Petzl Lynx?

They are being delivered now. I saw them in several stores in the Rockies while on a road trip this week.

Everyone made a point of saying, "stock is limited".

Fruitlands: a Ride of Passage

It was a remarkable day that I want to be sure to remember. Pamela must have sensed this before I did, because she offered to take a picture at the top. I didn't even know there would be an "at the top." I thought we were riding to yet another small town in the next county over. Nobody warned me it would be so beautiful.






It seems like sooner or later, every roadcyclist in Greater Boston does the ride to Harvard. Not Harvard the university half a mile from my house, but Harvard the town in central Massachusetts. Depending on the club or event, these rides are called things like "Hammer to Harvard" or "Hills of Harvard" or "the Harvard 100K." There are several routes and all involve some climbing at the end. I guess it's a rite of passage of sorts. The ride reports I'd read tended to stress the distance, pace or climbing. But Pamela's attitude was nonchalant. "I'm going to try out a new lunch spot in Harvard on Thursday, would you like to join me?" She was essentially just inviting me for a bite to eat. Well, why not. A girl's got to eat.






So here is the straight dope about the Harvard ride from a cyclist of my meager abilities: Forget milage, speed, climbing. Just forget that stuff for a second. What you need to know about this ride is that it is a gorgeous destination. You will be stunned. You will be grateful. Take one of the harder routes, take one of the easier routes, hammer, meander, ride however you like. But know that the destination is worth it. And for the love of the universe, don't stop at the Harvard General Store and turn around - you will only be cheating yourself out of a breathtaking view. Continue to Fruitlands, which is the true destination. Adjacent to the formerutopian agrarian commune (now a museum) is a scenic overlook with a view of every mountain in proximity. That's six mountains!






As we lunched at the surprisingly fancy Fruitlands Cafe (patio seating with a view, pretty silverware, reasonable prices) I was almost too stunned to make conversation. Pinch me, was I dreaming? Why did nobody tell me what a glorious place this was? The land, densely forested, spread out in front of us in shades of blues and greens. There was Mt. Wachusett, a flat-top stodgy thing. And there was the Monadnock range in New Hampshire, hazy and delicate. They all seemed so close, so inviting. The special thing about this destination, I realised, is that it inspires to ride further.It turned out to be an 80 mile day for me, a distance I'd never before done so casually.And though we rode home after lunch, one day I'd like to keep going - toward and across those other mountains.

'So My Husband Wants Me to Get a Bike...'

Since the start of the Spring season, I have been getting emails from women that read something like this:

My husband/boyfriend is a cyclist and he wants me to get a bike so that we can ride together. I am not very good at cycling, or sports in general. What bike do you recommend? My husband/boyfriend sent me a link to your blog and said that you would know.

Nice. Notice that the phrasing is not "I would like to get a bicycle so that I can accompany my husband/boyfriend on rides," but that the desire and intent are attributed entirely to him. This is something he has probably been convincing her to do for a while, and finally he sent her to my website, as if to say "See? Other women can do it!" (Great way to make her hate me, fellows!)




Of course if he does succeed in convincing her to buy a bike and join him, I can already see how that will go. He: the man dressed like a professional racer on a $2,500 road bike. She: the woman in ill-fitting bike shorts, cotton tank-top and sneakers, on a $600 hybrid. He: stern and professorial, explaining the importance of proper cadence and posture in a tireless monologue. She: red in the face and panting, sneaking longing glances at the families picnicking on the grass. Eventually it ends in bickering and tears - or worse, a fall. I see this on the local trails all the time. Please, don't be that couple.






If you are a cyclist and want to share your favourite pastime with your spouse, that's fantastic. But please understand that in order for someone to enjoy cycling as much as you do, the interest must come from within - and that you are essentially killing any chance of that happening by pushing too strongly or making the person's first cycling experience too difficult and stressful.




So what should you do instead? Well, for starters don't try to be your spouse's teacher or mentor. Unless she has absolutely never pedaled a bike before, there is no need to "instruct" her, as tempting as that may be. Even if you think she is "doing it wrong", leave it. She did not sign up for a bicycle course; she just wants to have fun with you out in nature. Give her that, and she will associate cycling with the nice time she had - and therefore will want to do it again.



Also, even if you have been cycling since age 5 and can compete in timed half-centuries in your sleep, consider downplaying your prowess and adapting a "leisure cycle" mode. Don't kit up. If you have an old beater bike, ride that when you are together instead of your super-fast roadbike. I would even go so far as to suggest buying an old vintage upright-ish bike for yourself, to match the level of the bike your spouse will be riding. This will even out the playing field between the two of you and will make you less intimidating.



