Given it’s a snowy Thursday here in the nation’s capital – I figured this would be the perfect time to unleash a post that’s been sitting in my drafts for months…from one snowy place to another.
A while ago a reader sent me something that no doubt falls squarely the the category of…well…’unique’. Now, I understand this is not far from my normal repertoire, but I have long since excepted that some of you have already given me the label ‘unique’.
Meet Birukov Sergey, of somewhere cold in Russia. I don’t really know where in Russia…but I do know there’s snow. Thus it’s cold. Probably really cold.
At first glance you may wonder why I’m showing you a picture of a mountain biker in the snow – after all, there are tons of people who go out and mountain bike each year in the snow. But in order to see the whole picture, you need to ignore the majority of the picture.
So let’s take a closer look at what’s on his arms:
Yes folks, that’s indeed a lineup of sport devices…GPS sport devices no less. The stockpile even includes our classic touch bezel friend the Garmin Forerunner 405.
Of course, as we work our way through his article, we find this shot:
Which…looks a lot like the shot I took last year in my post on indoor training devices:
Hmm…I think I’ve got a twin somewhere in Russia! I have to give him credit in that he’s managed to get all those watches on there and still keep his bike fully functional from a usability standpoint. You’ll notice that in his setup the watches are completely locked in place. Whereas in mine I probably couldn’t even breath hard without them all falling off.
Of course, the challenge with his likely very in-depth article is that there’s one minor detail: I don’t speak Russian. Which is really too bad. As I suspect there’s some really good detailed analysis in all those squiggly characters:
However, with a bit of help from Google Translate, I can at least understand at a basic level that he’s providing a super in-depth massively long detailed review and comparison of the watch, GPS and heart rate functionality – appropriate for even the most stringent of DCRainmaker In Depth Review standards.
However…I think he crossed the line.
That’s not to say I don’t occasionally cross the line into whacky myself.
Ok, perhaps I cross it more than occasionally. A lot more.
But I haven’t don’t the following…yet.
Behold…well…I’m not sure what to call this:
And thus, I have nothing more to say. I merely leave you to ponder the above photo for the next 24 hours or so.
Thanks all for reading. And thanks Birukov if you happen to read this, for the awesomeness you’ve put out there!
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Does it make a bulletproof vest?
Won’t that cause heart an irregular heart beat or heart failure with all those monitors on him. LOL.
Hahaha, did he cross a line or are you just jealous that he posted that pic first? 🙂
Seems there is a fetish movement starting here!
So, how long until we see a similar photo from Ray? Place yer bets…
I suddenly want a heart rate monitor.
But I see he’s using a Suunto which I am secretly coveting. But alas, they, like Polar, don’t like Macs and we are a mac household. I keep hoping you’ll review other brands too!
He jumped the shark Ray.
I’m batman!
Im in Moscow as we speak. Its minus 15 degrees so not great running weather. And the river is frozen. Tough place to train!
Hey man, I like your blog. I read it fairly regularly. Good photos, good product reviews. One quibble: you’ve got to stop calling your girlfriend “the girl”. Intensely douchey. Other than that, keep up the good work.
Hi Anon-
Thanks for the comments.
RE: The Girl
It’s pretty common for many blog authors to call various members of their families by nicknames such as The Girl/The Boy, etc…
I originally did not refer to her (my fiancee) by her real name at her request given her work in high school education, and she’s more than fine with “The Girl” and finds it entertaining.
Thanks!
Oh my gosh! That is supremely awesome. He is totally one-upping you man! I didn’t think that was possible. But I bet you probably kick his ass in the “how many countries I have run/biked/swam in” category.
(and I have never thought the use of “The Girl” as being douchey, but I have been reading a long time )
Mr. Maker,
Based on the source text (I read Russian really, really slowly), Mr. Sergey Birukov appears to have tested his instruments over 2008-09 on the south outskirts of Moscow. Judging by his writing he takes a very similar approach to you: detailed, fastidious, and humorous.
Mr. Power: the best place to run in Moscow right now is on the river embankment trails-start near the White House (opposite the Hotel Ukraina); from there to Luzhniki you’ll have about 5km of pathway that’s cleared every morning from about 5:30AM. If you get bored you can cross over and it should be clear on the other side of the river too. If you get as far as Swallow Hills/MGU look out for the dogs once you hit the trees!
Where he found it, I don’t know, but his vest comes from Belgium as BACOB was the name of a local bank