From the Garden

I got a basket full of tomatoes and cucumbers the other day. Enough to share with the neighbors. The watermelon aren't quite ready yet. The butternut squash won't be ready for about another month.

Chiricahua National Monument

If you should happen to be driving along Interstate 10 in southeast Arizona, you need to turn south onto highway 186 in Wilcox. Your destination is a little over 30 miles through the desert, uphill. It is the same terrain you have been driving through from Texas and New Mexico and you're wondering why or how this will be any different. But when you reach the little road that takes you into a canyon, you enter a different world. A delightful, surprising one.

There was green grass. And trees. Not just the little scrub bushes but real trees. And it was cool. And there was a stream with flowing water. Of course, it was early spring. There had been a lot of snow during the winter and it was melting. The first time in many years that there had actually been water flowing in Bonita Creek, according to one of the Park Rangers.

This fascinating place is Chiricahua National Monument. I had never heard of it until I saw a sign on the Interstate. I'm so glad that I took that road. The campground was pleasant with some sun making its way through the trees. It was refreshing to return to after several hours of hiking the trails, which were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

My Campsite.

The Erickson/Riggs home at Faraway Ranch, Bonita Canyon.
In 1887, this remote canyon became the home of Neil and Emma Erickson. Swedish emigrants, they met at Fort Craig, New Mexico. He was a sergeant in the Army and she was a a maid and companion to the Colonel's wife. Neil was often away from home, working, and Emma tended to the children and the ranch. In 1903 he became a forest ranger, which took him further away from Bonita Canyon. In 1917, the eldest daughter, Lillian, began inviting guests to the ranch and it became the getaway destination. Her husband, Ed Riggs, became foreman of a CCC Camp and helped build the trails used by visitors today. They did an amazing job on the trails. Faraway Ranch is now a part of Chiricahua National Monument.

Beyond Bonita Canyon are the mountains. The trails wind through the incredible rock formations – pillars and balancing rocks galore! It is a wondrous place, indeed.

Helen, Dorothy and Mildred Jones

Helen, Dorothy and Mildred Jones were the children of Charles Isaac Jones (1859-1940) and Emma Liggett (1861-1949). The photograph is from the Whitley County Historical Museum. Charles is my 1st cousin 4 times removed. Our common ancestors are my 4th great grandparents William B. Jones and Elizabeth Helms. They were Charles' grandparents.

Helen was born May 1, 1888 in Columbia City and married John Albert Menaugh on April 22, 1913 in Whitley County, Indiana. In 1940 and 1949 she lived in Chicago, Illinois.

Dorothy and Mildred were twins, born January 9, 1892 in Columbia City. Dorothy married Russell B. Clapham on June 15, 1919 in Whitley County. According to her mother's obituary in 1949, Mrs. Dorothy Clapham was living in Washington, D. C. Her husband, Russell, died December 28, 1928 in Columbia City of cerebral meningitis. In addition to his wife, Dorothy, he was survived by his 8 year old son, Charles Clapham.

In August 1918, Mildred married Robert Dale Robertson at Peoria, Illinois. In 1940 and 1949 she was living in Washington, D. C.

A fourth child, Lucy, was born to Charles and Emma Liggett Jones in March of 1894. According to her parents obituaries in 1940 and 1949, Lucy was married to Walter Mitchell and lived in Washington, D. C.

Looking NorthEast

From the Crest of the Sandias you can see Albuquerque but can look off to the northeast also.

Another Place No Longer There

The Hollywood Inn circa 1937 ( Now Andrews Air Force Base)

George and Bebe lived here and ran The Hollywood Inn, a roadhouse. On the weekends there were fried chicken dinners (fresh caught) dances, and church picnics- at least until 1939 when an electrical fire burned the place to the ground. Everyone got out safely, but only with the clothes (or pyjamas) on their backs. Pictured R to L front are George's brother, Nick, his Aunt Koula, Cousin Baby George A. , his mother, Pota and cousin, Ronnie Cokinos.
Behind Nick are his Uncle Alec, his father, Peter, and his sister Catherine Cokinos. George P Cokinos himself is holding up the rear.

