Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York

While in Corning, we stopped at the Corning Museum of Glass.

We were not there for very long, but what we did see was great. We loved this:

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Today we celebrated Nathan's 44th birthday. Rene and Mira invited us over for Happy Hour where we were treated to a nice party platter of food. They are on a campsite that overlooks the water, so this is their view.



We enjoyed hanging out with them. They shared their DVD's that they made of pictures that they took during their first trip in Alaska. They were incredible and inspired Austin to want to travel to Alaska next year.

They shared Nathan's second cake with us. We ate fajitas for dinner. We played pickleball. It was a great day.



I hope you had a great day, honey. You deserve it! Living the life in lovely Virginia!

Organizing Stuff? Here's a Good Deal on Plastic Totes!

Not sure if this is just an individual store deal (Fort Wayne) or nationwide but I just got a really good deal on storage totes at Staples. They have them online at $16.49 each, however, I just purchased several of them today in-store for $7.99 each! And may purchase more when I go back to Fort Wayne on Friday. Hopefully they will still have them and at the sale price. Oddly enough, I think the "everyday" in-store price was $14.49 though I can't imagine why they would cost $2 more if purchased online.

It has slots inside, along all sides at the top, so it can hold hanging file folders. Because of the slots, the outside dimensions are a little bit bigger than the standard legal/letter cardboard "Banker's Box".

Staples Letter/Legal File Box
Snap-tight lid keeps contents secure. Space saving stackable design.
Made out of durable polypropylene. Holds both letter and legal files.
Clear with a clear lid. 10 7/8"H x 18 7/8"W x 18 1/4"D

The Feel of a Smaller Wheel

This spring I've been test riding a 26" wheel Sogreni city bike, and some readers have asked what I think of the 26" wheels - specifically, do I find the handling sluggish and do I think the frame could fit a 700C wheelset. The answer is that I do not find it sluggish at all, and believe that the 26" wheels were a good choice for this frame - allowing for aggressive front end geometry with no toe overlap. The bike is pretty fast and maneuverable, and I do not notice the wheel size at all.




Back when I was riding a Pashley Princess and describing the handling as slower than several similar bikes I'd tried, many expressed the opinion that this was due to differences in wheel size. The Princess is fitted with 26" wheels, whereas the other bikes I compared it to were fitted with 28" wheels. Despite a few contradicting voices (most notably that of Jan Heine), it is commonly believed that larger wheels are faster, and that it is always better to use 28" or 700C rather than 26" or 650B, unless the builder/manufacturer is trying to achieve something specific with sizing or clearances.






While I cannot contribute scientific evidence to the wheel size debate, personally I am comparatively indifferent at this stage. I've ridden fast bikes with 28" wheels, 700C wheels, 650B wheels, 26" wheels. I've ridden slow bikes with 28" wheels, 700C wheels, 650B wheels, 26" wheels. Recently I tried a very cool 26" wheel roadbike, made by Richard Sachs for a local cyclist. I would need to put it through a real road test to really comment about it, but around the neighborhood I could not discern any difference in handling, any hesitation in accelerating, compared to a 700C roadbike. And the proportions work so nicely for a cyclist of shorter stature, maybe even for someone my height. I am surprised that shorter women getting custom frames don't go for 26" more often.






Folding bikes and mini-bikes suffer even more from the small wheel bias. Just the other night a friend was telling me that he finds the idea of a folding bike convenient, but cannot imagine the small wheels being adequate. Having ridden Bromptons on a number of occasions now, I disagree as does the Co-Habitant. While I am sure that some folding bikes are slow, it probably has more to do with how the bike itself is designed than with the small wheel size. To me, the 16" wheels on a Brompton feel no slower than full size wheels. I have also spoken to cyclists who ride Moultons and Bike Fridays with dropbars as their main roadbikes, finding them more than adequate for club rides and pacelines.