In general, I think that getting your spouse to cycle is not about what she should do to keep up with you, but about what you should do to make her comfortable with her current level of skill. If it's going to work, that's the only way. Only if she enjoys cycling, will she become motivated to improve her skills, and perhaps will even start asking you for advice - giving you plenty of opportunity to play "coach" when the time comes for it. But that initial enjoyment is key, and it is up to you to set things up in a way to make it happen. Think about it from that perspective, start slow, let her figure things out for herself... And perhaps before you know it, your special lady might delight you by becoming a bona fide obsessed cyclist, entirely on her own accord. She may even start a blog.

HayStack Rock

Geraniums

My geraniums are enjoying being outside after a long winter in doors. They are all starting to bloom better. They bloom in the winter but not as well as they do outside.

Flag Day! (and some other stuff)

Most likely this picture, from my grandmother's files, was taken on the Fourth of July rather than Flag Day, but I thought it was appropriate for today.


My mother is the little girl on the left and she looks to be about 2 years old, so I'm guessing it was taken about 1930. Patty and Phyllis are Mom's sisters. Gene and Mary are their cousins. Grandma Bill was their grandmother.

Scanning Update: In the last 10 days I've scanned another 710 images for a total of 1680 over the past two months. I don't scan every day but when I do, I usually spend 3-4 hours at a time scanning. And it has been averaging about 25 scans per hour. Of course, that's not including the time spent in sorting and organizing them prior to scanning. LOL. Slow going and no light at the end of the tunnel yet.

Full Feed vs. Partial Feed? This topic comes up periodically in the blogosphere, this time it was brought up by genea-blogger Tim Agazio. When I first started blogging I set my blog for full feeds. Then it came to my attention that my content was being scraped so I switched to partial feeds. I'm not blogging to make money. I want people to read what I write (and hopefully they find it interesting) but I'd also like for them to visit my blog (to leave comments and check out some of the links to other blogs and websites). The thing with feeds is that they don't retain any formatting in the post and sometimes pictures throw off the continuity or "flow" of the post but I guess that is what they are supposed to do - present the posts in a simplified text format for easier reading. So, with that said, I've switched back to full feeds, at least for now.

Arlington :: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Changing of the Guard.
Impressive. Meticulous. Solemn. Ceremonial.
Photos taken Sunday October 11, ..

Dynafit Nanga Parbat

Nate was lucky enough to get a early pair of these guys. I'm still joneing. Nice ski by the numbers and after riding the Cho Oyu demos the last week.



http://wilsonalpine.blogspot.com//05/2014-dynafit-nanga-parbat-first-glance.html

Mystery Photo #8

This is the seventh post (and 8th photo) in a series of unidentified photographs from the Charles Wiseman Family Bible. See this post for background information. Click on the "Mystery Photo" label at the bottom of the post to see all of the photographs in this series. As always, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Paper photograph on card stock. 2 3/8 x 4 1/16. Printed on back: Frank A. Place, Photographer, Warsaw, Ind. Also, perhaps, another of those "hidden mother" photos? Looks to me like the background has been retouched.

Okay, even though we all know what can happen when you assume something, an assumption is going to be made that this is a photograph of one of the grandchildren of Charles and Susanna Bray Wiseman. In the previous post I suggested that the baby in that picture was Nathaniel Howard Wiseman, born July 18, 1884. He was the 2nd grandchild of Charles and Susanna. The first was Ethol Walter Scott, born April 7, 1884 in Vevay, Switzerland County, Indiana and the son of Susanna Wiseman and James Scott. I don't think the previous picture was of Ethol because they lived in Vevay, in the southeastern part of Indiana. It's my opinion that the above photograph is of the 3rd grandchild who was Charles Wilson Wiseman, born September 20, 1886 and the son of Amanda Alexander and Samuel Bray Wiseman though it could be Smith Wiseman, born February 27, 1888 and also the son of Sam and Amanda.

The pictures below are from my father and were identified (from left to right) as Ethol Scott, Howard Wiseman, Smith and Charles Wiseman.

Small Horse

This is one of my smallest horses in my collection. This colt is only about 1 inch tall and is china. I have 3 blue horses on a wheel that came out of a cracker Jacks box that are only about 1/4 of an inch tall each that are the smallest I have. I couldn't locate them for this photo shot.

