Monday, March 31, 2014

Just Three for Me! In Praise of the Humble 3-Speed

When I was first shopping for an upright bicycle with an internally geared hub, I made the natural assumption that the more gears on the hub, the better. But to my surprise, over time I changed my mind and developed a strong preference for the simple 3-speed. No more, no less: Three gears feel just right.I have been trying to make sense of why I prefer 3-speed hubs to the seemingly more advantageous 7-speeds and 8-speeds, and have a couple of ideas.



Internally geared hubs allow for a narrower range of gearing in comparison to derailleurs. And the overall range of the hub does not increase in direct proportion to the number of speeds.



For example:

The Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub has a 186% overall gearing range.

The Shimano Nexus 7-speed hub has a 244%overall gearing range.

The Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub has a 306%overall gearing range.



The typical 7 and 8 speed hubs donotgive you more than double the gearing range of the 3-speed. They give you more than double the notches to click, while the overall gearing range is only somewhat greater.The more speeds on the hub, the smaller the differences between clicks. This requires changing gears back and forth more frequently, just to stay in the same range as the 3-speed hub would give you with less clicking. This could be why I feel that with a 7 and 8 speed hub, I am always switching gears back and forth unnecessarily.



My choice of transportation bicycles plays a huge role in the usefulness of the hubs as well. In my experience, bicycles that are heavy and put the cyclist in a bolt-upright position are simply not the best choice for trips with prolonged hills, regardless of how many gears are on the hub. If I max out a 3-speed hub going uphill on a heavy upright bike, chances are that I will also max out a 7 or 8 speed hub - in which case there is no real benefit to having those additional gears. If a route is too tough for a 3-speed, then what I prefer is a lighter and more sporty bike, ideally with derailleur gearing. A bigger hub on the same heavy upright bike does not do me much good.



While modern bicycles are commonly available with 7 and 8 speed hubs, for me the simpler 3-speed just seems to be a better solution. Your experience may differ - but before you choose a hub with many gears, try a 3-speed and compare for yourself. You might be as surprised as I was to discover which you prefer.

Fastrider Deluxe Shopper Pannier from Bicycle Muse

I received this Fastrider Deluxe Shopper Bicycle PannierfromBicycle Muse(a sponsor in July-August ) as part of an equal value exchange. Prior to trying this bag, I was not a big fan of single panniers and have never found one that I liked. But when I received the Fastrider, I changed my mind.



Here is a front view of the pannier. You can see that it does not interfere with the lines of the bicycle, which I like very much.The setup allows me to leave the beautiful custom rack on this bike unobscured, while enjoying the benefit of a roomy container that can be attached or removed in seconds.

To my eye, this pannier has a classic, timeless look to it that will go nicely with any vintage or classic bicycle. The style may be too quaint for some, but it suits my taste perfectly. One reason I have not been able to find a pannier I like, is that they tend to be either too industrial looking, or too "girly" - in the sense that they come in bright colours and highly stylized patterns like florals or polka-dots or paisley. Now, imagine showing up to a dinner and discovering that you are wearing the exact same outfit as one of the other guests. If it's a grey suit you are both wearing, the coincidence is not even noticeable. But if you're both wearing the exact same brightly coloured print, it's embarrassing. That is more or less how I feel when it comes to bicycle accessories, which is why I like mine to be subdued. Plus, a neutrally coloured pannier will match your outfit no matter what colour it is. A pink paisley pannier will not.



The pannier material is water-resistant woven pine. The surface is tactile, yet smooth. The colour is a warm caramel (there is also a lighter colouravailable). Underneath the flap (which secures with velcro strips allowing for different degrees of fulness) is a zipper opening. The flap and zipper together pretty much ensure that the closure does not let in water. (These panniers are made by the Dutch company Fastrider, so I am guessing water-proofing was a top priority.)



Not sure whether my pictures portray this adequately, but this pannier is huge. Dimensions are: 15.5" width, 14.5" height, 6.3" depth. The fabric-lined interior is enormously deep, and has what I initially thought were dividers for compartments, but are in fact stiffeners (I nonetheless use them as compartment dividers and find that they work in that capacity!). There is also a large, zippered internal pocket (large enough to fit a medium notebook and other accessories) and a smaller pocket that will fit a wallet or phone. You can see how much room is left over inside the bag after I place my Macbook Air inside it. If you are compulsive about your laptop, you will probably want to get a sleeve for it, as my makeshift "dividers" do not reach all the way to the top. That is the one drawback to the design - but then, it was meant to be a "shopper,"not an office bag. Otherwise, everything is fantastic for my purposes. This bag will easily fit my laptop, work-related documents, and a few days' worth of groceries.



The pannier attaches to a bicycle rack with a system of 3 plastic hooks on metal spring hinges. They are quick and easy to attach and remove; the process takes just a few seconds.



