Bikes, Trains, Sailboats

After months of deliberation and procrastination, we've finally done it: Traveled by train with our bikes. For a while now we have wanted to cycle around Cape Ann, which is a beautiful area about 40 miles North of Boston - accessible by the MBTA Commuter Rail via the Rockport line. A number of people we know have taken this trip with their bikes, so it seemed doable. Also, I was delighted to spot the following notice on the MBTA website: "Commuter Rail re-introduces The Bike Coach on the Rockport line for the summer season." Bike coach! No other information was provided, so I did some research. Turns out they have commuter trains with special cars dedicated entirely to bikes - with bike racks as far as the eye can see, like this.But I could not find any information regarding its schedule, and it seemed that only some weekend trains were Bike Coach trains. A call to the MBTA was fruitless, so we decided to just show up and hope for the best.

The commuter train to Cape Ann leaves from North Station, a 3.25 mile bike ride from our house through some of the busiest parts of Boston.I don't like cycling through the city on a roadbike, but on a Saturday morning the traffic wasn't bad. We arrived early, which was good as there was a line at the ticket machines. There were plenty of other people with bicycles. When our train arrived, the conductor came out and announced that all those with bikes must proceed to the first car of the train. Only those with bikes were allowed in that car. Only those without bikes were allowed in the other cars. The segregation gave us hope that this was the fabled Bike Coach, and we happily headed for the front car along with the procession of other cyclists.

What happened next was rather stunning. The car we were ushered into had no accommodations for bikes what so ever - just a small corner of space at one end where a couple of handicapped seats had been removed. This was definitely not the Bike Coach. Nonetheless, everybody proceeded to drag their bikes on the train - more and more of them, until not only this corner, but the entire aisle was filled with bikes. When even that space ran out, new passengers began to pile their bikes on top of other bikes. Loud clunking noises filled the train as tubes smashed against derailleurs.

Not wanting our bikes damaged in the velo moshpit that ensued, we found a seat near the exit and sort of held our bikes on our laps the entire time. As you might imagine, it was uncomfortable to sit that way for an hour. But the alternative was to accept that a dozen 50lb mountain bikes would be thrown on top of our bicycles - which was not a viable option. So we tried to have a sense of humour about the whole thing and looked forward to reaching our destination while seriously discussing the possibility of Bromptons in the future.

But no sooner had we reached Rockport than the train trauma was forgotten, as we were greeted with perfect weather and glorious coastal views.

The Cape Ann peninsula consists of Rockport, Annisquam Village and Gloucester - each of them with beautiful scenery. Severed from the mainland by the windingAnnisquam River, water views are everywhere.This was our first time in the area and we decided to do an exploratory loop along the coastline instead of a long-distance trip. The Cape Ann loop is about 20 miles, with mild but constant rolling hills, alternating between open water views and tree lined country roads. Especially considering the 4th of July weekend, the area was not crowded. Drivers were courteous everywhere except for the traffic circle in Gloucester, but even that was not too bad. Roads were good on the eastern side of the cape, but terrible on the western side. Navigation was intuitive - just follow the coastline!

My Rivendell is in the midst of a small (but exciting) make-over, so I took the loaner Seven on this trip. Overall it was pretty good, though a burlier bike might have been a better choice on the pothole-ridden roads.We also ventured off road a bit, which was "interesting" on 23mm racing tires!

Cape Ann is even quieter and less commercially developed than we expected, a pleasant surprise. Lots of parks, meadows and nature reserves. Not too many parking lots. And "motel sprawl" is virtually non-existant - at least compared to places like Cape Cod, the NH Seacoast, and much of coastal Maine.

Also, there are apparently sailboat races happening in Rockport - wonderful!

All in all, we loved the area andare now considering staying there for longer, instead of venturing further from home on vacation later this summer. After all - just load up our bikes on the commuter rail, it's so easy!Of course we'd forgotten about our train experience earlier that day. Or at least, we thought, there would surely not be as many bikes on the return trip. Or maybe we would finally get the mythical Bike Coach?

Nope, no such luck. On the return trip, passengers were once again segregated into those with bikes and those without, and this time the "bike car" had a car rack attached in the handicapped seating area. It accommodated 4-5 bikes, tightly squeezed, and was filled as soon as the train began to board.

