Yellow Yucca

this is a yellow yucca simular to the red yucca shown below

Sparkling Light for the Fourth

July 4th 1981. Digitized ... Copyright © 1981/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman Hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Re-Trying the Moustache Handlebar

Iconic of the Bridgestone XO era and later championed by Rivendell, the Moustache handlebar is perhaps more popular today than ever. The dramatic forward sweep, the sideways-mounted road levers and the bar-end shifters make for avisually distinct and intriguing presence. The design is easiest to understand if you think of it as a flattened out drop bar, with the brake levers installed on what would have been the hooks. Grant Petersen designed the Moustache in the early 1990s specifically for the Bridgestone XO bicycles, as a kind of a hybrid between upright and drop bars. Today several manufacturers produce their own versions (including Soma and Origin8), though likely the Nitto/ Rivendell model remains closest to the original.






I first tried Moustache handlebars three years ago, and I remember being surprised by the leaned-forward position they put me in. Unlike the handlebars you see on city bikes, the Moustache is swept forward, rather than swept back - putting the rider's hands way out there, forward of the stem. Depending on stem length and handlebar height, this can be quite an aggressive lean. Recently I tried the bars again: I've been getting questions about them from readers and wanted to refresh my memory.




Riding with Moustache bars again was fun; my riding style has changed so much since the last time. These bars are unique and remind me of no other handlebars I've ever tried, so it's hard to find a point of reference. The forward sweep is vaguely North-Roadish, with two notable exception: All the hand positions are forward of the stem, and the brake levers are in the forwardmost points of the sweep, rather than in what we are accustomed to thinking of as the gripping areas.






The shape of the handlebars feels pretty good, and I have no trouble squeezing the levers from their location (here is anillustrated guideto the hand positions). However, I find the setup counterintuitive. Squeezing the brake levers puts me in a forward-leaning position, whereas using the bar-end shifters puts me in a leaned-back position: the exact opposite of what I am used to. After all, when I squeeze the brake levers I am trying to reduce speed - and the aggressive posture counteracts that - especially when coming to a complete stop. It was interesting to experience the discrepancy between what my body wanted to do when stopping and what the bars wanted me to do. On my own bikes, I prefer for the brake levers to be in a location that allows my posture to be more relaxed.






A friend who rides with Moustache bars explains them as a variant of riding with vintage, non-aero drop bars (where you brake mainly from the hooks). He believes those who are used to that will find braking with the Moustache intuitive, whereas the likes of me who mostly brake from the hoods of modern drop bars - or from the edgemost gripping areas of swept-back handlebars - may have trouble with the setup. He could be right. Either way, it's a handsome handlebar that I enjoy seeing on others' bikes.

Chiricahua National Monument

If you should happen to be driving along Interstate 10 in southeast Arizona, you need to turn south onto highway 186 in Wilcox. Your destination is a little over 30 miles through the desert, uphill. It is the same terrain you have been driving through from Texas and New Mexico and you're wondering why or how this will be any different. But when you reach the little road that takes you into a canyon, you enter a different world. A delightful, surprising one.

There was green grass. And trees. Not just the little scrub bushes but real trees. And it was cool. And there was a stream with flowing water. Of course, it was early spring. There had been a lot of snow during the winter and it was melting. The first time in many years that there had actually been water flowing in Bonita Creek, according to one of the Park Rangers.

This fascinating place is Chiricahua National Monument. I had never heard of it until I saw a sign on the Interstate. I'm so glad that I took that road. The campground was pleasant with some sun making its way through the trees. It was refreshing to return to after several hours of hiking the trails, which were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

My Campsite.

The Erickson/Riggs home at Faraway Ranch, Bonita Canyon.
In 1887, this remote canyon became the home of Neil and Emma Erickson. Swedish emigrants, they met at Fort Craig, New Mexico. He was a sergeant in the Army and she was a a maid and companion to the Colonel's wife. Neil was often away from home, working, and Emma tended to the children and the ranch. In 1903 he became a forest ranger, which took him further away from Bonita Canyon. In 1917, the eldest daughter, Lillian, began inviting guests to the ranch and it became the getaway destination. Her husband, Ed Riggs, became foreman of a CCC Camp and helped build the trails used by visitors today. They did an amazing job on the trails. Faraway Ranch is now a part of Chiricahua National Monument.

Beyond Bonita Canyon are the mountains. The trails wind through the incredible rock formations – pillars and balancing rocks galore! It is a wondrous place, indeed.

Fall in the Park

A handful of climbers every week are still attempting summits. and while the challenges of colder weather, shorter days and thin snowbridges make travel a bit more difficult, some are still making it to the top.

