Does your gear take up too much space? Have you ever had to leave your favorite piece of gear or your second favorite child at home? Firstly, shame on you and more importantly get yourself a cargo box.

Reclaim your car.

Episode No. 3 in GearJunkie’s Off The Map video series, “Maah Daah Hey Trail,” takes viewers to the unlikely adventure destination of western North Dakota. It is there that an old horse track winds a vague and dusty 96 miles between two units of a national park and through the state’s Martian-like Badlands region.

Check it out.

Even with the official first day of summer a month away, we think the unofficial start of summer is Memorial Day weekend. With that extra day off from work or school you can really start to enjoy the (potentially) beautiful weather. We hope you all had a good Memorial day. Whether you loaded up your bikes, camping gear, or boats and headed out to your favorite spot or just kicked back, fired up the grill and relaxed at home, we hope you had a great time.

The guys from the Wired Bike Team recently loaded up some of the newest best bikes to have a great time of their own at Russian River in northern California. Check out how much they “enjoyed” some of northern California’s tough terrain.

For a cool video and to read more about their adventures check out the rest here.

Check out Yakima’s Vince Mazzuca talking about the new DoubleDown Ace hitch mounted bike rack at Sea Otter Classic.

Head over to roadbikereview.com for this review of the DoubleDown Ace.

DoubleDown Ace

Yakima’s new hitch-mounted bike carrier features tool-free installation and integrated locking. The DoubleDown Ace fits squarely in the middle of Yakima’s current lineup, and is available in 5, 4, or 2 bike configurations. As with the rest of Yakima’s DoubleDown family, the DoubleDown Ace is made from powder-coated steel and the bike cradles feature robust, scratch-free plastic. The quick-release arm folds for parking and storage, and the quick-release mast tilts forward for easy rear-of-vehicle access. The DoubleDown is compatible with both 2-inch and 1¼-inch hitch receivers right out of the box.

The DoubleDown Ace is a breeze to install, thanks to the unique and ergonomic SpeedKnob™, which attaches the rack to car quickly and without tools. The SpeedKnob also features an integrated lock to secure the rack to the vehicle.

“When it comes to bike racks, two of the top concerns are ease of use and security. TheDoubleDown Ace addresses both of those issues with its innovative feature set,” said Michael Zoormajian, Category Business Manager for Rear of Car. “Just slide it into your car’s hitch, give the SpeedKnob a few turns and you’re ready to head off for a biking adventure. It’s really as easy at that.”

Additional DoubleDown Ace features include:

• SwitchBlade™ anti-sway cradles to reduce bike-to-bike contact
• Integrated bottle openers
• Optional ArmLock™ available to lock bikes to rack
• Optional TubeTop™ to carry bikes without straight toptubes
• The DoubleDown Ace is available in three sizes, with two, four and five-bike capacities:

DoubleDown Ace 2
Weight: 26.6 lbs.
Capacity: 2 bikes (maximum weight: 70 lbs.)
MSRP: $219

DoubleDown Ace 4
Weight: 29.4 lbs.
Capacity: 4 bikes (maximum weight: 120 lbs.)
MSRP: $269

DoubleDown Ace 5
Weight: 31 lbs.
Capacity: 5 bikes (maximum weight: 125 lbs.)
MSRP: $299

Yakima has teamed up with GearJunkie to bring you the Off The Map video series. To learn more about the five-part series check this out. Follow the GearJunkie team from California’s infamous Lost Coast Trail to the sea caves on Lake Superior. Here is the first video as they the crew hikes along The Lost Coast.

Have you heard about Whispbar? They are pretty tough to hear, they are the quietest rooftop bars on the market. Here is a short video talking about both the elegance and simplicity of Whispbar and how easy it mounts to your car with the Smartfoot fitting kit.

In a loud world sometimes it pays to be the strong silent type.

If you haven’t already seen “The Classics” video series that Yakima helped to produce then you should definitely check them out. Here Madeline Sorken and Jason Nelson do some tough sandstone climbing in Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas, NV. It is a  nice little break from the dreary spring day we have today in the Pacific Northwest.

If you haven’t already seen The Classics video series produced with support from Yakima you should definitely check them out. This one shows it takes a lot more than some drizzle to keep Shane Kibler and Molly Steinhoff of the steep and scary single-track MTB trails of North Shore British Columbia. Pay close attention and you might even win some gear.