Badlands :: A Prairie Dog Town

Wednesday, August 24th - - After the bison had moved along, so too did I. Traveling a short distance on the gravel road, I stopped at the Prairie Dog Town and watched the little critters for a while. Some were rather close to the road but as soon as I opened the door and stood up they all scurried off to their burrows. So I got back inside Van Dora and waited a few minutes until they decided to come back out. All of these photos are cropped, some more so than others.





Youngsters. Not sure they should go down into the safety of their burrow or stay outside. A second later and they had disappeared.





Oftentimes you see more with the camera (thank you, whomever invented the zoom lens!) than you do with the naked eye. This little fellow, and the ones below, were quite a distance from a burrow and fairly close to the road, sampling the morsels provided by Mother Nature.











It was so much fun watching these little guys. They were quick to scurry off in every direction at the lightest noise – a cough, a clearing of the throat, even sometimes the sounds of the camera.

Charlie Borgh

If everyone will please pardon my digression from the immediate issues of Mount Rainier, so that I can talk about my friend Charlie Borgh.

I met Charlie on a trip to Mount Rainier’s summit. During the ascent, and subsequent overnight on the summit, it became clear to me that Charlie had a vision of his life. As a young man about to finish college, Charlie was amassing the skills and experiences to lead the life of an accomplished climber. I recognized the love and passion, and from that time on the summit, knew that mountains were going to be a big part of Charlie.

For the next four years, I witnessed Charlie develop as both a mountain climber and a park ranger. When it came to climbing, I can confidently say that few pursued the sport with as much diligence. He simply loved rock climbing and mountaineering, AND he was quite good at it. Physical and strong, Charlie moved through the mountains, over the rock, or up the ice with grace and confidence. He chose climbing routes that were beautiful, technical and challenging. He recently commented that in the last year he had done more climbing than most people in do in a lifetime… And if you spent much time with Charlie, you knew this was true.

Charlie served as a National Park Service Climbing Ranger. He started as a volunteer at Camp Schurman, but quickly climbed the ranks to become a lead climbing ranger on Mount Rainier. Charlie’s assignments as a climbing ranger required him to delicately mix intense physical ability with sound judgment and excellent decision making. The job was adventurous and dynamic and that seemed to suit Charlie well. So well in fact, that he took assignments at Yosemite on the prestigous search and rescue team in Camp 4.

On Mount Rainier, he led climbing patrols and rescues. On more than one occasion, Charlie risked his life to save another. He didn’t do this carelessly, but purposefully and with confidence. He was an important part of our team, and I trusted him implicitly. Which was something he seemed to enjoy, trust. In fact, I say that Charlie blossomed when trusted, and the responsibility that came with it.

Maybe most impressively, was the simplicity at which Charlie enabled himself. He pursued a challenging path for his life and it was inspiring to watch. Charlie succeeded at most anything he set his mind to, and in succeeding, he led and motivated others to do the same. He made choices that reflected his soul and passion; he was living his life with purpose and direction, things that we all can look up to.

Here are few links to stories about Charlie. Charlie Borgh loved climbing, despite danger. These two require free registration but tell the story of a dramatic rescue in 2004 that Charlie took part in. In the Seattle PI, Injured climber dies after rescue and in the Seattle Times, Injured mountain climber dies after daring rescue.

Information about the accident was posted here. In the next few days, I'll put more up about Gabe Coler, Mount Deltaform and a Pacific NW memorial for Charlie.

Home Sweet Winter Home

When we first started full-timing, we didn't understand the annual sites that people stayed on. I mean, we understood what they were but we didn't understand the why. Our thinking at the time was if you have a house that has wheels, it should move around. Otherwise what's the point.



Like so often in life, we now do understand it since we are now in the position we are doing it ourselves. Why? For many different reasons; but in general because our needs have changed since then. So for this season at least, we secured a site that would allow us to stay put in one spot. I have no idea if this will be something we will continue to do and I don't need to know that. I only need to know what works best for us today.



The cons to staying put are we don't get to see new things and new people as often. The plusses are we get the spot we want for a longer period of time, we hopefully get to know the people that are staying put here with us a bit better, joining a CSA and we have internet. High speed internet!!!!!! Which we had long forgotten about. Which means Nathan can work much faster and more effectively and so can I. I can blog much faster which means I may return to more regular blogging.



