Blue Ice Warthogs are back in stock...

Photo courtesy of Dave Searle collection



I have a good numberof the Warthog packs back in stock. Pre-orders wereshipped today.If interested you can order onehere:

http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com//04/blue-ice-gear.html

Death Valley :: Mesquite Sand Dunes

Located in central Death Valley near Stovepipe Wells, the Mesquite Sand Dunes are surrounded on all sides by mountains, they are essentially captive within a 14 square mile valley. The highest dune rises to a height of about 100 feet. The wind and shifting sands alters the scene daily. These photographs were taken over several days at different times of the day.


For perspective, there are people walking on the dune on the right side of this photo.

Florida Critters and One of My Children Are Really Great!

One thing that is neat about traveling cross country is you get to experience the locals as in the people, and you get to experience the locals as in the animals that live there too.



I know I might be biased but I still think some of the Florida critters are the coolest of all. Really, it's just not everywhere that you can go outside and see this:



When I first moved to Florida, I would be so disturbed by these interesting critters. We had one that liked to hang out in a tree behind our house. And then he'd fall to the ground randomly. With a very loud THUD! Too much drinking is the conclusion I came to. In time I went from that is one freaky dude to that is one freaky but cool dude and made peace with the fact he might fall on me and give me a heart attack. I mean, we did invade their space after all.



The main reason I wanted to talk about these divine creatures though is that yesterday I took a lazy day which is like a sick day but I do it on my day off instead of a work day. A lazy day for me means one of two things. I spend the whole day editing pictures or I spend the whole day doing digital scrapbooking. Ok, make that three things because yesterday I did both.



I spent so long editing pictures, I had time to go back and look at old pictures to edit. Really old. As in, 2004 pictures. These gems were in a folder labeled "Kids Pics" which means one of my children took these beauties. Somehow in the course of attending to five children's needs daily, I neglected to realize at least one of them has some skills in this area. So I am sharing these pictures, but have no idea which one of them I am bragging on.



To those of you that have less than five kids that are horrified by my admission, that's ok. I am used to horrifying parents of one or two or even three children on a regular basis. It's my paybacks for telling my Mother who had seven that I'd never have a lot of kids like she did!



Back to the pictures and figuring out who did in fact take these shots. (Because this is what Moms of five do when four have left home and they have a few minutes to ponder such things!) These were taken at Miami Seaquarium which means it would not have been Ashleigh or Ambir because they were teens then and far too cool to do family fun days. Auburn might have taken them because she is our animal lover. Aric and Austin might have taken them because they are guys and these are about as cool as things go when it comes to guys. That is as good as my guessing gets.



So if any of you three remember taking these pictures, please let Mom know so I can properly give you credit!



In the meantime, I am going to be glad that these particular Florida critters have never made it inside where we live. I do have some boundaries left still.

Provincetown Cycle Yum

I have received a couple of messages asking to recommend "cyclist-friendly" places to eat in Provincetown. This is a tricky one - First, because everyone's taste in this sort of thing is different. And second, because there is really no divide in Provincetown between regular places and "cyclist-friendly": Most restaurants and cafes have racks either right out front, or else the nearest one is half a block down the street. Having said this, here are some of our favourite places:

Spiritus: This magnificent establishment serves pizza, coffee and ice-cream, offers free wireless internet, has cozy indoor seating and an outside garden, and is open until 2:00am year round. Their pizza is some of the best I have ever had, especially the Greek (spinach, olives and fetta on an ultra-thin wheat crust). Heavenly and a great all-around hangout.

The Squealing Pig: Best raw oysters we have had on the Cape so far, and in a non-touristy atmosphere at that. In addition: a fine selection of unusual beers and local wines on tap, and very fresh, delicious food including fishburgers, and french fries that are "hand cut daily". There are always lots of locals eating at this place, and we like the atmosphere better than the seafood places that cater to tourists, such as The Lobster Pot or Betsey's. If you are looking for a higher-end dining experience though, try the delicate and creative menu at The Mews.

The Purple Feather: Very yummy gelato and the best hot chocolate ever, made to order to your specifications. You will recognise this place by the stuffed bear standing at the door, wearing a blond wig and purple lingerie. This is the best place if you want to get an ice cream or hot chocolate to walk around the streets with. For the best indoor atmosphere though, I prefer the dim coziness of the Art House Cafe.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Provincetown is the most bicycle-friendly town I have experienced in the U.S. The infrastructure accommodates cyclists and plenty of bicycle parking is available if you want to stop and eat in town.

Wild green apples and cultured red apples

While at Marienwaerdt I wanted to show MadamE the place. I was planning on taking a walk to the klooster (monastery) and the river banks however we did not have enough time on our hands. So instead we went by car.