I am not saying there are no discernible differences between wheel sizes, all else remaining equal. But in the scheme of things, there are so many other factors affecting speed and handling, that I feel the importance of wheel size is disproportionally stressed. It seems to me that getting the tubing, geometry and positioning just right for a cyclist of a given size should be the primary goal, and the wheel size should be a function of that - not the other way around. I am open-minded about smaller wheels and would like to try more bikes with them.

Angels Landing :: The Encore

No, I didn't go to the top of Angels Landing a second time ;-)

The day after I made it to the top of Angels Landing I was at the Visitors Center and saw a poster on sale that showed Walter's Wiggles and Angels Landing, together. A notation stated that it had been taken from the West Rim Trail. Hmm, I wondered if I could find that spot and take my own photo. So a couple of days later, I made that trek for the third time to Scout's Lookout! The trail didn't get any easier either. But, Oh!, the views were well worth the effort.

Angels Landing from the beginning of the West Rim Trail. Scout's Lookout is in the foreground (that flat, sandy area). The trail ascends that small peak on its west side then climbs up the ridge of the second peak.

A full view of the east side of Angels Landing showing the 1200 foot sheer drop to the Virgin River flowing through the valley below.

I followed the West Rim Trail for about an hour when it took a decided turn towards the North. I looked behind me and saw an unmarked trail through the sand leading to a section of slick rock. Venturing off the trail I followed the slick rock to it's end, about half an hour or so. (Photo was taken on my way back, hence the change in lighting.)

There below me was the scene I was seeking. Walter's Wiggles and Angels Landing. I spent several hours just sitting there at the edge, looking down. It was a wonderful spot to have lunch!

By mid-afternoon, the sun had almost disappeared, clouds had moved in and the wind had picked up considerably. Reluctantly, I left my perch on the side of the canyon.

On my way back down, I caught a glimpse of the duo from another spot just a little ways off the trail. I had to carefully move down the side of a little “hill” of rock. This angle shows some of Refrigerator Canyon, which you have to go through to get to Walter's Wiggles.

Walter's Wiggles from the first vantage point.

And from the second viewpoint.

Other posts in this series:

• Angels Landing :: The Prelude
• Angels Landing :: The Overture
• Angels Landing :: Interlude
• Angels Landing :: The Finale

Liberty Ridge - Spring Ascent

A team of 3 Midwest climbers set their sites on Liberty Ridge last week... and for the second reported time in 2006, climbers made it again to the summit of Rainier. Erik Beeler, Neal Mueller and Isaac Will pushed through deep snow, high winds, whiteouts, steep ice, 5th class rock and even a moonlit night so that they could top out of Mount Rainier's classic of line.

The wintry conditions took more out of the team than expected. In particular, areas of really deep snow became troubling and time consuming. They had intended to spend three nights on route, but needed FIVE and were forced to bivy near 13,000 feet.

In this close up image of the upper route, green dots represent the high camps and bivies and the blue sections represent areas of difficulty or belays. It's interesting to note that the team took the far right variation out of Thumb Rock.

Neal made it clear that "some deep snow" was not going to thwart their summit efforts. A mix of Midwest pride and fortitude pushed the men through the exhausting conditions. And yes, they did wonder about avalanches...

They started late the 1st day and spent the night along the trail in the snow. The 2nd night found them near the access to the Carbon, 7,200 feet. It was up to Thumb Rock for the 3rd and 4th night. Isaac stated that the extra night was needed because,

"As soon as we started to set up camp, my body started to let me know exactly what I had done to it... I threw up before I got in the tent, and... three more times before I could get some Power Gels and water to stay down. I didn't have a headache and I was not concerned it was AMS. The weather was not perfect and when we woke up at 0500. I said I could use another day to recover. They all agreed a rest day was in order so we stayed in the tent all day long."

After a recovery, the team climbed a major porition of the upper route. The 5th night was pitched at a bivy site above 13,000 feet. At that camp, Issac described setting anchors into the rock for fear of either being blown or avalanched off the mountain. Thankfully, neither happened.