Mushroom Rock State Park

Sunday, May 8th - - I passed Mushroom Rock State Park on my way to Kanopolis yesterday and decided to stop on my way out to the main highway.





The park is small, only about five acres, and contains some unusual rock formations, accessed by short trails. This brochure, published by Kansas State Parks describes the formations in detail.





The main attractions of the park.







Erosion will one day weaken the base and the upper rock will come tumbling down.



Graffiti engraved on the lower, softer portion covers the entire base of the rock.



This formation is on the other side of the gravel road that runs through the park.

Catch the Feather

This and the next two photos are of Wiley playing his favorite game of Catch the Feather. You can see a chicken feather floating down a little bit above his nose, looking like it is almost part of the plant.

Mystery Photo # 7

This is the sixth post (and 7th photo) in a series of unidentified photographs from the Charles Wiseman Family Bible. See this post for background information. Click on the "Mystery Photo" label at the bottom of the post to see all of the photographs in this series. As always, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.



Paper photograph on card stock. 2 3/8 x 4 1/16. Printed on back: 1856-1884 H. C. Millice, Photographer. Warsaw, Ind. P. O. Box No. 246.

The date 1884 on the back of the picture may provide a clue - if the photo was taken in 1884 it could be Nathaniel Howard Wiseman, born July 18, 1884 in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. He died May 14, 1956. I knew Nathaniel Howard as "Uncle Howard" - All of Dad's relatives that were older than him were called "Aunt" or "Uncle" regardless of the relationship. Howard was actually my Dad's first cousin once removed. Howard was the son of Laura Mariah Alexander and Henry Weir Wiseman.
Take a closer look at the top of the picture. . . It's been altered, perhaps hiding the face of a person beneath the coverlet holding the baby?

Skiing mount position question?

Obviously I have been fixated on skiing this spring.



For all the skiers out there riddle me this?



Skiing steeps in a controlled manner with jump turns or pedal hop turns you will generally end up side slipping some or a lot depending on snow conditions.



One of the reasons most want a stable ski there that isn'twildly side cut. And more importantly I suspect most everyone will want a "balanced" ski mount. By that I mean a ski that you can stand on in a balanced ski position and side slip with good/great edge control and not have the ski go back- ward or forward but simply straight down the fall line with very little or zero effort.












Sure, good skiers can over come a poorly mounted ski. Either mounted too far forward (stand up or if bad enough sit back) or too far back (lean forward or geton the front of your boots) and recover on every turn to a position that makes the ski neutral.



Might even be skiers out there that never use the ski in that manner or simply don't care because they have other priorities on their own mounts. Landing BIG air might be a reason for a forward mount and more ski behind you. I don't know the answer on thatone, just guessing by some of the skis I have seen intended for such antics.



In this instance I am talking off piste, steep skiing. But suspect at least for me, all this transfers to every snowcondition and every ski I want to use. But, I am firmly convinced that many skis make it or break it in retail sales and reviews because the damn mid sole mounting marks are off. Some times way off.



Sometimes the answers can bea lot more simplethan one mightfirst suspect.



Add in the additional ramp angle of some bindings and or the boots you are using and things can get "sideways" pretty damnfast. May be things are never really all that simple? Care to comment?

Bowled Over

Gritty to Pretty: the Lovely Donation Bike!

I am pleased to report that the refurbished vintage donation touring bike - also known as "the roadbike for women who fear roadbikes" - is ready! As often happens with these things, the project took longer than I anticipated. In the end we did not have time to put the bicycle together ourselves, and I entrusted the job to the saintly Jim at Harris Cyclery - which contributed the labor pro bono and donated the remaining parts my build was missing, thus becoming a sponsor of this project along with Velo Orange. My sincere thanks to them, as well as to all readers who contributed parts and funds to this effort. This is not yet the official give-away announcement, as I first wanted to show off some pictures and describe the bicycle in detail. I hope you like it!

So what exactly is this bicycle... It began as a vintage Shogun 400 touring bike that looked like this when I picked it up, but has been rebuilt from the frame up. When I spotted the original bike, I immediately thought it had potential. The early '80s Japanese cro-moly frame with relaxed geometry promised a comfortable, "Rivendell-esque" ride. And, despite the fairly small size (52cm), it looked like there would be no toe overlap, even with fenders. As many know, it is extremely difficult to find a roadbike in a small size, with relaxed geometry and no toe overlap - be it modern or vintage - which is what makes some of these unassuming vintage Japanese frames special. My idea was to start with such a frame and build it up with comfortable, functional components - ending up with an unintimidating "starter" roadbike that a beginner would be able to learn on without undue nervousness or discomfort.

