White Cats

A friend sent me a long email with a bunch of the old favorite photos that are on the email circuit. this one caught my eye. Congratulations to the photographer for getting all the cats in one photo. It makes me appreciate the fact I am only trying to get a photo with 3 solid black cats that don't want to cooperate together.

Almost There...

My last day at Green River (Monday May 16th) the weather took a turn for the worse. I didn't feel bad at all about spending the entire day at the library! There were a few scattered showers along with strong winds and much cooler temperatures. I was quite happy being inside and got a lot accomplished.



When I left Green River the next morning (May 17th) it was cool and windy. There had been some heavy rain during the night. The drive on U.S. 6 over the mountains wasn't too bad. A few snow flurries but mostly drizzling rain.



However, once over the mountains, the Utah Valley was covered with gray clouds that were hugging the ground. And it was steadily raining. U.S. 6 linked up with I-15 near Provo and I turned north toward Salt Lake City. I didn't get far, perhaps 15-20 miles, which was not quite half way there. The temperature had dropped to 39 degrees. Driving conditions were terrible. Along with the rain and fog/clouds there was heavy road construction and the spray coming up from trucks and other vehicles reduced the visibility to nearly nothing.



In the rear view mirror I could see the clouds breaking up. There was some blue sky showing and even a little sunshine. I turned around and headed back to Provo and stayed at Utah Lake State Park. It actually warmed up to 45 degrees, which doesn't seem like much, but it does make a huge difference.



We had scattered showers the rest of the afternoon. When it wasn't pouring it was lightly misting. The gray clouds would move in for a while and then, briefly, the clouds would break up and the sun would make an appearance. Off to the east were the snow-capped mountains and once, for about 15 minutes, they could be seen in all their glory. It was one of those times that you just kind of shake your head in wonderment at what Mother Nature gives you in-between all the cruddy stuff! And then you grab your camera and shoot like crazy... Although, I was a little frustrated by the tall weeds that were growing along the little stream running on my side of the fence, it was still a beautiful sight.





The Mountains hovering over Provo during a brief lull in the rain on Monday, May 16th.



Then the clouds moved back in and blocked out the sun once again. It rained most of the night. The following morning was cloudy, foggy, dreary, and raining but I headed north once again. There didn't seem to be as much traffic as there was the day before and visibility was much better. It was still a little nerve-wracking with all of the construction going on and I was a happy camper when I arrived at the RV Park/campground that would be my home for the next two weeks.



Carol and her husband (and the Yorkies) arrived shortly after I did and with frazzled nerves too – I can't imagine having to pull a big rig through that construction zone and all that traffic and in lousy weather conditions. We managed to hook up and made plans for our first ever visit to the Family History Library. We were eager to get to The Library, but we both had “chores” that needed done first - Thursday was a catch-up day.



We made it to The Library on Friday (May 20th) and were a bit overwhelmed, to say the least! I'll be in Salt Lake City for about two weeks before I need to head back to Indiana. Plenty of time for research. Yeah, right! Is there ever enough time for research?

Snow Bike SOS!

This morning I received an email from a reader - Elise - who left her bike locked up outside a restaurant overnight, to find it covered in snow the next morning. Upon trying to retrieve the bicycle, she discovered that "allthe parts were snow-encrusted" and wasn't sure it was safe to ride,so sheleft it where it was and took the bus to work. Of course it then snowed again, and the bike's condition only got worse. Elise is wondering how to retrieve her bike after it's been in the snow in freezing temperatures for what has now been 2 days.






While I don't know what condition Elise's bike is in, I can share what has happened to me in the past as a result of leaving a bike out in the snow for too long, and hope that something here might be applicable:




"frozen" wheels: Once I found that my bike did not want to roll after being left locked up outside in the snow. The front wheel would not budge, and at first I thought something was seriously wrong. On closer inspection, it turned out there was some frozen snow stuck between the fender and the tire. I cleared it out and "unfroze" the wheel.




clogged brake calipers:Riding a bike with caliper brakes in winter, I quickly learned that getting clogged up with snow eliminates their stoping power. And since snow does seem to love settling down on brake calipers and then solidifying, it is essential to clear it out of there. Wheel rims can also get iced over and may need to be wiped down.




icy pedals: A few times my pedals have gotten icy, to the point of making it difficult to ride the bike without my feet slipping off. When this happens I scrape them with the textured sole of my boot to break up the sleek surface, or try to rub some dirt on them.




