Typically Dutch 006: Pannenkoeken

Pancakes! And pancakes the Dutch way! Traditional Dutch pancakes are thicker than French crepes and thinner than the usual Hungry Jack pancakes I grew up with.

Pancake restaurants are actually a HUGE thing in the Netherlands. It is a local thing and it’s where families frequent during weekends. With every ingredient thrown into a bowl and mashed until muggy, no wonder the Dutch Kitchen is ever (never) going to make it to international cuisine stardom, but guess what? Dutch pancakes are a constitution here in its own right!

So, if you are one of those seriously looking at taking a real peek and experiencing Dutch food the “gezellig” way, take my word and look for a pancake restaurant. And outside Amsterdam please because Amsterdam is not the Netherlands.

I had to delete fotos of my recent Marienwaerdt weekend of nature pleasure because I forgot to upload the fotos from my camera to my laptop and I need to make room for my Normandy trip. Arrrrgh! Well, I have already forgiven myself. This is the only surviving foto of my Marienwardt weekend with the Dutchman, our Dutch pancakes. Mine is ham and apple, his is ham and raisins.

Dutch pancakes, unlike its counterparts, are like ice cream. They come in many flavors and with different toppings!

I’ve had ham and apple pancake in Mariendwaerdt while Dutchman had ham and raisin pancake. I saw unique pancake specialities on the menu, some with vegetables, seafood, and even meat like shaorma! I haven’t been brave enough to try them though as I can’t imagine sprinkling powdered sugar on them. I like my pancakes with powdered sugar. Please. Thank you.

These pancake restaurants are usually barns and farm houses converted into convivial restaurants with open terraces, a large playground for the children and in most cases situated near a forest, park or estate. A very typical Dutch family thing is to go for long walks with nature during weekends and ending it with a hearty pancake treat.

In time I have accumulated a few favorites in my list. The row of inviting pancake restaurants in Lage Vuursche near Bilthoven has been on my mind lately, perhaps its time to go back there. The popular pancake restaurant in Rhijnauwen in Bunnik is another favorite choice. Instead of always going by car or bike, why not take the boat trip (romantic idea) from Utrecht Center through the Rhine River to this pancake restaurant? And recently, I have been in Mariendwaerdt in Beesd where they also serve yummy pancakes!

I just remembered now the pancake boat restaurant with the Dutch flag I saw in Germany. Think it was in Bremen or Cologne. A floating or traveling Dutch pancake restaurant. Cool.

Why Cyclists Ignore Bike Racks

Although there are plenty of complaints about the lack of bicycle parkinghere, my impression is that the greater Boston area is better than many places in this respect. There are bicycle racks all over shopping districts, outside post offices, libraries and prominent places of business, next to transit stations, throughout college campuses. But I notice that cyclists do not always choose to use the racks, preferring to lock their bicycles to alternative structures instead. There will sometimes be a rack that is almost entirely empty, and nearby there will be some bicycles locked to trees and sign poles.

The other day I saw a group of cyclists locking up their bikes outside a cafe - each one of them ignoring the racks and going for random other structures. I commented about it, and we had an interesting conversation. Here are some of the reasons they gave for not using the racks provided:

. Transportation bicycles with big tires, fenders and headlights don't fit some types of racks.

. The "tethering post" types of racks that are installed along sidewalks are often placed too closely to the road, and careless drivers can damage bicycles with their cars when parallel parking.

. Theseracks can also stand too closely to pedestrian lines of travel, and people bump into the parked bicycles when walking past them, sometimes knocking them over.

. Others lock their bicycles too closely to yours, scuffing or scratching it, or even knocking it over in the process.

. Bicycle racks attract thieves, since that is where they look for bicycles and where it is easy to get multiple bicycles at a time.

