BlackJack

Uphill Momentum?

One distinct aspect of ride quality I've been noticing in different bicycles, is the way they retain (or fail to retain) momentum* when going uphill. I am pretty sure that this is a separate issue from the way a bicycle climbs hills in general, though I haven't found any literature addressing it specifically. But in any case, what I mean is this: Say you're cycling super-fast, either downhill or along a flat stretch, then suddenly in front of you is an uphill stretch and you take it at full speed. Initially the speed you've already attained will propel you, and only once you've spent that momentum will you need to switch into a lower gear or pedal harder. The point at which you lose the momentum depends of course on how much of it there was to begin with, as well as on how long and how steep the hill you are climbing is. But in my experience, it also depends on the bicycle - with some bicycles being better at it than others, aerodynamics and weight notwithstanding.



Take for instance, my formerly owned Pashley versus my current Gazelle -both of which are heavy, upright loop frame bicycles made of hi-ten steel. The Pashley seemed almost indifferent to momentum: It was not much easier on climbs after picking up considerable speed on a descent, than it was after starting from a complete stop. I could be flying downhill at 20mph, but as soon as I'd hit an uphill stretch, the bicycle would just stop dead. The Gazelle, on the other hand, retains momentum surprisingly well - soaring uphill if I manage to pick up sufficient speed.I have sensed this difference to various degrees in a variety of other bikes, and I want to make it clear that I am comparing like to like: roadbikes to roadbikes, upright bikes to upright bikes - so it is not a matter of aerodynamic advantage or weight.



Though I am fairly certain that what I am experiencing in this regard is real, I am not sure what accounts for it.If it's in the geometry, then it must be something fairly subtle - as I am sensing a difference in bicycles that, in principle, ought to handle similarly. Have others noticed what I am describing? What do you make of it?



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* I am using the term "momentum" here loosely and colloquially. From the point of view of physics, if all of my bicycles start riding up a hill at a particular speed, they will reach approximately the same point before they stop, slightly variable due to rolling resistance, weight distribution and aerodynamics. So, I am not using the term as it is used in physics (i.e. conservation of momentum, energy, etc.), but rather as shorthand to describe how each bicycle behaves while being pedaled uphill under my power after having first picked up speed.

Affording Beautiful Bicycles... and Other Things You Love

Many people who are not "into" bikes consider the cost of a new lugged steel bicycle (such as a Pashley, Rivendell, etc.) to be much too high. I sometimes get comments such as "I love your bicycle! How lucky. Wish I could afford that." These comments leave me with mixed feelings. First, because I think the person could afford it, if they really considered it a priority. And second, because statements like those imply that I must be economically privileged compared to them - which is almost always untrue. If you love something that happens to be expensive and really wish to own it, there are ways to afford it. You just need to think creatively and be prepared to restructure your lifestyle. The goal of this post is not to give advice, but to describe my own experience - which I hope might be helpful to some.



For some years now, I have recognised that quality and aesthetics are extremely important to me, and that I enjoy owning, using and collecting certain things very much - to the extent that I am quite willing to sacrifice other things in my life to have them. What was necessary, I realised, was simply to identify those items or activities I would be willing to sacrifice. Perhaps there were all sorts of things I was including in my lifestyle out of habit that did not need to be there. If I could endure going without them, it would free up funds for the things I had always dreamed of. So these are the areas of my life where I save in order to afford the things I truly want:

1. Living arrangements: We live in a very small apartment. It often feels cramped, but the rent is low.

2. Television: We do not have cable and do not even own a television set. Does not bother us one bit.

3. Dining out: For me personally, eating in restaurants is just not all that enjoyable. Also, we hardly have the time!

4. Groceries: I know how to cook things from scratch. I learned early from my mother and I can do it quickly. This skill allows me to avoid buying prepared foods and frozen semi-prepared foods. Consequently, our grocery bills are low.

5. Alcohol: We aren't big drinkers, which further reduces the grocery bills.

6. Entertainment: Our preferred methods of entertainment tend to be either free (walking, cycling, looking at stuff) or to coincide with the things that we are already doing as part of work: going on photo-shoots together, browsing art stores, etc. We prefer these activities to movies and concerts.

7. Jewelry: I am not big on owning lots of jewelry. I am more like my grandmother, who had her one "signature set" of pearls and never wore anything else.

8. Shoes: Same goes for shoes. I know that women are supposed to love shoes, and I do - but for me this does not translate into wanting hundreds of pairs. I prefer to own only a few, in classic styles and of high quality.