"sluggish" drivetrain: Infreezing temperatures, it can sometimes feel that my drivetrain is slower, or not as smooth as usual. My understanding is that this is due to whatever lubricants are used on the drivetrain getting gooey from the prolonged cold. It is still okay to ride your bike like that as far as I know, but it might feel a little weird.




Each of these things has at some point made me panic and feel that a bike was "unridable" after being left out in the snow, but they all proved to be resolvable.





Granted, other issues may not be as easy to deal with.I've heard stories of frozen U-locks being impossible to open, and of leather saddles snapping in half if ridden when frozen. And perhaps the most common problem of all isfrozen derailleurs, which I have no experience withsinceI do not ride derailleur-geared bikes in the winter.





Whether it's about components on the bike getting iced over, or the owner feeling that conditions are not safe enough to ride home, bikes get left in the snow - which all too often turns into full on abandonment. Any tips for avoiding thiswould be much-appreciated. How do you deal with a snow-encrusted bike?

Lucky

Overheard while doing errands in a local suburb:

Woman Walking Out of a Gym: Oh, what a nice bike!

Woman on a Roadbike: Thank you.

Gym Woman: How lucky you are to have time to bike. I wish I could, but after work and cooking dinner I'm just exhausted.

Bike Woman: Oh I'm sorry. But it's nice that you get to go to the gym, isn't it?

Gym Woman:Sure. But, you know, I have to. It's such hard work!

Bike Woman:How often do you go?

Gym Woman: Hmm... Four days a week I guess?

Bike Woman: Oh wow. And how long is your work-out?

Gym Woman: Usually an hour. Sometimes the pilates class is an hour and fifteen minutes.

Bike Woman:That's impressive. And how long does it take you to get there and back?

Gym Woman:What? Oh, I don't know. Let's see... maybe 20 minutes in the car?

Bike Woman: Each way?

Gym Woman: Yeah, I guess so.

Bike Woman:Well you know, my bike rides are only 2 hours long - you can ride a bike instead of going to the gym if you want and it would be the same.

Gym Woman (giggles nervously): Really? No, that can't be right. I'm only at the gym for an hour. Plus I haveto work out or else I gain weight like crazy... You're lucky you're so thin...

It's hard not to feel defensive when receiving backhanded compliments about how "lucky" we are to have all this supposed free time to ride a bike. I've gotten plenty of comments like this. But I have never, not once, heard the same reasoning applied to people who go to the gym on a daily basis. After all, the gym is "hard work" and going shows that the person is disciplined and responsible about staying fit. Cycling on the other hand, apparently shows that we have too much leisure time. It is not logical, and it is not "fair," but the perception is nonetheless there, and I think it goes a long way toward explaining why non-cyclists dislike cyclists - roadcyclists in particular. Lucky us indeed.

STEEP! The movie?

I've made a point of commenting on a lot of ski gear recently and how skis can be better used in the mountains as tools for transportation.



The obvious over lap between skiing and climbing has some history to it. One exceptional look at that historyis the movie "STEEP!"



"It started in the 1970s in the mountains above Chamonix, France, where skiers began to attempt ski descents so extreme that they appeared almost suicidal. Men like Anselme Baud and Patrick Vallencant were inspired by the challenge of skiing where no one thought to ski before. Now, two generations later, some of the world's greatest skiers pursue a sport where the prize is not winning, but simply experiencing the exhilaration of skiing and exploring big, wild, remote mountains."







STEEP from The Documentary Group on Vimeo.



The movie is available for under $10. from Amazon.com.



And one I first missed but by popular demand...added in. Thanks guys. Great film!







And a good example of what locals are doing in the PNW today.



http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1016396/TR_Shuksan_Variation_to_Hangin#Post1016396





Drew Tabke Xtreme Verbier from Drew Tabke on Vimeo.

Roe-Dee-Oh :: Mutton Busting and Barrell Racing

Sunday, August 21st - - One of the events for kids (ages 4-7) was called Mutton Busting, which was basically setting a kid on the back of sheep and letting them run. It was quite funny. Some of them barely got out of the gate before falling off but the one below managed to hold on for quite a while and was a real crowd-pleaser.







The Barrel Racing event allowed the women to show off their riding ability as well as the speed and agility of their beautiful horses.