We actually drove outside of the property. We drove on a narrow winding dike that protects the property from the rising rivers. The dike road was lined up with wild green apples. Being city girls, we were so amazed at the rows and rows of green apple bearing trees.

Further ahead as we reached the nearby village we saw fences of cultured red apples clinging to a stake. Apples seems to be a popular fruit in Geldermalsen area.

Next time when we or I have time I will go to a fruit farm and help pluck the fruits.

Visit Period: September

Dynamo Lighting Kit for Roadbikes

While I am generally a huge fan of dynamo lighting, I do not have it installed on what is currently my only roadbike. My plans for the bike did not involve significant amounts of night-time cycling; it was not meant to be a touring or randonneuring bike. For occasional riding in the dark I do have an excellent rechargeable battery headlight that lasts for hours and attaches easily to the handlebars. And I have an equally good tail light that attaches to the back of my saddle wedge tool bag. To install a dynamo hub wheel and lights on this bike would have added unnecessary weight and expense to the build.




I felt pretty good about my bike's lighting setup until I found myself wanting to join an overnight ride. Initially I thought that my super duper rechargeable battery headlight would last through the night. But when I did the math it became clear that it would not; I would need to add a second headlight and to bring several sets of spare batteries. Even at the height of summer an overnight ride in New England means 8+ hours of riding in the dark - and not the kind of milky suburban dark where you can leave the light on a low setting to conserve battery life; proper boonies dark that requires a powerful headbeam. I talked to the others doing the ride, and they all had dynamo lights. Now I felt foolish for not having a bike with appropriate lighting. But at the same time, how often would I do rides like this?






I was discussing this with local cyclist Pamela Blalock and she offered to lend me her mobile dynamo setup: a spare front wheel with a dynamo hub, and lights that are easy to attach and remove. With this kit, she can turn any 700C wheeled roadbike into an overnight bike. Extremely grateful to Pamela for the offer, frankly I was also skeptical that it would work out. To me, dynamo lighting was something that gets permanently installed - not attached and removed on a case by case basis! Furthermore, my bike has no fenders, no racks, no braze-ons. Could the lights be attached securely? I was worried that the installation process would be tricky, and that in the end something would end up falling off, disconnecting, or malfunctioning.




To my amazement, the installation process took mere minutes. The front wheel switch was seamless and soon my bike was sporting a dynamo hub. Then the headlight was attached to the brake bolt, as shown in the first picture. A thin cable runs straight down from the headlight to the hub, easily secured to the fork with a piece of tape.






For the tail light, a P-clamp was installed on the left chainstay. The wiring got routed along the chainstay and the top tube, secured with zip ties to the brake cable. The result was not beautiful, but neither was it flimsy. It was secure and problem-free. The positioning of the headlight and tail light beams were spot on.




Later I learned that other local cyclists employ a similar system for when they ride in the dark - a dynamo hub wheel and lights that get moved from bike to bike as needed. I would not have thought this to be a good idea until I tried it myself and experienced how easy and hassle-free it was. On a dedicated randonneuring or touring bike, it makes sense to have dynamo lighting permanently installed in a more elegant manner. But for those who want the option of using their pared-down roadbike for occasional night time riding, a kit like this can be a good solution. Pamela's setup includes a 32 spoke Velocity Aerohead wheel built around a Schmidt SON hub, a Lumotec Cyo IQ headlight and a Spanniga Pixeo tail light - though many alternatives exist.




At least here in New England, there seems to be an increasing amount of cross-over between road racing, randonneuring, endurance events, and casual long distance rides. And this cross-over is influencing how roadbikes are defined and equipped.I am still unsure what kind of cycling I will ultimately gravitate toward. But if more night time rides are in my future, a versatile dynamo setup like this is certainly worth considering.

Pickleball and Line Dancing

It is very rare for us to not do quite a bit of sight seeing, but this past few weeks it has been so cold we have not even wanted to do that. I am beginning to get a bit stir crazy from it but there has been a nice upside. It has given me more time to spend getting to know our fellow pickle ball players. I have really enjoyed that!



After pickleball, I came back to the RV just long enough to take a shower and start some laundry. Then it was back to Torrey Oaks for line dancing. This was my first try at line dancing and I had a blast. It was much more fun than I even expected it to be. It was really nice to have time with other women. I have really missed having another female around since Auburn has moved out, so it is nice for me when I can hang out with other women. Donna, Sherry, Tracy and her daughter and I went. Faye and Sally were already there since they are at Torrey Oakes and there were other Torey Oakes members there.



