3G Stepper Bike: A Fitness Monster That Beats Your Gym ...
For the best workout and most power, you rock the handle bars from side-to-side (like kids on an old BMX bike), set your feet at the very end of the wooden planks... and step away. But this bike is totally seat-less, so riders are forced to have ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
End Of The Quest: 1000 Miles Later, Landing Time
The next morning, the timing looked right for Brent to crest Eagle Summit just as the sun was rising. Zack had the camp stove warming the engine by 6:30 a.m., and at dawn we reached the summit, where, to our knowledge, no Quest plane had ever ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Sobering Days On The Trail: Flying Yukon Quest
Our friend Brent and Richie Beattie left Eagle Saturday night under the familiar glow of the aurora. The following morning, Zack and I transported one journalist and seven dogs to the Circle checkpoint, then flew back and shot aerial photos along ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Slaloming The Alpine Tundra
In continental climates, air masses can stabilize and stratify by density; colder air settles to the bottom and warmer air remains on top. So reaching altitude brought a much welcomed 25°F increase in air temperature. Heading down the Yukon to ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Tight Landings And Arctic Air Rescues
Shooting photos out the plane door yesterday was nearly bearable, and we were lucky to see teams ascending and traversing alpine sections of King Solomon's Dome. Once past the dome, we spotted our friend, Brent, resting his dogs, and Zack put the ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Re-Attaching Plane Doors And Saving The Runaway Racing Team
Zack and I spent the remainder of the day getting comfortable with the vice grip door-open/door-close procedure, and trying to communicate how to approach the dog teams from the air, so that the photos would be interesting. The major hurdle, ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Following A 1000-Mile Dog Race, From The Air
Once airborne and beyond the footprint of humanity, Zack and I breathed a sigh of relief, opened the DeLorean-style door and let the adventure begin in earnest. We photographed dog teams on the Takhini River, landed and ate lunch on a frozen ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Homeward Bound: Build-A-Plane Adventure, Part 9
In six days, I've logged nearly 30 hours of flying time. With an average speed of 125 knots in a heavily-loaded plane, we've covered the better part of 5000 nautical miles. At the end of my first week in a tailwheel I'm taxiing with more ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Earlier: Touch-And-No-Go
The worst-case scenario here actually isn't so bad. If we're too heavy to gain the necessary takeoff speed, we'll simply jettison all the gear onto the beach -- then hire a floatplane, designed to land on water, to return for the tents and ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Earlier: Chased By The Storm
The Pit, a bar in the Westminster Hotel, is thought to be the cheapest -- and rowdiest -- place in town to grab a pint, though it's still locked tight at 9 a.m. But the smoky little Beer Parlour next door (known as "The Snake Pit") is open, and ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
How To Throw A Boomerang
The direction and velocity of the wind, as well as whether it's steady or swirling, play a big role in the success of a throw. "A lot of times, a person's first experience trying to throw a boomerang is in a backyard where there are trees and the ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Earlier: Only A Cadaver In Sight
Sitting at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon Rivers, Dawson is a good place to get drunk at 8:30 a.m. -- a place where a shovel and a gold pan may well still represent a legitimate career path. Dawson is the former capital of the ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