The biggest priority was the handlebar set-up. When women tell me they cannot ride vintage roadbikes, much of the time this turns out to be because the handlebars are uncomfortable - lacking a sufficient "shoulder" area. Those who are new to drop bars often assume that they are all the same, but in fact there are dozens of models, with subtle variations in shape. I chose theNitto Randonneur handlebars for this bike, which have long, flat "shoulders" and a slight, ergonomic flare to them that most cyclists find extremely comfortable, particularly on long rides.



I also chose modernTektroshort-reach brake levers, which are easy to squeeze from the top, even for those with weak hands.



Finally, I chose Silver bar-end shifters, which are much, much easier to use than downtube shifters and less awkward than stem shifters.



The leather handlebar tape is by Velo Orange. I had never tried it before and was glad to discover that it has a softer, more matte texture to it that Brooks leather tape (which I personally find a little too slippery).



Velo OrangeModel 3 touring saddle. Saddle comfort is one of these things that is different for everyone, but I have to say that (somewhat to my surprise) I found this one more comfortable than the Brooks B17s I once owned. The leather is very different from Brooks leather, and I cannot speak for its longevity or durability. But for me, there was no "breaking in" period, and no pressure on sensitive body parts. I will soon write a review of this saddle with additional details.



Velo Orangehammered fenders, their pattern of indentations resembling a honeycomb. Later I will also post a comparison between the VO and Honjo versions of hammered fenders.



Velo Orange also provided the headset and their Grand Cru double crankset. It was exciting when these cranksets came out, because they are classically shaped yet affordable. Personally, I find the looks of chunkymodern cranksets rather depressing, so it's wonderful that these are an option.I have not ridden with them except during my test rides of this bike, but I welcome readers who've owned them to provide feedback. The pedals included are MKS Touring pedals, which I have on most of my bikes and love.



The wheels are 27" touring wheels from the early '80s - a slightly nicer and cleaner version than the ones originally on the bike. The tires are the puncture-resistant Panaracer Pasela Tourguards. The headset, bottom bracket, chain, brakes, and front derailleur have all been replaced with modern components.



The rear cassette and derailleur are pretty much the only components that were left original. They are in good condition, but the downside is that the bicycle is only a 12 speed - as bikes of its era are. In order to upgrade to a cassette with more cogs, we would have needed to get modern wheels, which was beyond the scope of this project.



Here is a close-up of the bicycle's colour: an unusual champagne-lilac that I personally find very attractive.



The frame has been left original - frayed decals, rust spots and all - and I want to make it very clear that at heart this is still a vintage bike that looks its age, despite the updated components.



I received a Rivendell "SaddleSack" as a donation from one of my readers, but I think this bike works better with a Carradice. So I will let the recipient choose - either the SaddleSack, or one of my own Carradice bags, as shown here. I will soon post a review of the SaddleSack (pictured here).



And so that's it, in a nutshell. To my eye, this bicycle looks modestly beautiful, which is what I was aiming for. It is fairly light and is easy to carry. It is not "fast" by modern roadbike standards, so please don't expect to race or join paceline rides on it. Neither is it a bike for a tour of the Alps, since the gearing is somewhat limited by current standards. It is really meant to be a low-key, introductory roadbike for those with no athletic background, for those who want to explore nature while getting a bit of exercise, and for those who don't want to wear lycra and be all "serious" about roadcycling. If you've been unable to ride roadbikes in the past, this bike may be a good alternative to the ones you've tried. It is friendly. It is stable. There is no toe overlap. Lots of room on the handlebars for moving your hands around. Brake levers are easy to reach and easy to squeeze. Frame geometry is relaxed and won't hurt your knees.Having ridden the bike myself for a bit, it handles as comfortably and easily as I hoped. I've even ridden it in a dress and sandals, and it was great - just a really easy-going, "smell the flowers" kind of bike. Bicycles with drop bars are not for everyone - but this is as unintimidating of a way to try one as I can offer. I will announce the contest rules and timeline in the coming days, and I hope this bicycle will find the right owner.



I want to express my thanks again to Velo Orange, Harris Cyclery, and the generous readers who have contributed to this project: Justine, G.E., Neighbourtease, Spindizzy, Cedar, Somervillain, and others!