Mixte Lovers, Rejoice: VO Prepares a Little Something

Some of you know that I have been considering a custom bike for next spring. It has been a somewhat tortured search, because of my pickiness when it comes to things like lugs and stylistic detail. Basically, I want the mixte to have the classic twin lateral stays (as opposed to a single top tube), and I want it to be fully lugged (which is nearly impossible to achieve nowadays, as mixte lugs are no longer made). To get the kind of bicycle I want, I basically had three choices : (1) to go with a builder who can hand-make the lugs, (2) to go with a builder who can alter lugs meant for diamond frames into mixte lugs, or (3) to find a builder who has a stash of NOS (new old stock) mixte lugs that they would be willing to use. All three choices are rather costly, and I am not sure whether I am in a position to commit those kinds of funds to the purchase of a bicycle. A more economical option like Rivendell was not possible, because although beautifully lugged, their mixtes are the type with the single top tube.

[image from Velo-Orange]

Enter Velo Orange, which announced in their recent blog entry the release of a fully lugged mixte with twin lateral stays. Thank you, Mr. Kulczycki! The photo above is a prototype frame.

[image from Velo-Orange]

Here is a close-up of the lugs. The projected price is $700 for the frame and fork (!), and the anticipated delivery date is January . Three sizes will be available: 50cm, 54cm, and 57cm, making it accessible for both short and tall riders.

What I love about this frame:
. the lugs,
. the classic construction with the twin stays,
. the choice in sizing (54cm should be just perfect for me),
. the 700c wheels (larger than the wheels on the Betty Foy, which I found too small)
. and the excellent price.

What I don't love so much:
. the colour (if I order it, I would definitely get custom colour or have it repainted),
. the way the rear stays connect to the seat tube (I think this could be more elegantly done),
. and the fact that, like the Rivendell Betty Foy, it is made in the far East.

So what do you think? Regardless of whether I decide to go for this bike, I am very excited that this product has appeared on the market. Now, if only I can persuade VO to alter the rear stay connexions and change the production colour...

Fun in the Summertime!

Another picture of my grandmother (on the right) and her sister Jane. This time they are sharing a piece of watermelon. I don't recognize the background scenery so don't know where it was taken, but it was probably the summer of 1954.

And speaking of summertime fun, Jasia has published the Carnival of Genealogy, 49th Edition which "kicks-off" the 3rd year of the COG as well as summertime itself. Congratulations, Jasia, for starting the COG and keeping it going! I sure enjoyed seeing the variety of swimming attire displayed for all to see. What fun!


Jasia also announced the topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy: Family Pets! "Bring out those old photos of Snoopy, Garfield, Rex and Bob! Tell us the funny, charming, and cute stories about the pets you remember or remember hearing about. Introduce us to the furry, feathered, and scaly members who have a place on your family tree! The deadline for the next edition is June 15, .. and it will be hosted by none other than the flutaphone master himself, Bill West!" Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.The pooch pictured above is Buster who was a loveable, loyal, fierce protector of the family for many years. Photo taken about 1985.

Weekend Project

We have not really changed anything in our RV since we bought it. We have more than made up for that now though. When we bought the RV, we bought it toaccommodatefive of us. Now there are three of us. Soon there will be two of us.



Our needs have changed, so we have tossed around the idea of getting a different RV when Austin left home. I would like a smaller RV. Nathan would like a less expensive RV. But we also love the RV we have.



Jack and Ruth that we became friends with this summer inspired us to think outside the box and make our current RV something we'd love. So we decided instead of having three bedrooms and one and a half baths that we would now have two big bedrooms and one bathroom. When Austin leaves home, we can use his bedroom for Nathan's office.



It was a lot of hard work on the guy's part this weekend, helping to make these changes. I caught a few shots in the midst of the tearing the walls down. Nathan, who hates all kinds of physical labor, so give him a big hand:




And the room with the walls tore out and the bathroom almost "gone".


Whew! What a mess! I spent today cleaning up and sorting through stuff, which led to many bags of goodies to be donated. It's funny, we think we live so light now given all we own fits in our RV. But each time I go through our things we find more and more that we don't really need. The longer we live this way, the lighter we want to live. But we also accumulate gadgets and gizmos along the way so we are far from cured when it comes to consumerism.



I will try to remember to snap some pictures when we have the room finished and decorated the way Austin wants to.

Mixte vs Mixte: What's the Difference?

