Exit Thursdays Gritscone ..

With our fearless leader Sammy out of town, we still had three people ready to go. Like previous weeks, we were to meet at the Park and Ride at 5pm. I arrived with Amy already waiting in the lot. After a few moments, she got a call from Greg stating he was stuck at work. She talked to her friend Dave to see if he was coming and he stated he would be arriving later after picking up his buddy.

Amy and I headed out with the intent of choosing an area en route and then relaying that information to Dave and Greg. We decided to go to the Gritscone since we did not have a guidebook. We knew the routes there and that they could easily be top-roped.

When we got there, we set about climbing the 5.7 route (So Funny I Forgot to Rope Up) on the far right to warm up. Amy and I both led it and then went to the left side to climb the 5.6 and 5.7 over there. I led the 5.7 (Snaffle Baffler) and Amy followed. She then led Lucky Arms (5.6) and I followed. By this time Dave and his friend arrived. They started with Chica Rapida (5.10a) and worked their way through the harder routes.

Amy climbing 99Grit

Amy and I went right again and did the same, although through lower grades. We both led Pete's Possum Palace (5.7) and then I led 99 Grit (5.9) and Amy followed. To finish the evening, I led Chica Rapida where I had to hang a bit on the third bolt to figure out the following moves. Amy followed the route and we called it a night.

Cleaning the anchors on Chica Rapida

It was nice to get out again on Thursday evening. It was interesting to get back to the Gritscone. I had climbed there only once before, and that was when I first started to lead. So I got to do a whole bunch of routes that I hadn't done previously and remembered why it isn't so fun to climb at the Grtiscone. Lots of dirty, mossy, pine needled holds. Being in the trees, it also does not lend itself to climbing in the evenings as it is already a darker place. While I lead 5.9 and 5.10 in other locations, last night marked the first time where I have led a 5.9 or 5.10 at Exit 38. I finally think I am overcoming the difficulties I have with climbing there.

Travelin' thru Tennessee

As I left Indiana on Sunday morning, I wasn't too concerned with what the weather was doing in Kentucky and Tennessee. According to reports, the ice and snow would have finished falling before I got there. And the reports were right, but it sure did leave a "mess" all along the I-40 corridor from Oklahoma to the Carolinas and Virginia. Interstate 65 was clear all the way but through Nashville the exit and entrance ramps were in horrible shape and from what I saw on the news many of the secondary roads were still snow covered and icy this morning.

When I left Nashville yesterday morning, the sun was shining brightly and blue skies abounded. In the aftermath of the winter storm, Mother Nature left behind a wonderland of ice coated trees, grass, and bushes. These photos were taken as I was driving on I-65 between Nashville and Columbia on Monday morning. The bottom photo was taken through the (very dirty, salt coated) driver's side window. Once over the mountains and south of Columbia, there was no ice or snow and the temperature was a balmy 50 degrees. Nice.

Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge

I couldn't visit the New England area without taking pictures of at least one covered bridge. Unfortunately, we only saw one that I could take a picture of. It was an awesome one though! If you click on the picture above, it tells how it is the longest wooden bridge in the US and some other history.

This alone made the visit here worth it! The river separates Vermont and New Hampshire.

I love what it said above the bridge too.

Isn't it just beautiful here? It's like a fine painting everywhere I look. I am enjoying our time here so much!



Living the life in Vermont!

Red Rose

Lily Pond, Magnetic Rock Trail

Following our outing to Cascade River State Park earlier this week we headed up the Gunflint Trail in search of Moose and more wildflowers. Our destination was the Magnetic Rock Hiking Trail near the end of the Gunflint Trail. I've hiked this trail this time of year in the past and seen a lot of Wood Lilies, one of my favorite flowers. We did find a few of them, but not as many as I've seen in the past. I think with this year's extremely late winter we were a bit early to see the best of the Wood Lilies. Along the way to the Lilies, however, is this beautiful little pond that I always enjoy seeing but have a difficult time photographing. I've never gotten a shot that I really like of the pond. This time was different, though. The air was completely still during our time along the trail, which made for perfect reflections of the trees on the water. Even the little puffs of clouds were reflecting nicely. It is the first time I've made an image that I really like of this little pond.

Summer on Top

During the past week of cloudy weather in the lowlands, rangers and others have been enjoying sunny skies and stellar climbing conditions on the upper mountain. Even with the forecast of snow and cold temps the past few days rangers experienced the very opposite above 9,000'. Check out recent reports on the DC, Liberty Ridge, Little Tahoma, the Kautz Cleaver, and the Emmons on our route conditions page. We'll try to stay on top of things as they change and we get new information.

Upper Kautz Cleaver/Success Couloirs

Remember your sunscreen and sunglasses even when you are still under cloudy skies! Come up and talk to rangers for the most current conditions.

