First Cokinos Residence

Still having problems with my camera, but here is the house where George Cokinos was born--then and now at 919 11th NE- right around the corner from the where the candy shop was on H Street.
(We're still looking for the historical plaque.)
On the right: Pota, Peter and their children, Catherine and George probably sometime in 1918. Below is the house today.

Magic City Art Connection

What I bought at the art show that I said I wasn't going to attend.




I loved all their large pieces, but this is the one that I could afford. Their website is Studio A Pottery but there's not much there yet.




You might guess that I have a little handmade-mug collection going on.




For the wooden spoons, by the same guy who made the second mug above. The most inexpensive pottery that I've seen in ages. No web site but if you fall in love with this I can send his phone number.

This print is among the things I might have bought if we were not short on discretionary funds (and even shorter on space for more art).

And something from Works of Man. I love this style of jewelry. There was a beautiful necklace with a sun's rays (not on his site unfortunately) that was really speaking to me. I wanted to converse, but the artist had customers, my pockets were empty, and hubby was tired and itchy to head home.

This is a fun show to visit - it's fine art and fine craft so of course no workaday soapmakers like me (sob sob). But for artistes it's good show and (apparently) good dough - they come from near and far. Our pottery above is from Minnesota and North Carolina.

Autumnal Longings

Every year I am caught off guard by the suddenness of Autumn. Winter's many false starts herald its arrival well in advance. Spring approaches with the tentativeness of a fawn. Then Summer rolls in with a lazy insistence. But Autumn just is. One day I wake up knowing that yesterday it was summer but today it is Fall, and there is no undoing it. The smell in the air is different. The light is different. The mood is different. It is done.




I cannot explain what causes the overwhelming bouts of sentimentality and nostalgia (for nothing in particular) that grip me during this season. And I am hardly alone in succumbing to this clichéd state. A film director need only show a scene of a park strewn with golden foliage, throwing in a Chopin prelude for background music, for the audience to be filled with a delicious sense of longing - for what they do not know.




But I know what I long for when I smell that crisp scent of dry leaves and behold the slanted light. Cycling. Yes, cycling cycling cycling. And after that, cycling. Monsieurs Chopin, Satie and Tschaikovsky, ready your soundtracks: I'll be playing them in my head as imaginary background music, while cycling.




Many feel that summer is the optimal cycling season, but for me it's a sluggish time when I am just not in my best form. Not that I haven't been riding. If anything, this summer I've learned to deal with heat much better than I thought myself capable. But honestly I just wasn't enjoying cycling as much as I did over the winter and spring. In 95° heat with high humidity, my legs felt as if they were perpetually pushing through molasses. The pressure and stickiness in the air were oppressive.




Then one morning I awoke to find the oppressiveness gone. It was still August, but no matter: Autumn was here. Sensing the ever-so-subtle change, it was as if my body snapped to attention and pulled me toward my roadbike while I struggled to focus on making coffee. On that day a friend took me up a little mountain and I hardly noticed I was climbing it until we were halfway up, so filled I was with this new energy. On that day my cycling season began.

Poppy Leaf Dew

Poppy Leaf, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Dew drops on a California poppy leaf up on Yucca Ridge.

Assateague Island :: The Wild Ponies

For many people, the only reason for going to Assateague Island is to see the Wild Ponies. If so, it could be a little disappointing for them, especially if they only spend a few hours on the island. A 20-minute video shown at the visitor center provides a good, if somewhat romanticized view, of the little ponies that have roamed the beaches, pine forest, and salt marsh of Assateague Island since the 1600s. There are two theories regarding the stout little ponies: one is that they arrived on Assateague's shores when a Spanish galleon ship, with a cargo of horses, sank offshore. The other is that they are remnants of the herds of early colonial settlers who grazed their horses on the Island. Apparently a Spanish ship wreck was discovered recently in the waters off Assateague which gives credence to the first theory.

Both the Maryland and Virginia sides of Assateague Island have wild ponies; each has a herd of about 160 and a fence at the state line keeps the two herds separated. They roam the island in bands of 5-10 ponies so you aren't going to see a lot of them all at once. I did see a group of 10 or so one day sauntering through the main parking lot on the beach side of the island. They were there long enough to stop traffic, then moved on down the road.

