Sunday Morning Sunrise

The pictures below are for Susan. As we were having lunch the other day she wondered what pictures I had taken that would show what it was like in Indiana while I was there but at the time I hadn't taken any. These were shot this morning, south of Columbia City on highway nine, as I was driving down the road. A little snow. Lots of cold.




Yes, I went back home for a few days. I had some things to take care of before I got further away. My sojourn in Louisiana lasted two weeks. Thank you very much, Ruth, for your hospitality. It was cold the first week there but we managed a few short outings. The last couple of days in Monroe were quite nice with the temperature reaching 70 degrees. Then I went north. Where the temperature never got above 20 for the week. A big Thank You to my brother Jack and his wife Beesa and to my friend Cindy and her husband Bill for allowing me to invade their homes for a few days.

The journey has resumed. I'm heading south again, still hoping for some warmer weather.

Unsupported Handlebar-Mounted Bags

I get a lot of reader questions about front bags, and particularly about whether I've found a good way to carry a bag on the handlebars without using additional support. Short answer: In my experience, it depends on the bike, on how much weight is being carried, and on how the bag is attached to the bars. These factors interact with varied results.






On roadbikes, I have tried carrying unsupported loads on the handlebars using several methods. Bags attached with straps are appealing, because they do not require permanent hardware installation. However, on longer and/or faster rides I find it difficult to keep them from sliding along the handlebars, no matter how tight the straps and how light the load. If the bag slides when I lean on a turn at high speed, it feels distracting and disconcerting, even if it is too light to affect steering.




A few manufacturers have come up with hardware to address this, including the Nitto Bar Sack Rack, the Brooks Cornwall system, andthe Rixen & Kaul KlickFix adapter. The latter I've had a chance to investigate on Pamela Blalock's bikes - who uses it on most of her roadbikes.





TheKlickFix adapter is mounted on the handlebars and remains there when the bag is detached. It is compatible with many bags from different manufacturers, the most popular being the waterproof Ortlieb bags, available in a variety of sizes. This is a very stable system for carrying unsupported weight on the handlebars, and it worked for me with light loads: I felt zero movement. However, when I added my DSLR camera (between 2 and 3lb with lens), I found that I had poor control of the steering. I reported this to the bag's owner, who confirmed that she does not carry that much weight in a handlebar bag on this or on any of her other roadbikes; she uses this system to store lightweight items only.




Of course, it is not clear whether having the weight lower and supported by a rear rack would make any difference on the specific bike I rode. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it very well could. On the other hand, I have seen touring bikes with large, heavily laden bags attached to the bars using this same method, ridden successfully. So the bike does play a role, as, no doubt, does rider sensitivity to high/ unsupported loads.






With upright city bikes - especially heavily built ones - there is generally more tolerance. I have ridden such bikes with all manner of baskets and bags attached to the handlebars without lower support, and for short distances it's been fine if the weight is only a few pounds. I've even managed to attach my Po Campo pannierto the handebars of a Raleigh DL-1, and ride with this setup with 5lb+ of weight in the bag. The bag does slide side to side and affects steering a bit, but since I am not riding fast or cornering aggressively, it doesn't bother me. The heavier the load, the more likely it is to become problematic. And then again, there are those who simply hang heavy shopping bags off their handlebarsand blithely pedal away.




The general consensus is that carrying weight high on the handlebars and without additional lower support is not ideal. A stable system such as the R&K KlickFix adaptor is probably your best bet, but still there are limits to how much weight will feel comfortable.If you have a success story, do share.Personally, in the absence of a front rack, I prefer to carry weight at the rear of the bike.

DragonFly

This dragonfly took refuge on our back porch during the rainstorm. We don't normally have the really bigs ones here at the house but see them down by the river.

Two Boston Beauties: Rare Vintage Raleighs

Today I visited the bicycle collector Neal Lerner and photographed some of his beautiful bikes. I am posting pictures of these two in particular - not only because they are rare and stunning, but because the owner is offering them for sale [note: both bicycles are now sold].Here is more about the bicycles, for your viewing pleasure and for longevity:



The loop-frame bicycle is a 1938 Raleigh Lady's Tourist.This model was the predecessor to the DL-1. The frame is 22" with 28" wheels. It is a similar bicycle to the one I wrote about here; only this one is in ridable condition.



The main difference between the earlier Tourist and the later DL-1, is that the older bicycles are not quite as long - meaning that there is less distance between the saddle and handlebars. At the same time, they look "taller" than the DL-1, because the head tube extends quite a bit higher. Another difference, is that the older Tourists have a lugged connector between the downtube and the "loop" top tube which is absent from the later DL-1 model.



The handlebars on these older models are quite short and narrow - which makes sense, because of how closely the rider is seated to the bars.