They belayed two pitches of alpine ice (one was described as 15 fee of WI 4) to reach Liberty Cap. After finding a few crevasses the hard way between Liberty Cap and the summit, the team cautiously descended to Camp Schurman. They spent a final night in the hut, but only after digging it out. Somehow, the door had blown open during the winter and for the most part, the hut was filed with snow...

The team intends to post a trip report on summitpost and cascadeclimbers. You can also find information on Neal Mueller's website.

Successfully climbing Liberty Ridge is quite an achievement this time of year, congratulations and thanks for your help digging out the Camp Schurman hut! Also, thanks to Pandora for sharing her image here.

An action filled day off!

Since we only have one day off this week we decided to do some of the things we haven't gotten around to yet. It was another Hot day - 90's so we headed underground.

1st stop - Big Thunder Gold Mine

Watch your head!



Big Thunder is one of the safest mines in the area. The rock stability allowed the miners to use very little timbering. Because of its safety, during times of war, the Big Thunder Mine was designated as Keystone's bomb shelter. Not much gold was taken from this mine. Lore has it that they discovered some gold in an adjacent area but did not file a claim. They got drunk and talked about the gold they found and someone else filed a claim out of spitebut did not have the money to excavate it. They sold the rights to someone else for a few thousand dollars. The mine ended up producing over 3 million in Gold



After the tour we panned for gold and even founda few flakes!Getting warm again - so back underground to Rushmore Cave. This is the original natural entrance.

It is filled with natural limestone formationsLots of narrow winding tunnels and ups and downs. Could've used the hard hat in here too.The "Big Room"

Lots of Stalactites

We got free admission with our VIP Pass and they told us the zip line ride was free as well. Since we were well chilled from the hour tour we didn't mind waiting in line in the hot sun.




Next Stop Mt. Rushmore to do the Audio Tour





Time to head home, we take the Iron Mountain Road with the Pigtail Bridges- you drive under the bridge and then the road circles around so you cross the bridgeAs we were driving home we passed the Black Hills Playhouse. They do a practice run of a play on the Wednesday before opening and VIP pass holders get in free. We hadn't had a chance to do one yet, we were either working or had forgotten about it or last week when we remembered it was an off week. I had it in my mind that it was next week but I noticed cars in the lot as we drove by and decided to check my "cheat sheet" and sure enough it was this evening so we did a U-Turn and headed back



We ended up seeing "All Shook Up" a musical comedy with a lot of Elvis music and comical situations of mistaken identity. The Set wasn't complete and it was the first time the cast had performed in front of a live audience. They only had 5 days of rehearsals. They did quite well and we enjoyed the performance.

Till Later, Meanwhile we keep on Trek'n

Melissa and Gary

US Senate Honors Search and Rescue Personnel

May 27th-Memorial Day Weekend

Winter still rules at Mt Rainier!!

We hope to see folks on the mountain psyched to climb and camp but please be prepared! GPS, map and compass, cell phone and a completed wilderness permit are all great tools that allow both climbers and rescuers a greater safety margin when the weather turns poor. Pack your Gore-tex and skis and have a good time with great winter conditions this weekend.


On Friday May 14, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Resolution 526, which honors the men and women who perform Search and Rescue (SAR) throughout the United States. The Resolution specifically acknowledges the role that professionals and volunteers provide to our country, and sets aside the week of May 16 to May 22, as National Search and Rescue week. Also, it encourages the people of the United States to observe and hold ceremonies and activities that promote awareness and appreciation of the role SAR personnel provide for their communities.

