Gravel Worlds '16- WW4M: Nutrition And Gear Review

The nutrition during my 2016 Gravel Worlds ride was  99% these items

This post will detail my nutrition and a word or three about gear that I haven't already said much about. The "WW4M" in the title stands for "What Works For Me". This should point out to you that what I am about to detail here may not work for you or anyone else. However; I hope that these ideas might help out someone reading to fine tune their own endurance riding nutrition strategy.

On The Bike Food: If you have been reading along here this Summer you already know that I battled a stomach shut down during my Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational attempt and that I had to stop after a little over 109 miles. Well, I tracked that back to a heavy amount of sugary processed food in the form of a cookie sandwich I ate earlier in the day. I decided after that I wasn't going to utilize any processed sugary crapola like Gatorade or foods from convenience stores in my nutritional strategies for Gravel Worlds.

Fortunately, my friend Tony had shared with me several times about some items he relied upon. So, I decided to follow suit. I obviously was witnessing what it was doing and it was working for him. I did not know if it would work for me at all, and Gravel Worlds was my test ground. I didn't try some of this before at all, and none of it while riding a bike. Dumb? Maybe. Maybe I got away with it because I didn't know I shouldn't! But I think in reality it was more that I had seen the results with Tony and figured I could benefit as well.

• Flattened Bananas- This actually was a suggestion by a Trans Iowa rider that wasn't able to process any convenience store fare and rode in T.I.v12 on these. They are a Trader Joe's item, and he sent me a couple packages of the stuff after T.I.v12. I opened one package and used food scissors to cut the flattened mass into ribbons and then placed those into sandwich bags for easy on bike eating. 
• Justin's Almond Butter packets- I found these at a local grocer's natural food aisle and Tony is a big fan of these. 190 calories in each packet. They can be a bit hard to consume because unless you kneed them up inside the packet before opening one they can be a bit dry and thick on one end where the oils separate out from the solids. Make sure you down this with water! But other than that, they work. Not the most pleasant deal, but not terrible either. 
• Epic Bison and Uncured Bacon meat bars- These are a natural foods aisle score and another thing Tony uses.Not easy to rip open the original packaging while riding, so you may want to pre-open these or better yet, repackage them. This is a form of pemmican, which Native Americans used as an energy source.  
• Elete electrolytic add in- I have been a fan of Elete for over a decade now after learning about it from my former co-worker and 24 hour solo racer, Jeff Kerkove.  This is a clear-ish liquid that you mix in with water and it keeps your electrolytes in balance. I've never cramped while using this, and it is super easy to pack along and to administer to your water as you are on a ride. 

The Fargo Gen I as used at Gravel Worlds

The Gear: I won't go on about the Fargo, but I did pick the bike due to the Luxy Bar and my left shoulder issue. I also had the Revelate Tangle Bag, (an old, outdated version)on the bike which held some maintenance items if needed and a rain/wind breaker in case the weather went sour or if I had to ride after dark. An old Velocity aluminum water bottle cage, (made in Australia), allowed for a lowered water bottle position due to the design of the cage, which can be adjusted. I was able to pack four large water bottles due to this. The bottle under the down tube carried repair bits, tools, tire levers, a roll of black electrical tape, and a chain tool.

I used a Trelock 950 headlight, a Grateful Red Planet Bike tail light, and Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bags and Garage Bag for storing food, a few more tools, and my cameras. Shifters are Gevenalle with 9 speed Ultegra levers. Long pull levers close up ancient Avid BB-7 calipers on a front Avid rotor and a rear Ashima rotor. Tires and wheels are the same I've had since the Kanza ride. Teravail Sparwoods and Sun-Ringle' Black Flags. The Sparwoods were a mixed bag at Gravel Worlds. There was good and bad things, but I am still not impressed enough to keep them on for anything other than hard, solid based or sandy conditions where they seem to excel.

The one item which I felt was well worth its price, for my ride anyway, was the Cirrus Cycles Body Float seat post. It is a sprung post which is designed to take the edge off bumps and absorb the smaller chatter. It does that so seamlessly when set up properly that I don't even notice it. However; I did notice that I didn't have any issues with washboard surfaces out there. Let me tell you- there was a LOT of washboard out on that course. Many riders were getting jostled around and losing speed when they hit this but I could keep pedaling uninterrupted and not lose speed. I noted this several times during the day. In fact, so did other riders. I heard several comments from other riders on how active the post was as they passed me.