Oh and we had to find a spot that was big enough for us to play cornhole on.



We really love our new spot. It's Home, Sweet Home, for now.

Deteriorating Dress Guards

I've had my Raleigh Tourist for close to 3 years now and, not counting the brake pads, the only wear on the bike over the course of that time has been to the aftermarket dress guards. These dress guards were acquired new old stock from a connection in Portugal. They are very simple - essentially a bunch of elasticised cords. And I love them: the simplicity of the design does not detract from the elegant form of the iconic loop frame, while being sufficient to do its job. Unfortunately, over time the cords seem to have lost their elasticity and are now kind of saggy. Some have even begun to disintegrate and I've had to cut them off. I am surprised that they've lasted such a short time, and it's a bit of a pain because the number of holes they require in the fender is unique to them. I will have tobother the person who gave them to me for another set, or attempt to make my own.




Assuming that my experience is not a fluke, it might explain why so many vintage bicycles are found with holes in the fenders but no dress guards: Possibly, this accessory had an inherently short life span due to the elastic degrading.I assume the elastic is natural rubber, which would make it sensitive to heat and humidity - same reason it is so rare to find intact original rubber grips.




Those who are making dress guards today (I know there are a few of you out there now) might want to keep this in mind. I'd be curious to know what types of cords you use and how they have held up. If I make my own dress guards, I would like them to last next time!

Curious Deer

On our way to Duluth the other day we stopped in Two Harbors to look for some owls that had reportedly been hanging around. We didn't have any luck finding the owls, but we did find several very curious deer alongside the roadways. This particular deer was very curious about us and stared at us for quite a while as I snapped picture after picture. So, we didn't see any owls but the deer encounter sure was fun!

Snow Musing by Lynn Thorp

Nicole and Richard, December

Big snows are (were?) rare enough around here that traditions and memories are firmly imprinted. My mom had traditions: always bake or make a big pot of something and instruct Dad to take an Irish Coffee to Elmo next door while he was shoveling. Without even realizing why, I stopped on the way home Friday for Irish Coffee makings. I didn't even remember the tradition until today when I offered one to my shoveling neighbor Cece.

When the news reports previous historic snow totals, they all prompt a memory:

1979 - Wearing what Dan called "weird chic" cloth Chinese shoes while walking home to 4884 MacArthur from an all-night party in Foxhall Village. Even the drugstore and Safeway didn't open for a day or two and people were skiing down the Boulevard.

1982 - Walking the several miles home from work at Georgetown University to find roommate Matthew Klena watching the news of the Air Florida crash and the Metro accident.

1996 - Being snowed in here, in Mt. Rainier, for over a week with young children. They got so sick of sledding that they just wanted to play on the plow hills at the corner. That was easy because these plow hills were right in front of the house and the kids didn't need to be so well suited up.

What will be this season's memories? Well, first the sheer number of events, including the "mess up holiday plans storm" of December . Then the January 30 six inch interlude during which we held Bob's big birthday party and grilled in the backyard. For the "big one" which just passed, it will be neighbors Kathy and John coming every night to play board games with Richard and me. And neighbor Dave and I embarking upon a committed relationship with Battlestar Gallactica by watching the first disc. Also our local brewery/restaurant Franklins has a new brewer and tonight's "meet the brewer/try two new beers" will stick in my mind because many of us who made it there hadn't been anywhere in days and yet another big snow was beginning. Staff were outside to push people out of the parking lot.

It's easy to make fun of snow hysteria, but it can be rough when the power goes out or the infrastructure collapses in various ways. But it also is just unusual enough to put us in a festive mood and makes us mark those friends and family who get us through, and it imprints traditions that we barely know we have. Fare well Washington DC area friends... spring will arrive for us.

Dressed Up and Ready to Go

Marianne's new handlebars are now wrapped, twined and shellacked. You can see that the bars do not look quite so wide and wing-like once they have been wrapped.

The hand position is similar to a classic mountain bike position - but achieved more elegantly. I feel that I have a lot more control with these bars than I did with the drops, and now cycling in traffic on this bicycle is no longer an issue - even though I am not any more upright now than I was when I had my hands on top of the drop bars. This must mean that the fear I previously had of riding the bike in traffic had more to do with balancing and braking than with being hunched over.