The Mount Rainier climbing community had a hand in making this possible, as our former Mountaineering and SAR Program Manager, Mike Gauthier, was one of the driving forces behind the Resolution. As you may recall, Mike left Mount Rainier to work in the US Senate last year. While at Mount Rainier, he participated in over 200 SAR incidents and had this to say about the Resolution, “This is a very personal story for me as my friends and fellow rangers, Sean Ryan and Phil Otis, died during a mountain rescue high on Mt. Rainier in 1995. Finding them on the glacier that day changed the trajectory of my life and career, and steeled my resolve to change the way we worked as climbing rangers. Being able to help with this resolution is part of my commitment to honor and remember them and their spirit.”

Mike and Central Mountain Rescue Volunteer Marty Lentsch have aspirations to eventually create a National Museum and Memorial for SAR. Said Mike, “some of the hardest, most valuable and rewarding moments of my time as a park ranger have been during search and rescue missions. I worked with many incredible people who gave their time and energy, sometimes risking their lives, in order to help others in emergencies. At Mount Rainier, the volunteers from the Mountain Rescue Association were very notable because they trained and prepared on their own in order to help the climbing, hiking, skiing and outdoor recreation community. So it is very appropriate that the US Senate, through our good friend Senator Maria Cantwell, acknowledge and set aside a week to recognize the work they, and the professionals from local, state and federal agencies, do in order to help people throughout the nation.”

Please pass this good news along and look for more information on how you can help. It will take time to organize and achieve a National Museum and Memorial, but it would be a fitting honor for those who have lost their lives in the line of duty and also for those who unselfishly give so much to help others in need.

More can be found about Sean Ryan and Phil Otis through books, and here is a link to the text of the Senate Resolution. Photo by Mike Gauthier.

~ DG

Gunks Routes: The Seasons & More

I'm getting behind in my blogging. I've been climbing but I haven't been posting. A few quick climbing days in a row plus a week's vacation will do that to you.



Flashback to June 20. My friend Maryana and I took advantage of a break in the summer heat to get in a pleasant weekday's climbing.



We both had similar goals. I've been working back into the 5.9's, and Maryana is starting to lead them too. Or I guess I should say Maryana has just started leading 5.9, but she's rocketing through the grade and I have no doubt she'll leave 5.9 in the dust in short order. As recently as March she'd only led a couple trad pitches in her life. But her growth has been rapid and amazing to watch. She weighs next to nothing, she has great instincts, and she climbs all the time. She also has several partners who climb much harder stuff. All of this taken together means she'll soon be leading climbs that I have hardly any hope of following, much less leading myself.



But for now, in this one brief moment in early summer , she and I can be plausibly considered equals.



On June 20 we had a really good day together. I warmed us up on V-3 (5.7). It was my first time on the route. It was pleasant but not as exciting as I expected. I thought I would be forced to use opposition and stemming to get up into the famous V-shaped notch that ends the pitch, but to my surprise I found good face holds inside the notch, pulled easily up into it, clipped the pin, and the climb was basically done. Nice, but nothing to rave about, in my opinion.



Then I suggested Maryana lead Absurdland (5.8; I believe Williams used to call it 5.9-). I led it two years ago, and I remembered it as having good crux thin face climbing, which is Maryana's specialty. I also remembered the crux as being short, so I thought it would be well within her abilities. I actually remembered the climb as being a little underwhelming, because after the low crux moves it eases off into mellow cruising on lower-angled jugs for the final two-thirds of the pitch.



Well, Maryana managed the low cruxes quite well, and placed great gear, sending the climb with style. As I followed the pitch I was impressed. The hard bit is a little longer than I remembered, with two or three steep crux moves in a row. The hands are good. The feet are thin and more of a challenge. The cruiser climbing above is very nice. I decided I've been underrating Absurdland. It is a beautiful pitch.



I next proposed we head down to The Seasons, for a couple reasons. The first was that I wanted to lead The Spring. I thought it fit my "easy" 5.9 criteria. The crux seemed like it would be short, at a little rooflet about 15 to 20 feet up, and it appeared the pro was good, with a vertical crack running up the whole pitch. I had seen reports that the early pro was a little tricky, but that the crux pro was solid. I was ready to give it a go.