Grinding the final miles into Lincoln. Image by Kevin Fox

Conclusions: The new nutritional idea was a grand slam. No issues with fueling at all, with the exception of one element. That would be my falling asleep/battling sleep issues. I was noting that soda pop seemed to kill this issue. Coke, regular grocery store lime soda, regular grocery store cola, it didn't seem to matter. I suspect it was the kind of sugar that I was getting versus what kind of soda it was. Hmm.... Going to have to work on that part.

There were two other things I ate outside of the basic plan. Beef jerky and one gel that was chocolate and had caffeine, which I was trying as a "wake me up" gel. I cannot recall if it worked though! Ha! That said, I am trying to keep what works here and I will test this out on my next long ride which I hope to do just for fun soon.

On the gear side the wool jersey, base layer, Louis Garneau bibs, and my new, gifted to me Omaha Jackrabbit Hundy hat made by Walz, (Thanks Scott Redd!!) were all flawless. Interesting factoid- I didn't like wearing sun glasses that day. Something about it pestered me in the wrong way, so I ditched them for most of the ride. The Gen I Fargo? Well, no words need to be said there. The Body Float post was awesome. I am super happy I used it.

Okay, any questions? Feel free to hit me up with those in the comments or via e-mail.

Gravel Worlds '16- WW4M: Nutrition And Gear Review

The nutrition during my 2016 Gravel Worlds ride was  99% these items

This post will detail my nutrition and a word or three about gear that I haven't already said much about. The "WW4M" in the title stands for "What Works For Me". This should point out to you that what I am about to detail here may not work for you or anyone else. However; I hope that these ideas might help out someone reading to fine tune their own endurance riding nutrition strategy.

On The Bike Food: If you have been reading along here this Summer you already know that I battled a stomach shut down during my Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational attempt and that I had to stop after a little over 109 miles. Well, I tracked that back to a heavy amount of sugary processed food in the form of a cookie sandwich I ate earlier in the day. I decided after that I wasn't going to utilize any processed sugary crapola like Gatorade or foods from convenience stores in my nutritional strategies for Gravel Worlds.

Fortunately, my friend Tony had shared with me several times about some items he relied upon. So, I decided to follow suit. I obviously was witnessing what it was doing and it was working for him. I did not know if it would work for me at all, and Gravel Worlds was my test ground. I didn't try some of this before at all, and none of it while riding a bike. Dumb? Maybe. Maybe I got away with it because I didn't know I shouldn't! But I think in reality it was more that I had seen the results with Tony and figured I could benefit as well.

• Flattened Bananas- This actually was a suggestion by a Trans Iowa rider that wasn't able to process any convenience store fare and rode in T.I.v12 on these. They are a Trader Joe's item, and he sent me a couple packages of the stuff after T.I.v12. I opened one package and used food scissors to cut the flattened mass into ribbons and then placed those into sandwich bags for easy on bike eating. 
• Justin's Almond Butter packets- I found these at a local grocer's natural food aisle and Tony is a big fan of these. 190 calories in each packet. They can be a bit hard to consume because unless you kneed them up inside the packet before opening one they can be a bit dry and thick on one end where the oils separate out from the solids. Make sure you down this with water! But other than that, they work. Not the most pleasant deal, but not terrible either. 
• Epic Bison and Uncured Bacon meat bars- These are a natural foods aisle score and another thing Tony uses.Not easy to rip open the original packaging while riding, so you may want to pre-open these or better yet, repackage them. This is a form of pemmican, which Native Americans used as an energy source.  
• Elete electrolytic add in- I have been a fan of Elete for over a decade now after learning about it from my former co-worker and 24 hour solo racer, Jeff Kerkove.  This is a clear-ish liquid that you mix in with water and it keeps your electrolytes in balance. I've never cramped while using this, and it is super easy to pack along and to administer to your water as you are on a ride. 

The Fargo Gen I as used at Gravel Worlds

The Gear: I won't go on about the Fargo, but I did pick the bike due to the Luxy Bar and my left shoulder issue. I also had the Revelate Tangle Bag, (an old, outdated version)on the bike which held some maintenance items if needed and a rain/wind breaker in case the weather went sour or if I had to ride after dark. An old Velocity aluminum water bottle cage, (made in Australia), allowed for a lowered water bottle position due to the design of the cage, which can be adjusted. I was able to pack four large water bottles due to this. The bottle under the down tube carried repair bits, tools, tire levers, a roll of black electrical tape, and a chain tool.