Mixte-frame bicycles have become popular again over the past couple of years, with many women buying them, or considering buying them. But what kind of bicycle is it that they are looking for? Mixtes can differ from one another considerably, both in looks and in ride quality: You cannot assume that because you have ridden one, you know them all. Just to give you an example, I have prepared a side-by-side comparison between my custom Royal H. mixte and the Rivendell Betty Foy.It takes some time to train your eye to differentiate between bicycles that may seem similar at first glance. But see whether you can get a sense of the differences just by looking at the pictures.

To break it down, I will describe the most obvious and significant differences between these mixtes' geometries. And as an aside to the experts out there: If you are cringing at my explanations, please keep in mind that I am trying to make this as visual as possible, as opposed to as technical as possible!



Overall proportions

Take a close look at the overall "body types" of the two bicycles. Despite their being the same size in relation to me, my custom mixte has a "short and fat" look to her, whereas the Betty Foy looks "tall and skinny". That is because my mixte is dominated by the round forms of the large wheels, whereas the Betty is dominated by the angular forms of the large frame. The Betty Foy has smaller wheels, so the frame automatically needs to be larger in order for the overall bicycle to be the same size as mine. This also explains why my mixte frame is 52cm and the Betty Foy frame is 58cm - yet when the bicycles are assembled they are both my size.



The "short and fat" vs "tall and skinny" difference between the two bikes is accentuated by the position of the handlebars. The handlebars on the Betty Foy are set higher, with some stem showing - which further elongates Betty's "body." The handlebars on my mixte are pushed almost all the way down - which accentuates the round look. Both bicycles were designed to be set up with the handlebars in these respective positions.



If you look at the vintage René Herse mixtes in this post from last year, as well as at some modern bicycles that emulate them, you will notice that they all have similar proportions to my custom mixte. Not a coincidence, because that is the look I was going for. The Rivendell Betty Foy, on the other hand, is a more contemporary take on the mixte and does not conform to this traditional design. Other modern framebuilders have taken a similar approach - playing with proportions to create their own versions.



Wheelbase

"Wheelbase" is the distance between the center of the front and the rear wheel of a bicycle. But to get a more concrete idea of what that means, look at the space between the wheels.On my custom mixte (left) you can see that the wheels are fairly close together, while on the Betty Foy (right) there is an enormous amount of space between the wheels.



Another easy difference to spot is the length of the chainstays. The chainstays are those skinny tubes on the frame that run parallel to the ground along the rear wheel. If you look closely, on the Betty Foy these are considerably longer than on my mixte.



Angles

The angles of a frame are actually directly related to the wheelbase, but I am not going to go into this here and will discuss angles separately.



Even without measuring, you can see in the side by side pictures, that both the seat tube and the head tube on the Betty Foy are more relaxed (they lean further back) than on my custom mixte. The difference in angles is actually very small (1 degree difference in the seat tubes and 2 degree difference in the head tubes), which makes it all the more interesting that it is visually apparent. Even a small difference can be important.



Step-over height

Not related to any of the previous factors, but worth mentioning, is that the Betty Foy top tube is lower than my mixte's twin lateral stays. On the Betty this was achieved by virtue of not continuing the top tube in a straight line after the seat post, but angling it a bit. This angle produces a similar effect to creating a "swoop" or slight loop in the frame's top tube. It is still not as easy to step over as a step-through, but it is lower than other mixtes out there.



Ride quality

If you have managed to read this far and not fall asleep or close your browser window, you are probably wondering how these features affect ride quality. After all, it is useful to be able to look at a bike and have an idea of how it rides compared to other bikes.



Speaking very generally and summarily, bicycles with a longer wheelbase and more relaxed angles tend to feel more comfortable and stable, whereas bicycles with a shorter wheelbase and steeper angles tend to feel more aggressive and maneuverable. Of all these qualities, comfort is the most subjective - and also depends on other factors (such as tubing material and tires) that are independent of geometry. I would say that my custom mixte is equally comfortable to the Betty Foy - which means that the builder must have done something to enhance comfort despite the steeper angles and shorter wheelbase. As for the other factors, my mixte is indeed aggressive in comparison to Betty, with a ride quality that feels more "zesty." Both bicycles are fast and stable, but mine is quicker to accelerate and a tad more responsive, whereas Betty is more even-tempered.



