Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico

This sign sits in the park or town square in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico. My friend and I decided to take a walking tour around the shops and sights while she was visiting on July 15, ... She had never been but I have been going now and then ever since I was born. Although it has been about seven years or so since I was last there with my two aunts on one of their trips to Albuquerque. http://www.albuquerqueoldtown.com/ The town of Albuquerque was founded in 1706. The church of San Felipe de Neri Church sits on one side of the square and the other three sides are full of shops, and cafes, as well as one old, large, and famous restaurant named La Placita. When visiting you need to remember that Old Town now is mostly for the tourist trade and prices may be higher here than in other, more modern, parts of Albuquerque. There are lots of gift shops, jewelry stores, and artist shops and galleries. Some shops have the cheaper tourist trade gift items but lots of unique, and very high quality items can be found in other shops.
http://www.virtualalbuquerque.com/VirtualABQ/OldTownPlaza/ This website has lots of photos, history information, and tourist information about Old Town.
I have posted a lot of the photos and some brief descriptions of the day that we toured Old Town. I have tried to put them in a semblance of an order of the way we walked and so that it would make since to those readers that have never been there. Hope you find it interesting and that maybe if you are ever in Albuquerque you will find time for a visit to one of my favorite places in my home state.

Soggy and Squeaky

Since Linda began a new life as an outdoor bike, ithas been raining heavily and continuously. I considered bringing the poor bike back inside, but resisted. In her 15 years of life she has probably seen worse. So I left her outdoors as it poured day after day.

So what's the damage to a Dutch transport bike after two weeks of being left out in the rain? Well, the main thing is that the front brake has developed a shrill squeal. I didn't know that could happen to hub brakes, but apparently it can. The stopping power is the same as before, only now it sounds like a hysterical piglet. The rear coaster brake makes no noise. Should I somehow lubricate the front hub? We are scaring people at intersections![Update: The front brake squeal stopped on its own as soon as the rains stopped. Works as well as before and just as silently.]

The other thing is that the leather grips are now completely soggy, since, unlike the saddle, I made no provisions to cover them. I installed these gripsin Octoberand they've been rained and snowed on many times with no adverse consequences, so I didn't think it would be a big deal to just leave them uncovered. But of course when it rains non-stop for so many days, it's a different story. Not sure what to do now other than just wait for the sun and let them dry out naturally. But in the future I should try Bobbin and Sprocket's smart solution.



Otherwise, nothing on the bike seems any worse for wear. I am especially pleased that my silver lug-lining (done with a Sharpie!)has held up and that the bottle dynamo isunaffected. Now if only it would stop raining!

Raleigh DL-1 Restoration!

In the excitement of describing the A.N.T. Open House, I forgot to mention that on the same weekend I picked up my Raleigh DL1 Lady's Tourist from the shop.

Here she is, in her restored glory. See this post for the "before" shots.

The DL1 had an extensive tune up that included bottom bracket replacement, rod brake adjustment, and lowered gearing (22 tooth rear cog) to make climbing hills easier.

Then of course there are the aesthetic changes: The old tires have been replace with the gorgeous cream Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, a full chaincase and vintage-style rope dressguards have been installed, and a frame pump has been added.

The rope dressguard is something I had envisioned on this bicycle from the very start, and hunting one down was not an easy task. Finally, a very kind gentleman found these for me in Portugal, and I am eternally grateful!

In the earlier days of the loop frames, this was probably the most common style of dressguards. There were simple versions like this one, as well as elaborate crochet versions. The dressguards attach with hooks directly to holes drilled into the fender.

On the bottom, the cords are gathered onto a hook-like contraption that attaches to the bolt that holds the rear stays together.

Close-up of the rod brakes, curved top tube and frame pump. I find it surprising that the frame pump was intended to fit between the tubes and I don't think it looks very good there - disrupting the flow of the frame's curvature. So I may remove it and just leave the braze-ons empty. Still, I wonder why they didn't place the attachment behind the seat tube?

Close-up of the Raleigh headlight mount. The heron on this one seems to be smiling.

Today I took the DL1 out for her first ride. She is extremely comfortable: stable, smooth, relaxed. The seat-tube angle is much slacker than either on the Lady's Sports or on the Pashley Princess, and it was a pleasant surprise to ride in that position. One interesting thing, is that this bicycle is absolutely silent - both pedaling and coasting. Neither of our other vintage bikes are like that, and I wonder what accounts for the DL1's quiet demeanor. In any case, I am not complaining, and I am thankful to Adam Rankin at Harris Cyclery for all the work he did to make it such a nice ride!

The first ride was meant to be just a short one, because the rod brakes still need some adjustment - But the bicycle was so easy-going, that I ended up cycling all over the neighborhood. Here she is locked up at the grocery store. During the time I was out, four people stopped to talk to me about the bike, being especially interested in the dressguards. Everyone loves beautiful vintage bicycles, and the Raleigh DL1 is one of the most iconic.

