Gear Review - JVC Gumy Earbuds

You've probably seen these things all over the place. They're cheap, colorful, and gimmicky. But do they work?

I subscribe to the Can't Replace All Products (C.R.A.P.) purchasing model - if you buy expensive stuff, you'll lose or break it. Buy cheap stuff and it seems to lurk around for eons. I don't know why this happens, but the classic example is sunglasses. There is an inverse relationship of amount paid to lifespan.

Based on the C.R.A.P. model, I wasn't about to buy expensive earphones when I sweat all over them and can easily get them lost or caught in a Zipp 404 at 40 mph. Time to go shopping for cheapos!

So, the sales pitch with the Gummies is that they have a cool texture and come in colors. But do they sound like kag (Texas Aggie technical term) or are they good? Here's the results of my 6 month study on the little guys:

• They sound OK. I'm not blown away, but they aren't bad.


• The gummy texture is only the texture, it's not like they're mushy or anything. BUT, the slight stickiness keeps them in-ear when most would slide out from the sweat. This is a major selling point for me.


• The different colors are a good idea. I buy things in weird colors when I want to find them easily. Get white to match your iPod, or get some other color to pick them out from a jumbled mess of other cords.

So that's basically it. I beat the hell out of these things and they just keep on pumping out sound. I really love how they don't slip out of my ears like most earbuds do. For 10 to 15 bucks, you can't go wrong. Thumbs up!

It’s all downhill from here

I don't think I could have things any better right now.  A sure sign that something terrible will happen soon.

• I bike to work on a chromed out '73 Schwinn Varsity.


• Sometimes I run to work.


• When I run to work, I ride a mile each way to the showers at Gold's Gym on a Sector 9 longboard skateboard.  This was gifted to me by a friend for 8 bucks.


• My buddy is always asking me if I want to drive his '67 GTO.


• I ride a BMC TT02 at my local time trials on Wed. nights.  I even ride there, which takes all of about 15 minutes.


• My kid loves to tag along for rides on his tow-bike.

It's like I'm living in some kind of weird transportation porn movie.  And the whole time I've got theme music provided by my iPod Shuffle.  What a wonderful world we live in.

Are there ways you've turned your commuting/transportation into fun?  Post them in the comments!

Racing Tip - Racing Number Strategies

Speeding up your transition is considered "free time". It takes almost no training; just smarts. Let's look at a familiar culprit - the racing number.

• Use a race belt already. Safety pinning it to your shirt has NOOB written all over it.


• Put it on before the race, adjust it to where you like, then step out of it without undoing the buckle. When you come out of the water, you can slide it right on without fiddling with clips.


• Crumple the race number and then flatten it out. The wrinkles prevent it from flapping in the wind and irritating the hell out of you.


• I place mine in my helmet or across my shoes. Doing so keeps me from forgetting it. Placing things in your way is a strategy many people use to remember important things. For example, if you have something you don't want to forget on your way out the door in the morning, put in in the way of the door so that you have to move it to open the door. Also, don't put things on top of your car. Put them on the hood. They'll be right in your line of sight so you don't drive off without them.

Training Tip - Check your Tires for Glass Before Every Ride.

Flats suck. Everybody knows that. But what everybody doesn't know is that you can prevent most of them.

Here's why:

• Most flats are caused by little bits of glass.


• These little bits usually take plenty of miles to work themselves through the tires and into the tube.


• Checking your tires before you ride often finds these shards before they flat your tire.

Here's how:

• Turn off the lights and very slowly turn your tire with a flashlight pointed at it.


• Glass will glint in the light, showing you were it is.


• Pick out the glass, go riding!

It is important to remember that the second leading cause of flats is too low tire pressure. Check your tires for proper inflation before every ride. Also, I use a headlamp to check for glass and keep my hands free.

If you suspect that you just rode through glass, you can use your bike glove to "wipe" the tires while still moving. This is easy on the front, difficult on the back. Sometimes it's simply worth it to get off the bike, spin the tires, and knock the glass off. Compare 30 seconds of doing that vs. 10 minutes and money spent on a new tube and CO2 instead.

Training Tip - Chocolate Milk Recovery Drink is as Good as Steroids

There was a study done a few years ago that showed that runners given good old chocolate milk after a hard workout were able to go something like 20 to 30% farther before fatiguing the next day than the control group.

After much Zentri Science (patented), I concluded the following:

1. What benefit does steroids, EPO, and all that other crap give athletes? 5%? 10%. It's a lot, but is it 20 to 30%? Most certainly not.


2. Isn't this sh*t legal?


3. Isn't this sh*t sold in every convenience store on every street corner?

I've been using it for several years now and it flat out works. I slam a nice cold glass of homemade chocolate milk after every hard workout and the next day I'm able to push hard, yet again. Sure, I'm sore. But I'm not deep down sore and I can push through it no problem.

I save the Hornet Juice for special occasions, such as demolishing Jetpack in an Ironman or destroying Drew in our upcoming Cyclocross Dethmatch (details coming soon.)

The dudes in the lab coats say that chocolate milk works because it has the perfect sugar to protein ratio to get the right stuff to your muscles to repair them quickly. For best results, drink within 15 minutes of finishing your workout. To be honest, some of the timing stuff is still up in the air. This is all new and a pleasant surprise, so they're still trying to decide if it's best before, during, or after the workout.

Just the other day I ended a run at a friend's house and he asked if I wanted any ice water or gatorade. I asked if he had chocolate milk. He had hershey's syrup and lowfat milk. Perfect. That's exactly what I use at home. Like I said, it's everywhere.