Either of those qualities can be considered a virtue, depending on the cyclist's needs: A mixte like the Betty Foy is a better idea if you are looking for a relaxed, even-paced ride, whereas a mixte like mine will be more enjoyable if you want something more racy. And it helps to recognise which is which by looking at them.

Wiley and the Rabbit

I was taking photos of the hot air balloons the other day when I saw our cat, Wiley, coming across the yard with something in his mouth. I snapped this shot and was surprised it actually came out. At first I though it was one of the big rats that live around here. Wiley ran to the back porch and I followed him. It was at the door when he put the creature down that I realized it was a young cottontail rabbit. I grabbed Wiley so he couldn't get the rabbit again and the little rabbit ran off the porch and Wiley slipped out of my yards and the chase was on again while I yelled at the cat to leave the rabbit alone and the dogs chased after the cat. (Wish someone had filmed it with a video). In seconds the rabbit had gone through the fence to the neighbors side. I caught Wiley and put him in the house then went back out to check on the rabbit. I hadn't seen any blood on it and it hadn't acted as if it was hurt by being hauled around by the cat for which I was thankful.



The dog at the neighbors had been barking at the hot air balloons and never noticed the cat or rabbit or me. The one little dog, a healer cross, sort of danced around the rabbit which had 'froze' once he was on the other side of the fence. That dog never seemed to notice the rabbit was there at all. I was able to take the second photo of the little rabbit through the fence, then I decided it should leave before one of the dogs did realize it was there. I shook the fence and it scooted off out through the fence to where it was in the couple of acres that are behind mine and my neighbors houses which is like native New Mexico desert which is why it is full of rabbits, rats, ground squirrels, lizards, song birds, doves, quail, and there used to be a large bull snake that lived there.


I told my neighbor about the experence and she wished someone had filmed it too. I just hope Wiley learns I don't want his 'gifts' of lizards, birds, and rabbits. He had given a live, un-injured bird to my husband a few days before.

Herding Water?

Tuffee is so determained to 'herd' something she trys to 'herd' the water coming out of the water hose.

Sage and Sunflowers

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Thursday, August 4th - - Unless you want to travel on back-country dirt roads, the route to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore takes you south, then west, and then back north to County Highway 58, which follows the shoreline of Lake Superior for a few miles then takes you back inland. The drive reminded me of the route through Canada last August on the Alaska Highway – curves and hills midst a tree-lined road, with nothing in sight except more trees!



One of the first stops within the National Lakeshore is Au Sable Point where there is a very nice, but not very photogenic cascading waterfall. Too much contrast with bright sunshine and heavy shade. If I was into HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography, this would have been a good place to experiment with it.



A short distance down the road was a place called Log Slide Overlook. A flyer picked up at the waterfall trail said of the Log Slide: “The 1,000 foot trail to the viewing platform from the picnic area is worth the walk. Newspaper accounts tell of logs sent down the dry log chute generating enough friction to cause the chute to catch fire. Today the chute is gone, but the lumberjack stories still linger as you gaze out over the Grand Sable Banks and Dunes.”





A short walk on a very well manicured path leads you to a small sand dune, about 25 feet high. This is the view from the top, overlooking Lake Superior. What you can't see is that beyond that opening is a 500 foot drop to the water's edge!



Perhaps “drop” is a bit dramatic, but a nearby sign states that the distance from the top of the dune to the lakeshore is 500 feet with 200 feet being nearly vertical. It also states that it takes only a few minutes to get to the bottom but can take an hour or more to climb back up!





The view looking to the east toward Grand Marais.



This is the view looking down toward the lakeshore, 500 feet below.



And this is the same view showing some rather energetic and youthful people near the bottom of the dunes. Provides a bit of perspective, doesn't it?



Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), I did not even attempt this feat. I was pretty sure the old legs would give out on the way down and if they didn't the heart and lungs would get quite a workout on the way back up!

The Bicycle Photographer

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working withHeather McGrath - a woman whose excellent photos have graced many a magazine page and gallery wall. Those who love bicycles might also recognise her work from framebuilders' websites and cycling blogs: In recent years Heather has made quite a name for herself as a bicycle photographer.




