Dudeman, where's my car? continued

A few months ago, we wrote about the ultimate Dudemobile.  Since, several new candidates have emerged:  

(The Legomobile.)

Compact, fuel-efficient, with excellent feel for the road, the Legomobile speaks for itself.

(Mel's Hotdog)

The advantage of Mel's Hotdog is obvious - it has the highest front-end crash safety rating of any car ever.   

(The Popemobile.)

If the pope had died, I might have thought twice before making fun of him.  But he retired.  And the new pope is too humble for this kind of car.  It's perfect for the Dudeman on display.  

(Find your path.)

This Pathfinder probably crashed Kijiji.  Any Pathfinder is a solid choice; this one, as described, is perfect.

(Tried and true.)

Miraculously, this 1947 Toyota Tercel 4x4 has withstood the test of time.  It requires no muffler, it's a beauty, and it easily goes 70 kph.

(A poor imitation of Mel's Hotdog.)

Did you know that some cars have aerodynamics that rival those of golfballs?  It's true.  Just leave any car out in the hail.  

What's the right car for the dudeman?  You decide.

free polls

Dudeman, where's my car?

Vancouver won a prestigious award this week:

#2 in traffic!

The obvious solution is the triplet the Port Mann.

Or, people should just live closer to where they work.  If you work in Vancouver, live there.  If you live in Abbotsford and you're going to get in your car at 6 AM, it better be to the Coquihalla.  There is never a traffic jam heading east.  Ever.

The dudeman doesn't commute.  Rule number 8, or whatever rule we're on.

But the dudeman does need a car.  He's going places, just not to work.

I present three fully capable options.

The Classic Tercel wagon

Conquering the Mt. Cheam fire road.

It's four-wheel drive, it's got loads of space, and it's cheap.  This car will tackle anything, at speeds up to 80 km per hour.

The hail-damaged insurance write-off

It's ruined.

This can be any car, per se.  The important thing is that, although there's nothing actually wrong with it, it has no value.  Hence, there can be no further objections to racking up tons of miles and taking it places you probably shouldn't.

This Pathfinder

Dudeman makes a compelling case, which requires no further elaboration.  Unless you're this guy, he's not going to sell it to you.

What's in the bag?

I fielded two questions recently which prompt this post.

1.  What luxury items do you take hiking?

2.  What's the #1 accessory I should get for my bike?

The answers...

1. and 2. None.

That's not to say you shouldn't take anything with you - you should take what you need.  If you take more than that, you're just weighing yourself down and you'll have less fun.  

This morning, I went for a run along the river pathway in town.  Being a Sunday morning, there are tons of 'serious' runners out on their long runs, and they are typically loaded down.  They have hats.  They have sunglasses.  They have ipods.  They have belts holstering half a dozen tiny waterbottles.  They almost always start overdressed, so they are also carrying jackets and gloves, etc... they have taken off.  Sometimes, they have gels taped to themselves.  They are on a path in the middle of the day and they are covered in reflective taping.  They mostly look miserable, as if they are engaged in some chore.  (Guess what?  No one, and I mean no one, needs to run.  And, for that matter, almost no one is going to accomplish anything running either...  that's a topic for another day.)

I've run around the reservoir from my house, which is about 38 km, a few times with half a (regular) waterbottle.  So I think that's what you need.

When I go into the mountains, and there is any potential to spend a night out (lost, injured, or with complete equipment failure), I think I should be prepared for that and so I take this:

(You should also bring a buddy.)

Granted, a night out with a space blanket, a lighter, and little food would be uncomfortable, but I would certainly survive (and I'm willing to prove it).  I would rather be uncomfortable in the unlikely circumstance of spending a night out than the rest of the time, saddled with a bunch of extra stuff.

I also take tools and materials to fix a flat and a chain, and make minor adjustments, if I ride my bike.  Those are likely circumstances (I got 8 flats in one day last month) and you should be prepared for those too.  I'd rather spend 5 minutes fixing something and carry a few extra ounces than spend a few hours hike-a-biking a few times a year.

Obviously, your individual preferences may vary, but for the most part, I just don't think most people are even thinking about what they actually need.

Dude Man Lube.

Now I've spent a ton of my life riding bikes and one thing that always boggled my mind was the price of chain oil.  A shop will charge like 8-10 dollars for a tiny bottle of this bike-specific lube.  Now I drive a beaut of a car that I have to put oil in from time to time.  So, when I ran out of the real bike lube, I decided to put some motor oil on my bike chain, and it worked just as good, if not better.  Plus it costs like $5 for a liter.  And cheaper just means you have to work less and play more, and that's really what we all want.  Thank you Pennzoil for making such a great product.  A liter of this stuff will last you forever.  Boss!  Dude man don't care.