Balloon Flower Bud

This is the bud for the balloon flower. It starts out small, gets bigger and finally springs open like the flower in the following post.

Roadrunner

The Roadrunner is New Mexico's state bird and we have a few that pass through here occasionally. Usually if I see one before I can think about getting the camera it is gone or so far off I can't get a decent photo. A roadrunner was the fartherest thing from my mind the other night when I went to feed the horses. It was the last feeding of the day at 9 pm which meant it was dark and all good little roadrunners should have been in bed. And this one was but in an unusual place.
Lee was trying to get a bale of hay down off the top of the stack, about 7 feet up and was having trouble getting ahold of the string that keeps the bale together. So I turned around to get the hay hook that we have hanging near the hay shed door. Surprise! I found myself being stared at by two shiny, glaring, black roadrunner eyes. Roasting on a 2 x 4 above the door was one of the birds. I stepped back in surprise. And especially at the size of the sharp beak that was pointed at me. You can see him in the photo with his tail up unsure of weather he should stay or leave and knowing that he can't see in the dark he decides to stay put even though there are two humans getting hay for the horses in the shed, as well as a dog with them. You can see the handle of the antique hay hook that I was reaching for next to the hammer and the top of the door in the lower right hand corner. As quickly and quietly as we could, we got the hay, which did include getting the hay hook and dropping a 50 pound bale of hay onto the floor, and then I decided to get the camera and take his photo hoping that the flash wouldn't destrub him even worse that we had. It didn't seem to bother him at all. The roadrunner had got into the hay shed because we leave the door open a lot, so we left it open for the night as we figured he would be gone at first light the next morning which would be earlier than when we feed the horses. But surprise again. He was still there at 7 am the next morning. We decided enough was enough. We didn't want such a big bird living in the shed. lee got the broom and shoo-ed him out the door. He ran like a flash down the driveway, under the gate, and disappeared down the road. I think it might have been a young bird that was confussed. He certainly wasn't as big as some I have seen so it could have been one that had recently left it's parents.

Welford - Canal - Hemplow Hills - Welford

Led by Barry, with Maureen, Gordon and me. Fine - dry underfoot. Just over 6 miles.



Covered some of yesterday's route as well.






We parked in Welford opposite this cottage. We took a path to the west north west and walked along a path in a field behind houses. This soon turned south west towards Hall Lane, which we crossed and turned right, along a path which diverged from the lane, slightly more to the west.

The path crossed several fields before reaching the Grand Union Canal - a quiet stretch here. At first the canal was on our right, thenwe crossed to take the towpath with the canal on our left as we headed more or less south-west.








We followed the canal round a fairly large loop for a good two and half miles as far as Bridge 31.

The Old Union Canals Societyplants living milestones along the Leicester Line of the Grand Union. You know the ones, the trees with black painted steel plaques next to them. Thank you to jakepithf and his blog

The path goes uphill through a field of growing crops, then into the woods of Hemplow Hills.

A snack-stop with a great view - Wood Cottage in the background.

Another 'permissive path'

Through the woods, - after the steep climb!

The tower-adorned gatehouses of West Hill Farm.

From Hemplow Hills we walk past West Hill Farm, and along Hemplow Drive. At the crossroads, straight on into West End and back to Welford.




We saw terns diving into the canal, a heron, and a hare in the field going up to Hemplow Hills.

DIY Waterbottle Mounts on the Pashley Roadster

For a while now, the Co-Habitant has been wanting water bottle cages on his Pashley Roadster. I thought the idea was ridiculous, until I received a few comments from male Pashley owners expressing the same desire. I guess men like bottle cages on their bikes, even on a roadster? Fair enough! For those interested, here is the Co-Habitant's DIY solution:



Yes, you are seeing what you think you are seeing: Not one, but two bottle cages mounted on the inside of the handlebars, with twined, flat-cappedKleen Kanteen bottles inside them. The bottle cages are generic bolt-ons that can be found in many bike shops for around $7 (same bottle cages as here). For the Pashley, the Co-Habitant first took them apart, shortened them so that they would not stick out too far past the handlebars (I believe the drill and superglue were used), and bolted them to the handlebars, with the bottles facing inward. Now he has direct access to water, while remaining upright.



Here is the "cockpit view". And yes, that is a cycling computer you see mounted on the stem, in between the bottle cages. On a Pashley. What can I say, the man has his quirks.



My opinion on this project? I think that if he mounted just one bottle and stopped there, it would have been successful.



With two bottles, I think he went overboard with the eccentricity factor and the bottles look like a pair of missiles. What do you think?



And if you are wondering why he did not just use one of those coffee-cup mounts that are designed for the handlebars, he did not think they were sturdy enough, or accommodating enough of different containers. I agree: These bottle cages are super-stable and the bottles do not budge or vibrate at all inside them. It is a very secure set-up, and the flasks can be filled with coffee as well as water.



While I do not agree with the choice to mount two bottles, I think that otherwise this is an innovative and practical solution. I am now considering installing a similar set-up (with just one bottle though!) on myPashley Princess.

French Experiments Continue: Belleville Handlebars and Inverse Brake Levers

Spare bicycle parts, a restless spirit, and a willing "guinea pig" can make for a dangerous combination. In her latest reincarnation, Marianne sports VO Belleville handlebars and Dia Compe inverse brake levers - a practice run to determine how a similar set-up would feel on the Royal H. mixte.