In the course of running this blog and plunging deeper into the bicycle industry, I have thought about the relationship between cycling and photography. Many seem to get into photography as a result of riding their bikes. Perhaps it starts with wanting to photograph the scenery they encounter on a ride, or the bike itself. Over time taking pictures becomes a hobby and the rider's photography skills improve, sometimes to the point where they turn professional. Another scenario is where an established professional photographer becomes a cyclist, thereafter focusing largely on bicycles and cycling. Either way, bicycle photographers are almost invariably cyclists themselves. They have to be, to truly understand how to capture the defining characteristics of our beloved two wheel machines, as well as of those who ride them and make them. And Heather - as a daily cyclist, friend to local framebuilders and owner of a handbuilt bike - certainly understands all this. Ever wonder what being a pro bicycle photographer entails? I post a brief conversation with Heather below.








You describe yourself as an editorial photographer. In your own words, what does that mean?


I get hired mostly by magazines. But ad agencies hire me as well.



Roughly what portion of your projects would you say are bike-related?



A good portion. I have been very fortunate in this. I always marketed work that was directly related to my life. I just kept shooting for myself and the things I loved, and assignments started following. The bike industry has responded very well to my eye.



Do you recall who was your first bicycle industry client, or what was your first bike-related photo shoot?



My first shoot that got me anywhere was just of my friends who lived in LA at the time. I came out with my Mamiya 67 and just hung out and shot a few frames. Some of the shots ended up on my first promo which lead to my first assignment withBicycling Magazinea couple years later.





Do you get to travel for work? What sort of places have you recently traveled to?



I do. I have been flown to California, DC, Oregon, Austin, etc., for clients. I also travel alot for myself in pursuit of more photos for my portfolio. I actually just came back from a 7 week backpacking trip to the Netherlands, Croatia, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. I am going to start marketing these photos to travel companies and hopefully get more work there.



You've mentioned that for years you did not have a car and carried your photo equipment by bike. Can you describe your setup?



Thank god I have a strong back! Usually I just have my Bailey Works bag with a little subdivider in it with the body and two lenses. I don't light usually so I can travel light. But one time before zipcar existed I had a big shoot about 8 miles from my house. It was a big magazine and I was super nervous and of course it was about to rain right before I was about to leave. So there was no time to take the bus or anything. I packed up my huge Lowepro Trekker 2 bag which is supposed to be waterproof. I overpacked with lights and stuff I really didn't need because I was nervous. I threw in an extra set of clothes. attached a stand to one side of the bag and tripod on the other. And of course the downpour starts while I was en route. Like completely soaked to the underwear. And when I got to the house It had just stopped and this poor family had to open their doors to a girl who looked like a drowned rat with about 20lbs of gear on her asking to use the bathroom before we shot...





You own a beautiful handbuilt bicycle by Geekhouse. What made you decide to get a custom bike? Did you give the builder criteria as far as what you wanted in a bike?



Geekhouse wanted to make me a bike that was going to be a part of their NAHBS show bikes that year. Together we brainstormed ideas and colors. We all wanted something really classic looking. And my most important request was no toe overlap. I love track frames but I was sick of the toe overlap. A lot of the details of the bike were a surprise from the boys. They wouldn't even let me see it until it was completely done. I was there first curved fork and Brad made me my own monogram on the handlebars. I honestly think about how much I love that bike every time I ride it. I would never buy another bike that is not fitted to me.



[Note: See studio shots of Heather's bike here. Also: The basket pictured here does not actually live on the bike, just a joke.]





Are there any special challenges for you in photographing bikes compared to other types of photo shoots?



The hardest thing I have faced is keeping my shot in focus. I have all manual focus Zeiss lenses usually kept at f2.8 or lower and I'm often shooting motion or riding with the subject and have to have both hands on the camera and just look through the eyepiece to even see where I am going! You have to be able to stay on your bike, not hit anything, keep a good frame, and keep the person sharp! But I like these challenges. So I see it more as fun than torture. Another good story was when I was shooting the Lucus Brunelle shot for Bicycling Magazine. I had my assistant riding me around the city on a moped. I had no feet pedals, and makeshift belt keeping me and brad back to back. I just held on with my thighs and kept my feet in the air! We did this for about 2 hours. and the whole time manual focusing everything while we zipped in-between lanes of traffic at full speed. Luckily I grew up riding dirt bikes so I had no fear in any of this. We got really lucky though at the last shot when we found the police car that Lucas could skitch on. The police never looked over and it was hands down the best shot of the day!



Any advice for amateur bicycle photographers considering venturing into paid work? Do you think a formal education in photography is essential?



