Up the Mountain

It was a beautiful, winding drive up the mountain to the Ridge that even included a tunnel. (Jan's head in the mirror.) There were wonderful vistas off in the distance each time we went around another bend in the road, that we would stop and look at. There were trees everywhere, sometimes obscuring the views. We even saw a mama deer and her fawn. The fawn is in this shot with a moutain behind it.

Battleship Rock

This is a big rock cliff sort of north west from Jemez Springs called Battleship Rock. There is a big parkinglot so visitors can park and view the cliff or take a hike down into the canyon below it where Jemez Creek flows.

Hale Brubaker & Crow's Corner School

Maurice Hale Brubaker (known as Hale) was the youngest son of Malissa Joslin and William Brubaker. He taught at least one term at the Crow's Corner school in Smith Township, Whitley County, Indiana when he was 18 years old. This was still at a time when college degrees were not required for teaching.

Hale's life was cut short when just 6 years later he died of pneumonia while attending Law School at Columbia University in New York. His death had a traumatic affect on the family. It was a shock to his parents but particularly his father who died a little over a year later.

The brief "biography" of Hale was written by his mother: "Hale died in N Y Dec 14 1910 aged 24y 6m & 27da he was in Columbia University a Law Student would have finished in May 1911 he was born in Troy TP Whitley Co graduated in common School when 13 & in high School 17 Taught School in Smith TP. was an active member in the First Baptist church & Sunday School after all God took him called him higher where he is at rest Mother"

I'll be posting more about Hale in the future...

The Pupils listed on the Souvenir tag are:

• Grade VII: Chester McNeal, Thomas Griffith, Etta Rowland, Bessie Gordon, Katie Fulk, Dessie Garrison
• Grade V: Ethel Herron, Jennie Gilbert, Rilla Boggs, Edward Gordon, John Fulk, Charles Gilbert, Jesse Rowland, Earnest McNeal, Herbert McNeal, Cyrus Griffith, Joshua Griffith
• Grade III: Lottie Herron, Virgie Griffith, Frank Garrison, Howard Gilbert
• Grade I: Opal Boggs, Millie Garrison, and a few more that were in the damaged portion

Cycling the Parliament

Our ride around Vienna this weekend yielded such a rich harvest of photos, that I've decided to split it into several posts. Hope you enjoy!

What you see here is the Austrian Parliament building. The entrance is up on a big winding hill, and we decided that what better way to test the Retrovelo's gearing and brakes than to cycle up and down it.

After briefly considering whether this was "allowed", we decided that such a trifling thing hardly mattered, and went for it. Anna went for it, that is - while I photographed her.

I mean, that hill looks like it was made for cycling, doesn't it?

Upon making it back down, Anna reported that the brakes on the Retrovelo worked just fine, which was a much-needed piece of information for the remainder of our trip. Going uphill was a bit of a challenge, but she did that with flying colours as well.

This heroic feat did not go unnoticed: We were immediately surrounded by a group of Chinese tourists, who were interested in the Retrovelo (for the record, I was riding a Specialized Globe, but they were not nearly as taken by it).

It was not clear what exactly about the bike appealed to the tourists: More than anything, they seemed to be interested in the headlight, but we could not understand each other as they spoke neither German nor English. We posed graciously for many, many photos, and finally parted ways.

Such was the beginning of our adventure. Stay tuned for more. And for the record - cycling with Anna is great fun. Visit her on Cycling Is Good For You!

Storing Water on a City Bike

Many city bikes are made without braze-ons for bottle cages on the frame. This is probably because they don't look right with roadbike-style bottle cages, and manufacturers expect that trips on these bikes will be short anyhow.But what about those of us with longer commutes, especially in the summer heat and humidity? While clamp-on bottle cages exist that can be fitted onto the frame without braze-ons, the shape of the frame can make attaching them challenging and unsightly.






With upright handlebars, it is also not exactly convenient to reach all the way down to the down tube or seat tube for the water bottle. Most seem to prefer alternative solutions.






DIY handlebar setups are popular, and above is the Co-Habitant's somewhat eccentric solution. He modified regular water bottle cages to clamp onto the bars and can have up to two water bottles at his fingertips as he rides. For him this setup works nicely, though others might find it cluttered - particularly on bikes with not a great deal of room in the "cockpit."