The second reason I wanted to head down to the Seasons was that I hoped we could toprope the other, harder Season climbs, and that I would learn a thing or two from Maryana. One of the reasons she's improved so quickly is that she's been climbing with people who like to work these harder climbs. I wanted to see what she'd do with The Fall (5.11a) and The Summer (5.11d). And I wanted to see if I could do anything with them as well. I'm not much of a toproper but a few weeks before I'd been surprised at my success on Maria Redirect (5.11a), and I was curious to see if that success was just a fluke.





(Photo: Past the crux rooflet on pitch one of The Spring (5.9))



But before we could work on the 5.11's I had to lead the 5.9.



It went down pretty quickly. In my opinion the first pitch of The Spring is one of the easier 5.9's I've led this year. I got some disagreement on this point from other folks on Gunks.com, so you should keep in mind that I am fond of corner climbs like The Spring. Perhaps the climb actually plays to some unknown strength of mine, which makes it seem easier to me than it would to others? But in my experience, the moves up to the rooflet are straightforward, and then the move over the roof is strenuous but features great holds. One more steep move after that, again with very positive holds, and the real business of the pitch is over. What remains of the pitch is a somewhat awkward exit from the corner to the right and up, then the final easy moves to the bolted anchor.



The pro did prove to be surprisingly tricky. The crack at the back of the corner is the only place to put pro until you reach the rooflet, and it is a pretty thin seam. I worked in a nut a few moves up. I tested it for a downward and outward pull and I thought it would hold, but I also expected it to lift out as I got higher, and it did. Nevertheless I think this nut was acceptable for its purpose; if I'd fallen right after placing it I think it would have held me. I then worked a pretty marginal C3 into the crack just a couple feet above the nut. I wasn't sure what this cam was worth, but it was just another step to the rooflet, where I had dynamite pro in the horizontal to the left.



Above the rooflet, the crack at the back is again the thin seam, and if you feel like it you can hang in there and try to place a tiny nut. I didn't try. I took the extra step, and then got a bomber red C4 over my head where the crack widened. Looking at this pro afterward, I could see that if I'd blown the clip to the red C4 and somehow slipped with all that rope out, I might have been in ground fall range. But I think that was a very unlikely event, since the stance there was good. You could definitely put something in lower that wouldn't require you to pull the rope over your head if you were concerned about it.



My verdict on The Spring: fun, on the easy side of 5.9, adequate pro, but a little too short. Of course, if I were up to leading the 5.10 pitch two then pitch one would be a great warm-up.





(Photo: Maryana on the steep lower bits of The Winter(5.10d))



From the chains above The Spring I scrambled up and left to the tat anchor above The Winter. This tat anchor did not inspire confidence. The slings all appeared to be old and they were wedged in a constriction in such a way that I found them impossible to evaluate. Fortunately there is good gear there. I built a bomber gear anchor above the tat and we now had one end of the rope above The Spring and The Summer and the other end above The Winter. This was a nice setup for a weekday. On a crowded weekend this might pose problems as both The Spring and The Winter are popular leads. But no one came along wishing to climb the routes while we were there, so we were free to take our time.



After Maryana ran up The Spring, I gave The Winter (5.10d) a try. The lower moves are steep and strenuous but certainly easier than 5.10. The crux is just a few moves up a corner, similar to the Spring but facing the opposite direction, and featuring no juggy holds. Stemming and opposition technique are required for a couple moves, then better holds lead to the anchor.



I think I would have sent it on the first try, but as I completed the crux moves (stepping up to the prominent piton which isn't fully driven into the rock), I thought I pulled a muscle in my leg. As I stemmed there I suddenly felt a sharp burning pain, and because I was on toprope I had the freedom to simply let go immediately, cursing my aging body. After resting a bit I decided it was just a cramp, did the same moves again (leaning a bit more on the other leg!) and completed the pitch. I felt good about it, almost thinking I could lead it. My main concern would be that the crux gear involves fiddly nuts at the back of the corner in a thin crack, much like The Spring but with higher stakes and a much more likely fall. The pin is too high to really help you; by the time you clip it you're basically done.