You don't need a formal education. I almost dropped out of my own photo school. I had already been a professional retoucher and a graphic designer before I decided to be a photographer, so I came into the industry already knowing the back end. But because of those skills I was able to keep retouching for ad campaigns while I was working on my photography career. Eventually I didn't need to retouch anymore. My suggestion is to sacrifice your social life while you work on your skills. Assist as many other people as you can. And shoot what you love. That's how I got here and I am very grateful.





Having worked with Heather, I would describe her approach to photography as intuitive, fluid and thorough - focused on staging lively and realistic scenarios which can then be captured as still images. Heather uses both film and digital equipment. She prefers to ride fixed gear, and usually rides in her regular clothing and shoes, using pedals with toe straps. She commutes by bike around Boston, using her car when needed to transport props and large equipment. Whether working in her studio in Boston's South End or on location, Heather is good, really goodat what she does. And her taste in bikes is none too shabby either.

Grand Traverse Bay – It is surely Grand!

Despite two days of intermittent rain and heavy clouds, I enjoyed my stay at Hartwick Pines State Park, which is a few miles north of the cute little town of Grayling. It was one of those quiet campgrounds. There was no lake nearby so not many families stayed long. They did have some nice, easy trails – more like walking paths – and several bike paths in the park. It was just a really pleasant place. I didn't even mind the rain – it gave me a chance to review some of the research papers I had accumulated in Ohio and time to try and figure out those Switzer families!



On Tuesday morning (July 26th) I traveled west to Traverse City. My mother and I had been there a “few” years back and enjoyed our visit in the area. I also had another reason for going there – see tomorrow's post!



With the storms having passed through, the temperature dropped dramatically – the high on Tuesday was 75 and it got into the 50s overnight. Great sleeping weather! Deep blue skies and sunshine were abundant. It was a gorgeous day!





The view from the beach at Traverse City State Park, which is across the road from the campground. Thank goodness there is a pedestrian bridge over US 31/Front Street! You'd be putting your life in jeopardy to try and cross it otherwise!



After checking into the campground, assuring myself that I had a place to stay for the night, I drove around the western side of Grand Traverse Bay and on up to the northern tip where the Grand Traverse Lighthouse sits.





The Grand Traverse Lighthouse was erected in 1858. In 1952 it was electrified and modernized. Twenty years later an automated light tower was erected and the lighthouse was closed. In 1986 it was reopened as a museum.





This large “snow-ball” was about 8-inches in diameter! Huge. The entire bush can be seen at the left in the previous photograph.





I love how they have built a circular bench that wraps around this big old tree.

Wordless Wednesday :: Stone's Trace

The Tavern at Stone's Trace. Built in 1839. South of Ligonier, Indiana.

Bartering at the encampment.

Photographs taken on September 6, ...
Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Injury, recovery and death

If you play at this game long enough eventually you'll get hurt. Some will obviously die. But then we all die don't we? I would prefer something besides climbing. But we don't get to make that choice usually. It is the recovery I find interesting.

This is a forum post I made on CC.com after a fall in early May of .
What isn't mentioned until now is the many pee bottles my wife emptied, the breakfast and lunches she left at my night stand and the stress she went through watching all this unfold at home or waiting in a hospital room. And now seeing me climb and solo again. You had better pick a tough partner.


"I fell off."
Took me a while to decide to write about this. Still uncomfortable with the format I have chosen but hopefully some will find the comments enlightening. But it is written for me as much as it is for the forum.

I have been climbing awhile and taken many, many falls while leading on trad routes and later on sport routes. The longest a full 70’ onto a 2” swami with no leg loops. Very few falls (actually only a couple) came as a surprise on lead. The 70’ was one of them. But no harm, no foul and no serious injuries. The surprises and really pushing hard I generally saved for top ropes. From the early ‘80s to the mid ‘90s I was fortunate enough to do a number of 1st ascents of trad routes in the .11s to easy .12 range and was able to solo a lot. Solos included multi pitch 5.10 and 5.11 routes.

In all that mileage over the years the few injuries I did sustain in falls have been minor, blistered finger tips on a slab, a tweaked ankle I could walk on after dropping onto a sloping ledge, a grounder that I could at least hobble away from. None of them a surprise. Sore and bruised maybe but never broken. Only one kept me off the rock again that particular day.

So when I have read about rock climbing accidents over the years I have always put them off to bad luck, inexperience or just plain stupidity on the climbers part.

