Steven's Pass ..

Ken and I opted to use our free passes to Steven's Pass on the last Friday of operations. The weather wasn't forecast to be great, but we were going anyway. After all, you can't be a Pacific Northwest skier without skiing in the rain at least once a year.

The first ride up the chair was cloudy, but no precip. The second ride up involved rain that turned into "Wintry Mix" near the top. By the third time up, we had that precip freezing on the outsides of our shell pants.

First chair ride up.

The snow was decent on groomed runs and corn like at times with icy patches and some thicker patches. Anything that was not groomed was heavy, wet and hard to turn in. We stuck to Hog Heaven, and Barrier Ridge for our first few runs then decided to see what the other side of the ridge was like.

We rode the Tye Mill Chair up to the top and then went down Gemini which felt like the best run of the day so far. There was no one on the backside, and the weather was somewhat better. That changed, and the wind kicked up and the rides up the Jupiter Chair had us getting blasted in the face with icy pellets. After 3-4 runs down time was running out on the backside (they close the lifts at 3:15pm) so we decided to get back on the front of the ridge.

We had a few super enjoyable runs down The Crest Trail and Skid Road before making a few last runs down Skyline as the skies turned blue and we warmed up and dried out.

Overall we had a great day. The snow was pretty good where it had been groomed, or where lots of people were skiing. We stuck to all blue runs as the black diamonds were not groomed and not too many people were skiing them. The snow in those areas was not appealing, and neither Ken nor I were looking to get injured on our last day of lift served skiing this season.

Last chair of day.

Tear Up A Pillow!!!!!

Wiley, our youngest cat of 1 year, decided the other day that he would tear up one of the pillows I keep on the couch. I have had dogs do this a lot but this is the first cat. Of course it could have been because there was a small tear in it. But who knows. Maybe it is because Wiley is just a fun loving wild cat.

Beaver Damn

there was a beaver damn in the meadow. You can see the beaver lodge in about the center of the wet part of meadow. The damn is on the right hand side of photo but difficult to see.

New Perspectives on Hemlines

In a local clothing shop yesterday I overheard a conversation between two young women.

Young Woman 1: This dress is cute, but I totally can't wear it on my bike (lifts hem and stretches it to show how narrow it is).

Young Woman 2: Yeah it sucks when a skirt is too tight and I can't bike in it. I'm like always looking for A-lines and pleats now.

YM1: Yeah I know! Or pants.

YM2: Nah I'm not really into pants. Oh but the stretchy miniskirts are good too.

YM1: Oh yeah! I just saw some over there (points at some shelves and they walk off in that direction).

Eavesdropping on this exchange, a few things went through my mind. First, that cycling really is becoming an ordinary thing in our area. These young women - the way they dressed, carried themselves, talked - did not stand out from other women their age; there was nothing identifying them as part of a cycling "subculture." And yet both used bikes to get around. That is like kind of cool, right?



Second, to me this conversation underscores the fact that women's attire - more so than men's - really does call for "bikability" considerations. There are some in the cycle chic camp who argue that we can cycle in absolutely all of our ordinary clothing, and that to look for cycling-specific features is to overly complicate things. But in my experience, even the most stylish women on bikes do not always feel that way. Skirts can be too narrow, trousers can be too constricting, shoes can be slippery, even blouses and jackets can pull at the shoulder seams making cycling uncomfortable (a co-worker in Vienna once tore her top this way cycling to work). Much of this has to do with the fact that apparel designed for women is more form-fitting than that designed for men; there is simply less leeway and less give. Women's apparel also tends to be made of more delicate, flimsier fabrics, more prone to wear and tear. For most women I know who ride a bike, cycling-specific considerations play an important role in their wardrobe selection even if their clothing appears "ordinary" (i.e. not cycling-specific) to the outside observer.



But the more interesting question for me, is that of whether and how clothing manufacturers will respond to cycling-specific demands of their target market, as this increasingly becomes a popular concern. I am not talking about designing cycling-specific lines of clothing; that would be unnecessary. But how about simply designating existing articles of clothing as "bike friendly" when appropriate? Particularly when it comes to online shopping, I think that could be such a useful feature that I am surprised no one has done it yet. When ordinary women start to choose hemlines with cycling in mind, this could be the beginning of something interesting.

Who Is Afraid of Railroad Tracks?

Shortly after I first began cycling, I witnessed an accident in Vienna, where a young woman was riding her bike past the university and her wheel went right into the trolley tracks, which had been parallel to her route. It happened very fast, and by the time I reached her, she was sprawled on the pavement covered in blood next to her flipped-over bicycle, a crowd was gathered around her, and the ambulance was on its way. Unfortunately, I do not know what happened to her after the ambulance took her. Only a few days later, I read about Dottie's crash while crossing the railroad tracks during Chicago's Tweed Ride, and shortly after that, about this incident, which happened to an American young woman on her visit with Amsterdamize. This sequence created a deeply ingrained association in me between railroad tracks and danger.

In my conversations with other cyclists regarding railroad tracks, I find a range of different attitudes:

Some are simply not aware of the danger. They do not have trolley tracks running through the streets in the town where they live, or railroad crossings as part of their regular route, and so they simply never learned that a bicycle wheel can get caught in the tracks. As you can imagine, this can be a problem if they visit Amsterdam or Vienna and rent a bicycle there.

Others have a "Be afraid, be very afraid!" attitude. They have friends who have cracked their skulls on the metal rails, tell stories about the railroad tracks "taking them down" even when they crossed at what they thought was a safe angle, and view tracks as the cyclist's mortal enemy.