From a utilitarian standpoint, the best thing about the new set-up are the brakes. The new Shimano levers have made them the best functioning brakes I have on any of my bicycles. I cycled all around town and on some trails yesterday, and the experience of riding this bike has been completely transformed for the better. I am so thankful to Open Bicycle in Somerville, Mass. for the wonderful job they did on this. They did not just replace parts, but worked with me to "troubleshoot" and design the new set-up based on the problems I was having with the old one. Those guys know what they are doing.

Where Oh Where Has My Florida Weather Gone?

If you were to visit Weather.com, it might fool you because although it is in fact sunny as the cute picture shows...it is just downright COLD here right now.



Cold as in low of 27 degrees tonight cold. We had an unusually cold winter last year and I'm fearing this year will be a repeat. I hope not! So how is the weather in other parts of the country?

More Deer

Here you can see three deer in the grass. At the corner of the wall just beyond the deer on the walkway, by the tall tree is where they jumped over the wall to go meandering down through the meadow.

Mexican Train with Bob and Vicki

We are leaving tomorrow, and we've hardly seen Bob and Vicki since we got here, so we are thrilled that we made plans to play Mexican Train with them tonight. Before I get into the evening, I have to talk a bit about Bob and Vicki.

We all adore Bob and Vicki. You know how there are certain people that just find a way deep into your heart? They are those people for us. Vicki was the first person to tell us about Mexican Train. She was the first to teach Austin and I pickleball after Barb sucked us into the game. Vicki spent hours and I mean HOURS that first day with us. That's just how she is though...so patient and kind. Bob always has a twinkle in his eye and has a wicked pickleball serve and game. They are tons of fun to spend time with. Beyond that they are just what Austin always calls "good people". We find ourselves breathing easier when we are around people like them.

Don't let that fool you though, because they will still play to beat the pants off of you when playing Mexican Train! We started out with Aric in the lead and Nathan with the Good Sport ribbon. Every time I see a picture of Aric, I am glad he shaved all of his hair off so you can see his handsome face now. That and I got tired of people thinking he was homeless. Bad enough we live in a RV, we don't need people thinking we have no home at all thanks to him! Just kidding, Aric. You look mah-velous now though.

At some point, Bob pulled into the lead. I think Vicki's bathroom trips where she could see all what we all had on our trays had something to do with this...but I can't quite figure out how...so I'm not tossing out any accusations just yet. Austin decides that Bob is winning, so they are now "homies". Or maybe they are homies because the two of them combined talk almost as much trash as Dean does by himself. Either way, I think he thought that meant he got to wear the ribbon too. (Note the long sleeved shirt that Austin wore so he could stick dominoes up his sleeves. I'm on to him too!)

Bob said once he got the ribbon, he never gave it up. So I think Austin needs another game plan if he wants to wear the ribbon. Then again, Austin does have youth on his side....

Sadly, Bob's prediction was right. He did keep that ribbon for the rest of the night after he took first place. Nathan was even stingier though. He wore his ribbon the whole night and never once shared it with anyone.

We had a great night with them. Can't wait to see them and everyone else again in Florida!



Living the life with laughter in Michigan!

The Mystique of 'Ride Quality'

When describing what we like or dislike about riding a particular bike, we speak of that bicycle's "ride quality". But what exactly is that? In simple terms, it's how a bicycle feels to ride. Is it comfortable? how does it feel over bumps? how does it accelerate? how does it behave when turning corners? how does it feel when loaded? At least to some extent, all of the descriptions we provide under the umbrella of "ride quality" are subjective. And although there are objective, technical factors underlying the subjective experiences, the relationship between these factors is so complex and so sensitive to even the most minuscule variations, that translating sensations into explanations can be tricky.



This is especially true of my Royal H. mixte. Its ride quality intrigues me, because it is like nothing I have experienced before. For one thing, the frame feels oddly soft and springy. Some may suggest it's the tires, but no - the sensation is from the actual metal. It's like riding a bike carved out of a cloud, and the feeling is the exact opposite of the vintage Motobecane I used to own - whose frame felt "painful" and "hard". The other mysterious aspect of the Royal H., is the extent to which it likes to keep its line of travel. You can launch this bicycle across a room without a rider, and it will go straight. When I turn a corner, it goes at the exact trajectory I want it to go. I have never experienced anything quite like it. I know that Bryan (the framebuilder behind Royal H.) chose a delightfully eccentric combination of tubing specifically to combat the discomfort issues I was having with my vintage mixte, and that he built the bicycle with neutral trail so that it would feel stable. But is it really as simple as that? I have ridden other bicycles with good tubing and neutral trail, and they did not handle quite like this. So I prefer to attribute it to magic.



