Last day of the rally

Today was the last day of the rally. We all ate breakfast together, which was really neat. There is something about sharing meals with people that it very bonding to me. We left right after breakfast so we could get over to Clermont as soon as possible. We enjoyed meeting so many new and very interesting people and we are excited that many of them will be with us this next week too!



On top of that, we have Austin's birthday coming up and our travel buddies are heading down to Florida. It is looking like it will be a great week for us!



Living the life in Florida!

Queen's Day and the Shock

We normally go to Utrecht Center for Queen’s Night but Dutchman and I arrived late from London and were too knackered to check out the festivities. This is by the way the first time Dutchman and I were traveling to the same city for the same business purpose but flying on different planes and staying on different hotels, lol. I find it a bit funny.

Anyway, Queen’s Day, we woke up late, had brunch, and turned on the TV and saw the breaking news in Apeldoorn (a city to the East). A mad man in a black car raced through the crowds watching the Queen’s parade go by. People were instantly sent flying from all directions, some left scrambling and rolling on the street. The car missed the bus of the Queen and smashed into a monument. Shrieks and confusion followed. People were in shock.

Stories in English here: CNN and BBCWorld
Shocking vivid pictures here: Geenstijl and Nieuws.be (in Dutch)

The 38 year old man in the black car is said to have lost his job and have been late in paying rent. His neighbors were puzzled as they thought of him as a good man. Police are still investigating why this happened and what the motive is.

With all the tragedy, Dutchman and I still went to Utrecht Center. The mood is still celebratory but it wasn’t the same after seeing the drama in Apeldoorn.

Here are some of the fotos we took:

Young girls selling drinks and orange pastries with Dutch flags. They probably baked the cupcake pastries themselves (my little neice can bake really well!). The girls knew Dutchman was going to take a foto of them and responded in a very bashful way. Aren’t they cute? He-he.

...............

Boats in Utrecht Oudegracht and the fake Queen Beatrix on a boat enjoying the limelight as she is cheered by everyone. Music in the background is the Netherlands national anthem.


Boats in Oudegracht. There was a mini concert here and that approaching boat has a Queen Beatrix look-alike dressed in an orange ball gown! Next foto are the candy bunny women selling sweets. The left one told Dutchman to pay EUR 1 for the foto and Dutchman replied - Ik maak het over (means to transfer money via online banking), lol.


A full canal restaurant in Oudegracht and next foto are people selling stuff that I randomly took pictures of. The orange wigs of the girls and their checkered skirts were eye catching I have to admit.

I will post a foto link soon and videos too.

The 'Slideways' Dismount

In the past I've been asked to demonstrate my quirky bicycle dismount, so here it is! Over the course of riding step-through city bikes, I've gravitated toward the sideways dismount: swinging my right leg over the frame while the bike is still in motion and then jumping off the saddle to the left as I come to a stop. It'sreally more like a "slideways" dismount, because what I am doing is leaning the bike and sort of dumping myself off the saddle. I've tried to recreate it here in slow motion while testing my camera'sremote control feature (the remote is in my hand - can you tell?).



I know others who dismount their bicycles in this manner, and, like me, they find it completely natural and intuitive. But I've also been criticised for this move. A couple of people have told me that doing this to the bike repeatedly might distort the frame. Others have expressed concern that one of these times I am bound to get "tangled in the bike" while swinging my leg over. The latter does not really worry me; my body seems to have an inherent awareness of where the top tube is in relation to my foot. The frame distortion idea is intriguing, but seems far fetched: Can the sideways jump really exert sufficient force to twist these tank-like frames?

I never set off to adopt this style of dismount; it just sort of happened. As I kept raising the saddles on my city bikes higher and higher, eventually I could no longer reach the ground without leaning the bike to the side. The "slideways" move was the natural outgrowth of that: Somehow I find jumping off in this manner easier and more natural than the typical method of standing up on the pedals and then stepping down. At this point I've been doing it this way for over two years, and it would be a difficult habit to break!

