Provincetown Cycle Yum

I have received a couple of messages asking to recommend "cyclist-friendly" places to eat in Provincetown. This is a tricky one - First, because everyone's taste in this sort of thing is different. And second, because there is really no divide in Provincetown between regular places and "cyclist-friendly": Most restaurants and cafes have racks either right out front, or else the nearest one is half a block down the street. Having said this, here are some of our favourite places:

Spiritus: This magnificent establishment serves pizza, coffee and ice-cream, offers free wireless internet, has cozy indoor seating and an outside garden, and is open until 2:00am year round. Their pizza is some of the best I have ever had, especially the Greek (spinach, olives and fetta on an ultra-thin wheat crust). Heavenly and a great all-around hangout.

The Squealing Pig: Best raw oysters we have had on the Cape so far, and in a non-touristy atmosphere at that. In addition: a fine selection of unusual beers and local wines on tap, and very fresh, delicious food including fishburgers, and french fries that are "hand cut daily". There are always lots of locals eating at this place, and we like the atmosphere better than the seafood places that cater to tourists, such as The Lobster Pot or Betsey's. If you are looking for a higher-end dining experience though, try the delicate and creative menu at The Mews.

The Purple Feather: Very yummy gelato and the best hot chocolate ever, made to order to your specifications. You will recognise this place by the stuffed bear standing at the door, wearing a blond wig and purple lingerie. This is the best place if you want to get an ice cream or hot chocolate to walk around the streets with. For the best indoor atmosphere though, I prefer the dim coziness of the Art House Cafe.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Provincetown is the most bicycle-friendly town I have experienced in the U.S. The infrastructure accommodates cyclists and plenty of bicycle parking is available if you want to stop and eat in town.

It's Almost Here!

At 1 o'clock Wednesday afternoon I ordered a new scanner, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S300. If I had paid the extra $15 for express delivery it would already be here, but the "slow boat" delivery by ground is fine with me. It should show up on my doorstep Monday!


Denise Olson on her Family Matters blog has been extolling the virtues of the S300M (for Mac) that she purchased in July. After reading about her experience with it I started checking out Automatic Document Feed (ADF) scanners for Windows. I've got all those genea-documents that I want to scan and the idea of doing them with my flatbed scanner is more than a little disheartening.

After reading this November .. Review of the S300, I was hooked on the S300! Well, actually, Denise had me hooked, that review clinched the deal. There will still be some things that will have to be scanned using the flatbed, but I think much of what I have can be done by the S300.

So I am patiently waiting.

And trying to getting some things organized for phase two of my scanning project.

Is the Wheel Lock a Useful Feature?

Yesterday I mentioned not being a huge fan of bicycle wheel locks (or "cafe locks"), and so I wanted to elaborate. Most typically used on transportation bicycles, the wheel lock is a circular contraption that is installed over the rear wheel, with a metal latch sliding through the spokes when the key is turned. The wheel lock immobilises the bike, thus making it more difficult to steal - especially if the bike is heavy. I thought it was a neat idea before I owned one, but the Axa wheel lock on my Pashley annoyed me so much that I eventually removed it. The older model on my Gazelle works much better, but I am still considering getting rid of it.



Here are the pros and cons of the wheel lock as I see them (and your impressions, of course, might differ):



Pros:

. It's useful as an extra lock, for those who like elaborate lock-up jobs.

. It's useful if you're sitting in an outdoor cafe or a park bench, with your bike within sight.

. It's better than nothing if you forget your main lock.

. It's better than nothing if there is no structure to which you could lock your bike.

. If you live in an extremely safe area, you might be able to use it as your only lock - which would eliminate the need for a bulky U-lock or cable lock.



Cons:

. Its theft prevention effectiveness is limited.

. It is heavy (like having a U-lock permanently attached to your bike).

. If it jams in the "on" position, your bike will be immobilised.

. Some models are difficult to use and can hurt your fingers while you fiddle with the lever.

. Once installed, you must lock it every time you leave your bike. Otherwise someone else could lock it and walk off with the key. On most models, it is impossible to remove the key in the un-locked position.

. You can break a spoke if you forget that the lock is activated and try to forcibly roll your bike. Likewise, a passer-by can break a spoke if they try to give your locked wheel a spin with their hand.



Do you have a wheel lock on your bike? If yes, what make and model, and have you found it useful?

Red and Blue, Old and New: Fun with Bike Comparisons

A couple of days ago I visited "Cycler" from Biking in Heels, asking her to test ride the Pilen I am reviewing and tell me what she thinks. While we were at it, we also compared the geometry of the Pilento that of her modified vintage Raleigh Lady's Sports - the charming bicycle described here.



Unlike the traditional English roadster (which is similar to a Dutch bike), the Sports model is a zippier bicycle with somewhat more aggressive angles and a more leaned-forward posture. It made sense to compare it to the Pilen, which is also somewhat more aggressive than Dutch bikes.