After Maryana sprinted up The Winter with no issues, she removed my gear anchor and scrambled back to the chains, and it was my turn to try The Summer (5.11d). A nearly blank face leads up to the rooflet. Then steeper, thin face moves continue above the little roof. The whole thing looked really hard to me; I guessed the rooflet would be the crux.



I was wrong. The crux was the face below the roof, and I couldn't do it at all. It was somewhat dispiriting. I tried several different tactics, and Maryana eventually suggested several different strategies I hadn't considered, but none of them worked for me. There was a long reach to the better holds below the roof, and I couldn't make it work out. I couldn't use the tiny crimper holds effectively to get my feet up. For the first time, I think I got some real understanding of why people who train climbers talk about finger strength so much. I apparently don't have enough of it.



I was eager to watch Maryana figure it out, and after several falls she worked out a sequence that got her up to the roof. She was able to use a tiny hold as a side-pull, which enabled her to get her feet up and reach for the jugs. Then after one fall at the roof she figured that out as well and finished the route.



Even with Maryana's beta I still failed at the low crux. Eventually I gave up, cheated up to the roof from the side and was able to do the second crux moves after one fall. A little more falling upward got me up to the chains again, pretty worn out and beaten down. 5.11d is hard!





(Photo: Mr. Smooth leading The Fall(5.11a))



I set two directional cams above The Fall (5.11a) as Maryana lowered me. You could probably go without them, but you'd have to be really careful of the swing you'd take towards The Spring's corner if you blew the crux. We were both grateful to have the directionals in place.



I was excited to try The Fall because the crux move appeared to me to be really cool, and I imagined it would be super intimidating on lead. An undercling with good gear leads to a balancy crux high step up above the same rooflet shared by The Summer and The Spring. It seemed to me it was all about footwork and technique, not muscle.



Last year I watched someone I'll call Mr. Smooth lead it. I don't know his name, and at the time we'd never spoken. I was floored at how he calmly cruised up the route. Dick Williams says there is good pro for the 5.11a crux move, but that it is runout above for the rest of the way; in his words it is "5.8 R or worse." Mr. Smooth placed a cam in the undercling at the crux, and then as he gracefully made the crux high step he got a tiny wire in the vertical seam. Then he placed one more piece in the next 40 or so feet. He had three pieces of gear in the whole pitch.



It was quite a performance. Then I watched as his (absolutely gorgeous*) girlfriend cruised it and The Summer on toprope, as if these hard routes were nothing.



Later in the year I happened to see the couple again. I was leading the first pitch of High Exposure and I saw Mr. Smooth climb Modern Times (5.8+). He did the whole thing in one pitch, with practically no gear. He put a sling around a small tree on the GT Ledge and then placed nothing else until he got to the roofs at the top. Later at the base of the wall I told him how impressed I'd been at his lead of The Fall, and he said he'd been working up to it for some time and even backed off of it on an earlier occasion.



Maryana wasn't quite as smooth as Mr. Smooth. She had to take a few tries at the crux. I was interested to see her solve it without the high step Mr. Smooth had used. She managed it with a step-through, crossing one leg behind the other. She also seemed to have trouble seeing the crucial handhold, which caused her to fumble for it a bit.



I scored a small victory when my turn came. I got The Fall on the first try. On toprope, using Maryana's experience. I decided to try her footwork and it worked like a charm for me. But still. It felt good, especially after my total failure on The Summer. The Fall really is a one-move wonder. After the crux step up it is much easier. But with the lack of pro I can't imagine ever leading it.



I guess I'm warming up to toproping. It still isn't my preference, and I feel vaguely guilty while I'm doing it, which is just silly. But it's hard to deny it has benefits. After we finished with The Seasons I felt I'd gained some skills and insight, and I was pretty worked over besides. Not a bad way to spend a few hours.



