Toroweap

I do believe that I've just had what I will consider to be the best experience of this trip. From a photographic standpoint, the conditions were a little "too" perfect (a more interesting sky would have been nice for the sunset/sunrise photos), but the experience overall was one that I will never forget. I must admit that the Grand Canyon and the southwest in general at one time held no interest at all for me. Well... now that I have been to this part of the country a number of times, my feelings have changed and I've really come to love it in the southwest.





I had first heard of Toroweap while browsing the website of Marc Adamus, one of my favorite photographers. On his website he has an image titled "Flaming Canyon" that, more than anything else, was my sole inspiration for wanting to visit Toroweap. (To see Marc's image, click here: http://www.marcadamus.com/photo.php?id=63&gallery=canyon). Toroweap is part of Grand Canyon National Park, but resides on the north rim, and not the tourist over-run south rim. Toroweap is easily one of the least visited areas of Grand Canyon National Park. While the area is vehicle-accessible, you must drive down 60 miles of dirt road, the last 10 miles of which are VERY rough. I made it just fine in my Honda Element with all-terrain tires, but a passenger car certainly would never make it.





Toroweap is a Paiute term meaning "dry or barren valley". The views from Toroweap Overlook are 3,ooo feet above the Colorado River and take your breath away. Due to the remote nature of the Toroweap area (it takes a minimum of 2.5 to 3 hours to drive the road one-way) I decided to spend the night at the Toroweap campground, a lovely little 9-site (FREE!) campground that is one mile from the canyon rim. This would also enable me to shoot a sunset and a sunrise at the location. To my surprise the campground was about half-full, and I saw a half-dozen other vehicles along the last few miles of the road.





Everyone knew that this was a quiet place, however, and once the sun went down it was hard to tell there was anyone else camping there. None of the usual campground noise.... just pure, un-filtered silence. I was in heaven. Being that Toroweap is so far from any signs of civilization, the sky that night over the campground was one of the most amazing that I've ever seen. The stars seemed close enough to reach up and pluck them out of the sky. Surprisingly, none of the other campers were interested in the comings and goings of the sun. As such, as I shot the sunset and the sunrise, I was completely alone on the canyon rim. What a lovely place!

(Below: 1 hour, 30 minute star exposure, taken directly over my campsite)

Hermmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions

This morning I made another trip over to see the incredible Lipizzaner stallions. I arrived early enough to visit the stable first and got to spend a good half an hour there. It is so neat to visit the stable and see the horses up close.



I found my personal favorite for today when I saw how much he seemed to enjoy interacting with people.



Then I noticed his name and realized he would fit in with our family really well because his name starts with an A. I told him that he could be one of my kids with a name like his.



He seemed really intrigued by that. I told him we could use another boy to even out the boy girl ratio.



I asked, would you like to go home with me big guy? At which point he nodded his head.



So it's all set. I just have to figure out how to fit him in the RV and then he's coming home with us.



Ahhh, a girl can dream at least, right? Isn't he something though? More pictures later of the show.



Living the life in sunny Florida!

Rain, Rain...Go Away

We have had a few days of solid rain with lots of wind, and here is the end result:



I know I said we were right on the water before, but I was speaking figuratively. It is about to become a literal statement:





Hopefully the rain has stopped...or we'll be switching sites!



Living the life in wet and cloudy Virginia!

Some Changes

With Spring so close to being here, I have been thinking about changes. We have a lot of changes going on around us and with us. As I said with our Sunday drives, we see signs of new life everywhere. We are also noting changes in our family.



My first and favorite change to share is that the princess is now standing up and well on her way to walking and making her Mom's life more interesting.



Here she is with my baby sister, Traci, looking adorable and bearing the same mildly amused at the world expression that her Mom did at that same age. Since I know her Mom better than I know the princess at this point, I'm hoping this does not mean, "just wait until later", like it would have with her Mom. If her Mom was bearing this expression it usually meant she was plotting her next covert mission that she then accomplished while I tried to do insane things like pee or take a 30 second shower without her.



Of course I am just kidding because unlike her Mom at eight months old, the princess has not yet figured out how to push the kitchen chair over to the kitchen counter where she could then somehow scale her way to the top of the fridge where the childproof capped medicine lay waiting for her to conquer! So far, Pookie seems content to pull herself up to just stand at the furniture and sing songs at the top of her lungs so I think her Mom will not be getting those paybacks we were sure would come her way after all.