Then I fell off.

How hard was it? 5.6. How high? Maybe 20 feet? Most will know the route, The Fault on Lower Castle Rock. It is a simple chimney pitch, easily climbed inside the chimney until you can get some protection and squirm out of the crack just past the tree. Or you can face climb the chimney wall if you choose till you get to that first piece of pro in.

I have soloed the complete Fault/Catapult line to Logger’s Ledge and finished by climbing one route or another on upper Castle Rock many times.

I can tell you in detail how the fall happened. I remember a good left foot and a great left hand. Right hand was just in casual opposition on the edge of the chimney. It was all I needed to make the right step up. As I stepped up to a small ledge for my right foot I was thinking about how my Carhart pants were just a bit too tight for the high step I was taking. And that I had one more move before my first piece of pro would go in. No worries, casual.

Then my left bicep tore completely off my forearm (old injury my Doc said to rehab, which I did and then ice climbed on all winter) There is more to that story but not really relevant to my point of this post.

As I said I’ve taken enough falls to have a pretty good idea of what is now happening. Wall is just off vertical here. I remember thinking it was bad that I wasn’t falling straight down. In retrospect I suspect that saved me from even more serious injuries. ( like shattered ankles and broken legs) I felt the toe of my right foot hooking on the rock as I went down. Kinda like a crampon would do on ice. That is never a good thing. THANG! goes the right ankle. That ain’t going to be pretty is my last conscious thought. Next thing I am almost horizontal and figure I smacked the shallow scoop on the right wall. I’m out cold and bouncing down the wall now so who knows. Bouncing is another good thing in retrospect.

From the tally of my injuries later I suspect my partner Paul (SOBO here at CC.com) probably saved my life. Paul actually stood his ground and used his body to break my fall. I suspect I knocked him ass over tea-kettle.

(some of this may or may not have ACTUALLY happened, Paul can add any details I have wrong)

When I came to I can remember being annoyed that someone was yelling and shaking me to wake me up.
I was in a happy place and just wanted to be left alone to enjoy my sleep.

Then I realized I was sucking in dirt through my mouth and nose and was lying horizontal on my side facing the wall. And that I’d fallen off. Didn’t have the wind knocked out of me….although I suspect that all happened while I was unconscious. From just my little “reality check” I figured I was pretty fucked up. I rolled over, sat up and changed my shoes and soxs and took off my harness. At some point I remember saying “Sorry but I am done for today”. Then I tried to stand. That wasn’t going to happen. "Shit, can’t even hobble back to the car…this is embarrassing.”

A couple of other climbers came up the trail and didn’t notice anything special. Paul explained to them what had happened and asked them to use a phone to get an ambulance on the way. One of the guys split to get phone reception farther down the canyon near Leavenworth. I suspect less than 30 minutes later the emergency crews showed up, taped me to a back board and down the hill and off to Wenatchee Valley Hospital I went. I was out of the hospital 6 or 7 hrs later, had my wife and a friend pick up my car and checked us into a hotel in Leavenworth.

It was a rough drive getting home the next day.

For the next 4 weeks I lived with pee bottles, muscle relaxants and pain killers. Surgery on my torn bicep could not be done until the headaches eased from the concussion. (A helmet? Come on it is cragging in Leavenworth for chrimney sake) You have a 14 day window for the surgery before your bicep starts to really atorphy and then shrink into you upper shoulder. 14 days later the surgery would be a mute point. I went 10 days.

My head still felt like someone wanted to get in using a can opener. I wanted a working arm and decided the pain wasn’t that bad…at least not enough to mention again.

4 weeks on serious pain killers will plug up an healthy elephant. At some point I decided taking a shit was more important that being in happy land with no pain. I think it was the night I had to pull a turd out of my own ass and keep from passing out while doing so. Ya it was that grim. The second one wasn’t any better.
Fuck, it hurt.

It was bad and had to change. I decided shitting was more important than lack of pain and advil would have to do from that day forward. Although there were times I broke down and thankfully got another 4 hr fix so I could sleep.

It is now a full 6weeks later. I started spending most of the day out of bed @ 4 weeks. Simply because I couldn’t sleep without the pain killers. I still couldn’t walk. I could move my ankle so started rehab at home. I was actually able to run 2 miles yesterday. The first at 13 minutes and after a couple of minute break the second at 11 min. Up from sub 7s six weeks ago. I have a ways to go but I can walk and run again. There were times in the drug induced haze that I wondered.