Although there are 30+ miles of beautiful white-sand beach, the part that is easily accessible to visitors is only about 5 miles long. Undoubtedly, the ponies roam the beaches too but I never saw any on the beach though they were grazing along the road on the beach side of the Island. I did see quite a few ponies on the bayside - in the marsh areas and in the campgrounds. My suspicion is that there were one or two bands of ponies that roamed those areas and I kept seeing the same horses over and over ;-)

These guys followed me around for quite awhile one day. I'd back off and they'd keep coming. Eventually they tired of the game and went off looking for better pastures.

The grass must have been pretty good alongside the marsh boardwalk. On this day there was a group of six of them. Three were on the boardwalk and the other three were off in the marsh. The ponies aren't very big. Short and stout is an apt description. In the background there is a woman standing next to two ponies, she towers over them. The tallest ones that I saw were maybe 5 feet tall.


There are signs posted stating that you are not to feed, touch, or even approach the horses. I never saw anyone feed them but did see a few people touching and petting them. I didn't go searching for the ponies. If they were in the same area where I was I'd go see them but I really didn't get too close. They are considered to be wild animals but they are definitely not afraid of humans. The ponies are left on their own, to fend for themselves. They are not cared for or treated if they become sick. The only food they get is what they find for themselves: marsh and sand dune grasses, rosehips, bayberry twigs, persimmons and even poison ivy.

THOUGHT POPS, Edition Three

I WON A MAJOR AWARD! And it was Fra-gi-lé!

Did any Christmas Story fans immediately think “leg lamp”? The box was smaller, but I won something equally cool, and all I had to do was identify this mysterious photo on La Gringa’s Blogocito:


There are lots of cycads, including Sago Palms at the Hartman Gardens, and this photo sure looked like new growth unfurling to me. Then La Gringa showed the Cycad, fully unfurled, and said that I was the winner.

La Gringa has been my guide to so many fascinating people, plants, creatures, customs and places that I was a winner just by visiting her blogocito, but she also sent me a surprise, all the way from Honduras.

First some Honduras souvenirs – note pads. Then out came a bag of Honduran-grown coffee. Philo & I brewed coffee and like it a lot – it’s a very smooth brew.

And then even more prizes appeared!


La Gringa sent the cute magnet girls to represent the ‘Divas of the Dirt’, along with this very useful case for glasses with zippered pocket and neck cord, and a beautiful windchime made of polished coconut shells, which makes a cool, clicketty-kind of sound. La Gringa put such thought into the prize that she even wrapped these treasures in interesting pages from the Honduran newspapers - even the packaging was fun!

Thank you so much, La Gringa and El Jefe ~ you made me feel very lucky, and very special!

BLOOM REPORT

The Lady Banks opened fully earlier this week and is blooming with the Coral Honeysuckle. When I planted the new honeysuckle last year my hope was that the yellow centers of this coral-colored vine would harmonize with the pale yellow of the Lady Banks. I’m pretty happy with this ephemeral combination – what do you think?

In the side garden three Bridal Wreath spiraeas are blooming with a few bluebonnets.
Can you see that iris foliage at far right? My friend Ellen was given some iris last spring and the person who gave it to her promised that it was purple. Ellen shared some with me, and now we’re both hoping they will bloom in the violet shades that we crave.

Above are both varieties of spiraea and the Lady Banks to compare their bloom and leaves. That’s Rosa Lady Banks Yellow at left, with the longer-leaved, larger flowered Spiraea cantoniensis(?) in the center. I’m not sure of the botanical name for the other, rounder-leaved Spiraea at right, but this is the kind that grew in our Illinois gardens.

FLORARAMA WEEKEND
This name is no longer in use – our annual horticultural extravaganza was already called the Zilker Garden Festival when we moved here, but some longtime Austinites like M Sinclair Stevens prefer the original name, and so do I.
The festival may be somewhat soggy – we have had some tremendous downpours here in the last few days – but the weather forecasters are still promising that the rain will have moved out by mid-Saturday.

Now for the part guaranteed to turn some of you green with envy – the bigshot speaker this year is none other than FELDER RUSHING!! Yes, the coauthor of the beloved book Passalong Plants, which has already been announced as the next choice of the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club.
Will my luck hold? Will I get to hear Felder speak in person? Will I even make it to Florarama? Will I find new Duranta plants to replace the ones that died over winter? Watch this space – I hope the answers will all be Yes.