French Summer Color

French Summer, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Red-hot marigolds in a garden at a countryside home in the Dauphiné region.

The marigolds in France are amazing - they grow to be bushes 3 feet tall, the largest I've ever seen. Maybe it's the soil, maybe it's the weather, but the gardens in France grow lush and healthy. There are vegetable gardens, or potagers, in the yards of many of the old homes.

Have any of you grown marigolds that just get huge? Most of the marigolds around here are piddly little dwarves...

The Patagonia guide book!

This is the coolest thing I have seen in awhile. Click on the link below but plan on spending some time there. It is an amazing resource for the community and a innovative format. "Bravo" on the idea and follow through for all involved!



Make sure to dbl click the 3 enclosed topo photos for full value and an idea of the scale of this project!

http://www.pataclimb.com/



"The Chaltén Massif was once a faraway land, a place where mountaineers could live a simple and adventurous life in the wild. Until the early eighties few expeditions visited the area every year but soon, due to a sharp rise in popularity and the advent of the town of El Chaltén for geopolitical reasons, things changed. The bridge over Río Fitz Roy was the first step, which was followed by roads, services, pavement, infrastructure, weather forecasts, etc. In spite of these changes the beauty of the peaks is still the same and Patagonia’s most precious treasure: its fierce winds and storms, continue to blow through the land as strong as ever, reminding us of our insignificance."





http://www.pataclimb.com/

Happy Easter

Wishing all a very Happy Easter. Make sure to find all the hiden eggs but don't get a belly ach eating to many goodies.

Sunset & Bulls Skull

Gunnar Bikes: the Accessible Waterford

Given the references to Waterford in a recent post, as well as the company's presence at Interbike (that's a briefcase full of head tube samples in the picture above), I wanted to bring readers' attention to a line of bicycles that I think is mighty nice: Gunnar Bikes. Made in Wisconsin, USA in the factory of Waterford Precision Cycles, Gunnar is the simpler, budget-conscious offspring of the famous custom manufacturer - named after a beloved pet dog.






Advances in steel tubing design led to the TIG-welded Gunnar line's 1998 launch, and Waterford has been producing them ever since. There are now 10 stock models available, including road, cyclocross, touring, and mountain bikes. The local-to-me Harris Cyclery is a Gunnar dealer, and recently I finally got around to test riding one of the bikes.






The Gunnar I rode is the CrossHairs model: a cyclocross bike with cantilever brakes, clearances for 38mm tires and provisions for fenders and racks. The colour is described as "burnt orange."The 54cm floor model was slightly too big for me, but doable as far as getting a sense of the bike over the course of the test ride.My interest was mainly in theCrossHairs'potential as a road-to-trail bike - for which its aggressive geometry, fairly light weight, and wide tire clearances made it look like a good candidate. Others might also be interested in it as a randonneuring bike or even a commuter, given the rack and fender possibilities.





The cleanly welded frame is fitted with a curved, steel fork with a brazed fork crown.





Eyelets for fenders.







Cantilever bosses and rack mounts.





This is the third SRAM-equipped bike I have test ridden this year (see the others here and here), and I am becoming pleasantly familiar with SRAM components.







The canti brakes are Avid Shorty, and they worked fairly well for me.





Alexrims B450 wheelset and 700C x 32mm Panaracer Pasela tires with black sidewalls.






On the 54cm bike there was no toe overlap for me (size 38 shoes, clipless pedals), with plenty of toe room for 35mm tires (but not if I were to add fenders). In conversation with Waterford, I learned that the toe clearance on the 52cm frame is nearly identical, so the same would hold true for one size down. For sizes smaller than 52cm, the clearance decreases.






Riding the Gunnar CrossHairs I found the handling familiar and intuitive from the get-go: Fast to accelerate, responsive to pedaling efforts, stable. No twitchiness and nothing weird about the handling, just an easy, fast, fun ride. The finish on the Gunnar looks excellent: extremely smooth joints, precise braze-ons, nice paint (some attractive stock colour options, as well as custom choices). Geometry can be slightly tweaked from the stock options as well, particularly top tube length. If ordering a Gunnar bike from scratch, lead time is about 4 weeks.






The complete bicycle pictured here is currently for sale at Harris Cyclery (in West Newton, MA), retailing at under $2,500. Prices will vary depending on the components used. For a US-made, handbuilt bicycle with lightweight tubing, responsive but easy handling, clearance for wide tires and provisions for fenders and racks, the Gunnar CrossHairs is worth considering for road-to-trail riding. It's a handmade-on-demand, yet available and accessible bike - from the legendary builder Waterford.