I used a Trelock 950 headlight, a Grateful Red Planet Bike tail light, and Bike Bag Dude Chaff Bags and Garage Bag for storing food, a few more tools, and my cameras. Shifters are Gevenalle with 9 speed Ultegra levers. Long pull levers close up ancient Avid BB-7 calipers on a front Avid rotor and a rear Ashima rotor. Tires and wheels are the same I've had since the Kanza ride. Teravail Sparwoods and Sun-Ringle' Black Flags. The Sparwoods were a mixed bag at Gravel Worlds. There was good and bad things, but I am still not impressed enough to keep them on for anything other than hard, solid based or sandy conditions where they seem to excel.

The one item which I felt was well worth its price, for my ride anyway, was the Cirrus Cycles Body Float seat post. It is a sprung post which is designed to take the edge off bumps and absorb the smaller chatter. It does that so seamlessly when set up properly that I don't even notice it. However; I did notice that I didn't have any issues with washboard surfaces out there. Let me tell you- there was a LOT of washboard out on that course. Many riders were getting jostled around and losing speed when they hit this but I could keep pedaling uninterrupted and not lose speed. I noted this several times during the day. In fact, so did other riders. I heard several comments from other riders on how active the post was as they passed me.

Grinding the final miles into Lincoln. Image by Kevin Fox

Conclusions: The new nutritional idea was a grand slam. No issues with fueling at all, with the exception of one element. That would be my falling asleep/battling sleep issues. I was noting that soda pop seemed to kill this issue. Coke, regular grocery store lime soda, regular grocery store cola, it didn't seem to matter. I suspect it was the kind of sugar that I was getting versus what kind of soda it was. Hmm.... Going to have to work on that part.

There were two other things I ate outside of the basic plan. Beef jerky and one gel that was chocolate and had caffeine, which I was trying as a "wake me up" gel. I cannot recall if it worked though! Ha! That said, I am trying to keep what works here and I will test this out on my next long ride which I hope to do just for fun soon.

On the gear side the wool jersey, base layer, Louis Garneau bibs, and my new, gifted to me Omaha Jackrabbit Hundy hat made by Walz, (Thanks Scott Redd!!) were all flawless. Interesting factoid- I didn't like wearing sun glasses that day. Something about it pestered me in the wrong way, so I ditched them for most of the ride. The Gen I Fargo? Well, no words need to be said there. The Body Float post was awesome. I am super happy I used it.

Okay, any questions? Feel free to hit me up with those in the comments or via e-mail.

Friday News And Views

I liked it so much I bought one.

Back From The Dead:

I reviewed this little tail light a while back and told you all how I had it fall off a bag and how it subsequently was smashed to bits on a highway. I said I liked it so much I'd actually buy another one.

So, here it is, just as I promised.

I don't know if I adequately stated how bright the Grateful Red tail light is. I had to use my older, battery operated Bontrager Flare tail light to get by in the time between when I lost the Grateful Red and when I got it replaced. The Flare was very sub-standard in comparison. It was so much less bright and "penetrating" in its intensity that I almost didn't use it since it looked so inadequate.

In contrast the Grateful Red is like the USB rechargeable lights in its sharpness and intensity of light. It really works far better than anything I used to own and use. Again, I know many of you are all about USB stuff, but I could easily buy two Grateful Reds for the price of one of the usual suspects when it comes to USB rechargeable tail lights that are this intense. Plus, the Grateful Red has a longer run time than many of the more expensive lights.

While Planet Bike sent over the first example at no charge, I felt like this light was good enough, and reasonably priced, that I just went ahead and bought the replacement. I'm really glad that I did too.

The Fargo Brothers.

The Original Adventure By Bike Bicycle: 

The Salsa Cycles Fargo is an icon of the Salsa line up. The steel, drop bar specific 29"er has the distinction of having a long run in the Salsa Cycles line up. Only the El Mariachi has been around longer. With newer models coming and going all these years, the Fargo may seem like it is almost an antique. However; if my two riding friends I spent some time with on Wednesday are any indication, the popularity of the Fargo is only growing more every year.