Some of these points reflect my own experiences. There are racks I cannot use, because my bike won't fit except locked to the very edge (a spot that is usually already taken by another bike with the same problem). And while this has not happened to me, I have seen cars hit bicycles locked to those individual racks they place along the edge of sidewalks. Pedestrians brushing against my bike and others' bikes scuffing it is less of a concern, because I don't baby my transportation bikes. And I had not given much thought to the possibility that bike racks could attract thieves.

While not all of these issues are solvable, they are worth addressing when installing bicycle racks. It's a shame when resources are spent to create racks that cyclists find unusable.

Another of Log Cabin

A Mess

What a mess he made. I hope he had fun doing it.

Vacation Time!

I forgot how much work it is to go on vacation before you go on vacation! We have not actually had a vacation for years and years. Sure, we took trips to visit family and maybe did a night away or even a weekend away, but we did not take a vacation where nobody worked for a whole week since we lived in Virginia.



We talked about this on our way over to Cocoa Beach and also talked about the differences in living a life where a vacation never even enters our mind and one where vacations are almost vital to help you step away from your daily life and renew your bonds together and your own inner self. We are looking forward to getting back to the lifestyle where vacations never even enter our minds since we by far prefer that, but for now we are grateful we can at least take vacations to give us something different and give us a way to get away and have fun together.



The really fun part of the vacation planning was that the ladies in my life joined in the fun and helped me plan, pack and even loaned me clothes and books for the cruise. How great are they!? ! Other friends graciously kept Ava for us so we did not have to send her to a kennel. Again, so great of them to do this for us so we did not have to worry about her. And I knew lots of people in the park would keep a close eye on Austin while we were gone and one of our friends kept an extra super close eye on him so we did not have to worry about him at all.



We headed out about noon today, turned right back around and came back to get my purse that I forgot. My purse with our boarding passes and passports that is! So glad I remembered two minutes away rather than two hours away. We made it to Cocoa Beach in great time, checked into our hotel and then did our first cruise related thing here. We went to the dive shop to buy snorkel gear.





I went to get my hair cut after that. (Donna, can you believe I finally got a hair cut!) It's been a year since I had one so it was overdue. The girl cut my bangs reaalllly short so I am now rethinking having a hair cut the day before a cruise. We had a nice dinner, spent time talking about all we wanted to do on the cruise and got to bed early since we were getting up early the next morning.

Rural Cycling: Fantasy vs Reality

Though fate has been such that I've spent most of my life in cities and suburbs, I have always been drawn to rural areas. When I first started working after grad school, I finally got my wish and lived in the rural North for two years - but for logistical reasons this could not last, and we subsequently moved to Boston. Still, I continue to dream of long country roads, of creaky farm houses surrounded by unruly gardens, of moody seascapes with not a housing development in sight, and of miles of dense forest stretching as far as the eye can see. This is probably what drives my interest in touring, and I use my bike to get out of the city every chance I get.

On Memorial Day we rode through the hilly country roads of Lexington, Lincoln and Concord. It is so nice there, that my rural fantasies flared up again big-time. Oh to wake up in my farmhouse (modestly sized, white clapboard, mansard roof), get the bike out of the barn, and cycle 20+ miles along a pastoral landscape to the nearest town on errands... I get overwhelmed just thinking about it!

But how realistic is cycling for transportation in a rural area? According to the Co-Habitant, my dreams will be crushed by harsh reality if I actually get what I want. He reminds me how far away everything is from everything else. He reminds me that in Northern New England winter can last from mid-November till April and in many areas it is impossible to get around without an all-wheel drive motor vehicle. He reminds me that cars do not uphold the speed limit on those picturesque winding rural roads, and points out that narrow road + blind turns + trucks speeding along at 60mph = bad news for cyclists. Plus, when it gets dark in the countryside, it gets really dark - pitch black! Will I be able to deal with that?

I agree with all of these points if I stop to think about it. Yet, I continue to depict myself as a rural cyclist in my mental picture of the "ideal future". Is it pure fantasy? Will I be longing for the bike lanes and the urban landscape of Boston when living in my farm house in the middle of nowhere? I do wish there were more websites out there that focused on rural cycling, so that I could form a better idea of its practical aspects. The cows refused to share their honest opinion.

