Adventure Hiatus

One of the best parts of working for yourself in the outdoor industry is having more time and freedom for adventure.  In that spirit, SY Design will be closed May 27 - June 19 for some serious outside play time.  I'll be taking my four year old daughter, Bernese Mountain dog, and backpacking gear for a three week long adventure based out of our car.  We don't have a set plan in place of where/when just a plan to be outside playing everyday biking, hiking, fishing, swimming, climbing and whatever else comes our way.

You can follow us along in our adventures or misadventures at Meandering Mama our travel blog.  See you soon!

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Inspiration, Vintage Camping Trailers and Caravans

My first memories of camping started in this Prowler trailer, I remember how excited I was each time we made a journey down the road with my dad's Jeep Landcruiser charging the way.  I remember the smell of the wood paneling inside, and waking to the smell of my dad percolating coffee on the stove in the morning.  I remember the kind of camping that was simple, without TV's and dishwashers, generators, and air conditioners, with simple scenes like the one below taken near Jenny Lake in Wyoming.  

I am very inspired by trailers and caravans from days gone by, so I thought it was fitting to share some with you that I have recently found.  If you too are inspired by vintage caravans then I would also encourage you to visit the Belgian Oldtimer Caravan Club where you'll find a treasure trove of vintage material.

Leave it to German ingenuity to have come up with this Chateau Mobile by Brüderchen

                 

Westfalia

Shasta-Exterior

Shasta-Interior

KIP Krielkip - 1965

Volkswagen Dormobile - 1971

Mostard Yvonne 304 HD - 1965

I have a particular love of red, navy, creamy colors, and khaki like colors right now too, making the colors of these trailers as inspirational as the trailers themselves.

Sprite Cadet - 1969  (sweeet!)

QEK Junior - 1965 and spec sheet below

Otten Speurder LS - 1968

I just love that little guy in the above photo, great colors, style lines, inspirational for pack and bag design too!  Happy trails, hope you are finding time to get outside this summer, and maybe even some time to camp too.

An Excuse for New Gear

We spent this past weekend at Eight Mile Crossing up on Mt. Hood, the views are bountiful, the camping is amazing, and this area has some of the best mountain biking you'll find.  I realized just before skipping town that my most favorite biking shorts were nowhere to be found so it gave me an excellent excuse to head over to Bike Gallery to see if I could find something to replace them.  I found a pair of sweet Townie Bike Shorts from Fox that I couldn't resist.  The fixed waist fit amazingly well (I was skeptical of this) during my entire single track ride they stayed in place without me feeling like my drawers were drooping.  Serious love for the yarn dye pattern, thanks for something that looks more fun and less like another pair of black riding shorts.  So what if they get bike grease on them, it only gives them more character.  I also liked that the inner chamois short was separate because these shorts actually look good and fit well when worn alone without the diaper look of the chamois underneath (added bonus for sure)  Looking forward to giving them many rides and seeing how they hold up over time.

I couldn't think of a jersey in my closet that was going to be the perfect match up to these new shorts so I was delighted to find the Dakine Antic Short Sleeve to pair with my shorts.  This picture doesn't do it justice by the slight gathering at the chest area and the subtle graphics are a nice touch, and I appreciated the use of Aegis anti-microbial finish to cut down on the stink factor too.

 
Perfect gear for a great ride on the 8 mile loop conveniently located 2 minutes from our camp.  If you check out this ride try riding it backwards, or according to the sign the "easier" route.  I've done it both ways, and much prefer the both the climbing and the downhill when rode according to the "easier" route.  Otherwise you climb up for 900' in very low gears for about an hour straight, that part was a lot more fun to come down.