Today I did a 10 mile bike ride. Took me 46 minutes on a course I can generally do in mid 30s. But I am mobile again. Things will go faster now. My head still hurts on a daily basis. I have some memory loss. Rehab always hurts but that will diminish in time as well.

When they put me into the ambulance I figured I was pretty messed up. I hurt from my big toe (the nail is totally black now) to my eyebrow (my only cut) on my right side. A torn bicep only hurts when you actually tear it off, them the pain is gone. So the left side was good. I refused any pain meds in the ambulance so I could accurately describe what I though my injuries were to the ER Dr.

After a lifetime of injuries I thought I had a pretty good idea on what I had broken…..again.

Right ankle broken (last shattered in ’93)
Broken hip…new one for me
Internal injuries on my right side… again new
Broken right little finger (’05)
Broken shoulder ( ’75)
Broken back ( ’73)
Broken neck …another new one
Left bicep detached (right bicep ’07)

Thankfully I was way off on my own diagnosis.
But trust me, every one of those areas still hurts 6 weeks later. Enough so that it is distracting.

(the real and misunderstood aftermath was the full year + for all the internal injuries to heal)

The ankle was just a severe sprain. Early rehab and 4 weeks of bed rest made for a quick recovery once I could take body weight on it. Nothing else broken besides the finger which was dislocated in the fall. It finally was realigned correctly this week when I shook hands with a buddy. Brought tears to my eyes but the finger works better now, just one sore nasty bitch at the moment.

Something not quite right with my guts. On the ride today everything between my hips and my armpit felt like they were unglued internally. Pushing hard on the bike just made me puke. I still can’t sleep on my right side. I’m counting on that just “going away”. Gotta make me think again on how lucky I was to have Paul break the fall and not just auger in to the dirt.

My right shoulder feels pretty much like it did after being dislocated. Loss in range of motion and it makes some funny sounds now. Professional rehab, lots of hard work and time for that one.

My neck now makes all sorts of funny noises when I move and gets really sore if I move it wrong or quickly. Head aches come and go. A 2” strip from the back of my neck to the top of my scalp still feels “weird” and itches. Again…if I had hit without Paul breaking the fall…...I suspect I’d now be dead or much more seriously injured.

The bicep surgery went fine. I am well on the way back to full strength on the left arm. Only down side is the top of my left hand and wrist are now numb from nerve damage during surgery…not uncommon.. Won’t be climbing any cracks till I get full feeling back there.

Turns out it was a full year to get the left bicep back to even half the original strength and usable climbing again. Surgery was not a total failure, the surgeon was, in comparison to the same tendon tear on my right arm.

So what did an off day on the rock really cost besides a few extra aches and pains?

To date, 6 weeks out of work and counting. I am just now starting to get a few hours a day in the shop. I work for myself so I can set my own schedule. Down side is if I don’t work there is no cash flow coming in and at the moment lots of it going out. I suspect it will be another 6 weeks before I can physically put in a full 40 hr week. I have a decent insurance plan but will still pay between 2 to $3000 out of pocket by the time I am done.

What really happened was I tried to get to work and working out too early and then spent a another 6 months rehabing when I should have been healing. At 56 it was a big mistake.

Not everything is in yet for billing and the rehab is a conservative estimate from what I have paid on other injuries in the past couple of years. You need to learn to be your own health’s advocate. Remember that our health professionals are still “practicing medicine”. You might as well start now, doing the same. No one knows your body better than you. Ask questions, learn to say no and most importantly listen to your body. And finally, don’t deck out

Considering a trip to the emergency room and only one “real” injury (torn bicep) was treated things add up fast.

The actual bills I have seen so far look something like this:

$1005.00 Ambulance from Castle to Wenatchee
6392.00 Emergency room Wenatchee
456.00 Wenatchee hostpital
2200.00 Orthopedic surgeon
3625.00 Ortho practice/ surgery room
1372.48 Anesthesia
3500.00 Rehab
1600.00 Radiologist CT and MRI

You might want to check out an insurance plan if you don’t already have one. Dropping $20K cash and another six months of wages on one day of climbing in Leavenworth is not my idea of a climbing vacation.




FWIW.. when I fell my right hand was on the white knob across from the horizontal crack in the shadow line of this picture. And yes it is just as easy as it looks. And Paul, "thanks bro" not many guys can hold their mud

Rowdy Hotel Guests

Photo of old ship's bell on the warf in a small park.


