Redefining High Performance Sports Optics: Oakley Flak Jacket

I've been riding in Oakley sunglasses for as long as I've been riding mountain bikes. In fact, I purchased one of the first pairs of Oakley Mumbos (later called the M-Frame) to hit Lincoln back in early 1990, within a week of buying my first mountain bike. And for almost all of the past 18 years, I'd been faithful to the big O. That is, until about two seasons ago, when a tight budget forced me to look ahem down-market at some other brands' products for my cycling optics.

Ironically, without much hesitation, I paid full retail price for a pair of Oakley Square Wires for my casual wear, but ended up using them on the bike quite a bit due to the optical shortcomings I found in the other glasses I was using. Though the metal frames were heavier, the optics of the Oakley lenses were noticeably superior in every situation. No glare, much better, more even light transmission -- it sounds so cliche, but it was like a night and day difference. My preference was set.

So when my good buddy Rob Versteegth from Oakley asked if I'd be interested in trying out their new Flak Jacket sport performance sunglasses, I enthusiastically said "YES," and just a few days later, Brown Santa arrived with a package. Inside was a new set of Flak Jackets -- the XLJ version with the larger lens and a sparkly red frame that looks killer with my red Salsa El Mariachi. Sweet...

The Flak Jacket design is Oakley's two-lens sport/performance design, as opposed to the Radar, which is the evolution of the single-lens M-frame sunglass design. I tried the Radar on, after having been an M-Frame user for 15 years, but I ended up liking the way the Flak Jackets looked on my face just a little better. From a performance standpoint, I think it's probably six of one, half-dozen of the other, because most of the features are very similar other than the one/two lens setup.

Oakley packs some heavy duty technology into the Flak Jackets. A permanent Hydrophobic lens coating prevents sweat or water from creating streaks on lenses, or fingers from leaving fingerprints. It's amazing how clean the lenses stay on these glasses, and how easy the lenses are to clean when they need it. Radical! Plus, the lenses are replaceable, and available in a wide variety of tints, from clear for night riding, to a variety of Iridium lens tints that allow just 10-percent light transmission. Depending on conditions, you can optimize light transmission with different colors of lens color and/or Iridium coating.

I'm going to digress here for a moment, and mention that lens fit in the frames, and overall precision of the lens/frame interface is one area I've found where Oakley's product is vastly superior to other brands of replaceable lens sunglasses I've owned. The Flak Jackets have a tight, precision feel to them when you work with them that exudes quality. Clearly this is an area where you get what you pay for, and while it's true that you may pay a bit more for Oakley's product, you certainly get a higher quality product in return. It's a fair trade, in my estimation.

My personal favorite lenses for mountain biking in the trees, the VR28 Black Iridium (the lenses I'm using now) and VR50 lenses, fall somewhere in the middle of the light transmission spectrum. As the names indicate, the VR28 B.I. lenses offer 28-percent light transmission, while the VR50 lenses give 50-percent light transmission. Both are ideal for the flat light conditions common when you're mountain biking in the trees. Oakley has recently introduced VR50 Photocromic/Transitions lenses, which automatically adjust from 10-50 percent light transmission based on the light conditions. They might be the perfect one-lens-for-everything option, and will likely be the next set of lenses I buy. I'll let you know how they work out.

Fit is another area where the Flak Jackets excel. Two nosepiece sizes are available, and Oakley's synthetic Unobtanium rubber nosepieces and earstem sleeves actually get grippier as you sweat more. These glasses don't move when the action heats up, and that's something that I very much appreciate during races, or on technical trails. Also, since there are no ear hooks, the Flak Jackets integrate seamlessly with just about any helmet, either above or below the straps, without pressure points. Perfect...

Bottom line, the Oakley Flak Jacket sunglasses have the performance, fit and optical clarity I'm looking for. They come with a boatload of available lens tints, so you can set 'em up for virtually any light conditions imaginable, and they have style for miles. Good vision is something you can't really put a price on the value of having -- it's a necessity. My experiment with cheap sunglasses proved to me that it's not worth saving a few dollars if the tradeoff is reduced vision on the trail. You can't fly if you can't see, and for me, that's just not worth it. So now I'm back in Oakleys and lovin' life.