Thank you, Donna, for sending me your pictures! I did not take any at either event, so I'd have been pictureless without you.





Living the life in way too cold Florida!

What We've Been Up To

With hundreds of weekly activities available here at The Villages, the hardest part of being here is picking and choosing just what to do each week. Last year while visiting, Donna introduced me to Bunco. We have continued playing that together this year. We have played at Mulberry, Seabreeze and Bacall and Donna has played at Churchill.



We are tackling line dancing, which comes very easily to Donna due to her professional dance background. Even though I am limping along compared to her, I am really loving it. Donna snapped this picture the other morning as we were heading out. We started at 8 am that morning and danced until almost 11 am.



I have finally moved from the bench to the court with pickleball and my muscles are feeling the effects of that. It is so dreadful hot and the level of play is so much higher here, so between the two-it is exhausting to play each day. It is great fun though and I hope that it will improve my game quite a bit. I can see a huge difference in Nathan's game and his weight already so hoping the same happens with me.



We have enjoyed playing Mexican Train several times, which allows us some "down time" from time to time and is a nice filler in between other activities. And all of that is just the daytime fun. At night it is more Bunco, Pickleball and of course-going out to eat. I am sharing two more of Donna's pictures from some of our eating out trips together.







We are really loving our time here so much! It was a good decision to spend the summer here!

A Magical Night

Above image: "Aurora Borealis, Grand Portage Village"

This is my first northern lights image made with the Canon 5D Mark II. I've been sooooo anxious to see northern lights ever since getting the 5D II in March of last year. I had heard that there was going to be a heightened chance of seeing northern lights over Friday and Saturday night this past weekend, so I made it a point to stay up late and check the sky about every 15 minutes. I was about to give up on Friday night when I checked the sky one last time at 2:00 a.m. and lo and behold, there was the aurora! I had my camera gear ready, so I grabbed it and went down to the beach in front of my house. I hopped in my boat and headed out to Grand Portage Island, which is straight out in front of my house.

The shoreline I live on faces to the south, so shooting from shore doesn't give the best perspective for photographing the aurora. From the island, I'm able to shoot due North and thus have a much better view of the lights. Its a good thing I was prepared and ready to go, as once I arrived on the island I was only able to make about a half dozen images of the northern lights before a large cloud bank moved in. For the brief moments that the event lasted, it certainly was an amazing sight to see. Complementing the lights was some of the calmest water that I've ever seen on Lake Superior. Also contributing to the WOW factor of the night was the light of the full moon coming from behind me as I made this image. I used my Canon 17-40mm lens with an exposure time of 25 seconds, aperture f4, ISO 400.



Above image: "May moon over Pete's Island"

After I had photographed the aurora looking to the north above the village of Grand Portage, I turned around and saw this incredible moonscape laid out before me looking to the south. This image was an unexpected treat of the evening as I had only been expecting to capture the northern lights, not a nice moonscape as well! This image was made with a Canon EF 17-40 lens, aperture f4, ISO 800. Exposure length was 20 seconds. White balance was set to fluorescent to bring out the blue in the sky. And yes, those are stars in the sky :-)

Purple Leaf Plum Tree

This is called a purple leaf plum. It is an ornimental tree with no fruit. I don't have any like this. I found some beauties downtown so stopped to take some photos.

On Winter Skies and the Solace of Open Spaces

In a high school English class, we were once made to read an essay, called "The Solace of Open Spaces" by Gretel Ehrlich. I remember the piece only vaguely and don't want to spoil my memory's version of it by re-reading it today. It was about the great plains of Wyoming - or rather, about the author's reaction to their overwhelming vastness. I have never been to that part of the US and have not seen the landscape she describes. But I recall vividly the flash of self-recognition I experienced when reading her words. Thesolaceof open spaces. Yes, that is how I feel.



Even as a child, I had the habit of wandering, of exploring - in a way that was driven not so much by curiosity or desire to conquer, but by what I can only describe as an emotional response to the act of moving through natural space. As a teenager I spent hours after school walking around the lakes near our house. And when I lived in England as a university student, there were these meadows that began just outside town and went on forever. I would walk through them, then turn around after an hour and lose myself in the views that surrounded me: The meadows stretched endlessly in all directions and the sky was close enough to touch. Just as the author of "The Solace of Open Spaces" describes, the vastness in itself felt sheltering - the outlines of the horizon creating the illusion of a domed structure.



In Boston, as in most cities, there is not much opportunity to experience vastness. I can cycle to the Harborto get my fix, but somehow that only reminds me of how far removed I normally am from such a landscape; it is not part of my everyday existence.