Being an annoying academic by training, I like to analyse everything until I understand it. But sometimes the things we feel are beyond the sum of their parts - things like love, happiness, ennui, longing ...and ride quality.

Cottonwood Tree

This is the biggest cottonwood tree that survived the fire in this little area. Paseo del Norte highway is to the left of it. The pathway runs to the right of it. You can see the dead cottonwood trunk that has the sandhill crane on top of it. The Rio Grande River is farther on beyond the tree and park.

Leather Saddles from Cardiff and VO

A few years back, both Velo Orange and the Merry Sales/ Soma/ IRD group began releasing Taiwan-made leather saddles, which have been available as less pricey alternatives to the racing, touring and commuting models from Brooks of England. The saddles from Velo Orange are VO-branded, and the saddles from Merry Sales are sold under the Cardiff brand. Though both companies use the same manufacturer (Gyes) and offer equivalent models, they are not identical; subtle differences in specs are apparent. Still, the overall construction and design are the same. Since many have been wondering about the feel and quality of these saddles, I thought it would be useful to describe my experiences.






My first experience with a VO Saddle was when Velo Orange donated one for the vintage touring bike give-away I was doing last year. The model is what they call the Model 3 Touringandis equivalent to a Brooks B17 in width and general shape. The VO Model 3 features chromed rivets, side lacing, saddlebag loops, and a pebbled surface.






When the saddle arrived and I took it out of the box, I was initially not impressed. I thought the feel of the leather was somewhat "cardboard-like." To the touch it felt both stiffer and more brittle than a Brooks saddle. The underside had a grid-like surface to it, almost as if the material was some sort of compound. I did not have high hopes for what something like this would feel like to ride.






However, my expectations proved wrong once I started test riding the bike on which the saddle was fitted. Saddle preferences are highly personal, so I can only say that I found the VO Model 3 extremely comfortable. It did not need breaking in. In action, it felt neither too stiff nor too soft. The width and shape felt just right for my sitbones on a roadbike set up with the bars level with saddle height. The nose did not dig into any sensitive areas. My first ride on the saddle was 20 miles without padded shorts and it felt great. It felt equally great on subsequent test rides. As this was not my own bike, I was not able to provide feedback as to how the saddle felt on longer rides and how it held up over time, which is why I did not post a review. But based on my limited experience, I was impressed and made a mental note to go for this model next time I needed to buy a touring bike saddle. The VO Model 3 is not as luxurious as a Brooks B17, but to me it felt more comfortable out of the box.






When Soma offered to send me a Smoothie roadbike for review earlier this spring, we discussed specs and I asked them to include a green Cardiff Cornwall saddle. I was curious whether this saddle would be suitable for a more aggressive roadbike set-up, and I also wanted to see how it compared to the VO version I'd tried earlier. Overall, the Cardiff Cornwall looks very similar to the VO Model 3, except for the colour choices. Also, the Cardiff has a smooth surface, whereas VO's is pebbled. There might be other subtle differences in design, but I have not noticed them.





Like the VO saddle, the Cardiff Cornwall features chromed rivets, side lacing and saddlebag loops. The width and shape of the Cardiff Cornwall saddle feels just as I remember the VO Model 3 - perfect for my sitbones. It needed no breaking in. Nothing hurts, the longest ride so far being 30 miles. The Soma Smoothie is set up more aggressively than the vintage touring bike I'd test ridden with the other saddle, with the handlebars 1" below saddle height. However, the Cardiff Cornwall does not feel too wide for the bike. The saddle feels great to ride on.







As far as the quality, look and feel of the leather, my impressions are the same as with the VO: cardboard-like to the touch, with a general sense that the materials - including the leather, the rivets and the rails - are not as high-end as what Brooks uses. Additionally, the green dye on the Cardiff has begun to rub off after some use. Good thing I wear black cycling shorts.