Here is a close-up. The middle hook curles under to firmly clasp the rack's tubing and can be adjusted to be tighter or looser. The two outside hooks act as extra weight supports. Plastic hooks are another reason I had been staying away from single panniers - they all seem to have them. But again and again I am told that these types of hooks are safe and are designed to withstand the weight. So - fine. I like this pannier so much that I am ready to believe that. (Any words of assurance or admonition?)



View from the non-pannier side. The handles flop to the sides, but they are not long enough to get stuck in the spokes, so leaving them that way is fine.



Pannier in motion. It attaches firmly to the rack, and there is no jiggling or movement, as far as I can tell.



It is pretty clear at this point that I love the pannier.Bicycle Museoffered me a choice of products, and I am glad to have selected this one.My plan now is to transfer the contents of my work-bag to the pannier, and share it between several bicycles. Of course, time will tell how the pannier will hold up, and I will update regarding durability once sufficient time passes.



edited to add: It is 6 months later, and I love the pannier. To my embarrassment, it took me a while to figure out that what I thought were dividers were in fact compartment stiffeners, and I've changed the text of the review so as not to mislead. Having gone through the rainy Autumn and part of winter with this pannier, I am pleased with how waterproof it is and how resistant to abuse. There is some minor fraying of the "wicker" near the hooks, but I think that is to be expected. I wish there were a smaller, equally classic version of a Fastrider pannier available in the US that would fit bikes with shorter chainstays.



edited to add: Over 1 year since the review, and the bag is no worse for wear. It survived a New England winter unflinchingly and the hooks are holding up fine so far. I own a couple of other panniers now, but this one is my designated "shopper."

Thursday, March 27, 2014

A foodie’s haven in Copenhagen: Torvehallerne KBH

With Noma recently taking the spotlight as the best restaurant in the world, Denmark is seriously becoming a foodie paradise. Before the Copenhagen trip, which was before Noma was again selected as the best restaurant for , I earnestly checked out my options of having dinner at Noma but later on realised that my chances are regrettably very slim, i.e. getting a table at Noma is like getting invited to a presidential dinner, and secondly, since when is it nice to dine alone in a Michelen starred restaurant?

So while in Copenhagen I backtracked at the idea and concentrated on finding my way to Torvehallerne KBH instead, a showcase of culinaire slash farmer’s market haven.

My hotel’s concierge informed me the night before that there will be snow flurries in the morning, however he said that after 10AM it will stop and then we will have sunshine.

It is now past 10AM and I have just finished dressing up and now watching TV in my hotel room but outside is grey and I can still see snow falling down. This spring long weekend trip has turned into a last hurrah winter trip. Nevertheless, it was getting late for my breakfast so I decided to just wing it to Torvehallerne KBH. I am hungry, and I have a map and a sturdy hat anyway.

The Torvehallerne KBH is a great place for first timers in Copenhagen (foodies or not) to sample Danish cuisine, as well as other popular international cuisines, i.e. Spanish, Italian and French. It is actually a farmer’s market with the usual raw produce of vegetables, fruits and meat available, as well as stalls selling gourmet charcuterie and cheeses. Moreover, there were cafés, restaurants and bakery stands offering ready-to-eat foods.

The market is housed in 2 separate galleries that resembles a greenhouse. You have to physically go out to go to the other hall. When in Copenhagen, DO NOT MISS THIS.

Here are my pictures when I toured the place:






This stand called ‘Ma Poule’ (french cuisine) has a long queue of customers. It is selling duck confit sandwiches. Here are the guys busy tearing the meat into pieces before serving them on a sandwich.


Here is the fish section:




Cheese and charcuterie, my favourite by the way, and more:




I had a very nice smushi breakfast here. A smushi is a smaller and more artistic version of the smorrebrod (Danish open-faced sandwiches). It was a very pleasant respite as well to be sitting inside with a warm cup of coffee while outside is snowing.

Their website in Danish: Torvehallerne KBH. The market is located on Frederiksborggade.

Bishop's from Cerro San Luis


Bishop's from Cerro San Luis, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

After a week of drenching rain back in January, the hills are greening up quickly. In this view, you can see Bishop Peak in the distance with the slopes of Cerro San Luis in the foreground. On my recent hike at Cerro, I saw that every gully and creek was flowing and that the wildflowers are already starting to bloom.

It's gonna be a great spring.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Where I Was

May 1979. I can still feel the freezing cold of the water as I walked through the stream to the dunes. The warmth of the sun and the chill of the morning breeze. The quietness broken only by the occasional laughter and voices of other visitors. It was a time of change. One stage of life ending and another beginning. A return to civilian life after 9 1/2 years in the Navy.

I purchased a postcard at the gift shop that I still have posted on the bulletin board next to my computer. It included a few words written by Ann Zwinger ". . . even in winter there is the promise of spring. . . The white of snow becomes the white of summer clouds. . . part of each season is contained in every other."

Anyone care to venture a guess as to where this picture was taken? A little hint, western United States ;-)

Update May 21, .. 11:00 a.m
Craig Manson of Geneablogie fame has correctly identified the above scene as the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. Located in the southwest corner of Colorado, it is an amazing area. It's on my list of places to visit, again. Someday.

