The interents all a twitter about the Nike patent filing for an ‘automatic lacing system.’ The patent was filed last year but it took awhile for news to hit the interwebs. The news, of course, is that Nike might be in a position to launch their McFly shoes from Back to the Future II, worn by Marty when he rode his hoverboard through downtown Hill Valley. I recently met a guy who tried to explain to me how hoverboards would work. I really need to get him in touch with Mattel so we can pull this all together by 2015.

Rather, music of a certain tempo makes you go faster. Listening to Hall & Oates will probably just make you smoother. A British study done last year found that increasing the tempo of the music while riding stationary bikes influenced riders to also increase their tempo. The cyclists that listened to slower music lowered their cadence, speed and their heart rates dropped. The slower riders said they enjoyed the music more, and the faster riders pushed themselves harder even when it ended up hurting. Time to load up some speed metal for the workout.

Insane skier and all-around rad guy Todd Ligare has joined the Backcountry.com team. His site pops open with a 2-minute video that’ll have you screaming for winter.

An 84-year-old British man will attempt to achieve his lifelong dream of crossing the Atlantic on simple raft that he builds himself from plastic pipes. He’ll be joined by two other men, ages 61 and 57. To find them he ran a simple ad in the U.K’s Telegraph that simply asked:

“Fancy rafting across the Atlantic? Famous traveller requires 3 crew. Must be OAP. Serious adventurers only.”

I have to say, I thought he was kind of an idiot until I read that ad. Now I’m cheering for him until they make landfall wherever the heck the wind blows their plastic contraption.

via The Adventure Blog

Your sound’s on — the trailer just begins quietly. The preview for the Aron Ralston story, 127 Hours, hit yesterday, and it’s pulled down thousands of views. Getting directed by Danny Boyle and starring James Franco can’t hurt. It actually looks pretty rad. I’ll watch it on video in a few months — these harrowing survival stories are great, but the appeal to the masses is lacking.

Utah folks, step up and buy your ticket to the Utah Avalanche Center Fundraising party being hosted this year at the local Black Diamond factory on the east side. A measly $35 gets you loads of Uinta beer and some Mexican grub from Rico, plus you can rest assured that you’ve built up some good karma when you’re sitting under the snow, Avalung clamped in your teeth, listening to the friends walking overhead trying to dig you out.

I guess it’s better than a bear surprising him in the pit toilet at the state park. A New Hampshire man was tossing a bag of garbage into his apartment’s bear-proof dumpster when he startled a black bear that had broken through the defensive measures and began rummaging for food. The bear’s one swipe knocked him to the ground and left three five-inch long gashes.

Man…I jump when a mouse in the trash surprises me. I’d be throwing trash bags into dumpsters from 20 feet away for the rest of my life if a bear ever jumped out at me.

Q&A with Greg Hill from Greg Hill 2 Mil on Vimeo.

You’d expect a guy who has spent almost every day since January 1 picking his way to the top of some mountain, logging in 1.25 million feet so far, to be as mellow as a well-run puppy on his down time. So he is. You’d also probably expect him to prefer merino wind brief underwear. Apparently, he does. “Mr. Reliable, Mr. Endless Energy” Greg Hill sat down with a glass of Argentinian red recently to answer questions that Backcountry.com likers posted to our Facebook page about his attempt to be the first human ever to climb 2 million vertical feet ski touring in one calendar year.

He’ll be answering questions regularly in his video dispatches from Out There, so feel free to ask — either here or on our Facebook page. For more real-time updates on his adventure, check in with Greg on his blog, or follow him on Twitter.

“You uh…you need me to move my car?”

The latest Tumblr sensation is an anthropomorphic treatment of owls during the daylight. Hungover Owls is a nice reminder that we can all draw inspiration from the great outdoors, plus it’s freaking hilarious.