Raccoons

We did see some of the wildlife in the area while walking along the warf in Port Angeles. Of course there are raccoons in all areas of the U.S. - or so it seems, but they are kind of cute, even if an unwanted pest most of the time. This mama coon was teaching her 2 babies how to beg behind a cafe. Not a good idea but we couldn't resist taking their photos. We, also, saw several Canadan geese flying over the water.

James Joslin :: 1840 Whitley County Federal Census

In this previous post we learned that James Joslin "of Delaware County, Ohio" purchased 80 acres of land in Whitley County, Indiana from the U.S. Government in September 1837 and that it was patented in August 1838.

We don't have a firm date as to when James and his family arrived in Whitley County but on page 227 of "Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana" (edited by Goodspeed & Blanchard, 1882) it shows that James Joslin was among the 12 residents of Troy Township to cast a vote in the first Presidential election held on July 4, 1839. And, in "Recollections of Early Troy by Mrs. Fannie Marrs" published on page 253 in the 1907 "History of Whitley County, Indiana" (edited by Kaler & Maring) she states "My father, Price Goodrich, landed here in June, 1838. James Joslin, John Black and Harlow Barber, with their families, came in 1839."

There are a myriad of spelling variations for the "Joslin" surname. Just change the o to a, the s to c or sc or ss or sh, the e to y or omit it entirely… so I generally use the wildcards "Jos*" or "Jas*" for searches when wildcards are allowed. Some of the spelling variations that have been found are: Jaaslin, Jaclen, Jaclin, Jaclyn, Jaslin , Jocelin Jocelyn, Joscelin, Joscelyn, Joselin, Joshlin, Joshlyn, Joslyn, Josselyn, Josslin, and Josslyn. On one occasion it was spelt Gloslin, but the vast majority of the time my particular family has been found as Joslin.

A search of the ancestry.com online census index for 1840 using the wildcard search of "Jos*" shows two households with the surname of Joslin and one Joselin living in Indiana. There was also one household with the spelling of Jocelin and two with Jocelyn. The only household in Whitley County, Indiana in 1840 was that of James Joslin. (I have viewed every page of the 1840 census for Whitley County to verify that there are no other Joslin families included.)

James Joslin is the fourth name listed on page 455. Price Goodrich, probably a brother of James' wife Abigail, is the sixth name. A portion of the record, cropped from the ancestry.com image is shown below, click on the image for a larger version.


In the Whitley County Marriage books are records for 10 individuals with the "Joslin" surname. Five of them are for known children of Lysander Price Joslin. The remaining five are:

Fanny P. Joslin to Joseph Shoemaker on February 5, 1843 (1st Book pg 68)
Lysander Price Joslin to Lydia Robinson on August 23, 1843 (1st Book pg 76)
Emily Eliza Joslin to John Long on October 12, 1854 (Book 1 pg 187)
Edwin M. Joslin to Sarah Fellows on November 9, 1854 (Book 1 pg 182)
Joseph A. Joslin to Prudentia E Noble on June 2, 1861 (Book 2A pg 55)

Given the fact that James Joslin is the only "Joslin" household in Whitley County in 1840, it has been presumed that the individuals listed in the above marriage records are the children of James and Abigail Joslin. And, yes, I am quite aware that all of the "children" listed in a household are not necessarily the children of the head of household. That fact notwithstanding, and with additional research that has been done on each of them (sources available upon request), the household of James Joslin in the 1840 Whitley County census appears to be:

• 1 male 5-10 [1830-1835...Joseph A. was born September 11, 1832]
• 1 male 10-15 [1825-1830...Edwin Mattoon was born December 17, 1829]
• 1 male 15-20 [1820-1825...Lysander Price was born May 1, 1825]
• 1 male 40-50 [1790-1800...James was born about 1796]
• 1 female under 5 [1835-1840...Emily was born December 12, 1837]
• 1 female 10-15 [1825-1830...Fanny Philanda was born October 1826]
• 1 female 30-40 [1800-1810...Abigail was born about 1805]

Arcteryx Atom LT Hoody....just how good is it?