Some incredibly nice photographs:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/grsa/resources/photos_dunes.htm

Children's artwork inspired by the dunes:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/grsa/artwork.htm

Links to more photographs:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/grsa/resources/photos.htm

There are a lot of other nice websites, just do a search for Great Sand Dunes...

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The skinny on the up coming CT ski reviews?



Heli turns bitd


If someone had told me I would have the interest in writing a ski review on Cold Thistle a couple of years ago I'd have laughed. "No way in hell!"



A couple ofreasons for that. I really don't have that much interest in skis or ski gear. The other is I don't have the technical knowledge to do as good of job at it as I would like.



But...just as my original hunt for a good "climbing down jacket" ended up starting this blog and the gear reviews. My hunt for a decent ski for my own use has convinced me to write down what I have been learning over the past few seasons about skis (boots and bindings as well)and go back to the base of knowledge I gained in the early '70s through mid '80s on ski technology working in shops as a mechanic and boot fitter. I am not trying to apply the old knowledge base to thecurrent technology andcrop of skis.



My typical answer when questioned about skisin the last decade or so has been, "they are fine..they turn left and they turn right". Some thought I was actually joking,,,I wasn't. Skis are simply tools to me. It helps to know the tool you need and to be able to choose the right tool asrequired. But it is apoor craftsman that blames failure on his tools.A couple of winters ago I got an awakening that my unused ski skills had degraded to an embarrassing level as had my ability to judge what really was "good ski gear" for my own use.






Pulling off an ill fitting ski boot high on the Vallee Blanche.




Funny now that I think back on the time I spent skiing. All the info here on Cold Thistle about climbing boots? The foundation of that info is based on what I learned and know about ski boots. Early on my skinnyfeet were ridiculously hard to fit in a ski boot. I had simply forgottenwhere it all started for me about how important a good boot fit really was until recently. That in itself surprises and inspires me.



My first three pair of plastic ski boots from the late 60's and early '70s. The ones prior were leather!






Lange Pro





Lange Comp





Lange Comp










My last pair of Langes, The Banshee,1973


I first saw a pair of Dynafit TLT Performance boots at the OR show several years ago. Then again as they first became available in the Chamonix shops. I scoffed at the $1000 price tag at OR and again in Chamonix. By that spring I was desperate to own a pair. Now? The TLT and the second generation boots (Dynafit One) that came from the original TLT idea are my favorite boots for more than just skiing. As acrossover forski mountaineering andice climbing they are exceptional boots for the amount of control you can have while skiing in them. In a lot of ways the TLTreminds me of the old Scott Superlight series of boots actually. I had a buddy thatadded a Vibram sole to his and climbed in them as well.








Jeff on steep ice with a TLT.







And I would eventually find all sorts of uses for my ownTLTs.


What I didn't realise at the time is just how import the skis would/had become and just how different the skis designs were now. If I am going to be an advocate of ski mountaineering and the use of ski boots to climb technical ground with,I had better square away a few thoughts on skis as well.



I founda few of us out herelooking for the same things or very close to it in skis. If you have a mountaineering back groundthe current rando race gear is going to have some appeal. If you learned to ski (as most do) at a lifted served ski area you are likely looking at good down hill performance as well. I want a good skis on a groomed slope as well as off piste when in really bad snow conditions.

All that is possible btw.



My bet is with a similar back ground we have all been looking at similar skis. To that point I'll eventually be writing up reviews on the skis I have been on in the last couple of seasons.



Most importantly the choice in ski is as individual or may be even more so than a well fitting pair of climbing boots. What works for me you might hate. Or the other way around...which is what got me started looking for a "better" ski in the first place.



How a ski performs depends on so many things, your ability, your own boots and the snow conditions. So you will see a lot of back ground info and detailson each ski test (mine and others).



The idea here is to get you into a ski you will enjoy for your own purposes not sell you any particular ski. If you happen to have the similargear, physical attributes and skill set as Dave Searle, Jerry Johnsonor myself, lucky you! If not hopefully you'll be able to glean enough info from the reviews to at least get started in the right directionon a decent ski choice for your own use.



But I can tell you quite clearly the gear available now will enable a decent skier to easily..as in really easily...ski terrain and snow conditions that even a decadeor two ago was unrealistic for anyone but an expert, very experienced skier. There are some down sides to that fact...like the need for more snow, avalanche and forecasting knowledge. The knowledge is now required because the newest skis have opened up so much more terrain to less experienced skiers. It is a double edged sword. You can ski more places easily. But you can also get yourself killed a lot quicker as well by making a bad choice in the wrong snow conditions.



Oh, and you poor bastards on snow boards? If you want to climb and explore the back country? Get a pair of skis :-) You'll go farther, faster and with less effort in places you simply can't go on a snow board. Same places you would also behard pressed on a split board. More on that subject at some point as well.