BTW, all of my sisters except one are my baby sisters and both of my brothers are my baby brothers. I figure I can get away with this until they are fifty or so. This particular baby sister is only two years younger than me and if she looks younger than me, that is because she is. Just don't tell me that about my older than me by two years sister looks younger than me and it will be fine.



On to the next change. We have been planning to go back to the Outer Banks this summer and enjoy the same fun we had there last year. I can't even express how much I loved, loved, loved being there. It was my favorite summer that I think I've ever had in my life. Just magical really and exactly what I needed at the time.



Due to some of Austin's life plans and my ongoing health issues, we have decided it would be wisest for us to stay right here for now. I have cried over this life change. I am at peace that we are doing the right thing, but I still am sad about the thought of missing our time at the beach with people we have come to love.



As a part of that decision, we also decided to get this so we can more fully enjoy being here by doing lots of local Staycation things:



This is an older version of a car that Nathan had when we lived in our last house. He really enjoyed that car and he is really enjoying this car. This is also one of the reasons behind the Sunday drives that we are now taking. I didn't think I'd be excited about the fact it is a convertible, but I have now realized that I can do this:



Yes, I did this with the truck all the time. But with no top restricting me, I can take drive by shooting pictures even easier than before! So Nathan drives with the top down feeling the wind rush by and loves it and I can snap pictures the entire time and I love it. Life is good. Even when it isn't exactly what we'd pick. Changes. Just a part of what keeps our life moving along.

Gunks Routes: Commando Rave (5.9) & Dat-Mantel (5.10b)

(Photo: Maryana starting the crux section of Commando Rave (5.9).)



Last Sunday was a gorgeous day, with highs in the mid- to-upper sixties. In other words: sending weather. High season, baby!



I was meeting up with Maryana for the first time in a while. She had been forced to take an eight-week break from climbing because of a cycling accident in the city, which had left her with several fractures in her back. This was a heartbreaking blow for her, coming as it did right in the middle of a great climbing year. Before the accident Maryana had led some truly impressive Gunks 5.10's (like Birdcage, for example). But now she had to rebuild. I was climbing with her on only her second weekend back in the climbing game.



We started with a nice warm-up. I led both pitches of Son of Bitchy Virgin (5.6) in one, running it all the way to the GT ledge. I'd never done the first pitch before. It is okay, but after the initial 5.5 overhang there isn't really much to recommend it. I think the second pitch is quite nice, but it is better approached via the Immaculate Conception variation.



After our warm-up Maryana did an excellent job leading Dry Heaves, a challenging 5.8. Then I got down to business with one of those 5.9's I still hadn't gotten around to: Commando Rave.



Dick Williams suggests in his guide book that Commando Rave is a polarizing climb. He says some love it and some hate it. I guess the hate springs from the lack of pro before the crux. The climb begins with some nice moves up a seam. Then comes an unprotected thirty-foot (!) traverse, but really this traverse is so easy it is barely fifth class. For most of it you are basically walking on a sidewalk. And about two-thirds of the way across I actually got a big blue Camalot in the crack at my feet. After that the rest of the way was well-protected.



The crux is really fun. You angle up and right through some overhangs to a left-facing corner. The hardest bit comes as you reach the end of the roof at the corner. You have to hang in to place a bomber piece, and then it takes a balance move out right to escape the corner and reach up to the good hold.



Once through the crux the belay tree is just a couple of moves away. Commando Rave is good, featuring a solid 5.9 crux. It is a quality quick tick, and totally worth doing. It isn't amazing, and it certainly isn't bad. I really can't imagine loving or hating it.







(Photo: Heading up to the big roof on Dat-Mantel (5.10b).)



I felt pretty good about Commando Rave, and afterwards thought I might get another quick tick, this time of a 5.10. I jumped right on the nearby Dat-Mantel.



This was a climb I'd aborted leading with Gail. On that occasion I was just getting up to the roof when I realized I needed some big gear I'd already used below, and then it started raining. After abandoning the lead I sent it pretty easily on toprope on the first try. Pissed to have found it so easy, I resolved then to try to come back and get the redpoint on lead before was out.







(Photo: Getting ready to attack the roof on Dat-Mantel.)



This time, on lead, I wouldn't say it went easily, exactly. I fumbled about a bit before figuring out how to reach the bomber horizontal above the roof. Then I was psyched to place two good cams above the roof, one for each of our double ropes.



I got set to throw a heel and pivot over the roof....



