You’ll be seeing a few ride posts about some older rides and gear posts about stuff that are several months old popping up. These were piling up in my notebook, but for one reason or another, I didn’t have the time to upload them. They may be a bit out of date, but please enjoy them!
It’s been months since I last went to a Taco Bell, but I found myself in need of a quick lunch and decided to visit the Kapahulu one. The featured specialty items caught my interest, what they are calling “Cantina” style tacos. Soft corn tortilla tacos in either chicken, steak, or carnita fillings with chopped onions and cilantro. Each is roughly $2, and thats about all you get, a double soft corn tortilla with those ingredients, wrapped in foil, and a lime wedge. I have to give them credit for actually offering something that is more than just a rehash and recombination of their existing ingredients. I got a two pack of chicken and carnita. The chicken was quite dry, flavor alright. The carnita, being pork, was less dry, however the overwhelming flavor/spice seemed to be salt. Squeezing the lime into them helps, but after taking a few bites to sample the flavor, ended up putting on hot sauce.
That drink is also some new thing, “Sparkling Limeade” or something to that effect. Pretty much lemon lime soda with some syrup that is the limeade component, and a lemon wedge. Not bad, but you don’t get much for the money.
So the verdict? It’s something different to try than the usual whatever supreme, but ends up rather unexciting. And not filling. The more real mexican places have nothing to worry about. 2 out of 4 mexi monkeys.
Discovered at Marukai, something all computer users should find useful, Mouth Pads!
I like a tight rear end. I picked up my diff and axle housing from Pacfic Automotive on Friday. Ken was still working on the axle bearings, and was going at it with an air chisel when I went to his shop. I’m glad I left this job to him. I’m sure I would have been cursing at that point, & my rickety mystery China hydraulic press would prob be in dangerous shape and no longer a parallelogram. When I got it back home, I repainted it with my favorite kryptonite paint, POR-15. Thats the stuff I used on my control arms where I forgot to press a metal sleeve out of and we had to torch the end to heat it to extract it. The paint was intact and pretty unscathed even after that. It’s name is Paint Over Rust meaning you can paint it over surface rust. The surface does need to be clean of oil, I can never seem to get it totally clean of that, I have some spots where the paint didn’t stick. But if the paint sticks, look out! If you get any on your skin, that’s it. If you don’t immediately wipe it off, it’s there until the layer of skin peels off. Painting implements are pretty much toast afterward. Its not cheap stuff, buy only what you can use, once you open the can any left over is pretty much toast. They advise you to use some kind of scoop to take paint out of can, you get it on the lid lip and when you close the can, its toast. It’ll seal up the can tight and you’ll end up destroying the can reopening it. If you keep it clean, you can extend storage a bit by sealing it tight and in another container with dessicant, this paint is moisture cured. Oh well, I made a mess of things so this entire $30 pint goes for painting the rear axle. Continue reading ‘Tight Rear, Loose Rear’
Similar to Clif Shot Bloks, these gummy energy blocks from the makers of GU gel are a convenient medium between energy gels and full-blown energy bars. The size and consistency are similar to the Clif Shot Bloks, but they seem to be a little less sweet. I’ve seen three flavors – blueberry/pomegranate, strawberry, and cranberry/apple. The strawberry and cranberry/apple have caffeine, but the blueberry/pomegranate does not (boo!). The packaging is like the original Clif packaging, where once opened, there is no built-in way to reclose the bag or otherwise keep the unused portion from escaping. If you don’t eat the whole 60-gram package at once, stash a rubber band to hold the package shut, or tear a hole just small enough to force a single block through and hope for the best. The caloric value is listed as 180 calories for the entire 8-block package, with 100mg of sodium total: The similar Clif product is 200 calories for 6-blocks with 140mg of sodium (for the non-sodium enriched flavors). It’s pretty clear that the GU product was designed to be a direct competitor to the Clif one. On a recent trail ride, I passed around a package of the blueberry/pomegranate flavor, and everyone in the ride group was positive about them. Last year, Root did a review on these also – click here for his review.