A more conventional solution is to install a coffee cup holder, the likes of which several manufacturers are producing now. From what I hear, the quality of these holders varies from one brand to another, and they do not fit all water bottles. But if you get one of the good ones and it does fit your bottle of choice, they can work great.






Personally, I prefer to have as few items attached to my handlebars as possible and would rather carry water in my bag or basket. When I ride a full-sized city bike, I keep a bottle of water in my pannier and keep the pannier unzipped for easy access. When I get thirsty en route, I reach for the water when stopped at a red light, drink, then put the bottle back when done. I don't need to turn around in order to do this and kind of know where it is by feel.






On the Brompton it is easier still, because the Carradice front bag has stiff rider-facing pockets that are the exact size of a small Klean Kanteen bottle. I can reach the bottle, drink from it, and put it back in the pocket without having to stop the bike.Of all the different ways I have carried water on a city bike, I think I prefer this front pocket option most of all.Not only is the water bottle close at hand, butI then easily can take it with me once off the bike without having to carry it in my hand.



Do you feel the need to carry water when riding for transportation? Do you think city bikes should come with provisions for doing so? Please share any clever systems you've come up with as well.

Edvard Munch

A lot of painters—and artists per se, lived very poignant and pitiable lives. Most of them had mental illness, suffered from severe depression and at some point were suicidal which makes you wonder and question the significance of their art. Perhaps this is the crux why they stand out, why their artworks have become world famous. It suitably and subtlety channels the volcanic chain of emotions gripping them in to their paintings, and then to the ordinary viewer, like you and me.





Like Edvard Munch, he was a great example of the above. He was constantly tormented by his psychoneurotic obsessively religious father who was utterly devoted to pietism, which I consider perilous by the way. I do not trust these radical religious fanatics.



So tomorrow I’m off to visit his legendary children—he was childless and considers his beloved paintings his children, and hopefully I will feel and experience the anguish he felt when he painted ‘The Scream’.



Until next week. In Oslo, Norway!

Riding a 1940s Mercian

One of my most vivid memories from Northern Ireland is standing outside Chris Sharp's house, staring at a dozen Mercian bicycles lined up on the front lawn. The rainbow of their frames stood out in vivid contrast to the wall of dark pine trees behind and the gray skies overhead.






Rain was coming down - slowly at first, then in earnest. Fog set in. As water dripped from the frames and a milky mist began to surround us, it looked as if someone had spilled tubes of paint onto the lawn. What a sight.





Since the time he was old enough to save up for his first roadbike, Chris Sharp has been accumulating Mercians. There is just something about them he enjoys and feels is special. A familiar story!





Several decades later, his Mercian collection includes road, touring and track bikes, a mixte, and several time trial machines, as well as catalogues and paraphernalia from the early days of the Mercian Cycles shop.





The magnificent spread I saw on the lawn was not his entire collection; there is more in storage and elsewhere. But it was nonetheless stunning and provided beautiful examples of the legendary machines throughout the years.






Chris Sharp's bikes do not get babied. They see rain, they are taken to events, they get ridden by him and others. Which did I want to ride? How about the earliest example, a machine from the 1940s? Never mind the downpour and the fog.






Considering that Mercian Cycles set up shop in 1946, seeing this early machine was rather exciting. Chris's brother Keith was curious to try it, though I was reluctant - imagine crashing something like this!





Though the exact year of the bicycle's production is unknown, most likely it is 1947. The paint and components are not original; the bike underwent several cosmetic changes in the course of its existence. The frame itself however has remained unaltered. Chris bought the bicycle in Derby, England - from Mercian Cycles directly when the shop was under its previous ownership. The current restoration was done by Mercian, and the build was done by Chris using vintage English components.







It is a shame that the original paint and decals could not be preserved. The original head badge would have looked like this.





But the original lugwork can still be admired.






I love the older fork crowns as well.






Though cosmetically battered over the years, the frame itself had remained in good condition and the restored bike is entirely ridable.