Jim asked, "You have mentioned that you use the Atom LT. I looked at one in the store and really liked it, but two things stopped me.



What is with the stretch side panels? I haven't seen this on any other parka. Seems like this would cost warmth with little upside.



No hood adjustment at all. WTF? Seems like this would be a huge PITA. Doesn't this make the hood next to useless?"





Yes the Atom LT is one of my main stay pieces for cold weather climbing. And one of my betterinvestmentsin awhile for my own gear. I have and use two of them constantly. The vents are critical for using this jacket/sweater and do allow you to use a super light weight (as in .oz) insulated garment that is a lotwarmer for the weight than anything else I can think of, because it breathes so well. Wild Things and Mtn Hardware have now copied the technology/design fortheir own versions. Hood is actually very good! No issue what so ever and easily fits over a helmet. It is extremely user friendly in fact.



The down sides? The shell materialdoesn't fair well rolling around on hard mixed. Rock climbing, chimney and off width,willshred them pretty easily. Soft shells are the weapon of choice there.

The stretch panels? They aren't very wind resistant. A lwt wind shirt under the Atom Lt will up the warmth in a cold wind. But the Atom is still no belay jacket imo. It is a climbing garment not a belay garment in cold weather. Think sweater, not jacket. The zipper? I had it pointed out to me that the zipper has no lock on it. Intentional by design to make it last longer I was told. I'd been using the Atom Ltfor a year before I realised this fact. Read it actually. Loaned a buddy one of my spare Atom Lts and he hated the zipper. I have never, ever noticed it. So no down side for me at all. But worth knowing.



And the Atom LT can be used as a mid layer easy enough in the rock climbingsituation to beef up the temps a soft shell can be used in with some comfort. The Atom LT's pattern and trim fit help there. It isn't the most intuitive way to layer (with a wind short or soft shell) but it works for certain projects.



Weight comparisons?



Lightly insulated jackets (belay sweaters) and shells:



EB Downlight Hoodie Pullover XL 15.4 oz 455g

EB Frontpoint XL 18.5oz 547g

Arcteryx Atom lt Hoody large 14.4oz 429g

Arcteryx Atom Hoody SV 19.0 oz 562g

Mtn Hardware Compressor Hoody 19.8oz 586g

Arcteryx Gamma MX Hoody XL 24oz 710g

Arcteryx Squamish pullover XL 5.6oz 166g



On that list only theCompressor, Atom SV and EB Down Hoody are warmer. All are a tiny bit heavier and generally too warm to climb in alone as the 2nd layer because.....they don't breath nearly as well as the Atom LT. I will most typicallyadd any of those threeas a thirdlayer when belaying or for climbing (more likely descending) when it is really cold out or the wind comes up.





It is a green Atom Lt in thispicture with the black Compressor Hoodyjacket used as my belay jacket over it. Pretty cold belaying in this picture and then again, I peeled the Compressor and just climbed in the Atom LT and a R1 hoody.







The Atom lt can be a mid layer for warmth. But I use it generally as a outer shell garment for cold weather climbing when I am very active. I no longer use a mid layer Some type of Hoody on the skin, likely a SAG Khushi, NWAlpine Hoody or R1. Then my 2nd layer, generally a Atom LT or a shell garment like the EB Frontpoint or a soft shellArcteryx Gamma MX. The Atom LT(or anything similarin weight like the Nano Puff) is NOT a belay jacket...more a "belay sweater" and not that warm in the grand scheme of things if you are going to use it like that. Which I do if the temps permit it.



More here on what I think is a better layering system.



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//11/winter-layers.html



In the Ice fields late Nov. Good wind blowing while we discuss the avi conditions.



The Joke Slinger in his Atom LT at -20 something when the extra venting under the arms is crucial.