Soma's Fab in 650B! A Test Ride of the Buena Vista Mixte

Last week I had the pleasure to extensively test ride a Soma Buena Vista mixte that our fellow bicycle-obsessionist Somervillain has just built up for his wife. This test ride was a rare opportunity that I gladly seized. First off, Soma only sells frames and not complete bikes, so finding a way to test ride their models is difficult. Moreover, this mixte is an especially rare specimen, as it is built up with 650B wheels. And finally, I was allowed to borrow the bicycle for an entire day - which, of course, was much more informative than a brief test ride. I hope this will be of use to those considering this bicycle.





Soma Fabrications is a small manufacturer of bicycle frames and components based in San Francisco. Their Taiwanese-built frames are steel and more or less classic, with modern elements. The Buena Vista model is a TIG-welded mixte with twin lateral stays, available in four sizes from XS (42cm) to XL (58cm). It is a versatile frame with "sports touring" geometry that can be built up either as a roadbike or as a city bike, either with a derailleur or with an internally geared hub, and either with 700C or with 650B wheels.





Though a 700C build is by far the more typical, Somervillain fitted this bicycle with 650B wheels. The 650B size allows for wider tires - specifically the fantastically cushy Grand Bois Hetres, which make for a very comfortable ride. Soma specifies a maximum 38mm tire width for 650B wheels on the Buena Vista, but their estimate is overly conservative: The 42mm Hetres fit fine, including fenders. That is a useful piece of information for those who like wide tires and are choosing between, say, the Soma Buena Vista and the Rivendell Betty Foy. These two frames allow for the same tire width.





An additional benefit of using 650B wheels on the Soma, is that it is a useful trick to eliminate toe overlap - at least on the 58cm frame. Keep in mind also that when you put 650B wheels on a frame, you can go with a larger size than what you normally ride. While a 58cm frame is usually too big for me, I was able to fit this one because of the 650B wheels.





The Buena Vista is available in white or graphite, and this bicycle is obviously the latter. The graphite is a dark silver colour with some depth to it, not unlike a Tahitian pearl. The Soma headbadge and decals are embellished with splashes of red, which I think complements the frame nicely.





Gray and silver frames can be tricky to accessorise, and personally I prefer them paired with warm tones. This bicycle is fitted with all black accessories, which gives it a sporty/stealthy look. Ultimately, these choices are a matter of personal taste.





The Buena Vista frame is mostly welded, with the exception of the lugged fork crown and a few lugwork-like details - such as the connector between the stays and the seat tube.





The welding is relatively clean, though not quite as clean as on the Surly frames we recently examined. I think that welding marks are more noticeable on a mixte than on a diamond frame, simply because there are more joints to connect.





The horizontal dropouts are what makes the Buena Vista frame compatible with both derailleur and hub gearing. There are braze-ons for both racks and fenders.





The wheelset is from Velo Orange, built around a Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub.





This particular twist shifter is unobtrusive and easy to use.





The Nitto Albatross handlebars are set high with the help of spacers - the stem being threadless. Vintage Shimano levers activate the long-reach caliper brakes.





Close-up of the Velo Orange threadless stem with spacers.





Brooks B17 saddle.





Battery-operated CatEye headlight, attached to the fork blade via a DIY mount.





Spanniga Pixeo tail light, attached to the rear fender.





Brass bell mounted on the unused downtube shifter boss.





Vintage Takagi crankset, chosen for its ability to accommodate a Porteur-style chaincase that this mixte may be fitted with at a later stage.





Pletscher double-legged kickstand.





Burley Moosehead rear rack, necessary for attaching a "trailercycle."





And a set of Axiom panniers, mounted permanently to the rack. Velo Orange fenders and Planet Bike mudflaps finish off the build.The total weight of the bicycle with this build is 28lb not including the rack and panniers, and 35lb including them. The significant difference is due to the hefty nature of the proprietary Burley rack, which was a must as Mrs. Somervillain will often commute with one of the children.