And it worked out. It took a few tries. It wasn't pretty. I remember standing right up over the roof when I did it on top rope. On lead, by contrast, I ended up basically pushing my whole leg and hip into the rock before I could pull myself over the roof. But I never weighted the rope, and I made it! I'll gladly call it a victory and put it in the bank.



Dat-Mantel is a good introductory 5.10. The crux is short and the pro is great. You should be careful as you figure out how to reach the horizontal over the roof. There is good pro at the back, where the roof meets the wall, but until you can plug that horizontal over your head a fall will send you down onto the slab.It wouldn't bea dangerous fall, but it would be unpleasant. Once you get your fingers in the horizontal, however,there are great placements left and right, and you can try the roof move over and over again without falling onto the rope.



After Dat-Mantel my day was as good as done. With a new 5.9 onsight to my credit plus a successful 5.10, I was content to coast. Maryana proved herself to be the comeback kid, leading two more hard 5.8's: the wonderful first pitches of both Carbs & Caffeine and Airy Aria. I then got to end our day by combining the beautiful second and third pitches of Airy Aria into one lead, a fitting finish to a glorious day of climbing.



I love sending season.

Review of "Eustacia Vye": Pashley Princess Sovereign

[Edited to add: There is now an updated review of this bicycle here. I suggest reading the updated version first, as it's the most complete.]



Meet Eustacia Vye:my precious and unique beauty, made by Pashley and customised by the fine people at Harris Cyclery. If you are familiar with the works of Thomas Hardy, you probably got the reference of the name. (If not, read Thomas Hardy!) Eustacia roams the heaths and meadows with wild abandon, seducing those whom she encounters with her regal beauty. And she is excellent in Boston traffic.



Here are the front and back views. If you are interested in how I came to select this bicycle, you can read about it here.



I. THE BICYCLE:



The Pashley Princess Sovereign is a classic "loop-frame" ladies bicycle. It comes standard with fenders, a fully enclosed chaincase, dress-guards, a heavy-duty black Pletscher rack, a hub-driven dynamo headlight and an LED rear light, a Brooks B66S saddle (sprung, suspended leather), enclosed hub brakes, puncture-resistant Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, a pump attached to the frame with braze-ons, an "O-Lock" for the back wheel, a "ding-dong" bell, and an enormous wicker basket. My Princess is the 20" frame (51 cm), which fits my 5'7" (170 cm) proportions perfectly. Standard specs for the Princess Sovereign can be viewed on Pashley's website here.



For those not familiar with Pashley, they are an English manufacturer and have been making traditional bicycles since 1926, specialising in transport cycles and classic English roadsters.



A close-up of the Pashley headbadge.



This is a traditionally lugged and brazed handbuilt frame. The frame is powder-coated and the paintjob is very durable (a powder coated finish will scratch and scuff, whereas a liquid-coated finish will chip). The Princess is available in two colours: "Buckingham Black" and "Regency Green." I chose the green, because it seemed to have a stronger personality, and because I generally like green bicycles. The shade is a dark and subdued "British racing green".



Pashley bicycles are made in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Some cool photos of their factory, including the brazing process, can be viewed here.



II. CUSTOMISATIONS:



As mentioned earlier, many customisations have been done to this bicycle. Here they are, not at all in the order of importance or magnitude:



Dress-guards: We replaced the standard dressguard pictured here with a netted dress-guard I bought in Germany. I wanted a dressguard that resembled latticed wroght iron rather than transparent plastic. This one certainly does. It also covers more of the wheel than the original dressguard.



Here is a close-up of the netting over the chaincase...



... and around the opening for the "O-Lock". The O-Lock is a European locking system that locks the rear wheel, making the bicycle impossible to be ridden away by a thief. In most areas in the US, it is probably prudent to use this for supplementary purposes only.



Kickstand: We replaced the standard Princess kickstand with the Pletscher Twin-Legger, which provides support on both sides of the bicycle and lifts either the back or the front wheel off the ground (you can adjust the balance to determine which).



Not all bicycles will accommodate this kickstand, but the Princess has a special braze-on below the bottom bracket for this purpose.



Grips: We replaced the standard Raleigh-style plastic grips with Brooks leather washer grips in brown. These are probably the most comfortable handlebar grips I have ever tried: They provide just the right amount of texture, softness, suppleness and durability. And they look gorgeous!