Made in The USA
About $2.00 USD retail
Recommended
Three out of four carbo-monkeys
Having missed riding over the weekend and Monday evening, we were all feeling the need for some dirt, so when JT instigated a Wednesday St. Louis drop, we were all in. Root, JT, and I piled into Ckucke’s truck, and we met Kevyn at Kanewai for the shuttle up. Although it had rained overnight and intermittently during the morning, the afternoon sun dried things out, so there was no trace of wetness on the way down through Dumps. At Agave, we climbed up briefly to the middle sortie and descended to the concrete road. Kevyn pinch flatted on the step-up after the water tank, so he had to walk it out to the street. Dinner was at Serg’s in Manoa at JT’s suggestion. I had some good carnitas enchiladas with tomatillo sauce for about $10 USD (oh, and JT, don’t forget to give me $20!).
Pictures here
D = 3.89 km (2.42-miles), Vavr = 13.7 km/h (8.5-mph), Vmax = 31.2 km/h (19.4-mph), T = 17-minutes
Just got home from The Contamporary Museum of Honolulu’s August Moon wine tasting fund raiser at The Edge at the Sheraton Waikiki. I was one of the featured artists at the “Drawn Out” venue table of artists who all donated their time and talents to create artwork on the fly for sale to the attendees to whip up some much needed cash for the museum. Traffic going into Waikiki was horrendous (Saturday? go figure) so I got there a little late (Sorry, Waileia!) – I really should have known better. I managed to draw two pieces – an oni gnawing on a skull, and two nekomimi girls in a box. Both pieces sold almost immediately. Whee! Cade ended up with my last minute scribble “Tio Muerte contra El Prehensilo”, which was not ready for prime time. I am a little curious as to who bought my pieces… Continue reading ‘No Good Deed Goes Unpunished’
That was fast! Just as I was hopping into car to move out of driveway, our maillady pulled up, gave a toot, parked, locked her front doors, and pulled a box out of the back of her truck. Could it be my parts already? The box looked smaller than I expected, but judging by how she moved, it had some heft. I’ll be darned, it was my order from Weir Performance! So what was in this box of goodies? Continue reading ‘KAAZ’
Following a clear Saturday, Sunday broke clear, then flipped into alternating periods of rain and sun in increasing frequency. The call went out when it was sunny, but the clouds had closed in by ride time. Chris was champing at the bit to get on the bike, and Jeff and Root seemed enthused too. Ckucke texted me before roll-out time, asking about the weather. I walked outside, and after a brief inspection of the conditions I could actually see, I texted back that I thought “it would be OK”. When I left home, I could see Mt. ‘Olomana, but before I even got to Pali Highway, all had gone white and the roaring downpour began. I became skeptical about our chances of riding, but I figured I’d get a little closer to Waimanalo before calling it. As suddenly as it started, the rain stopped passing Castle Hospital. Ckucke had called to say he was running late, so I told him not to panic when all heck broke loose on the Pali. Waimanalo exists in its own microclimate and seemed to have missed the major precipitation. The edge of a rainsquall just caught us as we were gearing up to ride, but it soon passed and within moments, the sky was blue again and ground had dried out. The trail was much less forgiving: The areas under tree cover were damp, but not slick. Continue reading ‘Rain, Rain, Go Away’
The Monday after riding Ditch hungover, we took a run down St. Louis. After a hard charge down Upper Dumps and a grind back up to the dirt jumps, we headed down Mainline into the clear sunset. The light was pretty and made for nice photos, but it made riding challenging. Bright glare and dark shadows in the open areas forced the switch from visual cues to inertial guidance and memory going through the jumps and berms. Even so, there was a good flow going on. Somewhere along the last pitch, Ckucke got a pinch flat and had to run out the finish. Dinner was at the Vietnamese place on the top of Wai’alae. Root and I ordered stuff with vermicelli, but got stuff with rice. Oh well. At least they got the “stuff” part right…
Pictures here
D = 4.54 km (2.82-miles), Vavr = 12.2 km/h (7.5-mph), Vmax = 36.7 km/h (22.8-mph), T = 23-minutes
So a young woman, born and raised in Kailua is walking along the beach with her dog, and a pigmentally challenged individual says, “Hey, what are you doing here? Locals aren’t allowed here!”
. o O ???