Toyota Tundra - My First Full Sized Truck

I've been sporting a Toyota Tacoma for the past 6 years. The first Tacoma I owned was a 1st generation extended cab version with the TRD off road package. It was small even with the extended cab, especially for someone my size. I can honestly say that I never got used to cramming myself into it. Despite the small size I absolutely loved that truck. It's till my favorite truck, even today.

In 2006 Theresa and I had decided to trade in the miniature bad ass for a newer, bigger, 2nd generation model. This one had more leg & head room than the previous generation. Plus, we decided to get a double cab in case we wanted to haul anyone else around. We used that truck for everything from tailgating at the Rays games to hauling bikes, from moving friends furniture to moving mulch. It really did serve us well. It was still just a bit too small for me, especially when we were hauling passengers and my seat had to be moved up.

After discussing the possibility of getting a full sized truck for months we finally decided to look around. We knew we weren't going to spend the money on a brand new truck, so we started browsing for a used one. Let me tell you, there aren't many used Tundras around. We went to our friendly neighborhood Toyota dealer, Gettel Toyota, to see what they had. We were in luck, they had 3. After noticing a used ash tray and a bad smoke stench in the first one we quickly moved on to the other two. One was a beige double cab V8 and the other was a white double cab V6. The beige one had the more desirable V8 but the white one had a slightly nicer interior and some body trim that the beige one didn't. It also had close to 30,000 fewer miles.

After weighing our options we decided to take the white one for a test drive. We now own a White 2007 Toyota Tundra. I've already installed my Rocky Mounts Clutch bike racks in the bed so the truck is good to go. We even tested them out this weekend with a drive up to Wilderness Trails and a 15 mile ride. The only thing that the Tacoma had over this truck is storage space, but who needs to tote all that crap around anyway?

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Pulling The Plug on Hammerhead...

...and poppin the top on a Santos ride.

I have officially decided not to ride the Hammerhead 100 this year. It was supposed to be my first hundred miler ever, but I got lazy for a few months and am in no condition to even attempt the 50 mile option. My level of fitness just isn’t there. Not to mention the $70 entrance fee! Finances have been tight in the Schroder household the last couple weeks and that $70 could be used to get a lot of beer..er...I mean groceries. I am instead considering a ride at Santos.

Good luck to those of you who are still panning on riding!

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Boeshield T-9: Interim Review

I’ve been using Boeshield T-9 for just over a month now and I must say that I’m not as impressed as I thought I would be after my First Impressions post. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great chain lube, but it’s not quite a great as some other reviews had let me to believe.

Boeshield T-9 does a great job of creating a nice even coat over the chain which I would assume aids is rust prevention. I’m saying “I would assume” because I don’t know for sure how it handles rust due to the severe drought we’ve been having here in Florida lately.

Where it falls short of my initial expectations is with it’s ability to keep the chain quiet, specifically the squeaking noise that chains often make when they need another application of lube. I have found that, although it does prevent noises for a little longer than the Clean Ride, It’s not by much. I might get an extra 10 or 15 miles of squeak free riding and that’s about it.

To get the best results from T-9 you have to apply it the night before a ride to give it time to “set. If you’re a procrastinator like I am you probably apply the lube right before you load the bike into your vehicle or even a few seconds before you hit the trails. This won’t fly with the T-9. It needs those few hours of “setting”  time to be effective.

I’ll keep using the T-9 for a few more months so I can give it a proper final review, but I think my next chain lube review will be the Epic Ride that The Naked Indian suggested when I first started this review.

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Mountain Bike Feed Bag

Endurance Mountain biker Karlos (a.k.a. The Naked Indian) just published a great review on a bike mounted bag called the Feed Bag. If you’re looking for easily accessible storage while you ride check out his review.

http://singletracksamurai.blogspot.com/2009/05/extended-review-part-two-epic-ride.html

I’ll definitely be purchasing one of these in the near future for my longer rides.

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Marathon Training in Progress

Yesterday was my first of many marathon training runs. Starting with yesterdays 3 mile walk/run routine my training program has me scheduled for 4 runs per week for the next 7 months, all the while preparing me to run a total 39.3 miles in two days. My ultimate goal is to someday complete an ultra marathon of 50 miles or more.

 

Yesterdays run was a very easy 3 mile walk/run routine. I’ll be using this method for the first couple weeks to prepare my legs for running the mileage required for a marathon training program, to give me a base to work from. I learned a valuable lesson in not training for my last marathon. I learned that although I have the lungs and heart to run a marathon the rest of my body couldn’t handle the physical abuse that comes with running 26.2 miles, specifically my knees. This is the reason I have decided to not only do a regimented marathon training schedule but also a mileage buildup program. I’m hoping these base miles will be help keep me injury free for the next 7 months.

 

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