Six Six One Kyle Strait Kneepads

This is my first product review, the first of many....

I have been using this pad for about two weeks.  It cost $60.52 after tax and I believe it has been worth every penny of that. 

At first I did not like the pads, they made my legs feel heavy.  I felt like there were ankle weights around my knees, it turns out that I had them on to tight.  I was so worried that they would slip while I was riding that I tightened them up,  I have since discovered that they do not need to be that tight to stay put.  With the straps loosened I was more comfortable, even though I have still not gotten used to the weight.  The real plus for me is that I have not had any bruised knees or pedal bitten shins for the last two weeks.  These are only knee pads but they come down far enough to cover the area that my pedals usually hit when I slip or have to HAB a hill (this last happens more than I like to admit).   While I have had no major crashes while using these pads I have banged my knees around and they offer great protection on the inside and out side as well as directly over the knee.  The last thing I have noticed is that when I am not as worried about hurting my knees I descend faster.  I feel more confident that if I crash I will be able to walk away with at least my knees intact.

All in all if you enjoy xc riding and spandex these are probably not the pads for you, but if you lean more towards downhill, freeride, or aggressive trail riding you might want to check them out.  I would absolutely recommend these pads to anyone who wants some protection on their knees.

Nuun

Nuun 2min h20-electrolyte enhanced drink tabs

My first impressions

The first time that I tried these tabs was about a year ago when I needed a water bottle.  The shop had a sale two Nuun water bottles and two 1 tab Nuun bottles for $5.00.  I really just bought them for the two water bottles, but I figured I would try the tabs.  The first flavor that I tried was the berry, and like most berry flavored sports drinks that I have tried it tasted horrible.  I still sucked it down and noticed that I felt much better afterwards, it seemed to me that I was recovering quicker and had more energy.  To test this I did the same ride several times alternating, on one ride I would only take water, on the next I would only take Nuun.  On the Nuun rides I felt much better than on the water rides.  In this testing process I also found that I like the lemon-lime and the orange flavors.  I am no scientist and I can not say why this works or if it will work for you, but it works for me.

The product

This product comes in 11 different flavors that can be seen by going to http://www.nuun.com/.  The tabs are packaged in a tube that is about 4" tall and 1" in diameter with a lid that seals tight.  There are 12 tabs to a tube and one tab is 2 servings (1 serving =8oz).  So 1 tab will work for a 16oz bottle.  All you have to do is fill your bottle with water, drop in one tab and wait two minutes for it to dissolve and you are ready.  Each tube costs $5.99.  They are sugar free and have less than 8 calories.

How I use it

My bottles are 21oz bottles, I fill them up and drop in one tab of Nuun.  Because each tab is for 16oz of liquid the flavor in my 21oz bottles is not very strong, but that is how I like it. If I am on the road bike I use 2 bottles, one with water and one with Nunn and I alternate between them.  If I am out in the dirt my camel back bladder is filled with water and inside I have a 21oz bottle filled with Nunn.  I will drink the water from the camel back as I ride and I drink the Nuun at regroup or rest stops.  The company says that they are hydration pack safe and will not leave a flavor behind, but I have not tried it in the camel back yet.  I use it in my water bottles all the time and have had no residual taste issues.

Recommendations

I love this product and I believe that it helps me to perform better.  Would I recommend that you try it, ABSOLUTELY.  Even if you don't like it you will only be out $5.99+ tax, but I think you will not be disappointed.

Why have I not posted?

I have not posted anything recently because my bike has been in the shop so I have not been riding.  This is extremely frustrating to me because it has brought any progress I had made to a screeching halt.  Why is my bike in the shop?  Because the cables were installed wrong and they were pulled apart and cut to fit, so really all I need is new cables and housings.  I could have done this myself but since Airborne was paying and I really did not think I would have time to mess with it I left it at the shop.  It turns out that I actually had a ton of time this week and could have ridden almost everyday.  Hopefully it will be done tomorrow.

Sunday Loop Ride

This morning I rode the loop with the STR group again, no Jake this time as he was at Disneyland.  It was a good ride with no crashes from anyone.

This week

I have been slow in posting this week, so here it is

Sunday Jake and I rode the Fully Loop again, the group was smaller with only 10 of us riding.  The two boys rode out in front of some cars and got a good scare and a good talking too by all of the adults.

Today I rode the single track in Laguna that I crashed on last monday and did it with out losing any skin!

I have been having some problems with my rear Deraileur it keeps slipping hopfully I can work this out before sundays ride at the Loop.

Wednesday Ride

Yesterday Jocab and I rode in Crystal Cove State park after school and work.  We have not been on a ride here before so I asked a guy who was loading up his bikewhat trail we could ride in an hour to an hour and a half.  Apperantly this guys last name must be Armstrong because his hour ride took four hours for us mere mortals.  I also got to experence my first mechanical as my rear derailuer cable became loose and had to be fixed, and then it was way out of adjustment so I got to climb the rest of the hills in 3rd gear.  The trail that we ended on was called Mach One and it was a reallyfast downhill, I loved it, Jake did not.