And then yesterday, I was crossing a bridge over the Charles River and looked up at the sky. The sky was everywhere. And it was a winter sky - such a surreal, piercing shade of blue can only manifest itself this time of year. The black branches of the bare trees almost looked like bits of lace trim against the satin-white ribbon of the icy river, and the expanse of the sky itself seemed otherworldly. I felt light-headed and comforted at the same time, and the speed of the bicycle, with the icy wind against my face, accentuated the experience. While I know that this is just my way of dramaticising daily existence, I am nonetheless thankful for it. Life in general happens mostly in our minds, and now my mind is filled with winter sky, the sensation of speed, and the solace of open spaces.

Unfinished Business at Chiricahua

Just in case you might not have noticed, I was fascinated with Chiricahua National Monument and its myriad stone formations. Having spent four days there in mid-March and going away without having attempted the longer trails, I “had” to return to complete them. Besides, it really is a nice place, one of my favorites thus far.

Except for that first day, the weather for the remainder of my second stay at Chiricahua couldn't have been better. Daytime temperatures were in the mid-70s and at night it didn't fall below 40. I had blue skies and sunshine for the next five days (April 24th through the 28th).

The Natural Bridge Trail, is 2.4 miles long. You return on the same trail you went out on, thus the round-trip is 4.8 miles. It takes you up through a canyon, down the other side, and around to another canyon. It is an up-and-down trail, relatively easy walking, with sand and rocks, but some level stretches also.

When you get into the other canyon you are taken through a forest of pine trees and then up a short distance on the canyon walls. The destination, the Natural Bridge, is somewhat underwhelming. It is quite a ways away across the canyon. Still, it is quite a nice hike. You get some good views of the desert floor below and other mountains in the distance as well as of many weird stone formations and the occasional desert flower.

These fellas greeted me as I walked to the trailhead of the Natural Bridge Trail. They really weren't all that friendly though, they didn't say a word as I walked by, just glared silently!

The desert and another range of mountains off in the distance. The trail went through the forest of trees to the left after descending into a second canyon.

Can you see the Natural Bridge? It's there in the middle, right below those clouds. Really.

Okay, here's a close-up view... it is still underwhelming.

Beautiful Cactus Flowers. The only ones I saw on the trail (or anywhere else in the park for that matter).

SPD Pedals and Platform Support

When it comes to SPD-style clipless pedals, there is some discussion about the benefits of models with integrated platforms versus without. For example, here is an email I received from a reader last week:

...I see in your photos that you use both the Crank Brothers Eggbeaters and Candy pedals. Which do you recommend for a beginner? My boyfriend likes Shimano A-520 pedals because of the extra platform support. His thought is that the Candys provide the same level of support, but not the Eggbeaters. Do you agree?

To answer this question, let me backtrack a bit. The Eggbeater and Candy pedals fromCrank Brothersare identical, except that the Candys (right) have a flat platform built around the bindings and the Eggbeaters (left) do not. When choosing pedals, I heard several arguments in favour of the Candys, including that the platform offers extra foot support, that as a beginner I would have an easier time clipping into a larger pedal, and that the platforms would allow me to ride in regular shoes.



I have now ridden with Candys on my own roadbike for the past 9 months. Over that time I have also borrowed friends' bikes with Eggbeaters (including a 100K ride).In the very beginning, the Candys were indeed easier for meto clip into. However, this advantage was short-lived andjust weeks later I already had no problem using Eggbeaters and could not distinguish between them. I can also confirm that the Candys are much easier to ride in street shoes, on the rare occasions I find myself doing this on a roadbike. But as far as foot support, I feel absolutely no difference between the two models. I thought that I would, but I don't.



The Eggbeaters have their own advantages. The lack of platforms makes them considerably lighter. They offer more points of entry. And they are easier to clean. Overall, I think that I prefer them, although really I am fine with either.



While not the same as the Crankbrothers system, you could draw parallels to this comparison with Shimano SPDs. There are pedals that consist of bindings alone, and those that incorporate a platform. Some claim the platform provides additional foot support and allows for more power to be transferred, making it similar to a road pedal. Others argue that this is not the case, as the platform sits too far below the binding to provide significant support. I have no comment on the mechanics of this at large, but can only say that with my style of riding, and my specific pedal and shoe combination, I cannot feel the difference. As a beginner, I would suggesttrying lots of pedals and figuring out what feels better to you.

One Way to Lower Your Bike's Gearing

overheard in a bike shop



Customer, returning from a test ride: "I love the bike! But it feels like there are not enough low gears? What is the best way to get easier gears?"



