Smoking Volcanoes
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Smoking Volcanoes There is no such thing as an average day – not when you're peddling a gear-loaded bicycle along an arc of active volcanoes in the Pacific Rim. But once you've been at it for 50 months and covered 42,000 kilometres of some of the planet's wildest geologies, life on the road does take on a certain rhythm.
"We get up after sunrise. Pierre prepares tea and coffee on our faithful XGK stove. We filter some water. Pack up camp. Ride for an hour or two. Eat breakfast, either from the stove or a noodle stand. Travel for another three or four hours, taking pictures, chatting with locals, doing laundry, and visiting temples, swimming holes, or whatever else is along the road. Stop for an afternoon snack. More travelling. As the sun goes down, we scrutinize the landscape for the perfect camping spot; when we're lucky, we find it before dark."
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Smoking Volcanoes
Liapari islet
Altiplano, Bolivia
Janick Lemieux and Pierre Bouchard are Quebec-born photojournalists who are completing a threestage, multi-year circuit of the perpetually volatile "Ring of Fire" that surrounds the Pacific. It's a remarkable, beautifully conceived trip, and one that has taken them through environments as diverse as arid expanses of the Atacama Desert, the tropical furnaces of Indonesia, and the dense concrete jungles of urban Taiwan. The logistics are mind-boggling, the physical aspects astounding. Janick's understated description of their life on the road sounds so pleasant that one begins to realize that for these people epic is normal. It's that exact quality, and their unique understanding of cycle gear and backcountry travel, that has made them an integral part of the gear testing program. "In Melanesia and Indonesia we had to work hard to stay away from dehydration, sunburns, and infections. And our gear was getting baked and mouldy at the same time. A great night's sleep meant anything under 30°C, and cool afternoons were invariably wet ones. In conditions like that, my sport bra started melting - returning to petrol, its initial state. Fungus was slowly eating our tent's flysheet. In the Philippines, we ate most of our meals at roadside stands, slept in cheap guest houses, and wore the same shirt over and over, we felt a little silly carrying our whole wardrobe and cooking and camping gear; but we'll be in Siberia soon, and it'll all be put to good use."
Socompa, Argentina
Pierre started testing gear back in 1991 with his cycling partner at the time, Steve Bellmare. "We were regrouping in Vancouver in the middle of an 18-month journey on our bikes and offered to test and review some products. MEC gave us a pair of panniers and two leftover backpacks. I don't think they expected to see us again, so they were pleasantly surprised to receive regular reports – and they were rather shocked by the state in which the tested panniers were returned to the factory." In the summer of 2006, Janick and Pierre were leaving the tropics behind, and posted this dispatch from a ferry bound for Japan. "Right now we're working on an itinerary for the next three months of touring the volcanoes of central and southern Honshu, Kyushu, and Ryuk, and teaching ourselves the rudiments of Japanese. There's more http://www.mec.ca/Main/content_text.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302883053&bmUID=1170364862968 (2 sur 3)2007-02-01 05:21:56
Smoking Volcanoes
island hopping ahead, more lengthy immersions in wilderness areas with beasts, bugs, and solitary expanses. We can't wait. The best moments for us are when we're in the presence of smoking volcanoes. These volcanic sanctuaries are really Shangri-Las." Field Testers Janick and Pierre Janick Lemieux and Pierre Bouchard have been seeking adventures aboard their bikes since 1990. They are regular contributors to Canada's Pedal, Vélo Mag,Géo Plein Air, Müv, and La Semaine magazines.
Design Notes
The input from Janick and Pierre's long-distance travels has proven critical in the design evolution of panniers, packs, cycling and trekking apparel, sleeping bags, and tents. The Tarn 3 Tent underwent an overhaul of its geometric angles, zippers, and storage pockets based on their suggestions. Reunions at the office are always much-anticipated affairs, Pierre calls the sessions "some kind of gear geek's feast."
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Field Testing
You are here: Home > About MEC > Product Development > Field Testing
Field Testing Our gear testing program lets us refine the details of MEC designs as well as test different fabrics and materials by giving them a real-world thrashing. And, it just makes sense to set up the tents where they'll weather some storms and toss the wetsuits into the surf to see how they come out. Meet some of the people who've been shredding, pounding, and generally abusing their MEC gear.
Cerro Pollone For Katy, conditions in the field were rime-covered rock, iced-up gear, whiteout blizzards, and wind – lots and lots of wind.
Smoking Volcanoes "Our gear was getting baked and mouldy at the same time." Janick and Pierre cycled the Pacific Rim, past active volcanoes, through swamps and deserts, with 50kg of gear strapped to their bikes.
Call us at 1.888.847.0770 or 604.709.6241 © 2006 Mountain Equipment Co-op. ® is a registered trademark of Mountain Equipment Co-op. All Rights Reserved. Please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
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Outdoor Gear - Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)
McGillivray Pass, British Columbia MEC member and president of G3速, Oliver digs for signs in the snowpack. Photo: Steve Ogle
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Outdoor Gear - Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)
Avalanche Awareness Review avalanche safety basics and learn more about making good decisions in winter terrain.
Gear Testing Tales MEC prototype products go into the backcountry, get thrashed by our field testers, and live to tell the tale.
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