All things considered, my impression is that yes there is a difference in the quality of materials used in the Velo Orange and Cardiff saddles versus the equivalent Brooks models. However, the real consideration for me is how a saddle feels in action. While I have good luck with Brooks saddles on upright bikes, for some reason I have bad luck with them on roadbikes. On the other hand, the Velo Orange and Cardiff saddles work surprisingly well for me in that context. This, combined with the reasonable pricing, make them attractive alternatives to the other leather saddles out there. If you are having trouble with the fit of other saddles, these are certainly worth experimenting with. It is good to have options at different price points.

Aquamarine

We have been staying on Cape Cod since Saturday and will be here till the end of the month. The water is freezing, but the scenery is gorgeous and the bicycle trails are nearby.



Marianne was happy to discover that her aquamarine outfit matched the colourscheme of the landscape.



Come to think of it, so did mine! Yesterday we spotted seals frolicking on this beach, though I failed to capture them on camera.

Chance Encounters and Boston Vintage Bikes

Taking advantage of the mild temperatures a couple of days ago, we went for another ride along the Charles River Trail, this time a nice long one. We were taking a break to photograph the bikes (a totally normal part of any day, right?), when I heard a very polite yet excited voice from the trail. Was I by chance the person from Lovely Bicycle? I guess of all the girls out there riding loop-frame bicycles with enormous red bows on the basket, I must be especially recognisable? I attribute it to my unique facial features.

We invited the gentleman to join us on the dock, and a fest of bicycle photography and discussion ensued.

Apparently, he collects photos of people photographing him. So this is my picture of him, taking a picture of me taking a picture of him.

And this is his picture of me, taking a picture of him taking a picture of me taking a... Really, the philosophical implications are staggering. You can see this and many other bicycle related pictures on verdammelt's photostream on flickr.

Here is a shot showing off his bicycle better (admittedly posed in what Steve A. calls my "Lenin in Finland" stance). The bicycle is a vintage BSA 3-speed step-through, which he found abandoned, rescued, restored back to health, and now uses as a winter bike.

Here is a somewhat blurry close-up. Our new acquaintance is proof of how common these rare vintage bicycles are in Boston. A BSA randomly left abandoned on the streets? Yup. It is a pretty cerulean-blue colour with nice lugs and a beautiful fork crown. You can't see them here, but the bike also has shimmery red grips on the handlebars that set off the blue frame quite nicely.

And I love the unusual saddle. It is sprung pleather, with the look and feel of an old leather jacket - not the texture one normally sees on saddles. Overall, this is an excellent rescue, and the owner seems to care about bicycle and to like riding them very much. We enjoyed meeting him and thank him for posing for these photos!

On the road to Cayo Coco: Cow traffic and the toilet from hell

So now that Santiago de Cuba is behind us we are an experience richer!



Our next destination in the agenda is Cayo Coco—the islands or the keys. This is where the famous Cuban beaches are located, in the eastern part of Cuba. We will be staying in a 4-star beach resort.



The drive from Santiago de Cuba to Cayo Coco is about 7 hours. We will be making 2 stops.



Cow Traffic: Mooooo!









While on the road, we saw cows joining lazily in the traffic. The biggest hazard in driving in Cuba are animals that think the highways are their domain. I have a horrifying animal encounter on the road story to share later.









And then we saw the usual scenery on the Cuban highways.



The Toilet from Hell



Then we have to make the necessary stop—our FIRST stop nearby Holguin, because nature called us to do THE deed. We’ve probably driven about 2-3 hours already.







This is the roadside café restaurant that we had the stopover. And because nature called us to stop here we proceeded to their toilet.







The toilet from HELL! EWWWW. The picture did not do justice, the toilet was really so bad in person.



When I saw this, I was speechless and my body hairs were literally standing! Goosebumps. I wanted to run away but I realised that I am a girl scout (and Blondine as well) who deals with the situation at hand. So I held my breath, make sure I balance myself well without touching anything (so gross!) and just stared at the ceiling (because I don’t want to see the hell around me) while doing the deed. UGH.



I was so proud of myself after. I did it!!!







Back at the café restaurant we bought some soda. Yep, this is a cafeteria in Cuba.











And we saw some locals stopping by as well for drinks and some socialising.



It is now time to go back driving and be on the road. We still have another 4 hours to reach Cayo Coco. Wish us the best!