Velo Vision

About a year ago, I started to notice that I couldn't see things in the distance as well as I used to. I could read and see up close just the same as before, but things far away were losing their clarity. I noticed this most of all while cycling.The landscape was not as sharp as it once was, far-away roadsigns were more difficult to read, faces of people riding toward me were harder to recognise. As someone who's always had perfect eyesight, I had no prior experience with vision loss and it took me a while to acknowledge what was happening. But finally I went to have an eye exam and the loss of "perfect" status in the eyesight department was confirmed. I was given a prescription for glasses that the doctor said I would need mostly "for driving."






I expected shopping for glasses to be a nightmare, for the same reason finding a decent pair of cycling sunglasses had been a nightmare. But I underestimated modern technology and our neightbourhood's offering of optical shops.Picking up friends' glasses in the past, I remember them being heavy. But apparently eyeglasses today can be made extremely lightweight - with high-tech plastic and titanium frames. There is also enormous variety in shapes and sizes. I had no problem finding some that fit my face and weighed next to nothing.






With cycling in mind, I got a pair with plastic frames and photochromic lenses. They cover a good part of my face, and the lenses turn dark in the sun, but clear at night. I have already worn them on a couple of rides and the fit is very comfortable.But wearing corrective lenses will take some getting used to!Everything in the distance now looks unnaturally sharp, or hyper-3-D. My feel for how close or far away objects are is a little disturbed by this, but I am assuming my brain will adjust eventually.






Another thing that's happening, is that whilethe glasses correct my far-away vision, they do so at the expense of making things blurry up close. On the bike, this means that I can't really see anything that's directly in front of me or at handlebar level (i.e. the cycling computer on my roadbike) unless I take them off or look underneath the lenses. I am still working out how to adapt to this. Meanwhile, it's a relief to see clearly at a distance again.

Naked Bike Ride in Vienna

Is it possible to be naked and stylish on a bicycle? I was hoping to find the answer to this question at the Bare as You Dare ride in Vienna.



But just as people were beginning to frolic joyously in their velo-nakedness, police officers came round and asked everyone to cover up. The cyclists cooperated and there were no clashes. But neither was there much nudity.



The behaviour of the police confused me. In Vienna, public nudity is not at all uncommon: you can see women sunbathing topless in city parks and men lying on the grass with their naked behinds visible to all. So why this objection to some lovely naked cyclists? Perhaps someone Austrian can enlighten me.



Still, under the circumstances, the cyclists came through with flying colours. Red was a particlarly popular choice for accessories: it works well both with nudity and with political messages.



The edge of the monument in the background reads "Freedom to the European People," in Russian...



This lovely couple juxtaposed delicate pink underthings with industrial-yellow safety wear.



With her turquoise helmet, leopard print tie, and strappy sandals, this beauty clearly knows how to accessorise black underpants.



A gentleman and his roadbike.



A Veniaitan shade of red, looking lovely with grass-green body paint.



The most striking participant of the ride was a lovely lady in nude undergarnments who rode a stacked bicycle. She chose not to have a close-up photo displayed on the web, but trust me -- she was stunning!



Is it possible to be naked and stylish on a bicycle? I think it is. A bicycle is extremely flattering to the human figure: It tenses all the right muscles, lengthens the body, and encourages beautiful posture. It would be interesting to see a true Naked Bike Ride without police censorship.

Ash-throated Flycatcher Bird

When I was a child my mom always wanted to know what kind of bird it was that made a noise that, to her, sounded as if it was saying 'come here, come here'. Since she thought it sounded like it was saying that I have always thought so, too. We could always hear the bird but could never get a good look at one. Usually we only hear this bird when we would go camping, or hiking in the mountains or desert. Since we have moved to the Tumbleweed Crossing I have discovered what the bird is. It is the Ash-throated Flycatcher. There are lots of different flycatcher birds all over the world and several different kinds in the US. All are similar and I didn't know what the proper name for our kind of flycatcher was until recently when I finally found it on the internet. These interesting little birds are kind-of built like a swallow only larger. They are mostly grayish on back, wings, head, and tail, but have a dull yellowish color to their belly area. Males and females look alike. They disappear in the fall and winter. I assume they migrate south probably to somewhere in Mexico. But the come here to nest. I usually have one or two pairs near my house each summer. They usually build their nests in a cholla cactus just on the edge of our property but this year they built in a cottonwood tree next to the horse pens, and hay shed. Every time I walk by it they fly off yelling 'come here, come here'. But return quickly and watch what I am doing as I feed, water, or pet horses. I had seen the nest before I knew which bird was using it. I had thought it might be an English sparrow nest as it had so many pieces of string, paper, tumbleweed sticks, and a piece of cloth in it. It was a couple of days before I actually saw a flycatcher on it which can't be seen in the photo of the nest. I welcome all flycatchers as they eat lots and lots and lots of flying insects especially flies which is where they get their name. I have seen them perched on a tree or power line and suddenly fly down to scoop up an unseen insect and then back to their perch they go. They will do this over and over. They come in to the water I keep in hubcaps in the back yard each evening.