Another pretty cold dayand in the shade. But that is the point, the Atom LT allows you to climb in relative comfort (and it was "relative comfort" onthis day in lwt single boots) on some pretty cold days.



More here on the idea of a climbing sweater.



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//12/climbing-sweater.html

Larger Continent, Longer Trips, Hotter Days, Grandiose Daydreams

Having just returned from abroad, many important matters were on the agenda. Naturally, one of them was a trip to Harris Cyclery. The shop is 9 miles from our place and the temperature was over 100F, but nothing could deter me from going on a ride after sitting still in a airplane for hours.

Good thing the Co-Habitant had those two bottles on his bike, because the heat and humidity were brutal. In Vienna I had gotten used to taking many short trips throughout the day and almost forgot that "commuting" and "errands" in Boston are a bit different. But I am clearly in better shape now than I was even a couple of months ago: The 18 mile round trip to Harris Cyclery used to feel like a "pilgrimage," but now it's just a casual trip.

As for the sun and heat, these are my solutions. Over the past year, I have been trying to switch to natural hygiene products: essential oils instead of perfume, herbal deodorant instead of aluminum-based antiperspirant, and mineral-based sunblock. It has not been easy. In Vienna I've finally found Eco Cosmetics SPF 30, which I love. Its only active ingredient is titanium (to which I am, thankfully, not sensitive) and the rest is herbal moisturisers. It works perfectly and is soothing on the skin. Finding a deodorant was even more challenging, but I've finally found the Queen Helene Tea Tree Oil Deodorant Stick. It works for me as well as the real stuff, and I like that it has a dry, matte texture, as I hate the feeling of sticky roll-ons. So there - if you are looking for natural ways to deal with sun and heat, these have worked for me. On the ride to Harris I neither got sunburnt nor had a "deodorant failure".

At the bike shop I picked up a couple of things I had been meaning to get, and also something unexpected: They had a stack of boxes with clipless shoes on clearance, and I bought these for $25.

They are SPD shoes that can be worn either with cleats attached on clipless pedals, or as regular shoes on platform pedals. I know, I know - I was just making fun of the Co-Habitant for getting clipless shoes and pedals. But I will explain that these aren't for any of my regular bikes; they are to practice for the velodrome (I plan to get a license when I return to Vienna in November). I brought a vintage frame back from Austria for fixed gear conversion, and I will need to put a foot retention system on it and finally force myself to learn. I did not plan to buy the shoes so soon, but here they were in just my size and at a great price - so now I have them.

Clipless shoe love? I don't know. The Co-Habitant was victorious as I made my purchase, suggesting which pedals I should get to go with the shoes (and me vehemently disagreeing). Later in the day, I wore the shoes (without cleats) on a 26 mile ride, just to see how they felt or regular pedals. Frankly, I am not in love with the super-stiff soles. I like moderately stiff soles, but these felt like overkill and detracted from comfort. Is this degree of stiffness an acquired taste that you get used to gradually? And I wonder whether the "ugly as sin but comfortable" Keen sandals everyone is getting have a similar feel to them?

In any case, I have my bike project plate so full at the moment, that it is comical. In the coming weeks, we will finally build up my Royal H mixte, make some much-anticipated updates to my Raleigh DL-1, and oh yes, create a fixed gear bicycle. Stay tuned, and try to stay sane in the heat!

Writing on the Wall

About a week ago, I left the house in the morning to discover the wall of a nearby building covered in graffiti. Screaming for attention with its searing yellow hue and the swirly sunshine dotting the "i" the graffiti tells the residents of our little neighbourhood to "smile." Very funny, we think. Smile because they defaced property? Smile because someone will have to spend time cleaning that up in mid-summer heat and humidity? Smile because this action rubs it in our faces that we are powerless to prevent others violating our living space?



Then a funny thing happens. As we continue to live with the graffiti (the building's manager has not had time to clean it up), the initial feeling of indignation recedes and we begin to take the message literally - to respond automatically to the word's actual meaning, instead of responding intellectually to the symbolic meaning of it having been spraypainted there. Smile! The vandal (artist?) has managed to elevate our mood in spite of everything.