9. Clothes:When I was younger, I used to be seriously into fashion and would buy clothes constantly. But sometime in my late 20s, something changed and I now prefer the "several mixable classic pieces" thing. It works, it looks good, it minimises the energy I put into getting dressed, and it just happens to save money.



10. Professional salon services: I like to cut my hair myself. I do go to the salon once every 10 weeks to get my colour brightened, but that is it. Lots of women I know go every 4 weeks for cut and colour, which really adds up. I stopped being interested in professional manicures or waxing services in my mid-twenties. And thankfully, I hate massages, spas and saunas.

11. Gym: No gym. No membership fees.

12. Personal care products: Many of us, especially women, own a huge amount of various face creams, body moisturisers and hair serums. I believe that using too many products is not only costly, but, more importantly, not good for you. A couple of years ago I vowed to minimise, and have.

13. Vehicles: We used to own two cars. Now we only own one and we drive it much less than we used to.



So that is my list of things I do not spend money on. The things I choose to spend money on instead include: an enormous library (really, you might be shocked to see how many books I own!), my beloved collection of fountain pens, my vintage photographic equipment, a top of the line laptop every few years, coffee (I am a hopeless addict), and now also - you guessed it - bicycles.

Everybody's list of truly enjoyable things versus things they can do without is personal, and only you can decide where your priorities lie. If you have your heart set on a lovely, but expensive bicycle, ask yourself this:

What do you want more: dinners out every Friday night over the following several months, or a new Pashley?

What do you prefer as a gift for the winter holidays: jewelry, sweaters and trinkets, or a pooled family gift of a Rivendell frame?

Which is more important to you: clothes and shoe shopping every weekend over the following year, or a custom mixte?

Would you rather go to the movies/spa, or shop for bicycle components?

If you've been reading this weblog, you know what my answers to those questions have been. The point is, that you can choose. How much do you enjoy all the different little things in your life that you are paying for on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis? More than you would enjoy a dreamy bicycle? If not, then stop doing some of those things and use the money saved to buy that "unaffordable" bike. Voila. You are now as "lucky" as I am and can afford it. Congratulations and enjoy your new ride!

Rose

A rose picture I took last year.

Arcteryx Atom LT Hoody....just how good is it?

Jim asked, "You have mentioned that you use the Atom LT. I looked at one in the store and really liked it, but two things stopped me.



What is with the stretch side panels? I haven't seen this on any other parka. Seems like this would cost warmth with little upside.



No hood adjustment at all. WTF? Seems like this would be a huge PITA. Doesn't this make the hood next to useless?"





Yes the Atom LT is one of my main stay pieces for cold weather climbing. And one of my betterinvestmentsin awhile for my own gear. I have and use two of them constantly. The vents are critical for using this jacket/sweater and do allow you to use a super light weight (as in .oz) insulated garment that is a lotwarmer for the weight than anything else I can think of, because it breathes so well. Wild Things and Mtn Hardware have now copied the technology/design fortheir own versions. Hood is actually very good! No issue what so ever and easily fits over a helmet. It is extremely user friendly in fact.



The down sides? The shell materialdoesn't fair well rolling around on hard mixed. Rock climbing, chimney and off width,willshred them pretty easily. Soft shells are the weapon of choice there.

The stretch panels? They aren't very wind resistant. A lwt wind shirt under the Atom Lt will up the warmth in a cold wind. But the Atom is still no belay jacket imo. It is a climbing garment not a belay garment in cold weather. Think sweater, not jacket. The zipper? I had it pointed out to me that the zipper has no lock on it. Intentional by design to make it last longer I was told. I'd been using the Atom Ltfor a year before I realised this fact. Read it actually. Loaned a buddy one of my spare Atom Lts and he hated the zipper. I have never, ever noticed it. So no down side for me at all. But worth knowing.



And the Atom LT can be used as a mid layer easy enough in the rock climbingsituation to beef up the temps a soft shell can be used in with some comfort. The Atom LT's pattern and trim fit help there. It isn't the most intuitive way to layer (with a wind short or soft shell) but it works for certain projects.



Weight comparisons?