How Upright Is Upright?

There is a tendency to group all upright transportation bicycles into the same general townie/cruiser-ish category. And when we see the description "upright bike" we imagine whatever it is that fits our own definition of that idea. But differences in what are commonly referred to as "upright" positions can be considerable. Above are three classic examples side by side: a traditional Dutch bike, an Italian city bike, and a French-style mixte - all three of which I have owned and ridden.



To a large extent it is the placement of the handlebars that determines how upright a bicycle is set up. But while the Dutch bike's handlebars can be lowered and the bars on the other two can be raised, it's not entirely as simple as that: The design of the frame itself assumes a particular range of positions; the frame geometry is optimised for it.






The Dutch bike is designed to enable a bolt-uright posture. The handlebars are high. The stem is so short as to be practically non-existant, bringing the bars even closer to the rider's body. The seat tube angle is slack. Altogether, the cyclist is "pushed back" on the bike into what almost resembles an armchair position. The epitome of "upright," this posture is not for everyone. But it is supremely comfortable for short trips and it allows cyclist to observe their surroundings from a greater height.






The traditional French mixte is typically more aggressive than other city bikes. The frame design is frequently not very different from that of a road bike - steep angles, head tube not much higher, if at all, that the seat tube, comparatively lightweight tubing. When built up as upright bikes, these bicycles are at their best when set up with long stems and handlebars at or even below saddle level. With the cyclist's weight pushed forward, the bicycle is extremely responsive and maneuverable. But the "upright" posture with this set-up can be quite aggressively leaned over.





Somewhere in the middle, the Italian city bike is really a variation of the so-called "sports roadster"design(the ubiquitous Raleigh Sports and Lady's Sports were examples of these): swept-back handlebars at or moderately above saddle level, combined with a short stem for a generally upright but slightly leaned-forward position. The seat tube is not as slack as that on a Dutch bike, but still relatively relaxed. The cyclist can lean into the bike if they wish to apply more power, or they can sit back. I personally find this to be a very versatile position - though others might call it "neither/ nor" - neither as regally relaxed as a Dutch bike, nor as maneuverable as a roadish French mixte.



While definitions of "upright bike" run the gamut, my personal definition requires that the bicycle pass the Camera Test. That is, I must be able to ride the bike with my large camera staying put on my back, strap worn across my chest, without the camera rotating to the front. I can't do it on a roadbike with drop bars, not even when I am on the hoods or the tops. But I can do it on all three bikes shown in this post, which makes them all different variations of "upright" to me. What do you typically think of as an upright position, and which do you prefer for everyday cycling?

Crazy Horse Memorial

Well, I have kind of a lot of pictures to share from today. Roger and I visited Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota today. What an interesting place, with a Native American museum that is well worth visiting. Crazy Horse was a Lakota Sioux warrior who fought against the U.S. government in an effort to preserve the Lakota way of life. He participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn (also known as "Custer's last stand").



Over 50 years ago, in 1948, the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski received a request from Chief Henry Standing Bear, which requested that a memorial similar to that of Rushmore be carved in memory of Crazy Horse. It has been under construction ever since. Not everyone agrees with the memorial, however. Some Lakota people believe that carving up a mountain goes against the spirit of Crazy Horse. Whatever your beliefs are about the mountain, the museum is worth a visit. Lots of interesting things on display, and a lot about Native American history can be learned as well. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the museum (at least I thought so) was the collection of tribal flags from around the country.











(Below: Here's our flag... the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe!)







Above: A painting of Billy Mills, the second Native American ever to win a gold medal in the Olympics (10,000 meter run, 1964 Tokyo Olympics). He is also the only American to have ever won gold in this event. Billy is also a Lakota Sioux. When I was in high school (8th grade, I believe) Billy was at Bemidji State University to do a 3 mile run for charity and to get to know some students. Our Indian Student Association sponsored a trip to Bemidji to run with Billy, and I wanted to go. It was a great honor to meet him, and somewhere at home my dad has a picture of me standing with Billy after the run.



Above: A "wall" of drawings made by people/students from around the world.













Above: Some of the drawings came from quite a distance... such as this one from Chile...



Above: ... and this one from Germany...



... and even one from Thailand!