Both of them were giving their Bomb Pop Blue Fargos some heady praise. I was listening in and nodding, agreeing out loud at a few points. The Fargo is an amazing bicycle. Perhaps it is the quintessential gravel/bike packing/touring machine of the gravel world. Perhaps it is nothing more than a capable chameleon that adapts to its owner's vision for whatever task they have in mind and does so easily. I cannot say which, but I do know that it is closer to the time that the Fargo will change again, or go away completely, than it ever has been. Models like Salsa's Warbird and Cutthroat point to a higher tech, carbonated future, and the steel Fargo maybe doesn't fit into that molded future vision for the brand's line.

If it is allowed to stay, and the Deadwood may be a model that points to that possibility, then we may see 27.5" wheels, the plus versions, most likely, be attached to a bike with the Fargo name. It would make a lot of sense. B+ wheels, with true, 3" sized tires, would roll rough terrain easily, and the Boost fork and rear end standard would make a lot of sense here as well. Then you could build up a set of lighter, nimbler 29"er wheels to take over when speed and quickness were desired over cush and flotation. I imagine a top of the line, B+ wheeled titanium Fargo. That would be a really sweet machine!

Errand machine

Big Dummy Dreams:

Yeah..... Long time readers will remember several times where I have mentioned wanting a Surly Big Dummy. It is funny, because just the other day a friend of mine quipped that he couldn't believe that I didn't already own one. Then I get home and Surly has a blog post about how to haul stuff with your Big Dummy.

It's a sign, right?

Maybe I'll finally make it happen. I should, you know. I ain't gettin any younger. If I do, my vision would be for a wide rimmed, Extraterrestrial tired, Brooks sprung saddled cargo monster with my Ergon pedals and the bags I already have on my XtraCycle moved over to the newer rig. That would be a dream Big Dummy buld.

Trouble is, it would make two other bikes I have obsolete and then what? Well, the 1X1 could move on to another shop employee's hands, because that's the deal with that bike, and the other rig? Well, it's an 80's mtb, so probably......I don't know, donate it to a poor soul? Probably. I just know I wouldn't need those two bikes if I got a Big Dummy.

Okay, that's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and get out and ride!

Friday News And Views

I liked it so much I bought one.

Back From The Dead:

I reviewed this little tail light a while back and told you all how I had it fall off a bag and how it subsequently was smashed to bits on a highway. I said I liked it so much I'd actually buy another one.

So, here it is, just as I promised.

I don't know if I adequately stated how bright the Grateful Red tail light is. I had to use my older, battery operated Bontrager Flare tail light to get by in the time between when I lost the Grateful Red and when I got it replaced. The Flare was very sub-standard in comparison. It was so much less bright and "penetrating" in its intensity that I almost didn't use it since it looked so inadequate.

In contrast the Grateful Red is like the USB rechargeable lights in its sharpness and intensity of light. It really works far better than anything I used to own and use. Again, I know many of you are all about USB stuff, but I could easily buy two Grateful Reds for the price of one of the usual suspects when it comes to USB rechargeable tail lights that are this intense. Plus, the Grateful Red has a longer run time than many of the more expensive lights.

While Planet Bike sent over the first example at no charge, I felt like this light was good enough, and reasonably priced, that I just went ahead and bought the replacement. I'm really glad that I did too.

The Fargo Brothers.

The Original Adventure By Bike Bicycle: 

The Salsa Cycles Fargo is an icon of the Salsa line up. The steel, drop bar specific 29"er has the distinction of having a long run in the Salsa Cycles line up. Only the El Mariachi has been around longer. With newer models coming and going all these years, the Fargo may seem like it is almost an antique. However; if my two riding friends I spent some time with on Wednesday are any indication, the popularity of the Fargo is only growing more every year.

Both of them were giving their Bomb Pop Blue Fargos some heady praise. I was listening in and nodding, agreeing out loud at a few points. The Fargo is an amazing bicycle. Perhaps it is the quintessential gravel/bike packing/touring machine of the gravel world. Perhaps it is nothing more than a capable chameleon that adapts to its owner's vision for whatever task they have in mind and does so easily. I cannot say which, but I do know that it is closer to the time that the Fargo will change again, or go away completely, than it ever has been. Models like Salsa's Warbird and Cutthroat point to a higher tech, carbonated future, and the steel Fargo maybe doesn't fit into that molded future vision for the brand's line.