This particular Buena Vista was built up as predominantly a transportation/ utility bicycle, to be ridden mainly within greater Boston - while at the same time offering sufficient versatility to handle longer, recreational rides. Hub gearing was chosen for ease of maintenance and an upright posture was chosen for comfort - with the mixte's roadish geometry still offering sufficient speed and maneuverability.





I was in possession of this bicycle from 8:30am until 5:30pm on a weekday. During this time I rode it for transportation to various destinations, then took it on a 12 mile ride along the Charles River Trail towards West Newton and back. All together, I probably rode the Buena Vista for a total of 17 miles.



Based on Soma's online description, I expected the handling to be aggressive - but it was not. It did not handle like a "converted roadbike" as some mixtes do, but like an actual upright city bike. Given that I had the saddle lower than Mrs. Somervillain, the handlebars were too high for my taste and the front end felt lighter than I like. Still, I felt safe and confident riding this bicycle in traffic right away. The Buena Vista was maneuverable and responsive - but easy to control, and predictable. The frame felt stiff-ish, but the wide Grand Bois Hetre tires took the edge off, making for a comfortable ride on and off road. It must also be noted that this bicycle was put together impeccably - which greatly contributed to my feeling of safety and comfort on it.





As far as speed and hill-climbing go, I must say that I felt somewhat limited by the overly upright posture and the hub gearing. On flat terrain, I had trouble finding a "perfect" gear on the 8-speed hub and kept shifting back and forth. On hills, I thought the bicycle lost its momentum quicker than is typical for a bike with roadish geometry, and I had to downshift sooner and more frequently than I expected. Perhaps I am simply accustomed to mixtes that are set up more aggressively, or perhaps there is something about these multi-speed hubs that I find inefficient in comparison to derailleurs. But given how tamely this bicycle handled, I found myself wishing it were a loop frame - so that it would be more comfortable to mount and dismount. At the same time, given its mixte construction, I found myself wishing it were more aggressive, so that I could cycle faster long distance. In a way, I felt like I was neither here nor there - though I imagine others might describe this very same feeling as "the best of both worlds." Of course, it is entirely possible to fit the Buena Vista frame with a derailleur and to opt for an aggressive handlebar set-up, if that is what the owner prefers.



I have test ridden only two other modern-production mixte bicycles besides theSoma: the RivendellBetty Foy and the TrekBelleville WSD. The Trek is not even in the same universe, and on just about every level I can think of the Soma is a better bike. TheRivendell, on the other hand, is a more comparable bicycle, and I even test rode the Betty Foy in the same frame size and with the same wheel size as the Buena Vista. Though over all, the Betty Foy is a more comfortable ride, the difference is not as great as I had anticipated. The Buena Vista is a bit harsher on bumps, and the stepover height of the mixte stays is a good inch or two higher than on the Betty Foy of the same size. But otherwise, they did not feel like radically different bicycles.





All in all, I found the Soma Buena Vista to be a solidly constructed, versatile frame with comfortable geometry and all the accommodations necessary to turn it into almost any sort of bike you wish. I like the proportions of the 58cm frame with the 650B wheels, though cannot speak for the other sizes. I like the multitude of braze-ons and the wide clearances that allow for my favourite tires. I like the rich graphite frame colour. On a mixte with such classic lines, I dislike the welding and the threadless stem, and for me personally this is a dealbreaker - but I recognise that this is a matter of taste.The Soma Buena Vista frame can be found starting at $400, and a complete bike with a build equivalent to the one shown here could cost as little as $1,200 (see here for the complete build). While everyone's idea of what constitutes "good value" differs, this could certainly fit the bill. More than anything, I recommend this bicycle for those seeking an economical way to build up a bike with 650B x 42mm tires. In that sense, the Buena Vista is a rare and excellent find.