And others still have a "There is nothing to fear but fear itself" approach, and believe that being overly cautious around railroad tracks is what really gets cyclists in trouble, as it makes them falter and jeopardize themselves.

The latter group has an interesting point and I agree with it to some extent. I keep a reasonable distance when riding parallel to tracks and I approach them perpendicularly when crossing. But I try not to get too neurotic about it, despite having witnessed that accident. Still, it worries me that some cyclists are simply not aware of the need to avoid tracks. What has been your experience?

Saddlebag as Buffer Zone

With most of our bicycles fitted with saddlebags, we've noticed a welcome secondary benefit: They provide an effective buffer zone. Should a bicycle fall or come into contact with an abrasive surface, the bag can protect the frame, components and saddle from getting damaged.

When a bicycle is on its side, it essentially rests on the saddlebag, without the saddle itself touching the ground. If the bag is large enough, it can even provide enough of a buffer so that the drivetrain does not suffer from impact.

The saddlebag is also helpful when you need to rest the bicycle against a rock or a fence. Even if you have a kickstand, sometimes it is too windy to use it, or the ground is not stable enough, and you are better off resting the bike in a position where it can't fall. On the picture above you can see that the saddlebag allows for almost the entire bike to avoid contact with sand or rock. While the primary purpose of a saddlebag is, of course, to carry stuff, the "buffer zone" it provides is tremendously useful. I have scuffed the saddles on every bicycle I've used without one.

Georgia Sunset :: On The Road Again

Reflection in the side window of Van
Dora. Taken January 31, .. at the Georgia Veteran's Memorial State
Park southeast of Americus, Georgia.





A few minutes later, the colors are more muted.


You may have guessed by now that I am no longer in Indiana! I was ready to leave the cold weather behind in November, but for a variety of reasons was unable to get away until the end of January. After a short stop in Alabama to spend a few days with my friend and distant cousins, Babs, I've been enjoying the much warmer temperatures and very pleasant weather in Florida for the last week (in spite of several rainy days). As an added bonus, I was able to meet-up (separately) with two geneablogger-real-life friends, Charley aka Apple, and Denise Barrett Olson. I thank them both for their hospitality and for the time spent with them.



Even though I am now traveling, work continues on that monster Database Cleanup that was started in December. Once the sun goes down I have several hours before turning in for the night - and those rainy days are put to good use too. It's actually kind of fun - I'm getting "reacquainted" with some of the families that I haven't worked on for a long time and seeing a lot of "data holes" that need to be filled. It is awfully tempting to go searching for the "missing" information but I'm trying really hard to stay on track!



Registration for G.R.I.P. was last week and as much as I really wanted to attend (particularly the new tract with Tom Jones) I decided to forgo that opportunity this year. To be honest, I haven't fully absorbed everything from last year. The syllabus and my notes are traveling with me so when I get tired of working on the database they are available to peruse. I also felt that it was important to get the database straightened up a bit as well as getting all those documents reviewed that I obtained at Salt Lake City in .. and .. - I have barely even scratched the surface with them. Perhaps G.R.I.P. or one of the other institutes will be on the agenda in 2014.



I'm not sure how long I'll be traveling this time around, or even where all I'll be going. There are a few places on the "definite" list, mostly in The West, but this journey will be taken at a much slower pace than was done previously, with more time spent at each stop along the way.




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Kirby Hall from Gretton

About 4 miles there and back - to the road entrance on Kirby Lane



Kirby Hall in afternoon sunCamera-shy peacock

Immediate Bike Immersion

For the first time since I've been staying in Vienna, there was a bicycle all my own waiting for me when I arrived. Here is Jacqueline again, courtesy of my friend Wolfgang - famous here not only for his fantastic vintage collection, but also for his bicycle touring and bicycle moving endeavors.

Since our last time together, Jacqueline has been given a leather saddle and is now more beautiful and comfortable than ever. The saddle is a sprung Brooks that appears to be a vintage version of the B66 (the model number is faded and I cannot tell exactly).

It felt so, so wonderful to be greeted by Jackie's "familiar face" and to cycle around the city on my very first day back instead of using public transport and moping. With the memory of my own bikes back home still fresh, I can say this Steyr Waffenrad is a distinctly different ride from my vintage Raleigh Tourist. Riding the Austrian bike feels as if I am sailing on a ship. Not quite sure what this means exactly, but that is what the sensation makes me think of. It is not better or worse than my bicycle at home, just different. Amazing that even among similar bikes, there are such differences in ride quality.

Still trying to adjust to the transition from Bostonian to Viennese cycling, I nearly missed this girl in front of me with a spectacular crocheted dressguard on her bike.

Here is the best close-up I could get. I love these vintage crocheted dressguards, and in Vienna you can actually see them occasionally "in the wild".

Wolfgang also has some nice ones on one of his collector bikes, but that bicycle is too old and valuable to cycle round the city. Crocheted dressguards are a passion that I try to suppress due to how difficult to find they are, but I am always looking. The only place I know of where you can get new ones nowadays is Simeli in the Netherlands, and I hope to review one of those soon. A couple of people have also emailed me about some handmade projects, but I have not had any follow-ups (let me know if you've seen or heard anything on that front).

Being in Vienna again, I have weeks of stressful workdays ahead of me - but having Jacqueline by my side will be a great help. I will see my friend Anna from Cycling is Good for You soon with her gorgeous Retrovelo Paula. And I may try to ride a vintage Austrian track bike, though I am still unsure whether I am brave enough to attempt it! Stay tuned.