Thanks Rob!

Learn more about the Flak Jacket sunglasses, or any of Oakley's other fine products, on their Website.

Platte River Battle Royale Coverage -- from NebraskaCyclingNews.com...

Cornbread caught me ridin' and smilin' heading into 001 on the first lap. That's eventual race winner Cam Kirkpatrick (Rasmussen Cyclery/Orbea) on my wheel. When he went, I had no match for his wings. I just had to hang with my "steady pace wins the race" theory. At least it was good enough for second place!

Ryan Feagan posted a nice write up of the Platte River marathon on Nebraska Cycling News today -- Read the complete coverage on NebraskaCyclingNews.com.

Thanks Ryan, and congratulations to everyone who participated in the race Sunday. Regardless of whether you completed two or ten laps, it was a great day to get out and spread the love of cycling and the outdoors with a bunch of good buddies!

Cheers,
MG

Platte River Rocked...

Here's the overall top-five... The only surprise here is that Darin Schlake wasn't in it. Blisters on his hands were the culprit -- he ran strong for most of the race. I've got a few of those hand blisters myself today... Ouch!!!

Ridin' steel to earn even more precious metal -- My El Mariachi was awesome Sunday. I thought I might regret puttling out the hardtail for 12 laps/6 hours of Platte, but this bike proved my choice was a good one. It handled beautifully. I was stoked to see so many people on Salsas at the race too! Schlake made the debut of his new Mamasita, and man, did it look sweet! Martin was on his Mamasita. Millhouse, Fob and I were on matching El Mariachis, and there were at least a couple of blue El Mariachis out there too. Oh, and how could I forget, Emily was there on her Dos Niner. It was like a reunion of the Nebraska arm of the Salsa Amigos! Only a few marquee members were missing (paging Mr. Woodman...).

THANK YOUs go out to:

• My sponsors: Salsa Cycles, Monkey Wrench Cycles, Oakley
• Kris, Julie and the Cycle Works/Moose's Tooth crew -- you guys put on an awesome event -- thank you!
  
• Brock, Dock, Avey, Cornbread, Damon and all the other volunteers that helped out with the race -- thank you!
• Jesse "The Body" Petersen -- Platte doesn't get any better than it was Sunday, and that's due in large part to your handiwork and leadership. Thank you!!
  

Platte River Battle Royale Marathon is This Weekend...

Tuesday afternoon at Platte. Yeah, I had to get a sneak peek... And lemme tell ya' -- it's good.

Six hours of Platte River goodness awaits us Sunday at 10am. Time to get the game face on... You can get the full skinny on the race on the Nebraska Cycling Website.

It's gonna' be the red El Mariachi for me this weekend. After a successful recon mission Tuesday, it proved to be rippin' in the flowy Platte singletrack. Sweet!

Hope to see lots of you out there this weekend.

Cheers,
MG

Generating Nebraska Tourism Virally...

The Nebraska Department of Travel & Tourism has unleashed some pretty off-the-wall viral videos on YouTube, under the moniker Benjamin Pranklin. Pretty catchy, and an interesting, innovative approach to generating interest in visiting the state. There are three videos in all. You can also watch the 'Golf' Office Prank video, or the 'Raft' Office Prank video.

Very cool indeed...

Grandpa Gersib in the Grand Island Independent...

Art Gersib, of Columbus (at left) speaks with George Blake at the annual Nebraska Pearl Harbor Survivors meeting Wednesday afternoon. Blake, who is from Colorado, is the district director. There are 23 Nebraska residents that are known to have survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in their military career. Photo: Scott Kingsley/Grand Island Independent

Read: Pearl Harbor survivors hold annual meeting...

T.I. v4 -- For I Am But a Humble Student...

The night before the big race... Eric Brunt preps his helmet light.

Last year, I made MW a promise, that if he finished Trans Iowa v.3, I'd ride the next Trans Iowa with him. So this year, in much colder, windier conditions than they faced last year, I toed the line for what would end up being a day spent learning lessons about making assumptions too far into the future, and the value of experience, both taught by this year's fifth-place Trans Iowa finisher, Corey Godfrey.