If it is allowed to stay, and the Deadwood may be a model that points to that possibility, then we may see 27.5" wheels, the plus versions, most likely, be attached to a bike with the Fargo name. It would make a lot of sense. B+ wheels, with true, 3" sized tires, would roll rough terrain easily, and the Boost fork and rear end standard would make a lot of sense here as well. Then you could build up a set of lighter, nimbler 29"er wheels to take over when speed and quickness were desired over cush and flotation. I imagine a top of the line, B+ wheeled titanium Fargo. That would be a really sweet machine!

Errand machine

Big Dummy Dreams:

Yeah..... Long time readers will remember several times where I have mentioned wanting a Surly Big Dummy. It is funny, because just the other day a friend of mine quipped that he couldn't believe that I didn't already own one. Then I get home and Surly has a blog post about how to haul stuff with your Big Dummy.

It's a sign, right?

Maybe I'll finally make it happen. I should, you know. I ain't gettin any younger. If I do, my vision would be for a wide rimmed, Extraterrestrial tired, Brooks sprung saddled cargo monster with my Ergon pedals and the bags I already have on my XtraCycle moved over to the newer rig. That would be a dream Big Dummy buld.

Trouble is, it would make two other bikes I have obsolete and then what? Well, the 1X1 could move on to another shop employee's hands, because that's the deal with that bike, and the other rig? Well, it's an 80's mtb, so probably......I don't know, donate it to a poor soul? Probably. I just know I wouldn't need those two bikes if I got a Big Dummy.

Okay, that's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and get out and ride!

WW4M: Planet Bike Grateful Red

Clever name- Bang for the buck

WW4M stands for "What Works For Me". This is a review of a product I found extremely useful, that lives up to its billing, and provides a good value. Your mileage may vary.

 The cycling world is full of red blinky devices that are designed to warn of your presence on bike paths, roads, and on trails whether it is dark or not. So, when another light hits the market, it gets a "ho-hum" response. I mean.....how many different models of blinky tail lights do we really need? 

The red blinker market has some pretty heavy hitters that have the latest in LED emitters, high Lumen out put, and recharge via USB ports, since, ya know, everybody lives and rides near a computer, right? You'd think so anyway.

The Planet Bike company doesn't seem to think so, and felt that maybe not everybody would pony up for $25.00-$60.00 rear blinkies. So, they introduced the "Grateful Red" tail light. Planet Bike has always had some pretty decent rear blinkies all along, so I had big expectations for this cleverly named light. Here's the spew from their site:

• PB power array™ and reflector provide visibility for up to 1 mile
• Steady, Superflash™ and Courtesy™ flash modes
• Ultra compact case is weatherproof, lightweight, and durable
• Rear rack and seat post mounts included
• Up to 150 hours of run time on 2 AAA batteries (included)
• 85 grams 

Okay, so what are these three trademarked "modes" all about? Steady is self explanatory, and may seem useless, but here's something I've found that may make you think twice about that. I have found that at night, many times if I use a steady light, vehicles coming from behind give you a wider berth, because they don't know if you are a vehicle with a tail light out, a motorcycle, or a cyclist until they get closer to you. By then, they've committed to giving me more room. Try it out....

The Grateful Red comes with a nice mount, or you can clip it on a strap

The "Superflash" mode is a blinkie on meth, crazy pattern, that makes me go nuts just looking at it. Want to tick off your riding buddies? This is your mode. I'm not into it, but it may be just what you are looking for.

The "Courtesy Mode" is what I ended up using almost all the time. It is a mode that melds a steady light with an "on-off", slow, soft glowing that I found pleasant, and resulted in much more courteous passing by motorists during my Winter commutes. It was definitely a noticeable thing, as I found out if I left it off, the cars were passing me much closer, as usual without a light, than if I had the light on Courtesy Mode".

Okay, so what else? It's a replaceable battery powered light, isn't that a bad thing? I don't know.......is it? Get some rechargeable AAA's and go with that then. My take is that if the light goes dim or quits, I probably will not be around a computer, or I won't have time to sit and wait for however many minutes or hours that an LED light that recharges via USB would take to recharge. Batteries? A few minutes or less, swap out two batteries, done for another 150 hours of use. Sounds good to me. Plus, if you ride any all-nighters or do lots of long distance, "out there" type of stuff, packing two triple "A"'s isn't  a big deal, and you don't have to try to find a computer to recharge your "device light".