Towers

One of the first things you see when you get to the top of Sandia Crest is all the TV and Radio towers that tower over the Crest. Many of them have been there more than 40 years, and others are newer. It seems to be the best place to have these communication towers. You frequently see men working on them. This day there were several trucks from Qwest Telephone Company which supplies all the landline phones in Albuquerque and most of NM and some other places.

2 Raincoats: Nau Succinct Trench and Lululemon Ride On Rain Jacket

It's been raining here all week, so the timing seems right to review some raincoats. For three years now I've been looking for a lightweight, waterproof, breathable raincoat that works well on a city bike, but found nothing. Now I've suddenly come across two. On the left is the Succinct Trench by Nau, purchased by me a few months ago via a discount website. On the right is the Ride On Rain Jacket by Lululemon, sent to me for review by the manufacturer. Both raincoats fit my requirements well.






The Lululemon "Ride On" Rain Jacket is a rather avant-garde looking raincoat that hits a few inches above the knees in the front and an inch or so below the back of the knees in the rear. It has the same Edwardian theme as the blazer reviewed earlier, but here it is consistent and harmonious throughout the garment. The jacket is very thin and feels suitable for temperatures in the mid 40°s - mid 70°s Fahrenheit.





The jacket is waterproof and breathable,lined with a soft, thin fabricthroughout. Lululemon uses cryptic proprietary names to describe their fabrics, and the stuff this jacket is made of is called "atmosphere." It is crinkly and easy to scrunch up and stuff into a pannier when not in use. It weighs very little. An inner drawcord at the waist makes the fit of this jacket adjustable. Overall the fit is pretty loose, but tightening the drawcord gives it a tailored, flattering look. Another drawcord controls the hem.





When the hem is let out, it is pretty flowy. Tightening the drawcord offers better protection from the rain.






The sleeves are extra long, featuring cuffs with reflective detailing.






There is an inner and an outer zipper, the purpose of which I do not entirely understand. Lululemon calls this a "double zipper." However, neither of them are two-way, and the jacket cannot be unzipped from the bottom.






The front pockets have smallish zippered openings outlined with reflective ribbon They are very roomy inside and are lined with a soft, pleasant fabric. There is also an inner pocket.





The collar zips up high and can be used in leu of a scarf. The hood is large enough to fit over a bicycle helmet, of so desired. It is is adjustable via a drawstring, but is not detachable.







TheLululemon "Ride On" Rain Jacket works well for cycling because it is lightweight, waterproof, breathable, stretchy, makes minimal rustling noise, has longer than standard sleeves, and provides good rain coverage via a combination of its length and drawcord hem. At the same time it is sufficiently elegant to wear as part of an everyday, non-technical wardrobe. As far as criticisms: I found the fit of the hood to be less than optimal, with a slight tendency to obscure my peripheral vision unless I move it out of the way or push it back a bit. Hi-viz lovers might be disappointed by the subtlety of the reflective details, but this jacket is also available in orange (and black). The $298 price tag may or may not be a deal breaker, depending on what you are used to. And of course the flowing, Edwardian style is not everyone's cup of tea. Would I have bought this jacket for myself? Not at full retail price, but yes if it went on sale and if I did not already own the Nau trench (see below). After this review I will be giving it away locally. You can read another review of this jacket by Dottie on Let's Go Ride a Bike.




The Nau Succinct Trenchresembles a classic Barbour-style English field coat. It hits mid-thigh and is gently tailored at the waist. Made of an ultra-thin shell material, it is waterproof, breathable and lightweight,suitable for temperatures in the mid40°s - mid 70°s Fahrenheit. The fabric is described as "recycled polyester."






The jacket shown here is the model and the colour of the current model is a little different: The latter has black buttons instead of silver and a very subtle black-on-black plaid pattern. In all other ways they are the same (I asked the manufacturer).







The Nau trench is simple, compact and decidedly utilitarian in design. Those who do not like to fuss with drawcords and adjust things back and forth, will enjoy its intuitive versatility.






The two-way zipper and rear vent make it easy to adjust the width of the hem for pedaling, walking, and other activities .





The roomy, covered pockets feature both zip and snap closure, allowing both easy access of weather-proofing.