Minutes later, that pathetic little bike rack was surrounded by dozens of other bikes, stacked and thrown against one another haphazardly.

Exits were blocked, aisles were blocked - no one seemed to care. When passengers with bikes needed to get on or off, they would simply throw the other bikes out of the way and the whole thing was like one huge pile of scrap metal.So we held our bikes on our laps again - hugging them ever closer to our bodies as other passengers kept trying to pile their bikes on top of ours (yes, even while we were holding our bikes on our laps!). It was a madhouse and probably violated all sorts of safety regulations. The MBTA clearly needs to have these alleged Bike Coach cars run with more frequency and on a predictable schedule. As we now understand it, the schedule is random and there is no way to time your trip to ensure that you will get a Bike Coach. Sounds improbable, but that's how it is!

Late in the evening, we rode home from the station along mostly empty city streets, recuperating from the train but also satiated from a day of exploring such a beautiful new place by bicycle. We only cycled 30 miles over all, and the point of the trip was mainly to hang out and get to know the area. Next time we will plan for a longer route.The North Shore is a great starting point for long distance touring: While there is no pleasant bicycle route North out of Boston, from Cape Ann we could just continue to cycle along the coast to Maine. Definitely something to consider, despite the less than ideal commuter rail experience.

What is it like to travel on a train with a bike where you live, and do you do it often?

Nomic, Quark and Ergo low profile Hammers?

"Colin Haley photo of Bjørn-Eivind Årtun on their new route, Dracula, Mt Foraker, June ."



Finally!



At Bjørn-Eivind Årtun's suggestion afterhissuccessful '10 Alaskan season, we have redesigned the C-T Nomic hammer to make it even lighter with a 4mm hammer face instead of the previous 7mm face. The new hammer will also fit the newest Petzl Nomic, Quark or Ero tool heads and the newest picks cut for a hammer or adze. The hammer face is thinner to shave some weight andbalance betterbut the hammer still gives complete coverage to the back of the Nomic.



We areFINALLY shipping them AGAIN!



























This hamemr will fit the previous and current production Nomic, the new Quark and the new Ergo.

With the 7mm hammer Ipreferred aone hammer set up. The newest 4mm hammers have changed that. The balance is betterwith the 4mm hammers.A technical tool like the Nomic will never be ideal for pounding pins (that won't change) because of their large clearance of the handle shape, but our smaller profile hammers certainly make it a lot easier and save the head of the tools from damage. They are easy to attach with perfect fit and finish.



The C-T makes the newstQuark an even better (sweet!) tool for all technical climbing.



For long committing alpine climbs they are a minimalistic option that works. On the scrappy mixed route where you need to pound the occasional pin or your own tool, they work.



Our current 4mm hammers *easily* fit the newest picks from Petzl. They are CNC machined from bar stock chromoly steel and then heat treated to hammer hardness and hand finished in our shop.



Not all Petzl heads are created equally. I have found a few that require very minor hand fitting the pick and hammer with a file. It won't take much and is easy to do. If you can sharpen a pick any fitting required will be easy. The new Petzl picks require cutting the back off the hammer interface from .15" to .04" on the bolt hole. Again easily done with a hand file. Just cut enough material to line up the bolt hole on hammer and pick. You want to be just shy of the bolt hole when done. Way easier than it looks or sounds.









Hammers are$60 ea. These willfit the current production picks and is now even lighter with a 4mm hammer face...@30g per hammer and much easier to fit than the Petzl offering



Buy them now while I have them in stock and ready to ship. We do fourproduction runs a year and generally sell every run out before the next.



More here:



http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com//08/ice-climbing-gear.html

Bicycles, Time and Leisure

I was outside the post office, unstrapping a bundle of packages from my bike's rear rack, when a woman walking past with a toddler looked at the bicycle and smiled.



Her: That's a beautiful bicycle!



Me: Thank you.



Her: (Whistfully) It's nice that you have time to ride a bike. Wish I did.



Me: Oh, but I ride a bike to get places, so it actually saves me time.



Her: Yeah, but you know. When you're married and have a kid, you have no time for anything and need a car.



Me: Well, depending on where you live, it can be faster to get places by bike.



