Pinewood Estate

When I visited here last time, we did not go to see the house that is at Bok Tower Gardens. The house is named the Pinewood Estate and you can do a tour of this neat place. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.



A tour through the magnificent Mediterranean-style Pinewood Estate lets
you experience the luxurious lifestyle of C. Austin Buck, an early 20th
century industrialist. Mr. Buck was the vice president of Bethlehem Steel. The Estate occupies eight acres of Bok Tower Gardens and is enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.



Pinewood Estate’s has beautiful gardens and a 20 room Mediterranean-style
mansion built in the early 1930s. It is considered one of the finest examples of
Mediterranean-style architecture in Florida.



Pinewood began its life in 1930 under the name “El Retiro”.
Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who came to the area in 1922 to design Edward
W. Bok’s Gardens, was designing private gardens at nearby Mountain Lake
Estates. William Lyman Phillips was assigned as the Olmsted
representative and was retained by Buck to design the gardens and site
of “El Retiro” to take maximum advantage of the lush Florida landscape.



Charles Wait, long affiliated with the Olmsted firm, was brought in to
design the house in the Mediterranean-style Floridians still enjoy
today. Wait created a house that had the appearance of a Mediterranean
villa. The thick walls, wrought iron details, carved woodwork and doors
heighten the effect. Wait also incorporated large porches to give clear
views of the surroundings and provide constant air flow.



Buck, who admired Latin lifestyle and architecture, obtained the tiles
used throughout the house from Cuba. Phillips, who spent time in the
Canal Zone and had a great love for the tropics, set about creating a
series of vistas – a Spanish frog fountain leading to a grotto in front
of the house; an Oriental moon gate outside the dining room; and the
long view down a rolling lawn to the lily pool. The entire house was
situated to give views through the surrounding pine trees.



Over the years, Pinewood changed hands several times before it was
acquired by Bok Tower Gardens in 1970. The estate was restored to its
original design by nationally recognized restoration landscape architect
Rudy Favretti, the staff of Bok Tower Gardens and a corps of
volunteers. Today, work continues to preserve the mansion listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.

Three O' Clock Rock ..

Rod and I headed out to Darrington to climb on what was one of the hottest days of the year so far. Not always a good idea for slab climbing, but it usually means Darrington will be dry.

The drive up was pleasant, and soon we were gearing up in the cool valley floor for a hike to the rock. This was Rod's first time at Three O' Clock Rock, and we were debating the routes to try and get on. I really wanted a second crack at Revolver after trying to climb it wet back in September. But I was also interested in climbing Big Tree One again to get some gear placement "practice" in since I hadn't been on rock in over a month. The harder rating of Revolver had Rod suggesting we start on Big Tree One. This made sense, as it is on the South Buttress, and would be sunnier in the afternoon. And Revolver was on the North Buttress and perhaps wouldn't be as hot during the hottest time of day.

We got to the base and geared up for Big Tree. Rod led it and took a while completing the pitch. I had to run off into the woods before following. I joined him at the top of pitch one. We swapped the rack and I headed off on pitch two. Perhaps it is coming off the couch after a month of not climbing, but I didn't remember this pitch to be as run out. I got to the top and brought Rod over and he prepared for the next lead.

Rod headed up the third (and best) pitch of the route. I had told him where I thought the crux was and he made good time heading up to it. At the crux he balked. He tried a higher gear placement and then even added a second cam. He down climbed a few steps and yo-yo'd a bit. He inspected holds and tried different options. After a long while, he confessed to me he did not have the moves in him. I lowered him down to the anchor and I switched to the sharp end to tackle the moves. The crux of the route in my opinion is a move where the lie backing ends and you have a few friction moves before picking up the lie backing again. I'm not sure it is the technical crux of the route, but it is the mental crux as you leave hand holds and counter pressure for some straight smearing.