Salesperson: "Oh, well you need to ride the bike for several weeks for the gears to wear in. They should feel lower after that than they do now. If not, you can bring the bike back and we'll get you lower gears. But they usually wear in."



I almost laughed out loud, but I have to say I agree. The gearing on all of my bikes feels lower now than it did when I first got them. The gears have worn in so nicely! If you opt for this method though, be mindful that if you neglect the bike and stop riding it for a while, the gears will stiffen up and feel higher again the next time you get in the saddle. The fun facts of bike ownership.

Buying a Vintage Mixte: What to Look For

I know that several of my readers are hunting for vintage mixtes at the moment - intending to use them as sportier alternatives to their main transport bikes. Early summer is a good time to buy a vintage mixte, as many are on the market. But before getting swept up in the romance of those twin lateral stays and buying the first attractive mixte you see, it could be helpful to know what to look for - lest you end up with a bicycle that is un-ridable at your skill level, or with a bicycle where you will have to replace so many parts that the purchase will not be worth it.



Let's start with geometry, and I will try not to make this too technical. It is tempting to look at a mixte and think of it as a cute, comfy "girly bike." But most mixtes from the 1970s and 1980s that you will find on the vintage market were designed as roadbikes. This means that they are not that comfy, and not that easy to ride. And this has nothing to do with whether the bike has drop bars vs swept-back handlebars, but rather with the bicycle's inherent geometry. Without measuring distances and angles, here are some ways to test whether a mixte was designed as a roadbike:



1. Steep Angles? Set the bicycle's saddle height to a level where your leg is extended fully or nearly fully on the downstroke. Are you at all able to touch the ground with one tip of a toe at this saddle height? If yes, or almost, then the bicycle was likely designed with comfortable angles. If not even close, then it was designed with steeper angles. While you can change the angle of the seat tube by moving the saddle backwards, a steep seat tube angle usually means that the bicycle is aggressive in other ways as well, which is what makes it an easy indicator of comfort. Steep angles tend to make a bicycleless comfortable - so take this into consideration.



2. Toe Overlap? Get on the bicycle and start slowly riding it. Now, turn the handlebars dramatically, either to the left or to the right. Does your toe hit the front wheel at all when you do this? If yes, this is called "toe overlap". Most small-sized road and track bikes have it. For road and track cyclists it is not a problem, as they typically cycle so fast that they do not turn the handlebars. However, a city bike will ideally not have toe overlap - as having your toe hit the front wheel can cause a crash. If you are an inexperienced cyclist and the mixte you are trying has toe overlap, think about whether you are prepared to deal with this before you buy the bike. This aspect of the bike's geometry cannot be altered.



3. Responsiveness/Squirrelliness? Start riding the bicycle again and pick up some speed; then make some gentle turns. Cycle around the block, where you have to turn the corner several times. Do you feel stable and in control when cornering, or do you feel as if the bicycle turns too sharply and faster than you expected? If the bicycle feels overly-responsive ("squirrelly") on turns, it was likely designed as a roadbike. For an experienced roadie, this is a good thing. For someone transitioning from a stable city bike, this can be scary and not fun at all. This aspect of the bike's geometry cannot really be changed either.



Once you find a mixte that seems comfortable, take a look at the bike's components and make some mental calculations about value. The main things to consider are the wheels and handlebars.



Older and lower-end mixte models will typically have wheels with steel rims, unless the previous owner replaced them. You can identify steel rims by their little pockmark-like indentations (click image above to enlarge). These are not good for braking, especially in the rain. On a vintage 3-speed steel rims are not so bad, as you are not cycling very fast anyway. But on a sporty mixte, poor braking power is not a good feature to have. I suggest choosing a mixte with alloy rims, or if there is something special about a steel-rimmed mixte that makes you want that specific bike, factor in the cost of replacing the wheels.



If the mixte you are considering is fitted with drop bars, and you are planning to replace them with swept-back bars, be aware that you will most likely also have to change the stem for reasons of compatibility. Together, a new stem and handlebars can be a costly upgrade. A mixte that already comes with swept-back bars could be a better deal.



There are, of course, also other important things to consider - like the state of the brakes, derailleur system, headset, hubs, etc. - not to mention whether the frame itself is structurally sound. For this, you will either have to bring a friend who is knowledgeable about bicycle repair, or trust the seller. You will also have to spend extra money on adding fenders, a rack and new tires for the bike. But these issues are common to all vintage bike purchases, so I will not go into them here.



What I wanted really was to give a sense of what to expect from a vintage mixte in terms of ride quality, and how to tell whether the basic geometry and set-up of a particular mixte is within your comfort zone. Hope this helps, and happy mixte hunting!