Just re-read this thread.... that post was made on Friday before Labor Day Weekend. Two days later, the big fire storms hit... we were toasted (3,000 acres and 10 houses) while Bastrop was roasted (30,000 acres and 1,600+ houses). Hope this summer is not a repeat of last year's conflagrations. NFE
We've missed nearly all the recent rain. My place is worse off than this time last year, water level-wise. My spouse decided to light my place on fire yesterday. 1 acre and within 100 feet of the cabin. :huh Flames head high. A serious expletive-filled "I've told you a thousand times..." convo. Windy? Dry? Let's light up a couple oak stumps. Working spigot within hose length away. Grrrrrrrr.
The only time I remember it being worse than last year was in 1980. Most of y'all were probably not even born then.haha We are lucky around here as we have had some decent rain. Summer is headed our way though. Guaranteed. Last week I was in the heaviest rain I have been in my life around Venus, Texas. Pulled over and decided to head back to the ranch. It was raining so hard I could not see the front of my truck. Back 30 miles at our place not a drop until the next day when we got over an inch. Come on October.
While leaving the obvious joke unsaid................ Western McLennan County is seriously bad dry. Waco airport is where the NWS station is and they are getting some rain. We aren't. A trace or a tenth when they get an inch. Another summer in Hell. With grasshoppers. Next come the frogs.
So I go in to the office for a few hours today--I work at a university--and the president calls me up and he's on his PC looking at a map of the Little Bear fire in New Mexico. Of all the places for the fire to jump it jumps right to the spot where he has his vacation house. Ouch!
Junebugs in March, and cicaidas in May. Gonna be one helluva summer. (Go ATTGAT! ) The thunderstorms are bitches, but God we need the rain!
I didn't put up a pool last year and the summer was horrible. Took care of this for 2012. Pool is up and running so the summer will be mild. You're welcome. John
I decided in January to go to work for a welding shop. Awesome in the winter but the sweat starts dripping at about 60*. F y'all and your air conditioned offices.
* Product endorsement, no affiliation: http://www.veskimo.com/ http://youtu.be/Y-c4Wp-ODaw I bought one of these two years ago, when I was riding to MN. 8 pounds of ice (small bag) is good for about two hours or 150 miles, about my average range of interstate riding at 105-114 degrees F. Works out about right with gas stops and butt breaks. This thing is a game changer and a life saver.
I've been thinking hard about a veskimo a lot lately. They seem expensive but, like heated gear during winter, could make commuting in July Nd August enjoyable if it works half as well as people claim. Is there anyway you could post up some detailed pics.of your setup? Sent from my HTC using magic.
I think I paid like $362 delivered to my door. Which, may seem expensive, but weighed against the danger of heat stroke and possibly an ambulance ride in the middle of BFE Kansas... I don't have any detail photos of it on my bike, so I robbed my buddy's smuggy for these pix: This is actually my Veskimo, which I loaned to HD, set up on Trip's old Sprint. Here's pair of Veskimos in the middle of, well... BFE Kansas! The 9 quart cooler is the size of an insulated Igloo lunch box, which, incidentally, is exactly that it what the tank is. The zipper pulls still have the Igloo logo on them. Power lead comes standard with a cigarette lighter plug, and can be easily modified for a BMW-type, Powerlet, SAE plug, whatever you like. The weird part is layering-UP to stay cool. The better you can hold the cold in against your body core, the more effective it is in keeping you comfortable. So, you can wear your favorite leather jacket with full armor, all vents closed, and be much cooler than vented gear in extreme temperatures.
It would be considerably more effective with a more efficent cooler. http://www.momousa.com/racing/advanced-driver-cooling.html Formerly 986 driver cooling, this is the best system made for endurance racing. Uses a Yeti box and will last 6+ hrs in a 130* cockpit
How much $$$ to set one up on a bike? edit: Nevermind, just looked it up. $240 for the shirt, $150 for the pump, not including lines, fittings, and tank.
Thanks for the pics. I was thinking about a dedicated top box with extra insulation. But a Yeti cooler would work too. Sent from my HTC using magic.
I'll say that the only issue I have with the Veskino, it not the vest itself, but the minimal "soft" insulation of the cooler. I've been thinking about hunting down a sheet of neoprene and cutting six panels to slip in between the removable plastic tank and the zippered cover. Anybody have a dozen mousepads that they want to contribute to the cause?