Her: Maybe if you're a student, but those days are past me! Love your bike though, take care...



Okay, so I've basically been told - albeit in the friendliest way - that I was either a bum or a woman of leisure if I had the time to travel by bike. It is a sentiment I've heard before.Looking at things objectively, I think that it is difficult for those raised in the US to overcome the association between the bicycle and leisure. It follows then, that if you ride a bike, you must have a lot of spare time. For people who like to project an image of being busy and hardworking, riding a bicycle can compromise that image. That's one aspect of it, I think.



Another aspect, is that of course it can take longer to do things by bike - for instance in the suburbs or in the countryside, where distances are vast and car parking is plentiful. I acknowledge this as a genuine obstacle to transportation cycling. But it is illogical to apply it to contexts where the opposite is true and where the bicycle can indeed function as a time saver - with or without children.



One thing I found particularly curious, is that the woman did not cite being worried about cycling with a child, whereas I didn't have that issue (which would also have been an assumption, but never mind). Instead, she just kept bringing up time and the difference she perceived in our lifestyles.



Our society has a complicated relationship with time and leisure. Both are viewed as commodities; we seek them out and are envious when others have more than we do. At the same time, we willingly give them up and waste them - be it by watching hours of uninteresting television just because it's on, or by organising our lives around stressfully long commutes for a small difference in salary. I am not critical of the way others live their lives and I make no assumptions about their values and priorities. Three years ago, I did not seriously believe that riding a bike to places could save time compared to driving there, but after trying it both ways I now believe it. I wonder to what extent the bicycle-leisure association is an obstacle for those who would otherwise benefit from transportation cycling.

Front Loads: What's Your Take?

We were photographing an ANT bicycle in our studio last weekend, and afterward I took it out for a quick spin. This ANT was a cro-moly Lady Roadster with an enormous front rack and basket. Looking at the bike, I was anticipating how it was going to feel riding with that set-up, and based on my experiences with similarly equipped city bikes I did not think I'd enjoy it. Typically, when a bike has a large, front-mounted basket or crate, I find the front end to be somewhat unwieldy even when the basket is empty; I have a harder time than usual keeping the front wheel stable at slow speeds, and even when walking the bike, the front end sort of tends to wander.





However, the ANT bike did not have this problem, and I pretty much forgot about the basket as soon as I got on. This is similar to how I feel about the large rack-mounted handlebar bag on my Rivendell, but again these are the exceptions rather than the norm. Normally I dislike front loads. So what is special about the ANT and the Rivendell compared to other bicycles I've tried with similar set-ups? Some say that low trail geometry works well for front loads, but neither of these bikes is low trail.





Others say that it has to do with how the weight is supported.The ANT front rack is secured to the fork at the front axle and at the fork crown, which certainly makes it stable. However, I have tried other bikes with racks secured both to the fork and to the frame itself, and some of those have felt awkward. Stable in the sense that they don't sway, sure - but still awkward as far as the handling of the bicycle goes. It almost seems random - a hit or miss sort of thing, wherebyANT and Rivendell just happen to have stumbled on a geometry that works with front loads.





Oh, I give up! The more I learn about bicycle geometry, the more I realise that I don't really know anything. But having tried this ANT,I am considering experimenting with a front load on one of my transportation bicycles again. What has been your experience - have you noticed any patterns as far as which front load set-ups work and which do not?

A Night at Spanish Springs

We have enjoyed our first week here in The Villages. Nathan has been able to play lots of pickleball and I've been having fun playing bunco and Mexican Train with Donna. Last night, we finally got to meet up with both Rich and Donna at one of the Town Centers here. There are three Town Squares here and each one has its own theme.



We had a great dinner at Ay! Jalisco. Then we walked around Spanish Springs, where the night's live music and dancing was going on.



One of the unique things about The Villages is the golf carts here. Golf carts are one of the main modes of transportation here, so it is common to see this outside of businesses.



It is so nicely decorated and laid out, that is is pleasant just to walk around and take it in.





After our time here, we headed over for dessert at Ollie's. It was wonderful and I think we will have to visit both places again while we are here!





YUM is exactly right! It was a great first week here! Looking forward to many more.