Placing the two bicycles side by side, we did notice some similarities.The seat tube angles,front end geometry and bottom bracket heights were fairly close - at least in comparison to those of Dutch bikes and English Roadsters. ThePilenhas a slightly more relaxed seat tube and a higher bottom bracket - but the extent of this is minor when compared to the more relaxed Dutch bikes and Roadsters with their high bottom brackets. The Pilen however, has a longer wheelbase than the Raleigh Sports - not to mention that it is dramatically larger.



When looking at this picture, consider that the saddles of the two bicycles are set to roughly the same height. Now notice the amount of seatpost showing on the 21" (53cm)RaleighSports compared to the 22" (56cm) PilenLyx(see here for a close-up of the Pilen's seatpost).Despite the 3cm difference in their frames, the actual size difference between the two bicycles is considerably greater. This is because the Raleighhas 26" wheels with 35mm tires, whereas the Pilenhas 700C wheels with 50mm tires - raising the Pilen'sframe higher off the ground. Wheel and tire size are definitely something to be aware of when determining the actual size of a complete bicycle. The frame size alone is fairly limited information.



Cycler and I are similar in height (she perhaps 1/2" shorter), and we prefer similar bicycles for transportation - both of us especially in love with the ride quality of the classicRaleigh DL-1. It was therefore informative to learn that she had a similar reaction to the Pilenas I did. On the other hand, two other (taller) persons who also tried the bike had very different reactions. I will write about that in more detail at a later stage, but suffice to say that there is a bike out there for everyone. It is amazing to me how many variations exist of the traditional upright step-through design; I never tire of learning about the similarities and differences between them.

Exit strategies

Last year I finally figured out that these were cicada exit holes. (I had mentally accused my husband... Derp.)

This was roughly the same spot where Jasmine discovered a digging armadillo at exactly 3:30 this morning. After the excitement was over, she was extremely messy but very proud of herself. Ick, but cleanup will have to wait til hubby gets home. The last time I tried washing her by myself (after the cow poop incident) it was... disagreeable.

But the extra-fun part was afterwards. We headed back to bed, only to find the bedroom door locked. Or actually, broken. A strict parakeet-protecting closed-door policy made me shut it on the way out.

Force of habit. I was still half asleep. Not my fault it decided to break, anyway. Sadly, the person who closed the door for no apparent reason usually gets the blame in these situations.

Luckily though, hubby excels at middle-of-the-night repairs.

I can see clearly now - a trip to Rapid City

Well, we finally decided to have the windshield on the Tracker replaced today. That chewed up the morning and part of the afternoon and there was a chance of showers and temps in the 80's so we decided to head to Rapid City to get some shopping done and a little sight seeing.

As we pass thru Hill City there are 2 horses running down the middle of the roadThey were running in and out of traffic so I called 911. Eventually some people were able to herd them out of the highway and down a dirt road

Since it is 90's in Rapid we start out at the Journey Museum and museumcovering the history of the Black Hills from the day of theDinosaurs to the present day






They have a large Indian artifact section

The TeePee has a Hologram old Indian woman to tellsstories of the Lakota Tribe



Main Street Rapid City in the Historic District has a statue of each of the Presidents of the United StatesGary in a deep conversation with Van Buren

Me with Woodrow Wilson - I've been told that we're related - can you see the resemblance?

We also visit the school of geology and their free geology museum

and Dinosaur Park

We end the day with Dinner at Sanfords - Home of the $1.00 beer. The place is really cool and the food was great. I had an open face grilled chicken sandwich smothered with green chili, nacho cheese and Frito's - Yum!

Oh No! Look who drove in! That dastardly Jack!



Till Later,

Meanwhile we keep on Trek'n

Melissa & Gary

Beach Life in Votsalakia, Samos Island

Greetings from the Greek Island of Samos!



There’s so much to tell but let me first update about what we do best at the moment: Beaching (and laying by the pool as well) and doing nothing. Below is a quick peek into our temporary beach life.



To the beach







This is the pathway from our apartment in Kambos leading to the Votsalakia beach.



Our apartment, which merits a separate post, is just a 3-minute walk to the beach. We have a beautiful view of the island’s highest summit and the olive tree pasture that nestles under the mountain from our bedroom balcony.




Light lunch at Chesters















Greek Salad, warm Pita bread (this bread was soooooooo good) and iced coffee. They also have nice music here. Lounge jazz and flashback to the 80's.



Beaching...



Chesters have one of the nice beach areas with sunbeds and parasols. If you eat here at Chesters you get to use the sunbed and parasol for free =)

















After 3 days of doing nothing, we will finally explore the island. Tomorrow, Dutchman and I are renting a scooter.