The bicycle is in ridable condition androlls surprisingly nicely (I've ridden it for a short distance).The shifting needs to be worked on (the gears slip) and the rod brakes need to be adjusted, but it is a stable and buttery-smooth ride. Sadly, there is a piece missing from the rear of the chaincase; it is so difficult to find these chaincases intact. The shifter, saddle and grips are replacements and are not original to the 1938 model.



Being from the WWII period, this bicycle has some "blackout" components - including the headbadge.



The second bicycle in the pictures is one I'd never heard of before: It is a 1948 Raleigh Dawn Tourist. The Dawn Tourist was apparently the predecessor to the Sports.It was lighter and more agile than the original Tourist, and featured a straight step-through frame instead of a loop frame. The frame size of this bike is 21" with 26" wheels.



Unlike the later Sports, the Dawn had rod brakes, just like the Tourist did. However, its handlebars were wider and had considerably more "sweep".



The seat-cluster of the Dawn looks just like that of the later Sports (whereas the seat clusters of the original Tourist and the later DL-1 were bolted together).



The rear fender with original glass reflector are in very clean condition on this bicycle. These reflectors are highly thought after (both of the bicycles pictured have them).



The middle bit is missing from the original full chaincase, but otherwise it is intact.



"The all-steel bicycle" is written on the downtube. The pain on this bicycle is in very nice, even glossy, condition throughout.



It is rare to see even one of these bicycles "in the wild", let alone two - so I felt privileged to take these pictures before these beauties go to new homes. Hope you enjoyed the show and tell.

Drop Bars: What Are They For?

After initially having set the handlebars on my Sam Hillborne quite high so that I could get used to them, I have now lowered them to a more typical position. Despite having done this, I think that there was nothing objectively wrong with my initial set-up. I received lots of comments and advice in my previous Hillborne posts, and one view expressed was that if I have to raise the bars so high, then perhaps I should not be riding with drop bars. This is an idea I very much disagree with, and here is why.

What is the purpose of drop handlebars? Many believe it is "to go fast" - that is, to achieve an aggressively forward-leaning position that would allow for maximum speed. And for that purpose, it would indeed make sense that the handlebars ought to be placed as low as possible.

However, while this is one of the things drop bars can be used for, it is by no means their only function or their mandated use. An equally important feature of drop handlebars is the unparalleled variety of ergonomic hand positions they offer - which is crucial for long rides. When cycling long distance, it is not only uncomfortable, but dangerous to use handlebars with limited gripping areas that allow for only one hand position. And by "dangerous" I mean that you can cause nerve damage to your hands. Drop bars, on the other hand, offer a continuous gripping surface with 5 distinct hand positions to switch between, greatly reducing the chances of this happening.

As I have mentioned before, I already have pre-existing nerve damage in my hands, so I feel hand "discomfort" (electric-current-like sensations running through my wrists and fingers) a lot sooner than those with healthy hands. This makes me an especially good candidate for drop bars when I go on long rides.

So what do ergonomic hand positions, nerve damage and touring have to do with speed or aggressive cycling? Absolutely nothing, and that is precisely my point. I have no interest in breaking speed records. All I want, is to cycle long distances without my hands ending up in bandages again. Drop bars are perfect for that, and whether they are placed high or low is completely irrelevant - as long as I am comfortable reaching all the available hand positions. Drop bars mounted high are better for touring than no drop bars at all. Sheldon Brown and Grant Petersen agree.

The perception that drop bars must be mounted as low as possible is an aesthetic preference rooted in racing culture and informed by the male anatomy (as males have longer torsos than females). But it's time to break that connection. Drop bars are fantastic for touring and exploring, and they can make your ride extremely enjoyable if used in a way that is right for you.

Great day in the woods

After shooting this morning's sunrise on Lake Superior I spent most of the remainder of the day exploring a remote section of Hollow Rock Creek. Hollow Rock Creek has a couple of really cool waterfall areas that are difficult to get to... no trails lead to these areas, so you have to bush-whack your way in and believe me, the going is pretty rough!



Once you get to the waterfall areas, however, the effort is well worth it. The beauty of Hollow Rock Creek is not an "in your face" kind of beauty... its beauty on a smaller scale. You have to look closely to see it, but once you start to look you soon find yourself seeing things you would have otherwise missed. The weather was perfect for this day of exploration along Hollow Rock Creek: overcast skies with very thick cloud cover. The cloud cover makes for a very even, muted sort of light that is conducive to shooting under the forest canopy. Bright sunny days are less desirable when shooting in the deep woods as the rays of sunlight create areas of extreme contrast that are almost impossible to expose correctly in a photographic image.



(Above: "Trapped" - A leaf that was stuck on the bottom of the creek)

Also, once most of the leaves have fallen off the trees, that doesn't mean that you should put your camera away and stop venturing out into the woods. It simply means that you should try looking other places to find your images... namely, along the ground! Its one of life's great pleasures to wander along a little creek like Hollow Rock and look for all these neat little things that catch your eye.