I am not comparing cycling to graffiti, really I am not. But it is impossible not to notice that those who don't ride bikes often feel threatened and, yes, even invaded by the appearance of bicyclists and (gasp) bike lanes in their neighbourhoods. These are strong feelings that those of us who cycle cantoo easily dismiss. But look at it this way: If after some time a vandalised wall can make us smile because of its sunny message, then surely the fun of cycling can be contagious enough to override any hostility toward it as well.



Along the main street around the corner from our house, from 5 pm to 6 pm on any given weekday there is a continuous parade of cyclists traveling home from work. They are all sorts, and most wear their regular clothing - including women in colourful dresses and crazy footwear. Two years ago, not nearly as many cyclists rode through that street - a quarter of the number I see today, at best. There was also a lot of honking from drivers, hostile insults exchanged as a matter of course. Now it hardly happens at all. I see business owners sitting on the front steps and watching the cyclists as the sun sets. It really is a sight when so many different people pass through on their bikes; there is a festive feel to it.

Maybe our neighbourhood has internalised the bicycle as part of its character, as opposed to thinking of it as a hostile foreign body. Maybe drivers and cyclists both have decided to lighten up and smile.

Costa del Sol: Last day on the beach

Autumn has kicked in already and I’m still with my beach stories! Temperatures have slowly gone down here in the Netherlands, although today was an exemption, what a lovely weather, a bit warm than normal but you can feel the cold biting under your skin. Anyway, I’d like to post another beach entry while the weather is still good!



(Map of Costa del Sol) The Costa del Sol is the whole coast stretch of Malaga province in the South of Spain, from Nerja up north all the way down to Sotogrande.







Moi ready to become a beach bum on our last day in Costa del Sol.



The fotos below were taken on our last day in Costa del Sol on Playa del Bajondillo in Torremolinos. We pretty much didn’t do anything, Dutchman was trying to surpass his sun tanning quota while I, for the most part, just stared at the sea while listening to trance music. I read some magazines as well and I must admit some were glossies gossiping about BNers (Bekende Nederlanders, meaning famous Dutch personas) that I picked up in the lobby of the hotel. It’s alright to have some not-so-serious diversion sometimes.



















Oh, a bird poo’d on me! How big is the chance that I get poo on my hair in a wide open beach, huh? The poo got caught on my hair, yuck. Nasty bird.

Edmunds Headwall and Romance

A pair of climbers took on the Edmunds Headwall last week. They opted for the climbing line after witnessing a fair amount of rockfall off Ptarmigan Ridge and Mowich Face... It seems that the west face of Mt Rainier is melting rather quickly.

On the fun side of things, I found this. It seems that romance for the broken hearted is alive and well on Mt. Rainier. According to Seattle author and dating maven "Breakup Babe" (AKA Rebecca Agiewich,) climbing could be good for your personal life (or not)! Of course, you’d have to read the book to find out how and why. But one fan was compelled enough to carry his copy to the summit. Maybe Ms. Agiewich will send us her Rainier trip reports for public consumption???

The weather looks quite good this weekend; the standard routes seem to be in good climbing shape.

Drink?

Jennifer

Our mission statement here at jjobrien climbing & style is to go where other style reporters fear to tread.


When Jennifer's high-style polish met Slider Wall's legendary trachytefriction, jjobrien was there to bring back the look.

































The instagram post that caught the eye of Marketing Managementat Lorna Jane.

The camera lovesLorne jane.









Follow me on instagramat johnjobrien.

That's right, no service where I live, my battery is flat and I lock the screen rotation thing.













The poster shot.






jj

Sandia Mountains in Snow

Taken from my backyard these mountains look really close but they are over 50 miles away. The cities of Rio Rancho and Albuquerque are over the little hill and under the mountains.

Foxton Locks along canal and back

somewhere around 5 miles. From Bridge 61 to 71 and back.