Christmas notes

Mom's tree


Mom made some horsies for the grandkids. One she had a pattern for, but the other she drew out herself, from a picture in Better Homes and Gardens magazine.


Some cute neices and a handsome nephew, from hubby's side of the family. (Technically not from Christmas, but close enough.) This is before his sister's cats started trying to eat the tree, and it had to be put up much higher.

Death Valley :: Wiley Coyote

On the day that I drove down Badwater Road to the Devil's Golf Course and Badwater, I continued a bit further on for another 20 miles or so. I saw something crossing the road in the distance. Slowing down as I got closer, I saw that it was a coyote. It stood along the side of the road as I pulled over and stopped, trying to get the passenger side window down and grabbing my camera at the same time.

It was very close, within two or three feet of the side of the car. I took several quick shots thinking it would soon continue on its way. However, it just stood there watching me and I watched it. Realizing that I had a little more time, I zoomed in a bit to get a few closeup shots. It was incredible.

Five minutes went by and the coyote was still there. It was a little unnerving to look it in the eye. I'm guessing that at some time it had been fed by someone in a car, otherwise I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't have stuck around so long. It was still standing there as I drove off a few minutes later.

Christmas rains bring drytooling ambitions

Christmas day Slammed the local ice. The 40+ degreees and rain were devastating. The ice delaminated, the locked in tundra turned to mush. All bad things! Well as a last minute plan, Joel Toretti who had planned a trip to VT for the weekend, bagged the idea of heading north for the rainfest. So we made the best of the warm 40+ degrees for some drytool training. Joel, Laura and I met and decided to head to Ohiopyle for some picking and scratching. We first made a trip to the Upper Meadow amphitheater to look at the steeeep cave feature. We managed to get about halfway up one of the lines to the right side. Quite a bit loose rock to be found. Very steep and pumpy, we each took 2 burns on the new line. It still awaits an ascent. After our attempts at Upper Meadow, we went downstream to Lower. We all three tooled around on the various lines, Anger Management, Season Finale and var., we also rigged up the overhang to the left of Season Finale. Which is a short but stout technical route that Joel and I managed to get up. It was Laura's first day out after taking an illness absence for several days. She climbed well with her most impressive showing on the left Var to Season Finale. All in all it was a great day out in unreal "ice" conditions. The 10 day forcast looks very promising and should have the ice lines firmed back up to a climbable state. The annual New Years Climbing Resolution should have ice this year. We'll wait and see.

On Top of the World

My sister, Jan, who was my guide on this trip could not have prepared me for what I was going to see at Hurricane Ridge. I guess that is why she didn't try. We came around a turn in the road and there it was. There was this huge open meadow surrounded by high mountains that still had snow on them. (Again remember it is August.) The grass and trees were so green, emerald green. The mountains were the light to dark majestic blues you think of only when you have seen distant mountains. The white snows, and glaciers on the blues were pure whites.
Although Hurricane Ridge is know for bad weather days full of rain, fog, snow and especially wind, we were there on one of those perfect weather days. It was a bit cool and we did need our light jackets, but the sky was a brilliant shade of blue with just a few small white fluffy clouds. There was now wind, rain, fog, or snow. It made me feel as if I was standing on top of the world.

Arches Revisited

Ten days ago I left Hovenweep National Monument and continued north toward Moab. My intention was to stay a few days and spend some time at Arches National Park. I immensely enjoyed my visit there, about a year ago. However, after a stop at the visitor center, where I learned that most of the campgrounds in the area were already full and booked for the weekend, I resumed driving. There is a State Park at Green River about 45 minutes northwest of Moab and, as luck would have it, they still had quite a few campsites available. It was mid-afternoon when I checked in and before the sun set the campground was full.



The next morning (Friday the 13th), I decided to stay at Green River State Park for the weekend. It was a gorgeous day and after doing a few chores in the morning took a drive over to Arches National Park.





One of the numerous formations at Arches. It was late afternoon and nearby formations cast their shadows, slowly creeping ever closer to this formation.





Another formation silhouetted against the skyline.



The snow-capped La Sal mountains rise up in the distance and dominate the horizon



Balancing Rock. From this angle it really does looks like it is doing a balancing act.



But as you walk around it, the angle of view and perspective change; it is securely attached to the base rock. In time, the wind and rain will erode the base further and some day, in the distant future, the balancing rock will be no more.





And, of course, the setting sun marked the end of another beautiful day!

I want to adopt a cat

Recently I went out with Blondine for lunch at a really nice chic place in Amsterdam but will post more about this another time soon. So I picked her up in Amstelveen and when we went back to the car, we had a little surprise. Look who's waiting for us!



Awww, isn't she just soooo cute? I want to squeeze and pinch her.







This very relaxed cat was lying there like there is going to be no tomorrow. Seriously, the cat looked like she was having the best time in her life, lying on her back leisurely, no cares in this world, wriggling and rubbing her back. Even with our presence she was not moving away, she was just not budging! And she continues to wriggle and rub her back against the car, her head upside down and her eyes looking straight at me. If those teardrop green eyes could talk, she must have said, 'I haven't had lunch yet... can I come with you ladies please?'



Sorry Miss Cat but we cannot bring you with us to our lunch, so we need to get you down! Miss Cat protested but she eventually got down, albeit grudgingly.



