Bikable Bits

I meant to write you all about this a while ago, but it slipped my mind until today. I attended a wedding in Madison and at this wedding, I saw a really cool gift set. It happened to be the groom's gift to the groomsmen, and in case you were wondering, it went over pretty well. See, the groomsmen were all avid cyclists...kind of like you. Can you guess? Give up? Okay, okay, here it is:



That's right, it is the Park Tool Grill Set. Seems like something as frivolous as this other thing, but for the bicycle enthusiast in your life, it would technically be a pretty amazing present. One of those things that is highly non essential, but a nice party trick. What, are you going to say "No thanks, I already got this perfectly good OXO brand spatula?" Get real. See the stainless steel pedal wrench and cone wrench utensils in action:



And in other news, literally, I heard this story on npr yesterday morning and wanted to make sure everyone else alive heard it too:

Here's one more reason to wear your bike helmet: You might need protection from a bear. Montana schoolteacher Jim Litz was riding his bike to school when a black bear appeared in his path. He was going too fast to stop, and he and the bear went tumbling down the road. The bear rolled over Litz's head but then ran away. The only damage was a scratch on Litz's back and a crack in the bike helmet.

I'm sorry, THE BEAR ROLLED OVER HIS HEAD. HIS HEAD?!?!! And he lived to tell us about it? If ever there was a tale to encourage helmet wearing, this might be it. I also enjoy picturing this amicable tousle on some mountain road in Montana, the bear and the man hugging and rolling around in the dirt just like old pals. "Boy, oh boy! That was a close one!" they'd say. Sigh.