UPDATE: A friend gently reminded me about rechargeable power packs and that those could be used as a way to extend a USB rechargeable blinky's battery in a pinch. Okay, but that's really not much different than swapping batteries, only batteries work right away. Plus, batteries, and the Grateful Red light, cost a lot less. Still, that's a great point and a viable way to go.

My only quibble is that the clip, like so many LED blinky light clips, isn't very "clampy", and I ended up losing my Grateful Red just yesterday somewhere. The thing is, the MSRP is $19.99, so I'm not out a lot for replacing it.

And trust me, I am replacing this one. It's a good little blinky for not a lot of cabbage.

Planet Bike provided the Grateful Red used in this review at no charge. I was not paid nor bribed for this review, and I really am going to buy another one to replace the one I lost. So there!

WW4M: Planet Bike Grateful Red

Clever name- Bang for the buck

WW4M stands for "What Works For Me". This is a review of a product I found extremely useful, that lives up to its billing, and provides a good value. Your mileage may vary.

 The cycling world is full of red blinky devices that are designed to warn of your presence on bike paths, roads, and on trails whether it is dark or not. So, when another light hits the market, it gets a "ho-hum" response. I mean.....how many different models of blinky tail lights do we really need? 

The red blinker market has some pretty heavy hitters that have the latest in LED emitters, high Lumen out put, and recharge via USB ports, since, ya know, everybody lives and rides near a computer, right? You'd think so anyway.

The Planet Bike company doesn't seem to think so, and felt that maybe not everybody would pony up for $25.00-$60.00 rear blinkies. So, they introduced the "Grateful Red" tail light. Planet Bike has always had some pretty decent rear blinkies all along, so I had big expectations for this cleverly named light. Here's the spew from their site:

• PB power array™ and reflector provide visibility for up to 1 mile
• Steady, Superflash™ and Courtesy™ flash modes
• Ultra compact case is weatherproof, lightweight, and durable
• Rear rack and seat post mounts included
• Up to 150 hours of run time on 2 AAA batteries (included)
• 85 grams 

Okay, so what are these three trademarked "modes" all about? Steady is self explanatory, and may seem useless, but here's something I've found that may make you think twice about that. I have found that at night, many times if I use a steady light, vehicles coming from behind give you a wider berth, because they don't know if you are a vehicle with a tail light out, a motorcycle, or a cyclist until they get closer to you. By then, they've committed to giving me more room. Try it out....

The Grateful Red comes with a nice mount, or you can clip it on a strap

The "Superflash" mode is a blinkie on meth, crazy pattern, that makes me go nuts just looking at it. Want to tick off your riding buddies? This is your mode. I'm not into it, but it may be just what you are looking for.

The "Courtesy Mode" is what I ended up using almost all the time. It is a mode that melds a steady light with an "on-off", slow, soft glowing that I found pleasant, and resulted in much more courteous passing by motorists during my Winter commutes. It was definitely a noticeable thing, as I found out if I left it off, the cars were passing me much closer, as usual without a light, than if I had the light on Courtesy Mode".

Okay, so what else? It's a replaceable battery powered light, isn't that a bad thing? I don't know.......is it? Get some rechargeable AAA's and go with that then. My take is that if the light goes dim or quits, I probably will not be around a computer, or I won't have time to sit and wait for however many minutes or hours that an LED light that recharges via USB would take to recharge. Batteries? A few minutes or less, swap out two batteries, done for another 150 hours of use. Sounds good to me. Plus, if you ride any all-nighters or do lots of long distance, "out there" type of stuff, packing two triple "A"'s isn't  a big deal, and you don't have to try to find a computer to recharge your "device light".

UPDATE: A friend gently reminded me about rechargeable power packs and that those could be used as a way to extend a USB rechargeable blinky's battery in a pinch. Okay, but that's really not much different than swapping batteries, only batteries work right away. Plus, batteries, and the Grateful Red light, cost a lot less. Still, that's a great point and a viable way to go.

My only quibble is that the clip, like so many LED blinky light clips, isn't very "clampy", and I ended up losing my Grateful Red just yesterday somewhere. The thing is, the MSRP is $19.99, so I'm not out a lot for replacing it.

And trust me, I am replacing this one. It's a good little blinky for not a lot of cabbage.

Planet Bike provided the Grateful Red used in this review at no charge. I was not paid nor bribed for this review, and I really am going to buy another one to replace the one I lost. So there!