Gearing and Brakes: But wait, what's this next to the right grip? The Princess Sovereign comes with a Sturmey Archer 5-speed hub. Mine has been replaced with a 7-speed Shimano Nexus coasterbrake hub (and yes, the gear-shifter has been twined and shellacked). This is by far the most dramatic customisation, and I cannot thank Harris Cyclery enough for doing such an amazing job.



I wanted a coaster brake on the back wheel instead of the (hand-operated) drum brake that Pashley bicycles normally come with. Most people would have been glad to have the standard hand-operated brake option, but I wanted a coaster brake due to some problems with the nerves in my right hand. I can operate a hand-brake, but in stop-and-go traffic a coaster brake is more comfortable.



To accommodate this, the wheelbuilder at Harris Cyclery rebuilt the back wheel of the bicycle. This was done so impeccably, that it looks stock and absolutely flawless. I also asked Harris to set the gears lower, to make it easier to climb hills. They used a 23-tooth cog, which provided the lowest setting possible, given the enclosed chaincase. The 2 extra gears that came with the Nexus hub were pretty helpful in the hill-climbing aspect as well!



The front wheel retained the original Sturmey Archer hub dynamo/drum brake.



If you're confused, this means that I have a hand-operated front-wheel brake on the left handlebar, a 7-speed gear shifter on the right handlebar, and a coaster brake on the back-wheel that is operated with the feet by pedaling backwards.



Lights: We have added extra lights to supplement the standard lighting system.



Saddlebag: Not exactly a customisation, but the bag on the rear rack is a Carradice Barley. I absolutely love these remarkably roomy and attractive bags.



Initially, I had considered also replacing the basket and saddle, but on further testing decided to keep the originals. Please note that the 20" and 22.5" frames apparently come with a larger and more sturdy basket than the 17" frame.



III. IMPRESSIONS:



My first impressions of Eustacia can be summarised as "gorgeous, fits me perfectly and rolls like a dream... but unreasonably heavy". I had tested the Pashley Princess before purchase and had also tried several Dutch bikes -- so I thought I was prepared for the weight. But that was before I had to carry it up and down the porch stairs every time I wanted to ride it. I admit that during the first few days of ownership, I cursed and despaired, gave myself many bruises, and almost fell down the stairs a couple of times under Eustacia's weight. I was pretty upset about it and could not reconcile the fact that I had the most beautiful, elegant bike in the world and found it unmanageable.



Then, after a week, something magical happened: The bicycle miraculously lost weight! Well, either that, or I developed arm strength. Either way, carrying it up and down the porch stairs now takes only a couple of seconds and I take it in stride. Do I wish it were a lighter bicycle? I honestly cannot say for sure: Its weight also contributes to its stability, comfort on the road, reliability in traffic and tank-like indifference to pot-holes. (Edited to add: See also this post about speed.)



A summary of pros and cons:



Pros:

. stunning looks

. quality construction

. utilitarian add-ons

. luxurious accessories

. curved step-trough frame for easy on-off with skirts

. roomy and well-proportioned, with 3 frame sizes to choose from (I am 5'7", got a 20" frame, and can just reach the ground with my toes in the lowest saddle position).

. upright posture for relaxed riding, great views of surroundings, and visibility to traffic

. enclosed hub brakes make it weather resistant

. puncture-resistant tires are pretty much indestructible

. super stable

. handles extremely well in traffic

. sneers at pot-holes



Cons:

. heavy (specs state 45lb, but more like 50lb once you add accessories)

. not "agile" or sporty by any means; slow to accelerate

. upright posture restricts speed and uphill cycling

. saddle adjustment can be tricky with a "sliding off effect" unless perfectly tweaked

. if you are a private person who dislikes being approached by strangers, you might be overwhelmed with the attention this bike will get you. I get an average of 2-3 comments each time I take it out of the house.



IV. CONCLUSIONS:



The Pashley Princess Sovereign will give you elegant utility, with the bonus gift of increased upper body strength. As a town-and-country bike and a transport bike, it is a success. An agile, sporty bike it is not (and to be fair, does not claim to be). As with any bicycle, you can always customise components, which includes lowering the gears if you live in a hilly area. Enjoy the city and the meadows, and be prepared for lots of attention when people see this bicycle!





Edited to add:



Since this review, I have aded updates that may also be useful:

Pashley Princess as winter bike



Pashley Princess after some modificationsPashley Princess with cream Delta Cruiser tires

For other perspectives on the Pashley Princess, you may also want to check out...