(Above and below: Swirling leaves and foam)





(Below left: Pothole along Hollow Rock Creek)

Tragedy in the Gunks: Stephanie Prezant, Age 22

(Photo:Stephanie Prezant, age 22.)



On Sunday something unthinkable happened.



A young woman full of life, just a few months away from college graduation, went outside climbing for the first time. She had no reason to think she was doing anything risky. She climbed an easy route,andbelieved the rope to which she was tied was secured to a massive tree on the ledge above her.



But when she weighted that rope the systemthat was supposed to protecther collapsed.Climbers who were nearby reported thatthe rope didn't catch her. Instead it (and the slings to whichit was attached) came tumbling down.With nothing holding her weight, the woman fellabout twenty feet to the ground.



Eyewitnesses said that rescue personnel came immediately, tending to her injuries and quickly getting her to an ambulance. Despite these efforts, they could not save her.



Young Stephanie Prezant died.



I never knew her, but as a member of the community of Gunks climbers, and as an ordinary human being, I feel such pain at this tragic loss. I can only guess at theanguish her family must be feeling.Being a parent myself, Ihave the barest inkling of the grief they must be dealing with. And as for the people who were with Stephanie when it happened, for them too this must be such a terrible time. I am so sorry.



I wish I'd been there. I wish I could have done something to prevent this horrible event before it all unfolded.



Whenever an accident like this happens, we climbers tend to come together and speculate about it on the internet. It may appear insensitive, but it is inevitable and probably cannot be prevented.



Part of this phenomenon, I think, is just the morbid curiosity we all share.But there is a more positive side to the internet postings.Thereis genuine concern in the communityfor the well-being of others. Another part of it is the worry we all feel as climbers. We trust our gear with our lives and when we hear of an accident wefear that our trust is misplaced and that we could be the next casualty. We want to know the details bothso that we mayavoid whatever mistakesmight have been made and also so that we can distance ourselves from the accident.If we canestablish that this accident was caused by one mistake or another, we can feel assured of our own safety because we would never make THAT mistake, whatever THAT mistake may be.



I am as guilty as anyone of participating in thisorgy ofcuriosity and speculation. When I heard there had been an accident I started a thread on Gunks.com seeking more information. Mostly I just wanted to hear that the young woman would be okay. But like everyone else I also wanted to analyze the event, to learn from whatever went wrong.



I guess I should have restrained myself. My own post on the accident was an example of how these internet feeding frenzies produce misinformation. I provided the few details I'd heard and one of them-- the name of the climb from which Stephanie fell--turned out to beincorrect. And then after some useful information surfaced, the thread devolved into the usual speculations and know-it-all prescriptive arguments, none of which were at all helpful to anyone. Another thread, on rockclimbing.com, followed a similarly depressingtrajectory.



I hope the Mohonk Preserve rangers who responded to the scene will eventually be able to make some determination of what really caused Stephanie's anchor to fail.



Here, on my blog, I do not wish to presume I know exactly what went wrong.Nor do I wantto make her climbing partners or family feel any worse.



Of course without knowing whatcaused the accident onecan offerno formula for avoiding this kind of disaster.



But the temptation to preach is irresistible.



I want to say:



Please, all you climbers out there, do not assume this accident was solely the result of inexperience.We don't know what level of experience these climbers had. Even if in this case it turns out they were all first-timers, we all know that experienced climbers toohave beeninjured and killed when they trusted faulty anchors. Whatever went wrong here, do not delude yourself: it could happen to you or me.



Be careful out there.



The systems we employas climbersare very simple. But inabriefmoment of complacency, or exhaustion, or distraction, it is all tooeasy to set upthese systems incorrectly. Here I am speaking not just of top rope anchors, but of all the systems we climbers use.And I speak from experience. We are all capable of failure. Eventhe best of us under some circumstanceswill fail to double back a harness, finish a knot, lock a carabiner, or attach ourselves properly to an anchor. Anyone can fail to ensure the ends of the rope are even or that both strands are through the rappel device. Anyone canload a GriGri backwards.



It can happen at any time.



Please remain vigilant. Double-check everything. And employ a partner check whenever you can. A fresh set of eyes is so often helpful. I have no idea whether it would have made any difference in this case. But it never hurts.



I have been fortunate. The times when I have screwed up, partners have been there watching for me. There have been no consequences. Others, obviously, havenot always been so lucky.



I like to think I have come through to the other side. ThatI have graduated from the screw-up years. But I know it only takes one lapse. When you trust your weight to your gear, it has to be right every time.



I want to do right by Stephanie. I want to honor her memory. I intend to do so by watching out, for myself and my partners. And for others. In the future Imay be less prone to walk away from situations that seem unsafe, and more prone to offer some friendly advice to strangers. It is allI can think to do.



I hope you will do the same.