The Larz Anderson Bicycle Show!

Today was the14th Annual Larz Anderson Grand National Bicycle Super Meet in Brookline, Massachusetts and I am pleased to report that I was able to attend.



I intended to take documentary-style photographs of the show... But that did not work out so well, as it was just too crowded with too much going on! Nonetheless, here are some shots of bicycles that I especially enjoyed and you might too.



Having seen pictures from previous years, I expected the Larz Anderson show to be full of antique roadster-style bicycle, but this year there were only a few. This one is an Elgin loop frame.



Wooden fenders, wooden chainguard and netted dressguards on another loop frame!



And dramatic upside-down North Road handlebars (or are they track dropbars? a hybrid of the two?) on a Sterling roadster.



A Columbia truss bridge bicycle!



I examined it up close, and it is definitely welded, not lugged - though I am not sure whether this was true of all early truss frames.



A Dunelt Roadster with baby chariot. These look so much nicer than the modern Co-Pilots! But are they road legal?



An unusual Concord mixte in a beautiful shade of slate blue.



The lugwork on this one was gorgeous and it was in exactly my size. What strength of will I have!



I was told that Concord was a Dutch manufacturer [edited to add: looked it up on bikeforums, and it is actually Japanese].



Could that explain the atypical spelling of "mixte"?



And how about this fully equippedRaleigh Sixteen? - a folding bicycle like the Raleigh Twenty, only with 16" wheels.



Green frame, fat cream tires and dynamo lighting! I am envious of who ever ended up taking this beauty home!



The star of the show was this enormous, forest green, originalDursley Pedersen bicycle.



Dursley Pedersenheadbadge.



Crocheted saddle (or seat in this case?).



Wooden grips with inverse brake levers.



And, of course, an antique headlamp! This bicycle was truly a spectacular sight.



My personal favourite in the show, however, was this stunning bicycle from the 1960s, which belonged to the wife of Cino Cinelli. To my dismay, I was not able to get any good full-size pictures that capture its glamour to the extent it deserves, but maybe some hint of it will come across here!



Ever seen a step-through Cinelli before? This one was apparently Mrs. Cinelli's personal ride, and it is exquisitely made. I am wondering what is the history of this particular style of frame; is it specifically Italian? I have been admiring similar designs from Abici and Bella Ciao, and would love to learn about their vintage origins.



The colour is just the right mix of pink, beige and champagne to be feminine and glamorous, yet understated. The lines are curves are as graceful as can be.



One piece handlebars and stem, with cream grips.



Cinelli crest on the stem! Just stunning.



There is a "his"model as well, and these bicycles were displayed as a pair. Riding these around town must have been a sight...



In addition to the exhibiting and selling of bicycles, there was a brisk trade in components, accessories, and vintage clothing. It was enough to make my head spin. This time around, I neither brought a bicycle to exhibit (I was trying to be incognito), nor, thankfully, did I purchase a bicycle. But next year perhaps I will plan things better and spruce up one of my vintage beauties for show and tell.TheLarz Anderson Bicycle Showis a must if you are in the Boston area and love vintage bicycles.

Moonlight Sentinel

Last Friday night my friend Roger and I went out in search of the northern lights. The space weather forecast looked promising for a good showing of the Aurora, however nature had other plans. We watched and waited until almost 3:00 AM but never saw any lights. We did, however, experience some incredible moonlight. Almost the entire night there were these low-altitude, fast-moving clouds drifting by overhead. When we came upon this pine tree with the moon directly behind it, we knew we had to photograph the scene. This photo was made at 1:25 AM and was a 30 second exposure taken with a Canon EF 17-40mm lens.

Mt Rainier Storm & Flood Damage Photos - Carbon/Ipsut

The NW corner of the park usually has its own share of flood related damage each year. And though it's not unusual for there to be Carbon River inspired washouts, this rainstorm brought substantially more destruction to the area. For example, here is the idyllic Ipsut Creek Cabin. It suffered heavily during the flood. Is it me, or does this place remind you of Yoda's house on Dagoba?

This creek diversion gives literal meaning to the name, Ipsut Creek Cabin. If Yoda did live here, he'd have to use quite a bit of "the force" to fix things.

