Gamble Plantation State Park

We visited this neat place last year, and enjoyed it so much. It is a antebellum mansion that sat on a sugar plantation. It is the only surviving plantation in South Florida. It is a beautiful building and it has beautiful grounds. We enjoyed our visit this year too.



You can read more about it here: Gamble Plantation

Hyak Nordic ..

Jennifer and I went out to Hyak Sno Park to ski again. She had a good time last time and she is eager to get some type of exercise while pregnant. Fortunately Nordic Skiing is pretty low impact, and we went to Hyak due to the extreme flatness of the trail. (It is a converted railroad grade.) Jennifer is concerned about falling on anything remotely hilly, so the flat trails fit the bill.

Momma zipping along

Conditions were windy when we got out of the car. Not surprising being at a mountain pass and near a five mile long lake. I was wishing I had brought more clothing. We both started out with our poofy jackets on and eventually stopped to take them off once we had warmed up. I went considerably faster than Jennifer, but kept checking on her to make sure she wasn't overdoing it. We got a special treat in that the track got groomed while we were there. Although truthfully the track was in pretty good shape prior to the grooming. It would have been more special if we were skate skiing.

Along the lake

At some point Jennifer decided it was a good time to turn around. I told her I was going on further and would catch her before the car. I probably went about a half mile further before turning around. I was slowed by seeing someone I knew and chatting for bit. But I did catch Jennifer with at least a half mile to go before the parking lot. I think I did about six miles total.

This was a fun outing and Jennifer is caused less pain from skiing than walking. She is having fun getting exercise, and her exercise level had picked up since we started skiing because the pregnancy usually causes her to lose steam when walking.

These are The Faces of Genealogy

Henry and Susie Phend with their great grandchildren on the celebration of their 60th wedding anniversary, September 2, 1952. That's me on the left side, sitting on the ground. My brothers, Doug and Jack, are between me and Susie. Doug was 5, I was 4, and Jack was 3 years old. The other kids are first and second cousins. They are just part of the reason I “got into” genealogy.



I'm a little behind in my blog reading... and saw this post late yesterday afternoon, which explains why I'm posting this photograph, which is one of my favorites.



Due to the amazing response of the genealogy-blogging community, the offensive photo was removed from the online article.

Like a Track Suit Top with Rear Pockets

So, be honest please: Do you ever wear a cycling jersey off the bike? My first time was unintentional. I was returning from a ride later than expected and had no time to change before meeting someone. So I threw on a skirt, changed my shoes and went - wiping my forehead with a napkin on the way there. I know, classy. My jersey's rear pockets still contained my keys, credit card and ID, so I didn't even need a bag. And that's when I noticed how darn convenient it is to wear these things. The person I was meeting did not seem aware of anything odd about my outfit, so why not? I began to experiment. The key is for the fit to be on the looser side, and for the colourscheme to be acceptable for "business casual." No team names or sponsor logos obviously. Muted colours. Long sleeves. A drapey fit. I own a couple of jerseys that fit the bill nicely, and so I started to sneak them into my wardrobe.




I had no idea whether anyone even noticed, until a woman in a cafe approached me last week. "Excuse me, but I really like your top. Where did you get it?" She was English, so I eagerly explained that it was a cycling jersey from England.




"You couldn't tell it was a cycling jersey?" I asked, "I feel silly wearing it, but it's so convenient."




"Oh no," she replied, "it's lovely! Like anhaute couture track suit top with rear pockets..."




Fashion designers, take note!

Sonny

Then Lee rode Sonny and I took photos.

Lovely garden restaurant in Samos: Anna’s Restaurant and my introduction to Imam Baildi

Dutchman and I have been eyeing this garden restaurant for days already. It has a different ambiance. Most of the restaurants in this area have their dining beside the beach road or on the beach, whereas this restaurant is set off from the main road and inside a garden of flowers and trees. One evening, we finally made a decision to dine here.







Anna’s Restaurant

Website Trip Advisor:Anna’s Restaurant



Anna’s Restaurant is located in Kampos (or Kambos, also called Votsalakia). I don’t understand why the many spellings and another different name, I think this is the old name--Votsalakia, but Greek language is difficult enough to understand, let alone translate it to English! The restaurant is on the main street right on the border to the next town, a little bit further from the town centre.













What do you think of the homey garden ambiance? This is actually a timely needed change of scenery for us after days of sitting on the beach for dinner.



