Tartarian Cherry Tree

I love cherries. They are my favorite fruit. And I love fruit. There are lots of kinds of cherry trees. The Bing is the most common but my favorite is the Black Tartarian. I have two of them and usually only get a few of the cherries as the birds get most of them.

Downtown Disney

Today we went to visit Downtown Disney so we could see Alice and Wonderland there. We loved the movie and we had fun on our visit.

Balance - rest - mindfulness. And a competition.

Climbers I have just returned from a family holiday in Bali. Again. And I'm not entirely happy about it. Returning that is.However,while I was there I dropped in to Ubud Adventure, across the road from my sumptuous accommodation at De Ubud Villas. More on that later.There's no rock climbing to speak of in Bali, but the trekking is absolutely spectacular. So you'll need gear.



Win this T-Shirt from Ubud Adventure.

Just become a follower of jjobrienclimbing, leave a comment on this post, and check your letter box for your new T-Shirt.

First, you need a google account to become a follower.

Then scroll down the right side of this page to where it says "Follow" and join. Easy.

The rules:

The winning comment will make me laugh, impress me, or make me weak with pity. Or all three.

Your chances of winning are good.

I've only got 10 google followers and at least half of them don't want a T-Shirt. I'll give you a week, or so.



Ubud Adventure stockthe Indonesian Consina range of gear.

Packs, T-Shirts (like the one above), clothes, tents.













Madé and Sudantilook after the store.

They are so delightful.

If I had a shop I'd poach them.











Sudanti with the range of packs.Hundreds of them.Cheap.













Look for the big sign down the end of Hanoman st.where it swings in toward the Monkey Forest.

Ah, back to the Villa.

I think Willow sums up the mood of the holiday here, relaxing in the poolside balé.Sandra and Lotus at one of our fav restaurants, Casa Luna.







The extended fam. On the walk from Bentuyung to Ubud.







10 days. No climbing.Just cafes.Attending the Legong dancing at the palace, three times, I love it.Hanging with the family.











Q. Did you visit any agricultural areas during your visit?A. Um.....No?Q. Are you bringing in any more than $10,000.00 in cash?A. Are you kidding, have you seen how my family can shop?





We did a photo shoot for the Red Phoenix range of Jewellery and clothing while we were at the Villa.

Willow wearing "Black Jewels" necklace from the Red Phoenix range.

Lotus wears the "Batik Bella" shift and "Limoncello" necklace both from the Red Phoenix,Dolce Vita collection available from The TribuneLocation: Ku De Ta, Seminyak, Bali.

Climbers, I'll come clean. I didn't climb Agung this time, but here's a couple of shots from my last climb a year ago.

Mt. Agung - 10,300 ft or there abouts. It's steep, high, freezing cold, it smolders with sulphurand probably my very favourite place.

I've walked along this ridge a few times over the years. The path from Bentuyung, down to Ubud, through padi, deep dark gorges on either side.

I have often stopped and wondered how thevillage priestsdecide where to place the small shines that can be seen everywhere. Shrines to Dewi Sri, Goddess of the rice. I know the placement is important, but what is it about a particular place that makes it important?

Back at my forest home in Australia, one night, I dreamt that I could see the subtle energy that gives power to place. It was so effortless and obvious.

I felt fresh and strong. It reminds me to stay aware of subtlety as I hammer my way through the day.

(dis)Comfort Bike Blues

Only two weeks left until I return to the US, where the Co-Habitant, our two kitties, and our small flock of bicycles await me expectantly!



That is the good news. The bad news, is that I will not be cycling for the remainder of my stay in Austria. Apparently, I have managed to mildly injure myself by cycling too fast and too much (60-80 km rides) on a bicycle that was not designed for it. I was warned that this could happen, but my enthusiasm for the trails got the best of me and I did not heed the warnings. Now I need to take a break and heal completely, if I want to be able to cycle for the rest of the summer. Grrr.



So I guess this is Good-bye to the rental comfort bike I have been riding here for the past 2 months. We've had some good times together, but she just was not made to cope with my demands.



It's not that comfort bikes are categorically "bad" bicycles. Short trips feel marvelous, and they can handle a wide range of town and country terrain. But the longer the trip and the faster you attempt to ride, the more you begin to feel the limitations of their anatomy. Whereas the road bike is built for speed, the mountain bike for off-road use, and the Dutch-style bike for utility, the comfort bike manages to combine components of all three in a way that provides the full benefits of neither.