Chris had it set up as a fixed gear for himself, but had put a freewheel on it to make it easier for others to test ride. The size is just about perfect for the Sharp brothers.






Keith Sharp is a bicycle racer and rides mostly modern machines, though appreciates his brother's vintage collection. He had never ridden this particular Mercian before, but loved it when he tried it. "The ride quality! It is very comfortable, you really must ride it!" I confess that it took a bit of convincing to get me on this bike. It was too large for me and I was unsure that I'd be able to use the brake levers effectively. Also, it was raining! But finally, my curiosity to learn what one of the earliest Mercians ever made felt like on the road won over and I tried it.






Very glad I did - what a bicycle. Yes, there is something about the ride quality. A steady, comfortable and almost effortless ride, gliding over rough road surfaces and yearning for uphill stretches. The bike was surprisingly easy to maneuver despite being too large for me. Once I started riding it, I wanted to keep going. It also felt oddly similar to my own Mercian back home. It makes no sense to believe that there is a distinct ride quality associated with Mercians that spans decades of production, despite the generational change of builders and the use of different tubing and geometry. And yet the Mercian owners and collectors I've spoken to quietly believe this, while conceding that its unlikelihood. I do not plan to collect Mercian bicycles, but I enjoy learning about their history and interacting with their enthusiastic owners. It was a treat to ride a Mercian of 1940s vintage - one of the earliest made. More pictures here.

The 'Lady's Bicycle': Descriptive, Offensive, or Merely Obsolete?

[an unsuccessful attempt at parody]

There has been some discussion lately about how appropriate it is to refer to diamond and step-through frame bicycles as men's and ladies' bikes. After all - gender roles are flexible these days, women are no longer expected to wear elaborate skirts, and a low standover height can be convenient for everyone. So why use gender specific terminology? Am I just intentionally being quaint?



Well, not exactly. You see, when a bicycle model exists in both diamond frame and step-through designs, the latter is usually not just about lowering the standover height. It is also about taking the female anatomy into account. For example, have a look at the pictures below and see whether you notice anything interesting.



[image via Gazelle USA]

These are the Oma and Opa versions of the current production Gazelle Toer Populair bicycles. If you look closely, you will notice that the Oma on the left has a considerably higher headtube than the Opa on the right. This is done in order to set the Oma's handlebars higher, so as to accommodate the typically shorter torsos and arms of female cyclists. The bikes are named "Grandma and Grandpa," because they are, in fact, gender-specific. The expanded headtube tactic is used by many manufacturers on their step-through models, while others use the alternative tactic of shortening the virtual top tube. Either way, more often than not the step-through version of a given bicycle model is designed for the female body. This is not to say that men cannot or should not ride step through frames, but only that step-through frames are typically optimised for female proportions.



Of course, one could ask: Why confound gender-based anatomical differences with preferences for standover height? After all, some women may prefer diamond frames, while some men may prefer step-throughs. That is where statistics and market research come in. Most manufacturers cannot afford to make two versions of diamond frames and two versions of step-through frames within the same model. And statistically, women are considerably more likely to wear skirts and are thus more likely to prefer a step-through transportation bike. Therefore, it makes more sense to optimise the step-through design for the female anatomy, while optimising the diamond frame design for the male anatomy. Naturally, there will be some females who prefer the diamond frame and some males who prefer the step-through. Furthermore, not every woman has a short torso and not every man has a long torso. But when it comes to manufacturing decisions, it's all about tendencies and probabilities - not about individuals.



And speaking of statistics, perhaps we could indulge in another poll (a weekly tradition?). No purpose for this other than my own curiosity, and possibly yours:









In my own vocabulary, I use terms like "lady's bike" or "woman's frame" when I am referring specifically to the bicycle's suitability for females - be it anatomically, or in terms of their ability to accommodate skirts. On the other hand, I use terms such as "step through," "loop frame," and "mixte," when I am describing frame geometry. And while some worry that referring to bicycles as "women's bikes" makes them seem inferior or less valuable, I am not on board with that line of thinking. After all, what is considered "standard" frame geometry in the industry, is in fact optimised for the male anatomy. We are female, we are wonderful, and we need bicycles designed for us. To me, that is neither offensive nor obsolete - it's just common sense.