The stand-up collar can be buttoned up to protect the neck from rain and wind, or let out.






The waist is adjustable.




Only the upper 3rd of the trench is lined, reducing weight and bulk.






The detachable, visored hood features both a zipper,snap closure and a hidden draw-cord, allowing for a number of micro-adjustments for optimal fit.





The NauSuccinct Trench works well for cycling because it is lightweight, waterproof, breathable, easy to move in, makes minimal rustling noise, has longer than standard sleeves, and provides coverage of the derriere and upper thighs. A classic design, it is sufficiently elegant to wear as part of an everyday, non-technical wardrobe and is unlikely to go out of style over the next few years. The detachable hood offers extra versatility, and does not obscure peripheral vision. As far as criticisms: Making the trench slightly longer would provide better rain coverage for cyclists. Adding a few reflective elements will be attractive to those who require that their rain jacket be hi-viz. Personally I would love to see this jacket in a classic colour other than black - for instance olive green. The $275 price tag may or may not be a deal breaker, depending on what you are used to. I bought mine for 40% off via a discount retailer at the end of last season, and those who find the retail price too high can always wait, stalk, and do the same.



I find both the Nau Succinct Trench and the Lululemon Ride on Rain Jacket to be flattering, practical, and cycling-appropariate, assuming that you ride an upright bike and are looking for a raincoat that is suitable as everyday clothing. The Lululemon jacket is probably the more stylish of the two considering current trends, but it is also the more likely to look dated a couple of years down the road. For me, that skews things in favour of the Nau trench, but others' preferences may differ. Both raincoats are good examples of cycling-appropriate apparel. By comparison, my older raincoat is considerably bulkier and more constricting on the bike. I am glad to have finally found a replacement.

Tender Is the Night

Coming home the other evening, I was charmed by the grace of this lovely cyclist in the Vienna twilight. With her silver flats, tutu skirt and perfect posture, she looks like a beautiful ballerina.

And on a nearby street, a woman walks her bicycle past a stationery shop, looking longingly at the illuminated display of fountain pens and leather journals.

Maybe it is the blinking lights mingling with the streetlamps, or the sound of the spokes in the dark, but there is something about bicycles and the city at night that evokes a sense of tenderness and magic.

Ice Paradise - Grand Portage Bay

This past weekend we had a nice surprise on Grand Portage Bay. Saturday morning we woke to all these amazing blue ice sheets that had been pushed up along the shoreline in the night. Almost the entire bay was ringed with these sheets of ice. Armed with my ice spikes on my boots I walked along the shore and took in the amazing sight of this icy paradise. Unfortunately the view you see here was short-lived. Sunday night we had a major blizzard combined with high winds. The combination of wind and snow dramatically changed this view. Some of the ice sheets are still there, but the waves broke them up quite a bit and they are now covered in snow. Today there is a fresh layer of ice on the bay and I can hear it crunching as it gets pushed up on shore once again. So, maybe we will have fresh views again similar to this one! One never knows what Lake Superior will do to surprise you in the winter season :-)

DPS Wailer 112 RPC review...aka "DPS Lotus 115"

Happy man on a DPS RPC




















Product: DPS 112 RPC (Pure Carbon construction)



Length Tested: 192cm

Turn Radius: 20-23m

side cut: 144mm-115mm-127mm

Tip rocker: 480mm

Tail rocker: 384mm

Running length: 1510mm

Weight: per skis: 4lb. 5oz.

Binding: Dynfit Radical Speed

Mount point: +1cm forward of suggested

Ski weight with bindings: 5lb. 2oz. per ski



Environment & Conditions:

Location of Test: Crystal Mountain Washington

Number of Runs: 5 full days over a10 day late springstorm cycle

Snow Conditions: from hard packed, rain ice, to3 feetof new mid winter snow

Demo or Own: own



Tester Info:

Height/Weight: 6'1" 190lb

Ski Days/Season: 30+

Years Skiing: 30+

Aggressiveness: Moderate

Current Quiver:Huascaran,Aspect, GTR, Lo5, Hi5, 112RP, 138, Broad Peak, 112RP, 138.

Home Area: Silver Mtn Idaho, Crystal Mtn andAlpental WA.