Clever Cycles has an excellent article that compares the anatomies of different types of bicycles and explains why comfort bikes can feel the opposite of what their name suggests:

Ergonomically, I think comfort bikes ...are sort of a disaster. They have the steep-ish seat tube angle of a mountain bike, and simply bring the bars much closer and higher... This results in a very shallow torso angle so the buttocks can’t help much with pedaling. You see riders of these bikes bobbing their torsos forward with each pedal stroke trying vainly to enlist more muscles to the aid of their smoking quadriceps. The saddles are appropriately broad to support the upright rotation of the pelvis, but all that broad tragic squishiness leads to chafing because the seat tube angle puts the pedals too nearly below the hips. A common compensation is to set the saddle too low, which only makes the other problems worse.

This describes exactly the problems I was having with the rental hybrid. At first it feels quite comfortable, as it does give you a fairly upright posture. But the longer you cycle, the more you feel that the seating tube angle, the handlebars, the space between the different parts of the bike, etc., all sort of work against you rather than for you as you attempt to go long distance, climb a hill, or pick up speed. And, if like me, you keep at it despite feeling the bike's limitations, the inevitable results are pain and possible injury.



If you are shopping for a bicycle, be aware that what are called "comfort bikes" do not have the same construction as traditional relaxed frame bicycles such as the old English 3-speeds and the Dutch-style bicycles.



It will be difficult not riding a bike for 2 whole weeks now that I've gotten so used to it! But no doubt this period of velo-abstinence will make me appreciate the bicycles waiting for me at home all the more.

Early autumn at High Falls

I made this image a couple of days ago on the Pigeon River at Grand Portage State Park. Normally I don't care for HDR (High Dynamic Range) photopraphy but in this instance I decided to try HDR, since my split grad filter just wasn't giving me very good results. The image you see here is a blending of 3 different photos at 3 different exposure settings, one exposed for the brightly-lit trees, one exposed for the dark foreground rocks and another one exposed for the middle areas of the scene.

Hello Winter! Commuting in a Blizzard

Sunday morning. 17°F (-8°C). Blizzard. Snow emergency in effect.

The Co-Habitant has to work today. He prepares for his commute as usual.

Dragging the 60lb beast down the snow-covered concrete steps.

The snow is deep and I grow a little alarmed. "Are you sure you'll be able to cycle in that snow?..."

"No problem," he assures me cheerfully, putting on his convertible mitten-gloves.

And, with the quiet chuckle of a man who has conquered nature, he is off into the blizzard. I scurry back indoors to drink hot coffee and put on a second pair of wool socks.

Pictures taken with his mobile phone upon arrival to work. Lucky for the Pashley, his workplace provides secure indoor bike parking.

Ride report (in a boyishly excited tone):

"It was so dangerous. I only got off the bike once to cross a snow bank in [Harvard] Square. The worst part was snow in the eyes and face. The bike kept sliding but was going and controllable. Pretty amazing. The worst conditions in a while. Took me 20 minutes instead of 10."

Should I be worried?
Morning view from a window at his workplace. It continued to snow after that, still is. Hope my fearless commuter rides home safely in the evening!

I too tried to brave the snowy terrain today, though on a much smaller scale. I will save that for another post.

Oak Thicket

We found a tiny scrub oak thicket with the leaves just turning. Several of the big limbs of the oak were laid over as if there had been heavy snow or wind damage at some time.

Bad weather and crazy driving in Cebu

When its on CNN or BBC, news travel faster than a typhoon! I am receiving messages from friends and colleagues in Europe asking if we are okay. Fortunately we are safe from the wrath of Typhoon Juan (Typhoon Megi)! We pretty much had luck and missed the blustery weather visiting the northern part of the country by a few days; however we are getting a little bit of tail winds and bad weather here in Cebu (in the central part of the country); grey skies and rain and more grey skies and more rain—I did wonder when can I don my sunglasses on?

Vacationing in the Philippines during June to November is a Russian roulette game with three choices: (1) You get lucky and have sun (2) You get unlucky and have bad weather (3) You get very unlucky and be hit by a typhoon. So what are the chances? So far we are having 90% of the bad weather and we are hoping to get some sun in the next coming days. I hope!

In the meantime, we’ve been busy, mostly with family affairs which involve the typical Filipino favorite activity—EATING, as well as worrying about our slowly expanding waistlines and why, of course... DRIVING!