After deciding to spend the night in Port Angeles we had a bit of trouble finding a hotel. We finally did and it was a nice hotel, or would have been if it hadn't been for the other guests being so rowdy, noisy, and just down right rude. My thanks to the hotel staff that did their best to keep an obnoxious bunch of boys under control when the chaperons of the boys decided to let them take over the hotel. I think they were a group of some sort of ball players - baseball, basketball, football- who knows. I'm not good at ballgame sports. My son was into cars, horses, and snowmobiles. The boys took over the swimming pool (which was fine, boys do need to run off excess energy) but they then decided to try to run all the adults out of the hot tub. That was just down right rude. And their chaperons didn't seem to care. Thankfully someone complained to the manager who made them get out, but as soon as it would be empty, in they would go again, not allowing any adults time in the hot tub. These same hooligans played ball in the parking lot, throwing balls against other peoples cars, and the next morning at the breakfast bar they tried to take everything offered by the hotel, not allowing other guests to have their share. Again,my thanks to the hotel staff for doing the best they could under these circumstances. We did have a nice room with comfortable beds and got a good nights sleep.

Fort Wilderness Campground

We are lucky enough to still have other families around us, and we are trying to soak it up while we do. It is still an adjustment to us after being used to not having it. Today, we headed over to Fort Wilderness Campground to see Rich, Lisa, Luca and Akira. They are one of the neatest families we have met since going out on the road.



Diana, Lauren and Josh met us there. Becky and Nora are camping right behind us and they rode over with us. I think I've already shared here that I adore Nora, and I really like her mom too so I was so happy they joined us. We had a nice group by the time we all arrived. The kids wanted to swim and after seeing the pool area, I can see why.



As we were driving home, Nora was telling us the states she has been to and what she remembered there. She told us she liked Pennsylvania and that there is a chocolate factory there. It is mind blowing to me that a four year old would be able to know the difference between the states and what she saw there. She is one smart cookie and it is neat proof of how much they do absorb from traveling like we do. Just a great day of fun with friends! Living the life in sunny but still cool Florida!

Closure Systems on Bicycle Bags

Cristobal Pannier

Having now owned and tried a number of bicycle bags, one of the features I pay close attention to is the closure - particularly on bags I use every day. Many classic bicycle bags are fitted with traditional buckles. While I love the idea of it, in practice I find that I fiddle with the closure way too much every time I want to open or close the bag.

Carradice Kendal Pannier

And with bags that use really thin straps, there is the additional issue of the straps fraying and breaking off from frequent use.

Zimbale 7L Saddlebag

Zimbale bags use a quick "Sam Browne" style closure that does not require undoing the buckle. This is the biggest reason I favour my Zimbale over my near-identical Carradice; it simply takes me less time to open and close the bag. I've had this bag for 2 years now, and over time there has been some stretching in the leather eyelets, but not so much that the closure comes undone.

Philosophy Pannier

Philosophy bags use a snap closure, also independent of the buckle. It works well and does not seem to stress the leather. I sometimes worry about the security, but it has not come undone as of yet.

OYB Pannier

Some vintage Swiss Army bags feature an interesting "latch" system where a stiff cord is inserted into a metal loop. It is simple and secure, though the cord may need to be replaced after some use.

Ironweed Pannier(more pictures and review soon)

Nylon cords with plastic buckle closures seem pretty easy and convenient, but it's a system I haven't used until just now.

Ostrich Handlebar Bag & Berthoud Medium Handlebar Bag

I love the simplicity of elastic closures. But in my experience, it's not always easy to get the tension of the elastics just right, and I've been in situations where various parts of my handlebar bag have flung open en route. The elastics also tend to stretch out over time, so they may need to be tightened or replaced after some use.

Fastrider Deluxe Shopper Pannier

Zipper and velcro closures work nicely - except when the bag is full and cannot close completely.

Po Campo Loop Pannier

All closure systems seem to have their pros and cons - from ease of use, to security, to durability. Overall I tend to favour the quick and easy methods, though I do wish I had the patience and digital dexterity for tiny buckles.



What closure system do you prefer on bicycle bags?

Black & White Yellow Rose

My camera has a black & white setting as well as the color and even a sepia tone setting so I decided to try the roses in black and white and sepia. Here is one of the yellow roses.