Yep, our boy Cornbread was the fifth and final finisher of Trans Iowa this year! NOBODY else who toed the line had the persistence to get it done. Congratulations Cornbread!! Your gutsy performance deserves all the accolades it will undoubtedly generate. I'm proud of you, my friend, and I was glad to be there to witness your success firsthand. If I couldn't do it, I'm glad I could be there to see you do it. Way to go Corey.

To put the heinousness of this year's Trans Iowa to you, the reader, another way... The promoters of the race shortened the race by 100 miles, because the roads of the race course were either washed out or flooded in several sections, and their back up routes were also washed out. They were screwed!

As much as I wanted to find Trans Iowa success, I could tell it wasn't in the cards almost right from the start. My first mistake was the pack I chose to carry. It was HUGE! I don't know what possessed me to carry everything and the kitchen sink, but for some reason, I made the last minute decision to up-size my pack late Friday night, which turned out to be a fatal sin. There was no way I was carrying the pack I had for 343 miles. No freaking way... So there was strike one.

Strike two was my legs... they weren't very good either. I've been racing bikes for a long time, and I know when I'm having a great day. Last Saturday wasn't one of those days, sadly. I wanted to make it one of those days, so badly. Off the start, our Omaha homeboy, Eric Brunt and I rode up into the front group, and for about the first 30 miles or so, it was all good. We used my Niterider TriNewt, along with (Salsa Cycles homeboy) Joe Meiser's Niterider HID to bomb the downhills in the early going, because it didn't seem like anyone else brought a bright light. And as my legs started to get a little weaker, that light started to be my saving grace. I'd fall a little off the back, but would be able to bomb a downhill and catch back onto the group. Eric seemed to pedal comfortably with the lead group on his Surly Steamroller.

Eventually, somewhere before the town of Cresco, at around mile 40, I had to let Eric and the lead group ride away from me, which meant I was left to fight in the wind alone. Things didn't feel too good at this point, but I was still near the front of the field, so it wasn't like it was fully crap either. But keep in mind, this was 40 miles into a 343 mile race, so I should have been feeling like a million bucks at that point. But with a 40mph crosswind buffeting my every move, I wasn't feeling much love.

Luckily, as I dove into my massive pack in search of a new hat to replace the Swobo, the second group, including Cornbread, Skip, MW, Bonsall and my new friends Constantine Peters and Scoletrain rolled by, and suddenly, I had a new cast of characters to ride with. Things were suddenly looking up. My legs didn't feel any better, but my spirit suddenly did! And after a quick stop at the gas station in Cresco for snacks and supplies for others in the group (which of course I didn't need -- I had plenty in my pack-o-plenty), we were on the road again.

I ended up riding with this group for pretty much the rest of my ride, up to the final 10 miles before the first checkpoint at mile 110 (or mile 115 with wrong turn mileage), when everything went to heck, and I had to go into "just bringin' in the ship" mode. The combination of bad legs and heavy pack conspired to make me one tired, sore shouldered guy, and I had to raise the white flag of surrender at the checkpoint. Ironically, about 20 miles earlier, I'd made an off-hand comment about the second leg of the journey, or the second checkpoint, or something like that, and Cornbread said to me "dude, we haven't even made it to the first checkpoint yet."

Point taken, and lesson learned. In hindsight, I should have been better focused on the immediate task at hand... Or maybe I should just have been better prepared for the conditions we encountered that day? Or perhaps I should have stuck with my original game plan that I'd thought through over the past four months and carried a smaller, more sensible pack? These are the questions I ask myself endlessly after the fact... and beating myself up over their answers will change nothing, except to perhaps help influence my future decisions.

Regardless, fittingly, as I rolled into the first checkpoint, Eric and MW were just rolling out to start their second leg of the journey. I wished them safe travels and good luck and sat down to ponder what had just transpired. Not much time passed before I noticed another orange La Cruz laying down on the pavement. It was Joe Meiser's... He was out of the race too, with a broken rear derailleur, after shifting into his rear wheel and also ripping several spokes out of the wheel -- a tough way to go out. He ended up bodging the bike into a singlespeed to ride it into the checkpoint, but his day ended there. His wheel was too trashed to continue.