His and Hers Bicycles: Matching Looks vs Matching Performance

I love the idea of "His and Hers" bicycles: an elegant pair of lady's and gentleman's bikes from the same manufacturer. When we first decided to ride bicycles, the Co-Habitant and I envisioned ourselves exclusively on such matched pairs. We acquired a Pashley Princess and Roadster as our transport bikes.We acquired a Motobecane Super Mirage and Mirage Mixte as our roadbikes.And we acquired a Raleigh DL-1 Touristand Lady Tourist as our vintage 3-speeds.



It was all so perfect!... except that it wasn't. I could never keep up when we were both on the Pashleys, which was a constant source of discontent (I am now convinced that the female model is just inherently different from the male one). With the Motobecanes things were even worse, as my semi-upright mixte was no match for his racy SuperMirage roadbike. Despite being perfectly matched in looks, our beautiful velo couples were plagued by a disparity in performance.

Having finally decided that the illusion of perfection was not the same as perfection itself, I shattered the symmetry - first by replacing my Pashley Princess with a vintage Gazelle, and then by selling my Motobecane mixte. Interestingly, the Gazelle is a better match for the Pashley Roadster performance-wise, and we no longer experience the same problem with discrepancies in speed when cycling together on our commuter bikes.



As for roadbikes, it is difficult to keep up with somebody on drop bars, while yourself riding with upright bars - especially if you are a weaker cyclist to begin with. MyRivendellandTrekroadbikesmay not look as sexy next to the Co-Habitant'sMotobecane as my vintagemixte did, but they are a better match when it comes to actually cycling together.



This particular discrepancy in "his and hers" bikes is something I wonder about when I see a man and a woman cycling together, where he is on an aggressive roadbike and she is on an upright hybrid from the same manufacturer (usually Trek,Cannondale or Specialized). While I understand that the idea is for the woman (who is presumably less skilled) to ride an "easier bike," surely it must make the difference in their skill levels all the more acutely felt?



Of the three "His and Hers" pairs we started with, only our vintage Raleigh DL-1s remain. These are actually matched pretty nicely in terms of performance, so apparently "back in the day" Raleigh got it right whereas today's Pashley did not. Although we do not ride these as often as we ride our main transport bikes, it is nice to have at least one pair of bicycles that matches both in looks and performance. Who knows, maybe in the future there will be more - but the performance aspect is a must. After all, a couple's chemistry is about more than just looks.

Boston Area Roadsters: a Place to Call Our Own

An announcement for those in the Boston area who own vintage Roadsters and other lovely 3-speed creatures: A few of us are getting together and starting a club of sorts. Well, more like an appreciation and preservation society: We envision a project that will enable people to learn about their Roadsters - including how to work on them and either restore them to their all-original glory or convert them to reliable modern commuters.

[somervillain's 1986 Union Unitas]

We are also interested in photo-documenting as many vintage Roadsters that exist in the Boston area as we can, with the aim of eventually putting together an archive of the sorts of things people have done to these bicycles. Boston really is a mecca of vintage 3-speeds, and we would like to commemorate that.

[somervillain (right) with John Pyper of Open Bicycle]

We have been generously granted a "club space" for our pursuits at Open Bicycle, which is located in Union Square in Somerville, Mass. We can use this space to get together and work on our bicycles cooperatively, to organise workshops, or even just for "Show and Tell". Open's lounging area and workshop facilities make it an ideal meeting place, so a big Thank You to Open Bicycle for their support.

[my 1936 Raleigh Lady's Tourist, on display at Spoke Count]

So far, this project is in its early stages and 4 people are involved: myself, somervillain, Biking in Heels, and the Co-Habitant. I should add that somervillain is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to vintage 3-speeds, so the opportunity to receive his advice and help is quite exciting. Our plan for this club is very much open-format and will depend on the dynamic of the group. If you would like to take part, or be informed of our activities, please drop me a line at "filigreevelo-at-yahoo-dot-com" or post a comment here.