As for the Carbon River Road, more than two miles of it washed away in at least four separate spots. In some places, the river flowed down the middle of the road (like here). For climbers, this could spell delay in early season attempts of Liberty Ridge.

AND another washout closer to Ipsut Creek Campground.

As for the Wonderland and other park trails, here's a brief run down on the storm damage. Keep in mind, the full extent may not be known till next spring, as these assessments were made from the air. For now, backpackers should probably expect things (bridges) to open up later than normal next summer. There are at least 10 bridges out around the Wonderland Trail. New trail needs to constructed in four other places. That includes a half mile reroute between Lake James and Cataract Creek and another 750 foot section in Stevens Canyon. NPS Photos

Gt Staughton - Stonely - Dillington - Gt Staughton

Mini-reservoir with 'scarecrows' at each corner

Barry and Gordon crossing a(nother) muddy field.

Crow scarer.

Tiny brown splodge = deer

Pylons near Graffham Water

Looking South

From the Crest of the Sandia Mts you can look almost in all four directions. It was so hazey that day that we weren't getting the best views as you do on some days. I didn't get any good ones from the walkway but did get this one at the start of one of the trails where you can actually hike from the top of the Crest all the way down into Albuquerque, about 11,000 feet down.

Competition

Although I’ve spent my whole adult life involved in sport, I still have big reservations about large parts of it. I’ve read a lot of work on the history and philosophy of sport, and to be perfectly honest, a good chunk of it makes for depressing reading. I wish more of it could be more like the way it’s supposed to be.




The fact that climbing on mountains and cliffs is hard to pin down, hard to reduce to numbers and results and competition was quite an important aspect of what drew me into it. It’s hard to say ‘I had a better adventure than you’. Even as a climbing coach, I’ve sometimes been uneasy seeing young climbers come up against some of these negatives. Sometimes I wonder if I should say ‘skip the comp this time’. Go and explore somewhere new with some friends and come back for the next comp. As well as providing the essential ability to see outside the bubble of the scene, the perspective might well make a better competitor in the long run.









Kev pointed to this picture on Facebook, of a Basque athlete helping a Kenyan who’d stopped running a few metres short of the finish line in a cross country event, thinking he’d already passed it. The Basque runner could have run right past and won the race. But he stopped to direct the Kenyan over the line, staying behind and keeping the place he would have got if the Kenyan hadn’t made a simple human error. The surprising thing for me was that the attention this story got was as a ‘rare’ piece of sportsmanship. Why shouldn’t it be the norm?




After getting my ankle surgery in November, I decided to enter a running race for the first time, and see how it went. I thought it would be good as a goal to help get me back on my feet and moving fast in the mountains again. I entered the West Highland Way Race for next June. Although I have done quite a lot of hill running at different times over the past year or two, like anyone getting involved in a new scene I was a bit nervous about how welcoming it would be to someone who is known as ‘a climber’. Yesterday a friend told me about this thread started about my entry, which was a bit of a downer. When I experienced this sort of thing as a teenager doing sport at school, I hated it, avoided it and eventually found it’s antidote in going climbing. This time round I don’t need to react like that. But if I am able to recover from my injury enough to do it, it will be weird to stand on the start line knowing I’m standing with others who feel I don’t deserve to be there. My slowly healing ankle joint is the only thing that would stop me earning a place. As I said on the thread, if anyone feels I really don’t deserve the chance as much as them, drop me a line and I’ll offer to withdraw and donate my place.

My Favorite Kind of Day

Since we spent all summer in Florida, and Florida in the summer is a dreadful experience temperature and humidity-wise, we are really enjoying the cooler days. We went out to Sixteen Hands and spent the day there alone because everyone else went to an event. It was just a lazy kind of a day.











The horses are starting to really know Nathan now. They greet him and then go and do their thing. Well, except Patriot who believes "we" are his thing.



Gypsy girl shows us how she multi-tasks by drinking and bathing at the same time.



And Chevy bravely walks over to me, rather than running away from me.



It was a good day! Hoping for more of them over the next few months!



Living the life in FL!