The mother of the house restaurant was excited to show us (moi and another couple) what they had cooked for the evening. Some restaurants here in Samos prepare a part of the food in the menu ahead of time. It is something like a cafeteria setting, and they do heat the food of course before serving. Some people do not like this kind of set-up while others do not actually mind (like us) because this is the style, very organic and 100% local. A pure Greek home-style restaurant.











This home-style garden restaurant even has a stone oven. Beautiful!



Above you will see some of the Greek fares available for picking. For 15 Euros you can have small pickings of everything. We did not want that because that is too much. So I settled for something that caught my fancy for our starter which I am sure the Dutchman would also like.



Imam Baildi and more...



The mother of the house told me that the dish I picked for our starter is called Imam. Hmm, the only imam I know are those Muslim preachers, but anyway, Imam it is, and so I wrote it down in my black notebook so I can remember. After much googling, I came across with Imam Baildi. I do not write everything in my black notebook, only when I have it and when I remember writing down the new things I learned. Most of the times I get caught up with the flow of events that I forget to write them down. Really jammer.










This is Imam Baildi, in English Stuffed Aubergine (Eggplant for you non-Europeans), and yes this is vegetarian. Dutchman and I loved this, partnered with the bread. Great for starters!


For our mains, I settled for grilled fish while the Dutchman wanted some Italian fare, spaghetti with stewed beef on top. Now that is interesting!



My fish was very fresh and it was just what I expected. Dutchman on the other hand was quite happy and satisfied. He said he was tired of Greek food so the pasta was a nice welcome change.









We came from a long afternoon in the beach and did not bother going back to our apartment and change clothes for dinner. We were hungry and want to get over with it.













All in all, this is a very nice and lovely place. A different ambiance away from the beach but equally romantic and divine. We loved especially the Imam Baildi. I highly recommendAnna’s Restaurant. 4 stars out of 5.

Comfortable Carbon: Trying the Parlee Z5

Looking down at my handlebars around mile 50, I felt a pang of alarm at the sight of unfamiliar decals. Then I remembered: I wasn't riding my own bike. I had gotten so comfortable, I'd forgotten. A stern voice in my head began to chastise me. "Come on, you are doing a test ride. You're supposed to be paying attention to the ride characterisics - not enjoying the scenery." Easier said than done!




To explain how I came to test ride the Parlee Z5, it may help to give a bit of a backstory. For some time, I've been interested in getting a feel for carbon fiber roadbikes. However, my attempts at this have been less than successful. I've ridden a handful of carbon bikes briefly, but either they were not set up for me to do a proper test ride, or I found the ride quality too harsh to actually want to ride them for any length of time. Of course not all carbon bikes feel the same, just like not all steel bikes feel the same. With this in mind, I finally approached the matter more strategically and talked to some industry insiders familiar with my riding style and preferences. A few suggestions kept coming up. Among them was the Parlee Z5.






Parlee Cycles are a small and local-to-me company, based in Beverly, Massachusetts. So the idea of trying one of their bikes was appealing. Later this summer I plan to visit the factory and write about them in more detail. Parlee offers both custom frames, built on the premises, and production models designed inhouse and built in Taiwan. The Z5 is the latter.




The demo bike was lent to me by Cycle Loft, a Boston Parlee dealer. After undergoing a fitting session, my position on the Z5 ended up near-identical to that on my own roadbike, making for a seamless transition. I kept the bike for a week and rode it for about 135 miles.






Even before I rode the Z5, I could see why this bike was suggested to me. To call its appearance "classic" might be pushing it. But the aesthetic is clean, subtle, neutral. I did not find myself biased against it, in a "Meh, this is ugly" kind of way. In fact, I find it rather pretty.






Made from a single carbon piece (what is known as "monocoque construction"), the Z5 frame has a seamless, sculpted look to it. At the same time, the round tubes and the smooth, but crisply delineated joints, bear a resemblance to those of metal bikes. There are no MC Escher-esque bulges or round-to-square taperings here; the frame looks simple and familiar. For those who are curious to try carbon fiber but wince at the look they associate itwith, I do think Parlee eases the transition.






I rode the Parlee Z5 in size Small (Tall), which translates to a 52.5cm top tube and a slightly extended headtube compared to their standard Small. The complete geometry specs are here. The bike was fitted with a SRAM Force group andMavic Ksyrium Elite wheels with 23mm Michelin Pro 4 tires (complete build specs here). Though I have Campagnolo on my own bike, I feel very comfortable with SRAM and have no trouble switching back and forth. The handlebars included in the standard build were 2mm narrower than the (42mm) bars on my own bike, but otherwise the fit was almost identical.