Preferred Terrain:off-piste, trees, steeps



DPS sez: The RPC shape gives up some of the Wailer 112RP's hard snow carving performance and versatility in exchange for enhanced crud and powder velocity.


1 (worst) to 5 (best) star ratings

Value: ***** (hard to believe on a $1250 ski but there it is!)







Durability: unknown at this point but they still look good







Edge Grip: considering the 115mm under foot *****







Maneuverability:******







Performance:******



Up front. I have not beena big fan of the 112RP.Some seem to thinkit isthe *magic ski*. I liked the 112RP enough to have kept a pair for a season. Almost everyonefrom professional mtn guides to timid intermediates seem to rave aboutthe 112RP.To me it is a quiver ski. And not one currently in my quiver. And not oneto be replaced. Not nearly versatile enough to be my only skis. Not to say it is a bad ski. Just not the ski to end my search for the perfect ski. I am glad I had a chance to spend a season on them. But not unhappy when I sold them either.




Like everyone else reading this review specifically for 112 RPC hands on info,likely most of you haveread the less than stellar review on the RPC, Blister had posted previous. (It is linked below) That review (and more recently a second on the 2014 RPC) and my dislike for the 112PC kept me off the RPC for most of this season. In retrospect that was a big, BIG mistake on my part. I get sucked in on the Internet reviews just as easily as the next guy. Damn it!



What I like about theRPC compared to the RP? Less rocker in the tip and tail as a start. And a stifferover all ski flex. Theski is best described as "a sidecut version of the lotus 138, than similar to the wailer 112RP". Same shapeused, with slight variation, on the Lotus 120, 112RP, the 112RPC and the 99, and is exceptional technology imo.



I am blessed by good fortune to get on a lot of skis. A dozen or so this season alone. Not a professional ski tester by any meansbut more skis than I have ever dreamt of skiing in any oneseason previous. Best of all I own the skis..so nothing owed to the manufacture here past an honest appraisal of the skis.. All of which just keeps mesearching for the next "best ski".



A good many friends (mostactive outdoor ski professionals) have decided that the 100mm under foot is *the* magic number for theirevery day skis. I need to keep looking for that 100mm ski. And I have most of the 100mm ski my buddies have suggested. From my own search the 112mm/115mm seems to be my magic number.I am typically a strong skier (physically) and able to ski any terrain given reasonable snow conditions. And now with a modern115mm under foot ski, even what I use to think as "unreasonable" conditions I can generally ski with little effort.



One of my most fun and agile pair of all around skis right now isa short 177cm, and 112mm under foot, skis. But I prefer something longer when riding lift served terrain. Something more like190cm+.FWIW I generally like alight weight167/168cm skisin the BC if I am looking at covering an sort of distance.



I am using a tech or Dynafit style binding on all my skis these days. Even the skis reserved just for lift skiing. The RPC is going to be a lift served ski 90% of the time for me. I commented on the 112s earlier. From DPS's original comments the 112RP seems like a much betterpowder ski than a resort/powder skis to me.I've not skied the newest Rossi 7 Series but hopefully will shortly. I have skied similar skis to the DPS RPC fromBD, La Sportiva, DPSin 100 and 115 formats. I like the newest light weightskis and the lightest Dynafit style bindings. Amountaineering back ground has me looking in that direction..instead of back at my old school Rossi and K2 roots. Just the weight when picking up a 115mm under foot from Rossignol orK2stops mefrom looking any further. The huge tail rocker on any of those skis would, if weight did not. Even though I know some of those skiswill ski very, very well.



Beloware a few questions from a different forum that were asked when I mentioned I really didn't like the 112RP.



"Were you on the 190cm RP's? Interesting that DPS describes the RP to be more capable on hard than the RPC, and more versatile, but you found just the opposite to be true for you."



Here is the video I found most enlightening from DPS. This is what convinced me to give the "112" another try even if it is a 115 version :)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq2VAjV8bJo


Yes, I was on the 190cm version of the PURE 112RP. And a 192 on the PURE 138 Lotus. (Zero4 and One boots) But one of my all time favorite skis is the Dynafit Huascaran in a 177cm (TLT boots) as a playful, fun ski in most any conditions and unsurpassed *for me* in tight trees. I like a stiff tail and little or no rocker in the tail on a shorter ski. The rocker up front I don't want flapping around at speed and the ability to carve bullet proof ice with some acuity important as well.



