June 5, 2016

Gear Review

My Bike Camping Essentials

June 5, 2016

Gear Review

I just got back from my 4th weekend camping in a row and while I was out this weekend I was thinking about my essential gear. Every trip I play with the gear I take, dialing in the system a little bit more each time. Every time, however, there are those few pieces of gear that are absolutely essential. So here are mine:

Etekcity Ultralight Backpacking Stove- I bought this for $10 last year and it's the best $10 I've every spent. lt has a built in ignition, packs up smaller than my cell phone, and has been super reliable. (I have it packed up next to a 2oz bottle of Dr. Bronner's for comparison.)

Revelate Mountain Feed Bag- This is my all time favorite accessory on my bicycle. I use it ALL the time to store all sorts of things- keys, cell phone, camera, trash, beer, food, chapstick. It's so stinking handy. Mesh pockets for little things that you need to access right away, and a drawstring main compartment for keeping stuff in tight. For my longer trips I'll actually put snacks in here to grab while riding and my phone to pull out for photos on the go. When I'm riding around the neighborhood, this is where I keep my keys and cell phone. Love this bag.

Black Diamond Head Lamp- Nothing fancy about it, but I regretted the first time I left home without it. Absolutely essential for camping.

REI Ditty Sacks- Such a simple concept but I hadn't ever practiced it before: keep yourself organized when you're camping and life is way easier! I use this little ditty sacks and it totally works. The tiny one is for my tools and gadgets (matches, stove, electronics), clothes go in the medium one, and food stuff goes in the big one. All of those then get packed into my bike bags. You look like an REI ad when it's all laid out, but, whatever.

Klymit Static V Sleeping Pad- This is 3rd sleeping pad I've tried and I love it! Extremely small (while packed it's smaller than a nalgene bottle), quiet when sleeping, and pretty comfortable. It also blows up quickly- about 10 breaths and deflates quickly. My only complaint is that it's kind of slippery, but I think I can remedy that with a bit of silicone- just need a weekend off of camping to make that adjustment. At $54 (I got mine cheaper on ebay) it's also not very expensive, although with an R-value of 1.3, it's also not super insulated. Seems to be a pretty good summer sleeping pad so far. I also really appreciate that the stuff sack has a patch kit sewn into it for on-the-go repairs.

Paradox Merino Wool Base Layers - I bought two pairs of these a few years ago at Costco for $8 each and have never regretted it. Light, warm, breathable, and perfect for camping in every season. In the summer, I wear them with nothing else, in the winter, I throw on a few more layers and I stay toasty warm. They're absolutely essential. Plus, you can wear them as base layers when riding and they don't smell! Wool is the best!

In compiling all of this, I realized that technically, there's nothing "bike" about any of this gear, except for the Revelate Feedbag. The rest is just camping gear that's easily packable. Really hits home the point that anybody can bike camp- you just need a bike!

Marley Blonsky

June 5, 2016

Travel, Bike Camping

A Swing...and a Near Miss

Marley Blonsky

June 5, 2016

Travel, Bike Camping

Call it luck or perhaps good planning, but until this weekend all of my bike camping trips have gone off without a hitch. No major mechanical issues, getting lost, or unexpected difficulties. For the most part, I've known exactly what to expect in terms of ride difficulty, length, and weather and have prepared accordingly.

Well, for some reason, I royally screwed up this trip. And I feel really bad because it wasn't just me at stake this time. I took a bike camping virgin with me! GAHHHHH.

My plan was to ride out to Scenic Beach State Park as a way to test out the route for the upcoming Swift Campout and to take part in Adventure Cycling Association's National Bike Travel Weekend. In a few weeks I'll be leading the Bikery's group on this same ride, and since I've never been to this park, I figured it'd be a good idea to give it a whirl.

Holy hell it's a good thing I did. I missed one crucial turn about 5 miles into our ride which resulted in a whole lot of extra dumb climbing. Overall, the difference in elevation was only about 100ft between the two routes, but if you compare the elevation profiles, the route we took has a bunch of nasty big climbs vs. gentle long climbs.

The route we took: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/9322607

The route we meant to take: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14232946

My bike felt wonky on the ride out there too, and I can't figure out if it's because the weight was distributed unevenly or I was just carrying too much stuff. My friend's bike wasn't a touring bike I was carrying most of the gear (cooking and sleeping stuff) and he just had a backpack and seat post rack. This, plus the heat made for a very slow going trip.

All the stupid climbing was availed when we pulled into camp and the rangers happily assured us that even though the sign said "Campground Full", the hiker/biker sites were still open. Winning on bikes, yet again!

We quickly set up camp and made the wise decision to not put the rain fly on the tent. With an overnight forecast of 60 degrees and no rain, we both were willing to risk a bit of dew for the rare opportunity to see towering pines and stars from the tent. Definitely a wise choice.

The beach area at Scenic Beach is about a 5 minute walk from the campground. We grabbed a snack and a beer and headed down to check it out. The day area here is huge, with tons of picnic tables, bbq grills, and a few volleyball courts. Even though it was being well used, there was still lots of space and it didn't feel crowded. After checking it out, we headed back up to make dinner, eventually coming back down to the beach for the sunset.

In the morning, we enjoyed the requisite cup of coffee outside, a quick bowl of outmeal, and then headed out. We had a goal to be on the road before temperatures soared into the 90's, as nobody wants to ride in that.