* But not nearly as gorgeous as my wife, of course.

Snowdepth Record at Paradise

Starting on the 7th of August this year, we have more snow at Paradise than ever recorded since 1916. The world-record snow years in the early 1970's made for similar snow packs this time of year, but the cool weather has caused the snow to melt more slowly than usual. Our total snowfall for the winter of was approximately 907 inches - not a world record, but one of the five biggest snow years Paradise has ever seen.



What's different is our cool summer we've had this year. Just today, I skied all the way to Camp Muir from the Paradise parking lot. That's amazing. It's August and we should be enjoying the flowers.



I anticipate that our record breaking trend will continue a few weeks. It never really cleared off today at Paradise. The moist, marine-layer that has Seattle fogged in is strong enough to push all the way to Paradise.





Here's the data break down:

The One and Only 'Constance'! a Mixte by Royal H. Cycles

Trying to write a definitive post about the completion of my custom mixte (whom I have named "Constance") has been overwhelming, but I am forcing myself to do itbefore too much time goes by. Perhaps it will help if I try to cut down on the sappy stuff and just write about it briefly, matter-of-factly. After all, it's just a bike forgoddsake... Right!

In September of last year I met Bryan Hollingsworth, who is the framebuilder behind Royal H. Cycles, and asked him to make me a custom mixte frame in the tradition of theFrench constructeurs. The frame was finished on my birthday this February. One by one, I purchased all the components, and the Co-Habitant and I put the bike together at the end of the summer. The bicycle was complete in September , about a year after its inception. If you are interested in the step by step details of the process, you can read all about it by scrolling through these posts; they document the bike from the initial stages of frame design to tweaking the component choices.



To start with a basic description of the bicycle, it is a classic, fully lugged mixte frame with twin lateral stays.The tubing is eclectic, designed with comfort and strength as the main priorities: The downtube and seat stays areColumbus. The seat tube isNova. The chainstays areVitus. And the twin stays are domestic 4130 straight gauge.



The 52cm frame has a 54cm virtual top tube, 73°seat tube angle, 72°head tube angle, 53mmfork rake, 54.5mm trail, and 430mm chainstays.



The liquid paint and lug outlining were done byCircle A Cyclesin Providence, RI.



The "dusty mint" colour was matched to a swatch I provided. The Royal H. insignia and lug outlining were done in copper.



As far as construction goes, several neat features make the bicycle special. To start with, it is nearly impossible to have a fully lugged mixte built nowadays, because the twin headtube lugs are no longer made. These were procured new old stock.



The "bullet" style seat stay caps were the framebuilder's idea and I was not sure I wanted them at first, but they look spectacular.



The flat-top fork crown has a small custom embellishment, and notice the little lugged braze-on for the shifter boss. I should mention that this bicycle has clearances for 35mm+ tires plus fenders...



Everything that could possibly be lugged on this mixte, is!



- including these amazing triple sockets on the rear dropouts. Read more about them, and other aspects of the lugwork here(not to mention the custom stainless steel kickstand plate!).

There are braze-ons for both front and rear racks, and the bicycle was built to accommodate reasonable front and rear loads.



If you are interested in a full technical description of the components, you can find thathere. But for those who just want the main points of interest, I will describe a few.



The 700C wheels were built by Peter White, with a Schmidt SON dynohub to power the lights. The headlight and tail light are the same as on my Rivendell, and you can read about them here.



Braze-ons along the inside of the fork accommodate the wiring for the headlight.



The handlebars are the Velo OrangePorteurbars, used with a 10mm stem, inverse brake levers, and Silver shifters inserted into Paul thumbies - which were heavily modified for the purpose.



The bicycle was built to accommodate centerpull brakes, as this is my preferred style of brakes. The brakes are Dia Compe centerpulls from VO - which function great, but had to be slightly modified to fit properly (which, as I understand, is a problem other have had as well).