Meeting of the Mercians

In the sort of uncanny coincidence that can only happen in the alternate bikeland universe that is the Boston area, our local Somervillain is now also a Mercian owner. His is a vintage model, restored with new paint and period-correct components by the bicycle's previous owner. Somervillain's bike arrived at about the same time as our frames. While we were building mine up, he was putting the finishing touches on his.



Once both bicycles were ready, we of course had to commemorate the occasion. We arranged to meet on a sunny day. Alas as I cycled to our meeting spot, the clouds gathered and so our Mercians met under dramatically overcast skies. They had a great deal to say to one another - though, regrettably we could not understand their secret language.

Somervillain's Mercianis really quite a find. It is a 1971 Olympian model in English Racing Green with white headtube and seattube panels and gold outlining.

The geometry is like that of a club racer (would that be Audax or Sportive?), and the frame fits him well at 61cm x 58.5cm.

The complete history of this bicycle is unknown. The previous owner found it in pretty rough shape - badly repainted and entirely unrecognisable. Only after stripping the surface layer of paint and finding a serial number did it become apparent that the frame was a vintage Mercian. The owner decided to get it restored. He sent the frame off to England for a full repaint and began to hunt around for period correct components.

A year later, the bicycle was restoredto its former glory, and it was beautiful... too beautiful! The former owner found himself incapable of riding it. He kept it as a collector's piece for a bit, but ultimately decided to sell it to someone who would be willing to give the bicycle an active lifestyle.

...which Somervillain was more than happy to do. He got a good deal on the complete bicycle, and is happy both with Mercian's restoration and with the former owner's choice of components -

- which include a Campagnolo drivetrain,



Weinmann centerpull brakes,



andCinellihandlebars and stem.



One thing Somervillain was keen to add to the build, was a set of English Bluemel fenders. He felt that the Mercian did not look right with French style fenders, or the plastic SKS. I've considered this as well and agree that English bicycles don't look right with, for instance, hammered or fluted fenders. But for me the plain ones would be all right, since they really have no identifiable style to them and look fairly neutral.

But the Blumelfenders are quite special and difficult to find. Behold the little contrasting mudflaps.

Despite the 1971 Olympic and my Vincitore being entirely different models made with different lugsets and hailing from different eras, we marveled at how similar they are. The finishing is similar, the tubing is similar, the overall "presence" of the bikes is similar, and our accounts of ride quality are similar. Somervillain describes a responsive, but comfortable ride, easy over bumps and potholes - which is how my bicycle feels as well.

It is fascinating to me that Mercianhas managed to keep their process so consistent over the years with their classic models. You can choose much lighter tubing now if you wish, but the method remains the same. I would love to try an older Mercianin my size and compare it to how mine rides. Unfortunately Somervillain's frame is much too big for me, but if I visit New York City, maybe Justine of Midlife Cycling will let me try her1994 mixte - it would certainly be a treat!

Fade to red

A dead cedar had started leaning onto the fence so Phil cut part of it off. I thought the color was interesting. The heartwood is purple like this when it is first cut, but fades to a reddish-brown color within a week.




Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) isn't really a cedar, but a juniper instead. At one time, almost all pencils were made out of wood from this tree, but nowdays it's only about 10%.

Our hotel camp in Wadi Rum Desert

I like to travel in style and it doesn’t have to be staying at luxurious hotels and eating at Michelin starred restaurants, although I love to indulge every now and then—for me, in order to survive the holiday in good mood, the basic amenities have to be there, as well as some comfort of course. Now Blondine and I are faced with the challenge of spending a night in the desert... hmm...



We’ve read fascinating stories about travellers staying with Bedouins in the heart of Wadi Rum desert in Bedouin camps, and although this is truly an experience worth doing for, we worry about the conditions of the accommodations. Is there electricity? What about toilet? Where can we leave our car? Is it safe for 2 women to sleep in a tent? So many questions. Trivial perhaps for others?



Well I found this hotel camp called ‘Bait Ali Lodge’ in the middle of the desert, located just a few kilometres away from the environmentally preserved area of Wadi Rum. It is probably the only camp with a bit of frill in the desert so naturally we booked here. To give you an idea, it has a swimming pool and an amphitheatre. Yes, in the desert, in the middle of nowhere.



We will be doing the 4x4 jeep Wadi Rum desert adventure later but before meeting with the Bedouin whom we hired for the afternoon, we are checking in to our hotel camp.



See more fotos below of the hotel camp:









So how do you like this desert camp in the middle of nowhere? Not bad at all eh? Oh, I forgot to take fotos of the rooms... nothing fancy though, very, very basic.