As much as I did like them both I thought both the 138 and the 112RP too much of a quiver ski instead of a all around ski (duh! that is obvious on the 138 and not nearly the versatility of the 112 everyone else describes ).




I bought 196cm Huascarans and the 192 RPC at the same time. Expecting GREAT things from the longer Hauscaran and not much from the the RPC. Knowing that the 177cm Huascaran is one of my all time favourite sets on any terrain using theTLT Mtn boot. It turned out the other way around on ski likes and dislikes.I was making the comparison ontwo hour intervals during a 3 day dump of new powder overa hard ice (west coast standards) base that was rained on before freezing up solid. Add two feet of fluff to that while you are still skiing the ice as the base was interesting for the first day and a half.



Every time the place got skied out and I thought the conditions just sucked I went back to the RPC and found it was the ski lacking and not the conditions. Harsh reality and eventual glowing accolades for the RPC (much to my surprise!)



In all my Internet surfing I found two guys describing the RPC as a *115 Lotus* on another forum...which I found intriguing. Marshal Olson and Stephen Drake of DPS were saying the 112RP was a combo of the 138 and the Cassiar 80. All those comments and the newest technology from DPS built into the RPC had me intrigued. My bet is the RPC was the ski DPS was really trying to make when they came out with the 112RP.


DPS sez:



• “The RPC is designed to ski more in the fall line with a shallower turn shape. It’s for the charging, directional skier …who wants to put less emphasis on the RP’s hard snow performance and more on its abilities in crud and soft snow.”



***I found the RPCbetter at fall line/faster mach 1 type GS turns, ski with no lack of hard snow (or ice for their 115mm under foot) performance. I also found them easy to do slow, super tight turns on steep or even really moderate terrain with ease. Little difference in the 112RP and the RPS here it is only a matter of a little (very little) effort.



• “The RPC gives up some of the 112 RP’s hard snow-carving performance and versatility in exchange for enhanced crud busting and speed through powder.”



*** I didn't find that to be the case. I think the RPC has some serious added attributes and literally giving away nothing to the 112RP....other than a more skilled/stronger skier will be happier on the RPC by comparison. Blister's review hints at this btw.



• “The RPC will allow skiers to surf powder in the morning, then charge leftovers all day as they sniff out stashes.”



***this I found spot on.....



Blister sez:



"the RPC is absolutely a Wailer 112RP at heart, as it shares some of the same characteristics that helped put the original RP on the map".



***Not IMO....I think the RPC is best described as a "115 Lotus" Forget all that nonsense about it's connection to the112 RP. Bad marketing on DPS's part IMO.



"I’m not sure I knew what “torsionally rigid” really meant until laying down some blisteringly fast, high-energy carves out the bottom of Alta’s Collin’s face on the RPC. In this respect, DPS’s engineering and construction of the ski is seriously impressive."



I mention Rossi 4G 207s below. It is atorsionally rigid ski is. I had the chance to ski some of the best made for several decades. The 138s and the 112RP are good examples of torsionally rigid skis. The RPC even more so I think. If you want to ski ice...serious ice... get a torsionally rigid ski. Make the skirigid enough and you can even ski ice on a soft boot and 115 under foot.



Blisters' review here:

http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/--dps-wailer-112rpc-2#comment-16640



Follow up:

To prep my RPCs I simply ironed in a thick coat of some spring wax on the Hauscaran and the RPC and took them to the hill. No detune on either and I wouldn't call either ski hooky or even anything close to hooky.




Easy to describe the 112RP as the ski for the guy that doesn't know how to ski powder.....and you'll never have to learn on the 112RP. The ski will simply give you a majority of the skill required. The 112RP is a super easy ski to ski...any where but hard snow. But for me it is a "beginners" ski. I come from old school Rossi and K2 SL/GS 203 and 207 race skis if that helps. The newest (rockered and 5 point shaped) skis have made me a much, much better skier with less effort involved.


Bottom line?