Sunrise & Morning Glories

Workshop with Bryan Hansel Photography

Had a lot of fun last night helping my friend Bryan Hansel teach a night session for his fall color photography workshop (http://www.bryanhansel.com/). It was a beautiful night with an almost-full moon and virtually nonexistent wind which was appreciated since the air temp was a balmy 35 degrees. I think a good time was had by all :-)

Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée

Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

On a whim Friday night, I decided to make crème brûlée, as it is an easy but delicious dessert.

The recipe I used was from Anita Chu's blog Dessert First. I modified it slightly, such as adding more sugar and more vanilla flavoring. I also added Grand Marnier orange liqueur and rose water, as the recipe called for. Overall, the crème brûlée turned out great, with the smooth flavor of vanilla and the floral hint of rose water. The Grand Marnier was hard to discern, however, so I would add more than the recipe calls for. Speaking of the recipe, it's posted below:

Rosebud Crème Brûlée

makes about 6 servings in 4 1/2 ounce ramekins

2 cups heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon vanilla seeds, or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces egg yolks (about 4-5 eggs)
2 ounces sugar*
1/4 teaspoon Grand Marnier**
1/2 teaspoon rose water

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Find a baking pan that will fit all of the ramekins you plan to use. The sides of the pan should be at least as high as the ramekins. Line the bottom of the baking pan with a towel.

Heat the cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit for about 10 minutes for the vanilla to infuse.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl.

Slowly pour about a third of the hot cream into the eggs, whisking all the time to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Pour the tempered eggs back into the cream, whisking constantly until combined. Whisk gently to prevent bubbles from forming.

Strain the mixture into a clean bowl.

Add the Grand Marnier and rose water and let the custard cool slightly.

Arrange the ramekins in the baking pan on top of the towel. Using a ladle, carefully, pour the custard into the ramekins, filling just below the rim. Try to fill all of the ramekins to the same height so they will bake evenly.

Carefully pour hot water into the baking pan until it comes up about 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Do not let the water get into the pan.

Carefully place the baking pan into the oven and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour until set. I checked at about half an hour and at 45 minutes, but don't open the oven door too often or you'll lose all the heat and the custards will not cook. You can check the progress of the custards by sticking a paring knife into the custard slightly away from the center. If it comes out covered in liquidy custard, it's not done yet. Also, if you lightly touch the center of the custard and your fingertip comes away covered in custard it is also not done.

When the custards are done, they should shimmy slightly when you move the pan (careful not to spill water!) but the center should not move separately. If, however, it has set like Jello and there are bubbles forming on the top it is becoming overcooked and you should remove the custards immediately. If the custards start rising at any point they have become overcooked.

After you remove the baking pan from the oven and the ramekins have cooled enough to handle, remove the ramekins, cover them, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.

When you are ready to serve the crème brûlées, take one ramekin at a time and sprinkle the top with sugar evenly over the top. Using a hand-held blowtorch, carefully caramelize the sugar. Keep the flame at least 2 inches from the sugar to prevent burning the sugar. You can also caramelize the sugar under a broiler.

Let the sugar cool for a couple of minutes before serving. Do not brûlée the custards more than 20 minutes before serving or the sugar may melt.

Recipe courtesy of Anita Chu at http://dessertfirst.typepad.com/dessert_first/2007/04/rosebud_creme_b.html.

*I used more sugar (1/2 cup total instead of about 1/4 cup total).
**You may want to use more Grand Marnier if you want a more noticeable orange flavor.

Fear and Loathing of the City Bus

As a cyclist, I doubt that I am alone in my strong dislike of city buses. They are enormous. They make frequent stops and wide turns. They have sizable blind spots. And their operators - overwhelmed with countless stimuli and the stress of keeping to a schedule - don't always notice cyclists in their path. All in all, it seems reasonable to be wary of these vehicles, and prudent to keep away from them whenever possible.



But as most fears, mine is not based on such rational ideas. What frightens me are things like the "heavy breathing." I will be riding along, when suddenly there is the sound of a most horrific heaving inches behind me, and I realise that a bus is dreadfully, unacceptably near. What exactly is responsible for the sound that buses make when they are braking I do not know, but it sends shivers through my body and makes me want to jump up on the curb in panic. A couple of times the bus stopped and "heaved" so closely behind me, that I could feel the heat of its terrifying dragon breath against my left calf.



My fear of buses can border on paranoia, and sometimes I am convinced that the driver is playing "chicken" with me. I can tell that they see me - they will sometimes look straight at me - yet they seem to intentionally try to squeeze me out in order to make their stop, or make the green light, or make a high-speed left turn as I am attempting to cycle straight through an intersection - figuring I'll stop out of sheer terror. I've been assured by bike messengers that the driver willyield if I don't give into them. But I lack the courage to play that game,and allow them to win every time.



Over the past two years I've overcome most of my fears about cycling in city traffic. Taxi cabs, large trucks - I am more or less okay with them. But the city bus continues to terrify me. Oh enormous, heaving metal beast... Some day, I will learn how to deal with you and my fears will be conquered.