I will let you in a secret wish. I really, really, really want to have a cat. Unfortunately, we don't know where to leave the cat when we are travelling. Dutchman argues that leaving the cat somewhere else, like an animal hospice is not healthy. He said cats are territorial and thus prefer to stay where they are.



Hmm, we could actually ask our neighbours, but Dutchman and I are not the type of people to inconvenience others. It's not us to ask favours from other people.



Helaas, I will just keep on dreaming until I find a solution.



Amsteleveen, The Netherlands

July

Another Balloon

Man of Steel

What's a nice way to put it?

Duncan started climbing a long time ago, and he wasn't a kid.

By the time Duncan wasdispatching hard routes a lot of todays rock stars were still choking on Leggo.

All those years add up to a depth of climbing experience.

The Man of Steel graced Coolum Cave for an elegant send of "Spoonman" 28

























Duncan regards "Spoonman" 28as a benchmark route at the grade.



Perfect tension and position.

The "Thank God" horn that marks the end of the crux sequence.



Control and power, and the signature red chalk bag.

Happy Memorial Day

It is still hard for us to not be with all of our children and our grandchildren on holidays. We did have the joy of having friends around this holiday though, and that offset our sadness some.



Jack and Diane hosted a Memorial Day party for all of us. We had food, fun and friends. All good things!

It was Karen's birthday, so we celebrated her day with her. Josh had picked out all of her cake ingredients. Good job, Josh!

Bob brought a game that he made. We split into teams, with guys against girls, and played against each other.

Faye was the first one to land on a hook. Then Ken showed her up by landing TWO rings on the same hook. I managed to hook one of the top ones. Karen hooked a 10,000 point hook and then accidentally knocked it back off. So not fair with it being her birthday and all, but she was a good sport.

So, who won? The women! We had a lot of fun and I'm now thinking I'd Nathan to try and build one for us.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with good things!

Moultons, Modern and Vintage

Local bike shopHarris Cycleryhas begun carrying Moulton bicycles, and I had not seen one up close until now. They had a dove gray one in the window that called out to me, so I took it outside for a closer examination and test ride. Jon Harris then brought out another Moulton - one of his personal bikes made in the 1960s, that had once belonged to Sheldon Brown. It was informative to see the two models side by side.





The new Moulton is the TSR 9 model, manufactured by Pashley-Moulton.





Moulton bicycles have a complicated history. Production initially began in 1962, then ceased in the 1970s and resumed in the 1990s - with some models produced under license byPashley.





This bicycle has a Moulton headbadge on the head tube and a Pashley headbadge on the seat tube.





The frame design is called a space frame, and it allows for greater rigidity and lighter weight in comparison to traditional steel frames.





Moultons are not folding bicycles, but are "separable" and can be disassembled for travel.





In addition to their unique geometry and small wheels, Moultons are distinguishable by their suspension system - which they had originally implemented decades before it would become common.





Components on the Pashley-Moulton models are modern and off-the-shelf, which keeps the price "reasonable" (this one is just over $2,000) compared to the higher-end models.





My impression of the space-frameMoulton is somewhat confused.I find it architecturally interesting and beautifully constructed. However, I do not quite understand what makes it a good bicycle.I mean, is one expected to buy it because it is unusual looking and has a cool history, or does it have unique characteristics that make it superior to other bicycles? By moderns standards, it is not a lightweight bike by any means (26 lb without pedals), which somewhat defeats the small wheel construction. And the complicated frame structure - while beautiful to look at - makes me worry that I'll get my foot stuck somewhere in there while attempting to step over it. It just doesn't seem like a very practical design to me. Also, to my eye the handlebar set-up on thismodel clashes with the frame, and it seems to me that some effort could have been made to keep the price down while finding more elegant components.





I tried to ride the bicycle, but the front suspension felt so powerful that I did not feel comfortable test riding it in the winter. The Co-Habitant rode it briefly and did not feel stable on it, which may have to do with the suspension as well - neither of us is used to it. The conditions on this day were not ideal for properly test riding bikes, so I'd like to try it again when it gets warmer. But on first impression, the Moultonspace frame bike did not feel entirely welcoming.





On the other hand, I was surprised by how friendly and accessible the vintage "F-frame" model felt in comparison. This is one of the original models, introduced in the early 1960s - the Major Deluxe. It came with a 4-speed hub, front and rear rack, and a large bag mounted on the rear. Here is a neat promotional video from when these bikes first came out.





Despite being somewhat heavier than the currently produced space-frame, I found the vintage f-frame easier to lift and carry.





The step-over is considerably lower as well. In other ways too, the vintage Moulton just felt like a better fit for my proportions; it felt very natural.





And of course the classic components are absolutely charming.





The North-roadish handlebars are more comfortable than the straight bars on the modern production bikes.





The fenders and racks are extremely useful, and the bag is huge. In essence, it is a small, practical bike - not as visually striking as the later space-frame, but more user-friendly.





I appreciated the opportunity to have a closer look at the Moultons, and would like to properly test ride the modern production bicycle once Spring arrives. While I can see myself owning and riding the vintage F-frame model, I findthe newer space-frame model intimidating and somewhat impractical, though visually compelling. Moulton owners and enthusiasts are welcome to contribute their impressions.

Afternoon at the Beach

It is still pretty quiet here on the beach, and we are really enjoying that. We know that will change very quickly.