Skip and Jeff also decided to pack it in at the checkpoint, so we suddenly had a rack full of bikes. A trip back to Decorah was in order to dump bikes so we had enough rack space for MW, Eric or Cornbread if they decided to drop out, which turned out to be fortunate, because no sooner did we drop the bikes than we got a call from Eric, then from MW -- both were dropping out, and they said Cornbread was likely not far behind. So we hightailed it back to their location -- a nice hour-plus drive. We found MW and Eric sunning themselves like marmots in a ditch, then found Cornbread near dinnertime at a grocery store in a town I can't remember the name of. My memory is that he was considering quitting when we got there, but 10 minutes later, he was back on track, and had powered down a burger and fries, and was getting back on the bike to ride again. He was not to be denied.

And that's how it was with Cornbread... He faced challenges. He got lost. His lights died. But in the end, he fought through it and he persevered -- he would not be denied. That's the stuff heroes are made of.

So next time you see Cornbread, shake the man's hand. He kicked ass at Trans Iowa this year.

Thanks to my sponsors: Salsa Cycles, Monkey Wrench Cycles and Oakley. Look for a more detailed T.I. equipment post to-come soon.

I'd also like to send a big THANK YOU out to Jonn and Justin, our support crew for T.I. this year. These guys were incredible. Witnessing Jonn throw the Suburban into a 4-wheel slide avoiding a deer bolting in-front of us at 4am was impressive, to say the least. Thank you so much. Words cannot express how much I appreciated having the two of you there.

Cheers,
MG

The View From Where I Sit... the pre-T.I. Freak-Out

So it happened tonight... I knew it would at some point this week -- the pre-Trans Iowa freak out. The "oh shit, I'm not prepared for anything" freak out, where I drove myself and probably my wife crazy blathering on about how stressed out I was about not having this or that ready for the race. What it was in reality was really insignificant though. Because bottom line, I'm stressed because I've never taken on a challenge of the same magnitude of what I'm about to take on with what's certain to be a very muddy Trans Iowa course this year.

Okay, so funny thing is, wife takes off to run some errands, and I start thinking through what I'm so "not prepared" for. Turns out it's all in my head... I'm just getting paranoid. Pre-race jitters. I've been obsessing about this race for months. The details will all fall into place, I just have to be ready for the events to take place. If it's muddy, it's going to be that way for everyone, and that's just a fact of life. If that makes it not a completable event, that's how it'll be. But if there's a chance, and I think I can make it in the time cutoff, I'll give it all I've got to try. We'll see how she goes...

So bottom line, I'm not freaking out anymore. I'm back to looking forward to T.I., come Hell or high water...

Town Hall Meetings -- First One is Tonight...

The Citizens for Quality Parks and Trails (CQPT) urges citizens to give their opinions on the city budget by attending a town hall meeting, and/or participating in an online survey.

Town Hall meetings are scheduled for:

• April 22 - Lincoln Southwest High School - 7001 S. 14th Street - Hosted by the Youth Advisory Board
• April 24 - LPS Administration Building - 5901 "O" Street
• April 29 - North Star High School - 5801 N. 33rd Street
• May 6 - Lincoln High School - 2229 "J" Street

Doors open at 5:30pm. Meetings are held from 6-8pm.

You can also voice your opinion by taking the online survey on the Journal Star Website.

Lincoln's Parks & Rec budget has been eroding consistently, and if the present budget trend continues, according to the flier I'm holding in my hands, in the next five years, we're at risk of losing:

• 1/2 of our youth programs
• 1/2 of our city pools
• 1/2 of our city recreation centers

That's a pretty significant sacrifice to our quality of life here in Lincoln, wouldn't you say? Won't you please consider attending one of the town hall meetings to voice your opinion, and let the city know that Parks and Recreation is important to you?

For more information, call (402) 730-0813

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Spoke Pony Showdown Photos posted...

At the end of the start run, only six hours of riding remains. Check out the rest of the photos from the 2008 Spoke Pony Showdown on the Heartland Racing Website.