I do not have fotos of myself driving so these fotos were taken earlier during the day with my brother on the wheel. He’s got a warrior on the road that can easily climb up the mountains where we sighted some lovely views of Cebu City even with bad weather.

The eating topic can be discussed at great lengths so we’ll not go over there just yet but driving is an interesting subject when you are in the Philippines. Most foreigners who come here prefer to be driven around and that includes the Dutchman who will not dare touch a steering wheel in the Philippines, while I on the other hand will not dare take a taxi ride except for airport transfers, so that leaves with me being the candidate for the position of ‘Official Philippine Holiday Driver’ every time we are in the country. I still have my old car kept by my parents so in a way I am fortunate not to be begging with cabbies because I know once they spot the white Dutchman tagging along behind me, they become impossible with their rates, in other words, detestable, and as a result, I become obnoxious! I have a massive pet peeve with fraudulent taxi drivers, they just pisses me off, BIG time. Really, I’d rather walk.

Anyway, did I ever say that driving in the Philippines can get you a heart attack? Here are the reasons why:

(1) Vehicles drive and stay put on the middle lane, but most of them for some strange reason prefer to drive and stay put on the left lane. Aren’t left lanes the fastest lanes?
(2) Motorbikes and bicycles as well, drive and stay put on the middle lane, and oh, they also like to drive and stay put on the left lane, of a highway.
(3) While driving 30-40 kilometers per hour! SIGH—I give up.
(4) Because many roads here do not have proper pedestrian lanes, people walk instead on the streets. Oh dear, it took me some time to become accustomed again to having people joining as well the highway traffic! Mama Mia!
(5) Moreover, the streets are not well-lighted in the evening thus making it hard to see anything that moves in the dark. The insurance business will never take off in this country, if everyone is insured.
(6) Interestingly, people crossing the busy streets and highways do so without looking around them. It’s as if it’s the most mundane thing to do in the world. WTF?
(7) Dogs take their nap in the middle of the road. WTF the second time around?
(8) Cars, trucks, motorcycles and even bikes do not have tail lights. Combine that with bad street lighting—Uh huh, good luck.
(9) Cars just park on the streets and highways so it’s almost impossible to be driving on the right lane the whole time. Now I know why they drive on the middle lane but I still cannot grasp the driving and staying put on the left lane.
(10) No one, as in NO ONE observes the ‘priority right’ rule here. Whoever has the nose of the car an inch further gets the priority.
(11) Some of the vehicles do not have proper headlights. You’d think it was a motorbike coming at you but it’s actually a gigantic truck.
(12) There are barely any lane markings on the roads (and traffic/road signs as well) so vehicles just pop out suddenly from your back swerving to different directions. Circus!
(13) Drivers here rarely use the signal lights, instead they use the horn. I tell you, they use the horn for EVERYTHING.
(14) Like saying ‘Hello’ or ‘I’m just passing by’ or to warn, ‘Give way or I will run you over!’
(15) Potholes!!!
(16) There are a gazillion unofficial parking attendants. Like on every street corner in the city.
(17) Beggars knocking on the window at the stoplights. Such a sad affair really so we keep 1, 5 and 10 Peso coins ready. My brother prefer to give out food, he has a stack of biscuits in his car for the street kids.
(18) Because the ‘jeepney’ is inherent to Philippine culture, I am pro to keeping this in traffic circulation but transportation officials need to rethink their strategy because they are such a nuisance on the roads especially at every intersection.
(19) Roads here are congested and honestly, I like Cebu 20 years ago.
(20) Lastly, even with the above frustrations and depressing facts, what stands out with Philippine driving etiquette, and perhaps this could be a Cebuano driving etiquette if I may highlight, are the people and vehicles participating in the traffic actually having PATIENCE and some sort of COURTESY with each other in a very synchronized weird way.

Unlike my experience with the European way of aggressive driving, especially in Italy, there is some sort of ‘organization in the chaos’ that makes the Cebu/Philippine driving experience rather mild and fascinating in comparison.
.

Brooks-Range Cirro Hoody

This is a jacket I should have written up a long time ago.



It can be found here:

http://brooks-range.com/cirro-hoody.html



Last winter when us rookie Americans kept missing the last Midi tram off the mountain at the end of the day we had few options. The Loo or the walk over to the Cosmic hut. Being on a budget we would stay in the Loo unless the tram crew kicked us out because of the bad weather and over crowding.



