When it rains it pours, yes, pun intended.  BikeCommuters.Com has been extremely nice to us as of late.  We don’t advertise with them (yet), so their actions are coming from a true place of bike commuting & products that help the cause, which is why we are stoked to hear how well our review went.   Not only has it been raining in the state of Ohio for Jack “Ghost Rider” Sweeney, one of the brilliant writers/testers for BikeCommuters.Com, to go out and make the worst weather his best ride (Our motto), but he’s been killing it with our waterproof, breathable, lightweight, & compact O2 Rainwear Calhoun Jacket!  We are literally turning him into a true Midwesterner (he’s originally used to beaches & sunshine rides).  He’s riding in temperature below freezing!  So props to him on that front, and once again, thanks to BikeCommuters.Com and all the bike commuting junkies out there for taking notice to us.  Nothing.  Stops. You.   CHECK OUT THE GREAT REVIEW HERE

We had a first this season.  For the first time in the history of gift guide’s, somebody chose to put O2 Rainwear within the box of tricks one should choose to give to a special someone (including themselves) over the holiday season.  That “somebody” was BikeCommuters.Com  .  BikeCommuters.com is a site where you can find up to the minute information on all bike commuting products, news, and random bike culture anecdotes.  Its a great daily go-to for staying in the know.  Among the cool recommendations that BikeCommuters.Com had, such as BanjoBrothers and Portland Design Works, they highlighted our waterproof, breathable, lightweight, and compact  O2 Rainwear Calhoun Jacket!  Can we be more happy?  Shall we make a toast to this?  Absolutely!  So sip on whatever adult beverage of your liking, and cheers to BikeCommuters.Com for kicking ass & looking our way.  CHECK IT OUT with the link below!

BIKECOMMUTER.COM’s GIFT GUIDE

Who the hell wants a burly adventure?  Who the hell wants an epic confrontation with their will to endure the most arctic of ultra events?  Well swallow this.  The Arrowhead 135 is 135 miles across Northern Minnesota virtually all on the Arrowhead State Snowmobile Trail from I-Falls to Tower, MN at the Fortune Bay Casino. You may bicycle, ski or go by foot.  In their 8th year, while starting with about 10 entrants in 2005 to 120+ actual starters in 2011, and featuring arguably many of the best winter ultra-athletes in the world, it is the “ultra” winter test.

From their website; “Historically one of the coldest gosh darn races anyplace including even the Arctic, check the average temps, virtually every year luck has us at -30 to -40C/F.  Arrowhead 135 Inc is a Minnesota Not-For-Profit Organization of local athletes/volunteers dedicated to the promotion of human powered ultra-endurance events across the scenic and rugged Arrowhead Region of Northern Minnesota. Our mission is to foster national and international amateur ultra endurance sports such as mountain-biking, cross-country skiing and trail running. We strive to educate the community on extreme endurance sports safety and winter camping.  The goal of the organization is to offer a small, fun, educational, yet challenging ultra-endurance event in extreme trail and weather conditions for the benefit of communities in Northern Minnesota.”

O2 Rainwear is a proud sponsor of the 2012 Arrowhead 135.

Check out their site here:  ARROWHEAD 135

We knew our Nokomis Series was the end-all for all hardcore cyclist.  We make our gear for for anyone that can get on a bike and for any elements that is thrown your way while riding.  Hell yeah we were pumped when a mountain biker wanted to review our gear, we knew it would receive the same positive praise as our recreational & road reviewers have in the past.  MTBR.COM is "a site by Mountain Bikers for Mountain Bikers."  They do Pro Reviews that are extremely detailed as you will notice.   Brian Mullin at  http://www.gramslightbikes.com/ was our Pro Reviewer, and SPOILER ALERT, we received 4.5 outta 5 Flammin' Chili Peppers! READ THE REVIEW HERE

Josh King reviewed the Nokomis Jacket at CommutebyBike.Com.  You can read the insightful review right HERE

Commute By Bike has been active since the spring of 2005.  All the contributors to this site have a wealth of experience and commuting history.  They believe that bicycles can solve many of the worlds issues, relieve stress, and create a healthy lifestyle.

“Josh King lives in Seattle, where he commutes by bike every day, rain or shine. He switched to full-time single speed commuting in 2010. You can read his thoughts on going gearless at www.singlespeedseattle.com”

Nick Burklow, a serious commuter & bike lifestyle contributor at BikeRumor.Com, has been trying out our Nokomis Jacket & Pant for over 3 months. We could not be happier with his experience and review giving 4.5 out of 5 thumbs up.  WOO HOO.  You can read the review here –> BIKERUMOR.COM REVIEW OF NOKOMIS SERIES

According to their site, BikeRumor.Com was “launched in June 2008 by some cyclists who just really enjoy everything about bikes as a way to share information that all cycling fanatics could enjoy.”  They focus on featuring the latest, greatest bike gadgets, news, rumors and trends with a small attention to race coverage.

The good folks at BICYCLING MAGAZINE gave us a very positive online review of the Calhoun Jacket & Pants.  You can read it here. –> BICYCLING MAGAZINE REVIEW

According to their website, “Urban Velo is a reflection of the cycling culture in current day cities. Our readers are encouraged to contribute their words and art. We pay real American dollars for published submissions—get in touch with your ideas.”

Read what they had to say about O2 on the link below!

UrbanVelo.Org Showcases O2 Rainwear!

The good people at PodiumCafe.Com reviewed the O2 Calhoun Jacket.  Here are some excerpts from it:

“Because O2 Rainwear, of balmy Minneapolis, asked me to demo their Calhoun model jacket, whereupon I discovered that you can, in fact, repel water without sealing yourself in suffocating plastic.”

“I rode around in the windy, wet Seattle slop in the Calhoun (~$120) for a couple weeks, both commutes and multiple hour rides, and was able to check off the following: kept me dry, didn’t feel like a sweat lodge, blocked the wind, fit trimly enough to not feel any billowing ”

“Actually, I’ve taken to wearing the Calhoun around off the bike, since stylistically it’s a big upgrade from my standard-Northwest-issue Mountain Hardware coat. But that’s not the important part. What matters is that it does what it said it would, keep my body temperature under control while repelling rain, and by all appearances the construction is very solid. Zippers are firm and grippy, and the stitching is covered over to stop seepage. It’s got pit zips, cinches in the waist and back of the neck for really trimming, and velcro sleeve cinches. And only one pocket: this is a rain layer that’s meant to fit trim and be light. If you’re into going fast on a rainy day.”

For the full review, click on the link below and check out PodiumCafe.Com daily for great cycling content.

PodiumCafe.Com REVIEW of O2 Rainwear Calhoun Jacket

O2 is sponsoring The Get Up & Ride Wisconsin Bike Challenge. This event is a simple way for Wisconsin Businesses to encourage all the benefits of cycling.  It’s a fun way to track both commuting and recreational bicycle trips.  There are real-time reports that show the businesses progress on total number of bike miles, average miles biked per employee, and percentage of work base participating.

• Workplaces are invited to sign-up now at www.challenge.bfw.org
• Employees will begin tracking their bicycle trips May16.
• The first set of monthly prizes will be given away June 30.

At any time throughout the Challenge, business representatives can log-in to the site for updates and progress reports.  Why doesn’t every state do this?  There needs to be a national contest from border to border to see who has the best company bike participation.  Who’s with me?