Unsurprisingly, the ride back to town went a lot faster than the ride into camp. It's funny how riding the intended route works like that.

Marley Blonsky

May 31, 2016

Best. May. Ever.

Marley Blonsky

May 31, 2016

Wowza! What a freaking month! This might go down as my favorite month of being alive...ever? Any month where you visit 2 National Parks has to be special, right?

I'm still reeling from everything that happened this month and the ever growing mountain of laundry in my room is proof.

A short recap:

100k Night Randonneuring Ride
Bus + Bike Trip to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River (I'll write this one up at some point, because holy cow- taking the bus to go bike camping was a whole new level of awesome!)
30th Birthday Camping trip to Ocean Shores complete with razor clam digging & gravel bike ride through the rainforest
Top Chef home game night cooking competition with my friends
Solo weekend adventure to Alaska! (I'll also do a separate post on this, or three, it was THAT good!)
Bike Everywhere Month with 82 coworkers- our biggest turnout yet! And tons of successful programming at The Bikery!

I also might have exciting news to report soon on my career. I'm tight lipped for now, but there could be big changes coming soon!

For now, here's a slideshow of the best month ever (click through for photos- not the most intuitive interface.) I hope June continues to be just as wonderful!

Marley Blonsky

May 20, 2016

Well I Guess This is Growing Up

Marley Blonsky

May 20, 2016

I turn 30 in tomorrow. 30 has always loomed large in my brain as a big momentous birthday, where you should have a certain number of life goals achieved, boxes checked on the “Life To-Do’s List” and in general, a pretty good idea of who you are and where you’re going. Now that it's here, I can tell you that’s all a giant load of shit.

Life goals? Ha.

To-do list? Does taking my laundry out of the dryer count?

Who I am and where I’m going in life? Now that I feel a whole lot more sure on.

My sister and I often joke that I should write a book about my life. The last ten years specifically have been a whirlwind of insanity and all joking aside, I’ve probably experienced more in the last decade than a lot of people do their entire lives.

Here's the 5 minute version of it. When I was 22, I emailed my mom to tell her that I was gay. Her biggest concern was that I sent the email from my work email. She also correctly predicted that I was more likely bisexual. Oh moms, they know you so well...

A few years later I then got gay married, not once, but twice (to the same person.) We were the 27th couple to be married legally in Washington State and were the media darlings, featured on RachelMaddow, Time, the Seattle PI, USA Today and who knows where else. Crazy, right? Well, there's more.

Six months of wedded bliss later, I was blind-sided by my wife leaving me for the woman she was nannying for.

(In all seriousness, we had a really rad wedding. So many friends, family, and loved ones came out and supported us. Check out the first link for a beautiful write up on Offbeat Bride of our ceremony-2 officiants, a flower farm, a little girl in a suit- it was pretty cool. I get asked all the time if I regret doing it and my answer steadfastly remains no. You can't predict when love will end, or change somebody else's behavior. I can only make my own decisions and how I react to situations.)

In retrospect, while heartbreaking, shitty, and a really awful way to leave somebody, my marriage falling apart at 26 was also the catalyst for me finding out all sorts of things about myself that I'm not sure I would have otherwise.

After we split, I moved to Capitol Hill, started biking, camping, traveling, and living for myself. I rediscovered what made me laugh, what fun was, that I’m a desirable person, and that I deserve to be loved. Since splitting from my partner, I’ve had the best sex of my life- with men, women, and plenty of them.

I've also traveled. I've ridden a moped around Cozumel and snorkeled on the most beautiful beach in the world. On that same trip, I kissed a public bus driver while he was still driving the bus! I smoked weed on a beach in Jamaica and rode a hand-controlled roller coaster in Haiti. I went mountain biking in the Virgin Islands on the rustiest bike you've ever seen. I swam under giant airplanes in St. Maarten on what has been named the most dangerous beach in the world and feared for my life as the taxi driver careened down the side of a mountain.

I've popped holes in too many bike tires to count, learned how to fix those same bike tires, and passed on my knowledge of bike maintenance to other women. I've learned how to set up a tent, a hammock, and that sometimes, the best place to sleep is under the stars.

I’ve learned to love myself. That it’s ok to say no. That it’s ok to say yes. It’s even better to say OH YES! It’s ok to do some drugs (in moderation, of course.) Life is meant to be lived- not as a series of milestones that society places on us just because that’s what we do. If I never get married or have kids, cool. If I do, that's ok too. But I’m not living my life just to find Mr. or Mrs. Right, buy a house, and pop out babies.

It’s just as ok to bike down a trail in the middle of the night singing at the top of your lungs as it is to go skinny dipping in Lake Washington. Actually, it’s more than ok, it’s perfect and wonderful and exactly what I need to do sometimes. I've learned that tandem bicycles are just as wonderful as they seem. Ride one if you get the chance. I've also realized that it's ok to sit at home sometimes, reading a book or tending my tomato plants. Quiet nights at home can be just as necessary.

I am so thankful that I discovered this, because dammit, life is fun. People, relationships, and adventures are fun. Yes, they’re hard sometimes too, but I truly believe we do it because it’s fun.

My goal for the next decade is to focus on this and remember that life isn’t so serious. None of us are getting out of here alive after all.