The crankset is a Sugino Alpina double. You can't tell in this picture, but there is a neat braze-on for the front derailleur.



The rear derailleur is the Shimano XT "Shadow". I love this derailleur, because it tucks in closely to the wheel, so that it is less likely to get dinged if you are riding off-road, or even if the bike gets slammed by a door. Given that I have nearly destroyed the rear derailleur on my Rivendell in half a year's time, I think the "Shadow" was made for me. Oh, and if you are wondering what that monstrous-looking cassette is, that is a Sheldon Brown custom touring cassette.Please be honest about this one: how bad does this look? I considered switching the biggest ring (currently a 34t) to a slightly smaller one, so that it blends in with the others visually - though over time the weirdness of it has grown on me.



The bicycle is fitted with the beautiful Honjo"Le Paon" fenders (similar to the VO "Zeppelins" I have on my Rivendell, but shinier and somehow more elegant), and the front rack is a VO Randonneur.



The rear rack is a VO Constructeur, which is small but can nonetheless fit a standard Dutch-size pannier. Oh, and the tires are (big surprise!) Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, 700C x 35mm. And I think I will stop now with the components, before I put everybody to sleep! If you have questions after reading this post and the spec list here, please ask in the comments and I will be glad to answer.



My impression of the mixte is multi-layered, but all the layers can be placed firmly in the category of "love". The bicycle handles differently than I had imagined, but only because I had no way of imagining something I had never experienced before. It is freakishly light, and luxuriously, almost abnormally comfortable while at the same time being faster and more responsive than any upright bicycle I have ridden before. It is more responsive than the vintage mixte, "Marianne," I used to own, which I had complained was "twitchy". Somehow, on the Royal H.the responsiveness does not feel scary; I can control it. No idea how this all works, but I am certainly happy about it.



The fit of the mixte is just perfect for me, and I can feel that my proportions have been taken into consideration - everything just feels "right". The bicycle handles best with a 10cm stem, with the handlebars close to level with the saddle, and with the saddle pushed back a bit.



I have ridden the mixte all over town since early September, and have taken it on two longish rides (40 miles and 30 miles). Everything is beyond perfect and there is zero pain. I have tried to describe the ride quality here and here if you are interested in the details. One thing I love that I would never have expected to love, is the high bottom bracket. I feel almost majestically tall on this bicycle, even when leaned over and holding the front of the bars.



Given that this is a custom bicycle, I should probably conclude with a few words about the framebuilder. BryanHollingsworth is a young builder with considerable experience working for the world-famous Seven Cycles. He is a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, easy-going, and genuinely nice person. I knew that Bryan was the right builder for me, because he immediately understood the kind of bicycle I wanted, and got excited about building it. He was surprisingly pro-active about design solutions and pointed out possibilities that even my detail-obsessed imagination had not considered. As a result, my frame has some unique features that I cannot take any credit for what so ever; they were Bryan's idea! Additionally, now that I am actually riding the bicycle, it is clear that Bryan had put a lot of thought into making it comfortable for me, while, at the same time, giving it a degree of fiestiness that I had not expected.



I will also address price and affordability, since some have already been asking about this. I would rather not disclose the cost of my frame - mainly because that figure will no longer be of use to anyone. When I met Bryan, he had only just begun building custom frames under his own name, and that is how I was able to afford the project. A year later, Royal H. has taken off like a rocket, and, naturally, the price structure has changed somewhat. As for affordability, my advice would be to find a frame builder you like, and then discuss the possibility of breaking up the payment into several installments. This makes paying for the frame considerably easier. Furthermore, no one says that you must buy all the components immediately, and all at once. I saved up for them gradually, which is why it took nearly a year for my bicycle to reach completion. And yes, it was worth it!



I named this bicycle "Constance", because I hope she always remains in my life. Thank you to everyone who made my custom mixte possible, both directly and indirectly.