I climbed up the crux on top rope and then rearranged the gear Rod had placed so I could have more gear above the crux. I tried the moves and was attempting to remember how I did it last time, but I was not being successful. I couldn't commit to my right foot. I down climbed a few times to a ledge to rest my feet. Was I no longer capable of doing the moves? I had tried low, I had tried midway. What if I tried high? I started back up and instead of forcing my moves rightward I just followed the natural rhythm of the rock and found myself going up a bit more before rightward moves commenced. It felt good. The small tree that I had previously slung appeared bigger, but not as lively. I slung it again and headed off to finish the pitch.

Rod joined me and commented that he still didn't like the moves, even on top rope. I presented him with an option to lead the final pitch as I wanted to move onto other things. He didn't feel the need to, so we started rapping the route.

Once back at the packs we huddled in the shade and ate lunch. With my need to be back in Seattle by 5pm, it was too late to start a 6+ pitch route like Revolver. We had to come up with other options. I suggested Dirt Circus, a route I had not previously done. The first pitch was bolted 5.9 and the second was a bolted 5.9+. I offered the easier first pitch to Rod and we hiked over to the base.

There must be a good reason for this route to be called dirt circus. The first 10' of stone were filthy. We joked about how we should have power washed it before climbing in the morning and that it would have been ready to go by the afternoon. Rod tied in and made several attempts to place a cam so he could continue. After a period of time he said it wasn't going to happen and I offered another route for us to climb.

Rod got the lead on Under the Bored Walk. A route I suggest to anyone who is climbing at Darrington for the first time. I had him lead it to the top in one pitch. I followed, experimenting with my approach shoes. This was quite scary at first, but as the difficulty eased and I got used to the feeling of chicken heads under my feet, it was not too bad. Afterward, Rod said the route was a good one to bring people new to rock climbing as it was fun and easy.

I love Three O' Clock Rock for the ease of approach and so many good climbs in a range that I can climb. It was great being out on the rock. I feel I needed this to prep me for Squamish in two weeks. We'll see how things go.

Mailbox Glories

I had these morning glories growing up my mailbox a few years ago.

Plate Ice Mosaic

As you may already know from the photo I posted last night, the sunset yesterday was nothing short of mind-blowing. The ice formations combined with the awesome clouds and colors in the sky made for a scene that I will never forget. After making several wide-angle images of the scene, I switched to my 100-400mm lens and made a few abstract images by isolating different areas of the ice. This area that you see here was different from the rest. Most of the ice was jutting up at all different angles, but in this area the ice was all laying more or less flat. Each piece was reflecting a bit of the sky. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in all my life of living along the shores of Lake Superior.

Can Stop, Will Stop: TRP Mini-V Brakes

I have embarked on a long term test ride of a Honey cyclocross bike, similar to the one I rode in the Kearsarge Klassic last summer. When asked about component preferences on the demo bike, one thing I requested was stronger brakes. I had remarkably poor stopping power with the cantilever brakes on the bike I'd borrowed earlier, and I generally have not had good luck with cantis. I described these problems to Honey and we decided to try v-brakes. They suggested the TRP CX8.4 "mini-vs."




The TRP CX8.4 linerar pull brakes were designed for maximum stopping power oncyclocross bikes. Unlike full sized v-brakes, they were also designed to work with integrated road levers (this particular model works best withCampagnolo and SRAM)without requiring an adapter- reducing bulk, weight and complexity. These brakes have a number of features to recommend them for cyclocross racing, but having no experience with that side of things I will stick to describing them in the context of "just riding."




Under my weak grip, theTRPs feel reassuringly powerful. Those with strong hands could in fact find this problematic, but for me it is a welcome change from having to worry about stopping a fat-tire roadbike with cantis at the bottom of a hill. This is the first time I have used v-brakes on such a bike, and the quality of the braking does feel different from centerpulls and cantilevers. I have to apply pressure differently to regulate exactly how much I want to brake, but it didn't take long to train my hands to "understand." When attempting to slow down at high speeds, the braking is not harsh or jerky, but it is stronger than typical - so it helps to have a gentle touch, or else to use only one finger on the lever. For harder braking, there is a luxurious, modulation-friendly margin before coming to a full stop that I find especially helpful. In the past, I have had to get creative in order to stop on downhills during unpaved rides, and I've even employed my foot as an auxilliary brake on a couple of occasions. The TRPs are at their best precisely in those situations.