Lightly insulated jackets (belay sweaters) and shells:



EB Downlight Hoodie Pullover XL 15.4 oz 455g

EB Frontpoint XL 18.5oz 547g

Arcteryx Atom lt Hoody large 14.4oz 429g

Arcteryx Atom Hoody SV 19.0 oz 562g

Mtn Hardware Compressor Hoody 19.8oz 586g

Arcteryx Gamma MX Hoody XL 24oz 710g

Arcteryx Squamish pullover XL 5.6oz 166g



On that list only theCompressor, Atom SV and EB Down Hoody are warmer. All are a tiny bit heavier and generally too warm to climb in alone as the 2nd layer because.....they don't breath nearly as well as the Atom LT. I will most typicallyadd any of those threeas a thirdlayer when belaying or for climbing (more likely descending) when it is really cold out or the wind comes up.





It is a green Atom Lt in thispicture with the black Compressor Hoodyjacket used as my belay jacket over it. Pretty cold belaying in this picture and then again, I peeled the Compressor and just climbed in the Atom LT and a R1 hoody.







The Atom lt can be a mid layer for warmth. But I use it generally as a outer shell garment for cold weather climbing when I am very active. I no longer use a mid layer Some type of Hoody on the skin, likely a SAG Khushi, NWAlpine Hoody or R1. Then my 2nd layer, generally a Atom LT or a shell garment like the EB Frontpoint or a soft shellArcteryx Gamma MX. The Atom LT(or anything similarin weight like the Nano Puff) is NOT a belay jacket...more a "belay sweater" and not that warm in the grand scheme of things if you are going to use it like that. Which I do if the temps permit it.



More here on what I think is a better layering system.



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//11/winter-layers.html



In the Ice fields late Nov. Good wind blowing while we discuss the avi conditions.



The Joke Slinger in his Atom LT at -20 something when the extra venting under the arms is crucial.





Another pretty cold dayand in the shade. But that is the point, the Atom LT allows you to climb in relative comfort (and it was "relative comfort" onthis day in lwt single boots) on some pretty cold days.



More here on the idea of a climbing sweater.



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//12/climbing-sweater.html

Mystery Photo #5

This is the fourth post in a series of unidentified photographs from the Charles Wiseman Family Bible. See this post for background information. Click on the "Mystery Photo" label at the bottom of the post to see all of the photographs in this series.
Tintype 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 Photographer unknown. As always, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Lyddington - Seaton - Bisbrooke - Uppnham - Lyddington

With Harry and Jenny. Beautiful weather, very hot, good underfoot. Pretty fast pace, considering. Including looking round Uppingham - 8.7 miles.

It's a delight to show our countryside to someone who hasn't seen it before!

sculpture inspired by the fishponds

Lyddington church from the ancient fishponds

The first part of the path is clearly marked as the Rutland Round. We walk across the Green, past the sculpture, through a gate and with the hedge on our left walk through the fields with the traces of the old fishponds. At the end of this field we turn left, skirting a wood, before turning right and heading along a path uphill. This was shaded and cool before we cam out into the fields. We head north east for a little while, then do a dog-leg. This is all clear on the ground with waymarker posts. The path gradually turns further east, alongside a sloping ploughed field.






We come out into Grange Lane, which leads uphill into Seaton.

A solitary wood pigeon

swallows are gathering

We walk through Seaton and take a look at the viaduct from the Glaston Harringworth cross roads, before going back to our path.

Seaton church

The path is not far from Moles Lane, and up a short set of steps. It heads north, and climbs gently before descending more steeply to the dismantled railway. Here it turns north west, and crosses a large field with a stream - again the waymarkers are clear. The path now runs beside trees and is enclosed on each side - it climbs almost unnoticeably into Bisbrooke, emerging behind the church.






We follow the road to the cross roads, meeting the odd chicken, and helping ourselves to some windfalls, offered free outside one of the houses.






At the crossroads we go straight ahead then turn left and right at the corner - the road becomes a track and then a path, and finally we arrive at the Uppingham School playing field and cricket pavilion. Into the town for coffee and lunch at Don Paddys, before looking round the town, and the Goldmark Gallery - there's an exhibition of George Grosz's work, and lots of other interesting items.






We leave Uppingham by taking the path through the church porch and churchyard, then at the road we turn left then right and head south and downhill. There are some juicy blackberries on the way, so we pick them - making use of empty water bottles. Tonight we shall feast.




The path is clear, leading us to the playing field behind Uppingham College. We lose the track briefly, but find it again and it leads south east across a road, and over farmland towards Lyddington.

That's what I call a path "made good"

A short diversion as we feed an apple to a horse, we reach the road into Lyddington and decide to walk through the village back to the car.

This bird is going nowhere!