.Miss Sarah atGirls and Bicycles

.Sigrid atMy Hyggelig.Michael atEcoVelo

.Lorenza atWhere Do Roots Belong

.Dottie atLet's Go Ride a Bike

More training ups and downs

My fortune over the past wee while hasn’t been great. I’m just back to being human after losing just short of 2 weeks in bed with a virus which floored me. Normally with most bugs I just reduce my training a bit and get some work done while I’m ill. This time I couldn’t do anything except lie in bed and shiver.




Not to dwell on the details. But it obviously meant no training was done apart from ab-busting cough workouts. After I finally exited the other side, I was overflowing with eagerness to get going again, so jumped straight back on my board and onto the trails. After three days straight of bouldering and running, I could feel every muscle in my body.




Unfortunately, on the 4th day I was booked to jog up Ben Nevis with Michael for the end of his city to summit race (swim the Forth at Edinburgh, cycle 110m to Glen Coe and then marathon finishing up and down Ben Nevis). On one hand, if it hadn’t been Michael’s race day, I would’ve probably moaned about just going to the kitchen to put the kettle on, never mind putting my running shoes on. On the other, if you can’t run up the Ben with a man who’s just come from Edinburgh under his own steam, it doesn’t look great, even if he is a machine.











So we had a nice jog up and it wasn’t so bad after all. Just inspiring. Over the past few months I have at various points given up on running due to continued ankle pain, only to start again a couple of weeks later. Changing my running gait to account for the ankle damage had caused knock on effects - an annoyed tibialis posterior tendon. It’s a bit of a tale of woe, but I’m beginning to think I could start a little gentle regular running again. Tomorrow I’ll maybe try something a little longer and see how it goes.




At the tail end of my virus I put in some productive days on my book, which inches ever closer to a finished first draft. Just a bit on shoulders and we’re done. Then on Friday I was at the opening of the new ice wall in the Snow Factor in Glasgow. It was pretty weird moving on ice and dry tooling boards. By the end of the day I was quite sad that winter is finally over.






In the coming week, I shall be climbing, running, route setting, book writing and then off for the first climbing trip of the summer. Exciting times!

Mission Hibiscus

Mission Hibiscus, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Autumn may officially be here, but the hibiscus plants in central California don't know that. These hibiscus flowers were outside of the old mission in San Luis Obispo. Over by the veterans hall there are hibiscus bushes about 10 feet wide and at least five feet tall...giant.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

A few years ago, this picture of my granddaughter and her dog was snapped along with a bunch of her playing soccer. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. I thought it was cute, but then again I think everything she does is cute.



Today I was going through those pictures and I saw it through different eyes. I got it. It wasn't just cute. Now that I'm a dog owner as in this dog is "our dog" owner...I know what this is. It's pure love.

If you were to follow us around with a camera right now, you'd probably catch a few shots of us doing the same thing to Ava. She's growing rather fond of us by now too.



Living the life in Florida.

Arches National Park :: Sharing a Site

After completing the Devil's Garden Trail and eating lunch, I headed back over to the campground. There was a site available and because there was space for two vehicles, I agreed to share the site with the older gentleman who had arrived that morning at the same time that I had. He seemed like a nice guy. It's not uncommon to share sites with people you don't know. I've done it several times before. However, there have been a few times that I have declined to share my site, usually because I just don't feel “comfortable” with that particular person.

Anyway, about half an hour later, the gentleman arrived at our site. His name was Hunter. He was 82 years old, from California, traveling by himself, hiking and getting around like he was 30 years younger! An amazing man. And very nice. He set up his tent over a ridge toward the rear of the site so he would have a good view of the sunrise the next morning. We sat at the picnic table and talked. We sat in silence and read our respective books. We talked when we had something to share. It was rather nice.

There was a trail off the south side of the campground and about 5:30 I decided to see where it went.

The La Sal Mountains in the distance.

They called this one Broken Arch because there is a crack running down the middle, just to the left and above where the man is standing.

This huge rock formation reminded me of the statues of lions guarding the gates, but these seem to have lost their heads! The trail was fun. Easy in some places and not quite so easy in others, with a bit of scrambling over rocks and squeezing through several tight spots.

These arches were on a short offshoot from the main trail. This was as close as I got, that trail went no further. It would have been interesting, I think, to walk through and in them.

It is difficult to imagine the scale and size of these formations even when there are people included in the pictures. They are huge and the variety of shapes and sizes and colors are amazing and fascinating. It is a weird and wonderful place.