Here are the bars and levers in all of their French glory - on a Motobecane mixte with an Ideale saddle.



The Belleville handlebars are similar to the Porteur handlebars shown here. Both are a classic style of upright bars found on vintage French city bicycles. These bars are narrow, with long gripping areas that are nearly parallel to each other - placing the rider's hands in a position similar to holding a tray. The Bellevilles are 5cm narrower than the Porteurs (43cm vs 48cm) and are completely straight across the front (whereas the Porteurs have a slight forward sweep).



It is typical to see handlebars like this fitted with inverse brake levers. My assumption is that this is done to maximise the gripping area of the bars. Because the levers are installed at the ends, there are no interruptions along the handlebar's surface and the cyclist is free to move their hands pretty much along the entire bar.



The inverse brake levers you will find today are most likely either Tektro or Dia Compe. Here I have installed the latter, and you can see that their brown rubbery tips go nicely with twined handlebars. It surprised me to learn that some dislike the Dia Compes because of the brown tips and prefer the Tektro levers instead - which are all-metal. To me, the rubbery surface felt nice, but I suppose it isa matter of personal preference. If you have used either of these levers, I'd like to hear your thoughts.



Braking with inverse levers. I have found that I am able to get pretty good leverage almost no matter where I hold my hand along the bar, with the exception of the very front.



Can't brake from here, near the corners. But if I move my hands 1-2 inches back, it will work. This set-up is amazingly versatile in terms of the hand positions it allows.



The inverse levers are set back from the bars far enough so that they do not interfere with the grip. You can see in the pictures that they are nowhere near my knuckles. Truly a neat design.



If you are curious about this type of French set up, both the bars and the levers are surprisingly inexpensive. You will like them if you are a fan of narrow handlebars, and if you prefer to hold your hands to the sides rather than flared out or straight in front of you. I certainly fit that description, so both the Belleville and the Porteur handlebars feel as if they were made just for me. The super-wide Albatross bars were comfortable enough, but with the Bellevilles and the Porteurs I get that "spot on!" feeling. I also think that they are better match for French bicycles - especially for the Motobecane's aggressive handling.



I will pause and confess here, that this is the last change I will be making to Marianne...because she no longer belongs to me. Yes, I did sell her after all - to a lovely local woman whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making this morning. Riding the Motobecane with the French handlebars and inverse levers yesterday, I finally felt that this bicycle was "perfect" and experienced a calm sense of satisfaction - not dissimilar to how I feel when a painting is finally "finished" or when a photograph looks just right. And after that, it finally felt appropriate to let her go. I hope the new owner enjoys her as much as I hope to enjoy my Royal H. mixte - which I will most definitely fit with a similar handlebar set-up.



Oh - and if anybody wants someNitto Albatross bars (the alloy version) or VO Milan bars, drop me a line. Thankfully, I have no more "spare" bicycles to put them on.

Adjusting to the Velo Timezone

This is the first time when my stay in Austria involved cycling from beginning to end - without relying on public transport for any reason. And a curious thing has been happening: everywhere I go, I am always early!

I am a moderately punctual person, but definitely not someone who is obsessed with arriving "on the dot," let alone ahead of time. So why was this suddenly happening? Then it hit me: After living in Vienna on and off for 3 years now, I've developed an internal "estimator" of how long it will take me to get to any given location in the city - based on my experiences with the U-Bahn (subway) and trolley systems here. Even though I cycle now, my internal time estimator has not adjusted yet and still functions based on "public transport time" - making me always early, because it is actually faster to travel in Vienna by bicycle! To me this revelation was a "wow" moment because Vienna is such a large city. Sure, traveling by bicycle is more pleasant, but it never occurred to me that it is also faster. I can honestly say that my days here have been made less hectic by the time I've saved on commuting. I like being in the velo time zone!

New Pickleball Recruits

Yesterday I played pickleball all day long. As much as I love the sport, it is really hard for me to play for that long because I'm not in good enough shape to do it. Why did I play that much then? Because in the morning, I played with some of the regular players.



This is Carol, Austin, Lou and Buddy.

I just met Carol and Lou. I'm not sure how I just met them because they've known Austin and Nathan for years. Or most likely almost two years since that is how long we've been full timers. Buddy is someone I briefly met last year. This year I was able to get to know him better. I can't believe I missed not knowing Buddy better last winter because he is the best. He has a great smile, a great laugh and a great attitude towards life. He's pure sunshine. As much as I adore Buddy, he is not why I played all day long though.



This guy was:



That is Connor. He is one of our new pickleball recruits. He's about ten years old and he already plays almost as good as me. He rocks.



Then there is this guy:

That's Kelby. He's twelve and he was the first in the family to be sucked into the world of pickleball. He's awesome after only one day of playing. And he's really fun to play with. He's definitely worth playing past my physical comfort level!



Of course if they play, then Dad has to join in the fun.

Vern is not only great at the game already, he is one of the most entertaining people I've ever watched play. He dives, he spins, he runs in circles, and moves his feet like a skilled dancer. You just have to see it in person. In the meantime though, this gives you a taste of it:

I love it when we have new recruits. It is so much fun to play with them. Especially when they are as cool as these particular recruits.



Living the life in Florida!