I can rip groomers on the RPCwith literally no speed limit. Big super fast GS turns if I like (and I DO like!) or quick turns straight down the fall line at Mach 1. Easy. Pow? If it is of this ski things are easy. Not as easy or as playful as a 177cm Huascaran but just as playful as the RP in my opinion.Looking for those last tiny powder stashes at your favorite resort? The 4 to 6 turn pockets of the last remaining stash? The RPCwill make that patch and if you work at it add an extra turn in there as well. Yes they are a tiny bit more work than the 112RP. And I do mean TINY! But the advantages the rest of the day are immense. Even if it is just getting between stashes at Mach 1 with a huge smile on your face. Slow speed tight trees or just tight turns? Easy enough...so easy....enough. I am still amazed at just how versatile this ski is. Some of my skis will do most of what I have described.The RPC finally seems like the one "full meal deal".



I am a little stuck on a skied nameda "112" when it is actually 115mm under foot. And I think it is much more ski than the 112RP. More than the 3mm implies.


This is no 112RP. It really is a Lotus 115. Big Mountain? All mountain? The RPC will do both easy enough. "My bet is the RPC was the ski DPS was really trying to design when they came out with the 112RP". The limitations of the 112RP is obvious for the skilled practitioner. I've not noted any limitation on the RPC. And I really don't consider myself a very "skilled" practitioner. I just get to ski a lot of skis.



Heli ski? You bet. I'd be OK with leaving the 138s at home.




FWIW I am skiing the RPC with a Dynafit One boot or the Scarpa Maestrale RS. And I am very pleased with the combinations. More so with the RS and this ski. Makes me think I might be leaving soem on the table here. Which makes me think Lange and down hill bindings.



The RPC isn't my all time favorite ski...but it is damn close. For aresortski on any sort of soft snow? It might well be my favorite ski ever. Either way hard not to get a smile on your face with these guys on your feet. If I am earning my own turns on any sort of soft snow, corn to pow? This ski (even in my 192s) islight enough to consider for any mid winter snow pack, boot or skin mission. You earn the turns might as well savor them.

Something Special

Having a special bicycle is not about following the latest chic trend. It is not about hunting down a frame made of famous tubing. It is not about obsessing about period-correct components. And it is not about trying to evoke a specific country of origin.It's really about focusing on your preferences and your needs. Only you can make your bicycle uniquely yours.



My fellow Bostonian C.P. - or "cycler" on Biking in Heels - has done an impressive job in this regard. Her bicycle, Gilbert, is completely and utterly hers - and very special. CP comes from a family of cyclists and has ridden a bike for as long as she can remember. But it was not until she lived in Italy as a young adult, that her love of city bicycles with step-through frames was ignited. Upon returning to the US, she brought a vintage Italian city bike with her, and the rest is history. An architect by profession and a DIY enthusiast by nature, C.P. enjoys wrenching on her own bikes and now owns a modest stable of vintage ladies' models from the 1930s through the 1970s.



As her ultimate bicycle for transportation, C.P. wanted something that handled like her favourite vintage bikes, yet was as clean and reliable as a new bike. And so her project began. She rescued a 1970s Raleigh Lady's Sports frame and fork, and had them repainted a colour she loved. She bought a suitable chaincase and had it painted to match, along with the fenders. She built modern wheels with alloy rims around a Shimano 8-speed hub in the rear and a Shimano dynamo hub in the front.



Gilbert's set-up includes handsome and effective lighting,



cushy cream tires,



front and rear racks for maximum hauling capacity,



Nitto "Albatross" handlebars with city brake levers and a classic bell,



a wheel stabiliser,

and, last but not least, this fantastic fishing creel basket, made of wicker with leather accents. For the holidays, the basket is decorated with battery-operated Christmas lights.Eccentric? Delightfully so! I imagine this style of basket is quite useful for storing small to medium objects within reach, secured by the closed lid. One thing that never fails to impress me about Biking in Heels, is the amount of stuff "cycler" is able to carry on that bike. This has included: a stack of shipping parcels, large plants, household appliances, and building supplies - most of these, of course, on the rear rack and not in the creel basket. While the Raleigh Lady's Sports was not specifically designed as a utility bike, it seems that Gilbert cab haul pretty much anything.



Given the way Gilbert came into existence, it is difficult to categorise him. The bicycle is no longer a vintage Raleigh 3-speed, yet it certainly isn't a modern bike either. But why categorise him at all? You will not find another like him in any catalogue or bicycle blog.Gilbert is C.P.'s personal bicycle, and he is unique. Visit them both at Biking in Heels.