The one disappointment was that the front-center was a bit tighter than I like. With 23mm tires, I had a tiny bit of toe overlap. The amount was minimal, and I still felt comfortable test riding the bike. But with 25mm tires I would not be.





Riding the Parlee home, my first impressions were dominated by how comfortable it felt - namely, the ride quality over harsh roads, bumps and potholes. To provide some background, I am pretty sensitive to ride quality and cannot stand a bike that feels harsh. It does not matter how fast it is, how nimble, or how good at climbing: If I feel vibrations from the road or pain from going over bumps, I just can't take it for more than a few miles. This sensitivity was a big factor in my own roadbike purchasing decision a couple of years ago, and a major reason I went with a titanium Seven. So with that as my personal bike, granted I am now a bit spoiled in the ride quality department. Lots of bikes feel at least a little harsh compared to my Seven.



Lots of bikes, but not the Parlee Z5. Nope. The Z5 was flawlessly smooth. As in zero road buzz sensation, zero pain over bumps and potholes. At some point I started intentionally riding it over every stretch of broken pavement I could find, but I couldn't feel a thing.





Of course, whether it feels painful or not, a roadbike with skinny tires will still toss you around on bad roads. And it is here that I could feel a difference in the Z5 compared to my own bike. Until now, I had considered my Seven to be quite stiff. But after some time on the Parlee, I could feel a "give" in my own bike that I had not detected before. In comparison, there is no give to the Parlee at all; on bumpy roads it sort of bounces as one unit rather than exhibit even a slight amount of yield.






But despite being stiffer, the Parlee did not feel harsher than my own bike, even as I rode it longer. To my surprise, neither did it feel faster. I rode alone and I rode with some fast friends. Each time, speed and effort-wise, it felt just like being on my own roadbike.




I decided to ride the Parlee on a 100K New England Randonneurs "Permanent" course I had done alone a few weeks earlier (67 miles, with 3,800 feet of climbing). Just as I'd done previously, I timed myself and genuinely tried to do my best. My average rolling speed on the Parlee was 13.3mph, whereas on my own bike it had been 13.1mph - a difference too small to be significant, considering that my fitness had also increased a bit since the earlier ride. Of course this bit of anecdotal evidence may not mean much. But it reflects my subjective experience of the bike.




One reason I picked this particular 100K route for the test ride, was for its brief unpaved stretches. The bike rode on broken pavement so nicely, I was curious how it would do on dirt and gravel. Just as nicely, it turns out. While I prefer to do unpaved rides on wide tires at low pressure, if I must ride skinny tires the Z5 is as good as it gets.






Aside from all this, I did feel something distinct to this bike in the course of my test rides. It was a sensation in the rear triangle - possibly the chainstays, and it was specific to cornering. It was as if the rear responded to cornering differently from what I am used to. The chainstay area felt lighter somehow, almost as if it wanted to skip or lift off on corners. Well, maybe describing it that way makes it sound too negative. Unfortunately, I don't know how to explain it any better, but I actually liked this sensation. I found the bike to be maneuverable on corners in a way I had not previously experienced.




Normally, I am pretty sensitive to a bike's front-end handling, and less so to other aspects. The Parlee was the first time I was struck by characteristics specific to the rear of the bike.






While technically not the first carbon fiber roadbike I've ridden, the Parlee Z5 is the first one I've put a sufficient number of miles on to warrant a report. In part this is thanks to Cycle Loft, for lending it out and setting it up to fit me perfectly. And in part it's thanks to the bike's comfortable feel, which made me want to keep riding for miles and miles. Much like on my own bike, I did not experience fatigue on the Z5 after strenuous rides. And much like on my own bike, the handling, for the most part, felt "unnoticeable" - encouraging me to focus on the scenery and the ride itself, rather than on the bike.




Going into this test ride, I had several expectations about the feel and performance of carbon fiber: Namely, that it would feel harsher, stiffer and faster than my own bike. The Parlee Z5 felt only stiffer, and even that was only noticeable to me under certain conditions. Granted, I don't race, I don't ride aggressively, I spin rather than mash, and I don't climb out of the saddle. My impressions are limited to the kind of riding I do. And that riding involves 50-100 mile jaunts, sometimes more, usually with lots of climbing and usually on bad roads.I like a fast bike that makes me feel weightless. And I also like to be comfortable. As far as that kind of riding goes, I felt right at home on the Parlee Z5.