I have ridden the bike only a couple of times so far, but our winter conditions have allowed me to immediately try it on snow and slush. Getting the rims slushy did reduce braking power, but there was so much of it to begin with that it remained manageable. Basically, with the mini-vs the bike rides with slush-clogged rims like it did with dry rims when it had cantis.




The Honey cross is set up with a carbon fiber fork, and I have not detected any judder with the TRPCX8.4s. These brakes easily clearthe 700Cx35mm tires currently on the bike, and look like they could fit a fender. My understanding is they will not clear a 650B x 42mm tire; for that full sized v-brakes may be required.




With an MSRP of $149 per set, the TRP CX8.4 brakes seem like an excellent and accessible option for those seeking extra braking power on a roadbike with canti/v bosses. As I get the opportunity to try other brakes worth mentioning, I will continue the "can stop, will stop" series (See also: Paul Racer centerpull brakes).

America's Vintage Bike Capital?

I wonder whether there is a way to get some official acknowledgement naming Boston the vintage bicycle capital of the USA. Because the sorts of bicycles we see here - and take for granted - during our daily travels, are not to be believed. Restored 50-year-old roadsters casually locked up outside office buildings, ancient step-throughs with exotic headbadges and enormous baskets, vintage folders of unknown manufacture used as canine transport - these are just some of the bicycles I see every day as I make my way through the city. Normally, I have no time to stop and photograph even a small fraction of it all, but today the Co-Habitant was with me and a couple of the bikes absolutely required documentation.



Just so you understand, this all-original 1950's Raleigh Sports with front and rear dynamo lights and original white Raleigh grips(!) is actually someone's commuter.



Secured with a U-lock to a bike rack outside a small local university, it looked so natural amidst the mixed crowd of other bikes, including a fully lugged Specialized and a couple of Peugeot mixtes.



The headlight and tail light seemed functional. These must provide sufficient lighting for the owner's commute, as there were no other lights attached to the bike. Anybody know how powerful they are?



But exciting as it was to see the beautiful vintage Raleigh, it paled in comparison to what we stumbled upon next.Yes, that is my Gazelle, Linda, parked next to... another vintage loop-frame Gazelle.



What are the chances? Unlike Raleigh 3-speeds, Gazelle "Oma" bicycles of this vintage were never imported into the USA and were never sold here.



Both my bicycle, and the bicycle next to it, have stickers indicating that they were purchased in Germany (not in the same shop or even the same town). And the (yet another) vintage Gazelle I spotted nearby a year ago, had a Dutch shop sticker on it.The bicycles' owners must have at some point brought them on the plane when moving to Boston, probably for grad school or for post-doctoral positions.



Seeing the other Gazelleand remembering the third one I spotted earlier, made me wonder whether they still belong to the same owners who brought them over from Germany and Holland. Either way, those bikes must have been dearly loved, at least at the time. Transporting a 50lb bicycle on an airplane could not have been easy!



Overall, my Linda was in nicer condition than her neighbour, but one thing that evoked her envy was this mudflap on the other lady. Now she is asking me to get one for her, too. I think a leather one (possibly hand-made?) would go well with her saddle and grips, but I am curious whether these Gazelle proprietary flaps are still sold today. Also, they seem to be attached by a bracket that does not necessitate drilling the fender, but makes use of the existing holes for the stays, which seems like a fairly easy installation method.



I think that to spot several bicycles like this in an American city is highly improbable. Surely it is proof that Boston is the vintage bike capital? If you have a better story about your city, bring it on!

spring on the desert

Spring has come to the desert as well as to my yard. We drove out a few miles the other day and found these tiny clumps of yellow flowers growing everywhere. I don't know what they are called. There are some cactus growing near these that will blooming in a few weeks.