Sunday, August 25, 2013

Rust-Oleum NeverWet Review Follow Up

Click here to read the original review.

Watch the video below to see how the NeverWet fared on the fender of my Gas Gas.


Are there any other parts I should try to coat? Let me know in the comments.

ANF 8/18-19 2013


I recently did a couple of days of riding up in the ANF with a few friends. My friend Tim recently turned his new KTM 500 into a submarine, so he was on my DRZ for this ride.

The first day we rode the Marienville and Timberline trails, covering about 85 miles total.





The next day we packed up and rode Rocky Gap which took our total milage up to about 110 for the weekend. I swapped bikes with Pat halfway through the video below. His new 250 KTM is pretty sweet. Random thoughts: I really like the smooth power and great brakes. It feels a little larger than my Gas Gas. The seat was actually pretty comfy too.



GPS Tracks:
























Marienville/Timberline:




















Rocky Gap:



Thursday, August 8, 2013

Anti-Fog Goggle Modification

With the hot and humid summer we've been having here in Pennsylvania this year, I have been having a lot of trouble with my goggles fogging up to the point where I have no visibility. I was about to try some of those expensive goggles with a built in fan, but decided to try out a trick I had read about online a while back.

What I did (while out on the trail with goggles so fogged that there were droplets of condensation rolling down the inside of the lens) was take my multi-tool and cut away the foam from the vents around the perimeter of the frame. This instantly reduced the fogging to almost none. To (hopefully) get it to zero fogging, I also replaced the lens with a double pane version ($17 shipped from Amazon). So for $17 and a minute of work with a knife I should have a goggle that will stay fog-free at a fraction of the price of one of those fan goggles.



I do keep an extra pair of goggles with intact foam and single pane lenses in my truck in case I am riding somewhere dusty. That's not usually a problem in the areas where I ride.

Monday, August 5, 2013

8/4/2013 Dirt Ride

Awesome weather and amazing trails. Check out the video:


Friday, August 2, 2013

GPS Screen Repair

I stupidly left my Garmin HCx rolling around in my tail bag throughout my last 900 mile WV ride. When I unpacked I discovered that the screen was covered with scratches, most deep enough to feel with my fingernail (sorry, I forgot to take a pic). The scratches were bad enough to make the unit pretty much unusable. I figured I had nothing to lose so I tried to repair the screen using a technique I had used in the past to restore an acrylic fish tank.

What I did:

1. Sand out the scratches with 600 grit wet sand paper. This was the longest step as I found I also had to sand away some sort of anti-glare coating that is bonded to the screen even after the scratches were gone.

2. Sand in an alternating direction with 1000 grit.

3. Alternate directions again and sand with 1500 grit.

4. Buff the screen to a shine with PlastiX.

The results were surprisingly good. The screen looks like new even though this unit has seen a tough life.

After pic: