to 4 16oz jars of pickles

The cucumbers should be washed and may be left whole or cut into any shape you like. If the skin is unbroken you may have to let them sit an extra day or so to pickle.

To make the brine, mix vinegar, salt and water until the salt is dissolved.

Sterilize your jars with hot water and place a single pealed clove of garlic and sprig of dill in each before packing with cucumbers. You will want to put as many cucumbers in each jar as will fit without smashing them and be sure to leave an inch or so open at the top so you can completely cover them with brine.

Once the jars are full top them off with brine, put the lids on and wait a two to three days. They are safe to eat at any time but won't be fully pickled for at least 48 hours and it will take at least that long for the taste to develop. Your pickles should keep in the refrigerator for 3-6 months or more.

I have had success using this brine with several kinds of cucumbers, okra and shallots. It's a great way to save garden produce and farm market treasures.

Making Peach Vinegar

After canning a batch of peaches recently I was reluctant to throw away the scraps. They smelled good and there was a fair amount of scrap. What to do with bruised peach flesh and skins? Hmm... How about peach vinegar? Wild yeast fermentation and conversion of the resulting peach liquor by further bacterial activity into vinegar. Pretty nifty trick. It's simple, takes mostly patience and provides another way to not let something go to waste.

There are many many sources online about fermenting and making vinegar. I'll include a bare minimum here and a few ideas for what to do with your vinegar. It should also be noted that while I used peaches, most any fruit will work. Most sources say citrus vinegars don't do as well and don't taste so great but that is admittedly hear say on my part. Peach, berry and other stone fruit vinegar is sometimes considered a drinking vinegar rather than something you might use for preservation. It has already graced our table in a nice peach vinaigrette and been made into a nice fizzy beverage. That alone would be enough to make a batch but I'm sure there are other uses ahead. Knowing that commercial vinegar is distilled to a standard 5% acetic acid, I'm left wondering what my recent batch is. That would certainly help if I intend to use it to make pickles or some other acid dependent thing. At least one source says this is a bad idea and that litmus paper cannot accurately measure the acidity of home brew vinegar. Not really worth getting sick over.

The basic method is nothing more than letting the fruit scraps ferment in sugar water, straining out the fruit and letting the resulting liquid acidify.

Sugar water

1/4 sugar dissolved in 1 quart of water

Make enough to cover the fruit in about a 3 or 4 to one ratio.

Put it into a glass or stoneware container, not metal. Cover the top with cloth or mesh to keep fruit flies out and let it sit for a week or so, stirring daily to prevent surface mold. Easy.

You will notice when it smells fermented. At this point strain out the fruit scraps and pour the whole thing back into the container you had it in and let it sit covered for a minimum of about two weeks but up to several months if you like. A white "scum" will form on top of the vinegar. This is the mother and should not be removed. Acetobactor is an aerobic bacteria and needs oxygen to do its job. Hence the floating mass on the surface of your liquid. Once your vinegar is at a point where you like it, you can bottle it or can it using plastic or old style glass lids. Vinegar will corrode metal lids and containers over time. Stick to glass, ceramic or plastic.

To make your peach vinegar beverage:

Add two or three tablespoons of peach(or other) vinegar to a pint glass, add a teaspoon(more or less) of your preferred sweetener and top off with ice and soda water.

For a dead simple salad dressing:

Splash enough vinegar over your salad to leave it wet, drizzle on the olive oil of your choice and top with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Almost too simple to call it dressing but it makes for a very nice salad.

You can read more about vinegar at Bragg and if you want to speed up your vinegar making process as well as insure positive results, you could add a couple tablespoons of Bragg's vinegar to your batch after the fruit has fermented. This wasn't necessary with mine and I had no trouble with the three week process but it's out there if you want it.