Song, Dance and Bicycle Romance: The Interbike Fashion Show

bicycles: Linus, outfits: Chrome, models: unknown

Now in its 4th year, the Interbike City Style Fashion Show, presented by Momentum Magazine, was a production in true Las Vegas style. The models - all real bicyclists with healthy body mass indices and mischievous grins - didn't just cycle down the runway. They pranced, twirled, froze in fetching tableaux, and performed choreographed little dance numbers worthy of a small scale musical - against an ever-changing backdrop representing North American cities.

model: Susi Wunsch of VeloJoy, dress: Nona Varnado, bicycle: unknown

Each model would begin with the standard runway walk, then, seemingly spontaneously strike an outrageous pose or break out into a full on dance routine. Could this have been inspired by Glee?

bicycle: Sun Atlas, outfit and model: unknown

Whatever the inspiration, it was a great display of showmanship, keeping the audience entertained and energized.

bicycle: Bella Ciao Superba; panniers: Basil, outfit and model: unknown

After doing their thing on the stage, the models would ride down a ramp and proceed along a cycle path marked with sharrow decals that wound through the spectators' area, adding an interactive element to the show and creating multiple focal points.



The DJ did an excellent job keeping the energy levels high, and even while taking photos I found myself moving and snapping to the beat.

bicycle: Christiania cargo trike; model and outfit: unknown

It was all great theater, though on a critical note I am not sure how well it worked as a fashion show per se.

bicycle: Gazelle Basic, model and outfit: unknown

I found it surprising that the designers were not named and the pieces worn by the models were not vividly described. If the point of the fashion show was to exhibit new lines of cycling-specific apparel and introduce the audience to new designers, I did not really feel that happening. It's possible there was a brochure I missed where this information was provided [edited to add: yup, there was - someone's just emailed me a copy and I've posted it here], but even then I feel that it should have been a prominently vocalised part of the show itself.

bicycle: Biomega, dress: Sheila Moon, model: unknown

This neo-Edwardian dress - which is difficult to photograph but looks stunning in person - was my favourite piece, but unfortunately I did not know who made it or anything else about it at the time of the show. I've since been told it's by Sheila Moon, but I do not see it on her website - link to the dress anyone? I have a dozen photos of it, but as luck would have it most of them came out blurry!

bicycle: Handsome Cycles, trench: Madame de Pe

Another piece that stood out was this cape-like trenchcoat, with its unusual tailoring. I imagine the tent-like shape is to keep the knees dry in the rain.

model: Will of BoxCycles, bicycle: Styriette Pedelec, outfit: unknown

In general, I would have loved to learn more about the clothing, and to know what exactly makes each outfit conducive to cycling - especially since some of the designers must have worked hard on that aspect.

bicycle: Yuba, outfits and models: unknown

All in all, I think the show was more about fostering a positive, even romantic image of the bicycling lifestyle than about displaying specific pieces of apparel - which I don't have a problem with in the least, but which I don't believe is technically a fashion show. Then again, who wants to be technical about it if the audience is having a good time.

bicycle: Electra, outfit and model: unknown

One concept that the show brought across quite successfully, I thought, was the possibility for variety. Some pieces did seem to be bicycle-specific designs, while others appeared to be just regular clothing. Some models were wearing helmets and others were not.



It seems that many manufacturers are trying their hand at cycling-specific street apparel nowadays: everything from jeans and dressy trousers to button down shirts and blazers. And while some believe that to ride for transportation one need only look in their closet, others welcome these bicycle-specific inventions. The Interbike Fashion Show seemed to embrace both views - encouraging cyclists to wear whatever makes them comfortable and to have fun with it.

Mountain Dandies

A lot of the mountain meadows were covered with dandelion flowers. Carpets of bright yellow. I don't think these dandies are native to the mountain but sure are pretty when blooming. The wild goose berries were blooming, too. Tiny little orange blossoms that will make a berry favored by birds, and other wildlife. We saw a bird nest in one blue spruce near a small creek. The open seed cones of pinon pine trees, New Mexico's pine tree, and aspen trees that had their back rubbed by the deer and elk last fall when they were rubbing the velvet off of their antlers. The deer and elk damage the aspens when they do this leaving unique designs in the white bark that are black. Some people carve on the aspens but shouldn't do it and I hate to see it.