Manufacturers with 'History': Does Continuity Matter?

What does it mean, when we say that a bicycle manufacturer has a long history? There are manufacturers out there, whose names are legendary and whose origins date back more than a century. Bianchi was founded in 1885, Raleigh in 1887 and Gazelle in 1892. All three brands still exist today, and the company literature stresses their historical roots. After all, history means legacy, tradition, substance and trust - setting these brands apart from newcomers. But is it really accurate to connect the bikes currently produced under these brand names to their vintage predecessors? After all, Bianchi is now owned by Cycleurope, Gazelle by the Glide Buy Out Fund, and Raleigh by Derby International - venture capital conglomerates that own or manage a variety of brands. Not only has the ownership changed dramatically, but so have the basic designs, the methods production, the facilities, the country of production, and oftentimes the quality of the product. What is it then, that gives the manufacturer continuity?



When a small manufacturer with a history is acquired by a conglomerate, there are usually designers and marketing people assigned to manage the brand's "image." They research what it was that made the brand iconic, what associations the customer base has come to have with the brand name, and they incorporate these elements into the company's literature, advertising campaigns and mission statements. But is this sufficient?



[image via J. Ferguson]

On the other hand, there are brand names that, years after having ceased production, have been resurrected by a new owner who ardently tries to continue making the bicycles in the original tradition.René Herse was a Frenchconstructeur - alegendary framebuilderwho created exquisite randonneuring bicycles in the 1930s-1970s. More than 30 years after Herse's death, theRené Herse name was purchased by a man in Colorado, USA, and Herse bicycles are now once again being built - this time by an American framebuilder. Though I have seen only pictures, it is said that the new bicycles look and handle similarly to the originals. Nevertheless, is it the same manufacturer?



When thoroughly examined, there are in fact very few, if any, bicycle manufacturers that have maintained continuity throughout the years. There are brands, once synonymous with quality, that have been sold to lower-tier mail order companies. There are brands that have been acquired by international venture capital firms. There are brands that have been resurrected under new ownership. And there are brands that have switched owners a number of times since they first started out.What must a bicycle brand retain of itself in order for you to recognise it as a manufacturer with a long history, rather than think of it as a different company under the same name?

Eustacia Meets Frida

Today Eustacia Vye (my Pashley Pricess) met up with her new friend Frida, the fetching Batavus Fryslan that belongs to Margonaute of ZOMGBicycles.

Margo and I tagged along and sat at an outdoor cafe while the bikes frolicked nearby.

The Batavus Fryslan is a very pretty and comfortable bike. It is a higher-end model than the Old Dutch I tested last summer. It was getting dark and impossible to take decent shots, but Margo has more pictures of this bicycle on her weblog. Especially nice are the shots from last weekend's Tweed Ride - Frida looked so elegant with her owner's stunning outfit!

Despite their differences in wheel size (28" on the Batavus Fryslan vs. 26" on the Pashley Princess), we were surprised to note how similar Frida and Eustacia looked, including their overall proportions. My handlebars are set quite a bit lower, but that was an intentional modification on my part. Margo prefers hers higher. The bicycles also have matching cream tires, matching Brooks B66S saddles, and matching Wald rear folding baskets. So cute to see them together like this!

One really cool thing about Frida is the DIY handlebar bag. It is a small leather purse, with the strap wrapped around the flat part of the bars.

Here you can see the handlebar attachment. A simple and elegant idea that shows you don't necessarily need to spend tons of money on bike-specific accessories.

At the end of the evening, Margo test-rode my bike while I carefully tried hers on for size (Frida is new and I was too worried about her well-being to ride her on the street).

Margo on my Pashley. She is slightly taller than I am, so ideally the saddle would be raised.

My own impression is that the fit of the two bikes is similar, but the Batavus has somewhat more relaxed angles. Weight-wise, the Batavus is a bit heavier. They are both nice bikes, with the main differences being the fork crowns, the wheel size, the lighting systems, and the shape of the handlebars. If you are choosing between a Pashley and a Batavus, I'd really suggest test-riding each.

Here is to lovely bicycles and to lovely bicycle friendships!