Posts will become less frequent during these winter months. Be sure to check out the weather and avalanche conditions when planning a trip to the mountain this winter. Also, regulations for climber registration change, roads will close, and visitor center hours switch as the park prepares for winter. Check out the links to keep current.

Beginning on November 1st the road gate at Longmire will be closed each evening (at 6pm) and the road will be opened again each morning after the Road Crew has finished its prep. We have an excellent crew who do their best to keep the road passable, but there will be a handful of days this winter when conditions are so bad the road to Paradise will not open.

Have a fun and safe winter!

Snowshoe adventure on Mt. Josephine

My last few snowshoe hikes have been up Mt. Josephine, but not on the "normal" trail that everyone knows about. I decided to go up the back side of the ridge, going in from Highway 61. There is an old trail that runs along the spine of the ridge but it has not been maintained in years and is very difficult to see in most places. It took two trips on two consecutive days to break the trail to the summit. The first day I only made it halfway up the mountain and was completely worn out due to the depth of the snow and uphill climb. Most of the "trail" goes through some pretty thick brush, but once you get to the summit the terrain opens up and the views are worth all the effort it took to get there.








Once I had a trail packed all the way to the top I returned with a couple of friends who wanted to snowshoe the trail with me. We took our time and spent most of the day on the trail. Its only about 3 miles round-trip, but we took our time and savored the views along the way and spent quite a bit of time at the summit. Along our snowshoe path we saw 4 or 5 places where deer had bed down for the night. It was interesting looking at the indentations in the snow and thinking about a deer curled up there for a good night's sleep. When we made it back to the highway the sun was getting ready to set and the colors in the sky made for a perfect ending to an incredible day.

Ringing Them Bells

The bicycle bell is a useful, cheerful and inexpensive accessory. There are many styles available now: large and small, traditional and modern, subdued and colourful. But looks aside, bicycle bells can differ in their functionality - which is something we don't always consider when choosing one. Last week I received an email from a reader who found the big, beautiful bell she bought for her city bike difficult to use and wanted to know what other options were out there. I will take this as an opportunity to describe the different styles of bells I have used over time.






The prototypical classic city bike bell is the "ding dong" bell. It is huge. It is shiny chrome. And it makes a distinct, loud sound, hence the name. Ringing it involves moving the lever with your finger. The first bell I tried of this kind was on thePashley Princess, and like the reader I heard from last week, I must admit I found it difficult to use. The lever required a lot of pressure to depress. Sometimes I could not ring it fast enough, or would hurt my finger doing so. I adjusted the angle of the bell several times, but it didn't help; it was really the pressure required that gave me trouble. Additionally, the enormous chrome surface would blind me when riding the bike in direct sunlight. Overall I was not a fan of this bell, despite its iconic looks.






Of course similar bells exist that use the same mechanism but are easier to use, because the lever requires less pressure. It might just be be a matter of looking around and trying them if possible.






And if the highly reflective surface of chromed bells bothers you, consider a painted bell or one with a matte surface. You could even hand-paint it yourself.






Not all traditional city bikes come with lever-operated bells. Pilen Cycles and a couple of other Swedish manufacturers offer a spinning bell that is extremely easy to use. Simply tapping the top portion lightly makes it spin and the bell produces a ringing sound, no pressure required. The ring is not as loud as that of the "ding-dong" bell, and sounds more like a continuous trilling, but I find it sufficient. Though in the US I have only seen these bells branded with specific manufacturer names (here is one from Kronan), it might be worthwhile asking an importer whether generic ones are available.





Another popular style is the striker bell. The Japanese brass bells that have become abundant in recent years are usually available with this mechanism. You pull back the lever, let go and it strikes the surface with a crisp, loud ring. On all the bells in this styleI've usedso far, the lever has been easy to pull back, not requiring a great deal of finger strength. Another thing I like about these brass bells, is that their surface is not as blindingly reflective as chrome. While they can be polished to a high shine, they can also be kept matte for those who prefer a less reflective surface. Overall, the striker brass bell is the one I now gravitate toward.





Striker bells are available in less traditional forms as well, such as this teapot bell that came bundled with the Paper Bicycle. Though I can't vouch for its durability,I found the plastic lever very easy to use. The sound was loud enough, and the small bell took up little space on the handlebars.







The classic brass bell also comes in a spring-operated version: Pinging the spring with your finger makes it ring. These bells tend to be smaller in size than the striker variant, and the sound they generate is on the quiet side, gentle and zen-like. Some find that the ring is not sufficiently loud for the city, so you may want to try it out.






Most of the bicycle bells I've seen - while varying in materials, size, and aesthetic - use one of the mechanisms described above. However, there are other styles I have not tried yet but would like to, such as the twist bell and the bar-end bell. I am sure others exist as well. Do you have a preference as far as bicycle bells? Feedback on the ones you've used would be most welcome.