Even in the Loo it was a miserable night for the most part. Not very comfortable with no gear and colder than I would have liked but not the typical -30C it was hitting outside either.



I think it was the second night up there that I started dropping theCirrus in my ruckas my "last" layer. And it did make a big difference in the grand scheme of things. I was comfortable with that last layer when I hadn't been previous.Less than a pound and worth every penny. I would have used it a lot more this summer and fall if my plans had worked out. My only complaint was this particular one was in black. Hard to get good pictures with a black jacket:) More so if you only use it climbing at night or on an uncomfortable bivy. When and where the jacket did get usedis high praise though for a garment designed just for those exact kind of instances.



Here is why it is so good:



It has a great hood, that does fit over a helmet, and a stand up collar in addition to that hood. The fitis relaxed so I could easily layer under it. Slick as well so nothing to hang up when layered. And it all stuffs into one of the side pockets easily for packing. As good as it gets for materials and insulation when a lot of the 60g jackets have gone to Primaloft Eco, Brooks didn't dummie down this jacket.



•Insulation: Primaloft One®, 60g/m2

•Shell Fabric: 15 denier Pertex™

14.7 oz on my scale for a XL







No joke, layersix is a Brooks-Range Cirro.The Midi upper station Loo, 2am, Feb .60g of Primaloft One and 2 layers of Pertex areenough to make a stark difference when it is cold.

Vacation Time!

I forgot how much work it is to go on vacation before you go on vacation! We have not actually had a vacation for years and years. Sure, we took trips to visit family and maybe did a night away or even a weekend away, but we did not take a vacation where nobody worked for a whole week since we lived in Virginia.



We talked about this on our way over to Cocoa Beach and also talked about the differences in living a life where a vacation never even enters our mind and one where vacations are almost vital to help you step away from your daily life and renew your bonds together and your own inner self. We are looking forward to getting back to the lifestyle where vacations never even enter our minds since we by far prefer that, but for now we are grateful we can at least take vacations to give us something different and give us a way to get away and have fun together.



The really fun part of the vacation planning was that the ladies in my life joined in the fun and helped me plan, pack and even loaned me clothes and books for the cruise. How great are they!? ! Other friends graciously kept Ava for us so we did not have to send her to a kennel. Again, so great of them to do this for us so we did not have to worry about her. And I knew lots of people in the park would keep a close eye on Austin while we were gone and one of our friends kept an extra super close eye on him so we did not have to worry about him at all.



We headed out about noon today, turned right back around and came back to get my purse that I forgot. My purse with our boarding passes and passports that is! So glad I remembered two minutes away rather than two hours away. We made it to Cocoa Beach in great time, checked into our hotel and then did our first cruise related thing here. We went to the dive shop to buy snorkel gear.





I went to get my hair cut after that. (Donna, can you believe I finally got a hair cut!) It's been a year since I had one so it was overdue. The girl cut my bangs reaalllly short so I am now rethinking having a hair cut the day before a cruise. We had a nice dinner, spent time talking about all we wanted to do on the cruise and got to bed early since we were getting up early the next morning.

You Ride a Bike, Don't You?

I was headed toward the subway platform, lost in thought, when a construction worker shouted this to me as he walked past - rhetorically and with a good-natured smile, almost as if in greeting."You ride a bike, don't you!"



For a moment I wondered how he knew. I do not carry a bicycle helmet around. Neither do I have a U-Lock sticking out of my back pocket. Nor do I wear t-shirts with pictures of bicycles or bicycle slogans on them. And then I remembered: I was "wearing" a wheelset. A full wheelset, with tires attached. I was bringing the wheels to Framingham - an hour long trip on subway and commuter rail - and rigged up a system inspired by carrying my skates around.





Having tied the wheels together with a rope, I then slung them over my left shoulder as if the wheels were a handbag and the rope was a shoulder strap. It was surprisingly comfortable and I could hardly feel the weight, which is why I forgot about the wheels when the stranger addressed me.



Something similar happened yesterday, when I wrangled a floor pump into my handbag and walked to my art studio with 1/3 of the large, orange pump sticking out. When I stopped for a coffee on the way, the person behind me in line startled me by saying "That's quite a pump you got there!" Once I realised what he meant, I considered explaining that my hand-held pump does not fit Shrader valves. But thankfully it was my turn to order coffee just then and the person was spared that narrative.



What is the most unusual thing you've carried off the bike that distinguished you as a cyclist?