I wonder, were they happy?

Recently I scanned some miscellaneous documents for a project for my local genealogy society. Among them was this one. . .

"July 29 / 95

Mr. Wm. H. Magley will please give to Charles O Hess the propper papers to make him self and Miss L. E. Jones happy.

Yours truly
Ed Jones"

Wm. H. Magley was the Whitley County Clerk of Courts in 1895. That's the office that issued marriage licenses. Recorded in Book 5, page 343: Charles Oscar Hess married Ella Jones on August 1, 1895.

According to the transcribed records, Charles was 24 years old and the son of Peter S. Hess. His mother's maiden name was Creager. Ella was 17 years old and the daughter of Edmond Jones. Her mother's maiden name was given as Diller.

A check of the cemetery transcriptions showed that they are buried in Adams Cemetery, Troy Township, Whitley County. Their names are recorded on the same stone. Charles Oscar (1871-1927) and Lucy Ella Hess (1876-1967).

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!

Riding to the Ride

Most of the rides I take part in start on the outskirts of Boston, usually about 10 miles from my house. Since I don't have a car, naturally I ride my bike there - which means tacking on 20 miles or so to the mileage of the ride itself. A 30 mile club ride is really a 50 mile ride for me, and so on.




In the beginning I thought this put me at a disadvantage to most of the other cyclists there - who either lived nearby or arrived by car. After all, by the time the ride starts I've already cycled 10 miles, whereas the others are well-rested and full of energy. But as I kept riding and learned more about myself as a cyclist, I realised that it was quite the opposite. I am one of those riders who is slow to warm up - feeling sluggish for quite a while before suddenly waking up and getting that "I have wings!" feeling. How lucky that riding to the ride provides me with a warm up!




I've grown so used to riding my bike straight from home, that doing a couple of rides with remote starts this year was incredibly strange. It felt unnatural to load the bike into a car, and I couldn't shake the feeling I was forgetting something, my standard operating procedure for getting out the door disrupted. The remote start was the one aspect of D2R2 I didn't love, while part of the appeal of the overnight ride to Maine was starting from our neighbourhood and ending up across two state lines. Here in the Northeast we have fantastic regional events, and I am trying to decide how interested I am in those that aren't within reasonable cycling distance. ...Of course the definition of what's reasonable is subjective. Some have been known to ride to D2R2 from Boston. A 100 mile warm-up certainly beats my 10!

Front Porch Living

Walking through our neighbourhood, it's always interesting to see how many people store their bicycles out on the porch. Passing one particular block, it seemed like every other house had one. Occasionally readers ask whether storing a bike on the porch is a good idea, especially in the winter months. And as usual, it depends.




Indoor bike storage can be tough around here, so it's understandable that for many the porch offers a happy compromise. The bike is protected from precipitation by a roof, so it won't be soaking wet or covered in snow come morning. It is on private property and not out in the street, which offers some peace of mind.And it doesn't take up valuable storage space indoors.






But a porch does not make a bike theft-proof or immune to the elements. It goes without saying that the bike should be locked up securely, ideally with a thick chain. And if you live near salt water, or in an area that gets heavily salted in winter, rust will form despite the roof cover. Components may still freeze, due to moisture getting into them. I have also heard accounts (though have never seen this with my own eyes) of steel bicycle tubes distorting when left outdoors through the winter - most likely due to water condensing, then freezing inside the tubing.




The best candidates for porch living are either beater bikes that you do not care about damaging, or heavy-duty utility bikes with thick tubing, durable paint, and rust-resistant components. Both categories also have some built-in theft protection by virtue of being perceived as too unappealing or heavy to steal. Personally, I would not hesitate to store a bike on my porch, if I had one - though not a delicate or expensive one. And not one heavy enough to make the porch cave in... something I saw the other day during one of my walks.

"The Elitist Attitude"..a must read for the Outdoor Industry

The cutting edge in technology? And what we all could/should be skiing in?



If you are in the Outdoor Industry this should be required reading.



Over the last couple of months I have sat through a number of focus group sessions on cutting edge gear. Skis, ski mountaineering, clothingand climbing gear. Everyone from manufactures and designers to pro athletes in attendance. Igot to talk with a lot of athletes, pros and semi pros and very experienced "amateurs". Lots of them.



Think about this? Dynafit is leading the BC ski boot industry with a $1000 retail boot. DPS Pure skis are $1500 retail. And both worth every penny imo. Arcteryx has a number of $600 ski jackets and top out at $800. Some European companies coming in at $1000 plus on down hill ski jacket systems. Patagonia has a few jackets past $500, which might seem like a bargain in comparison.

$200 sun glasses the norm?



Lets be honest, the days of "there is no money" in the Outdoor Industry is over. Has been for a while now,even through a tough world wide recession.



The market has changed. 17 year old kids aren't likely buying $1000 ski boots. Their parents are. Even more likely if Jonny's Dad will buy him that $1000 ski boot, he is just as likely to buy it first for himself these days.






The Chamonix Guide, that you must convince, what you have, is what he needs.




Ever heard of the "baby boomers"? Well let me tell ya, they are the greatest generation of elitist pricks the industry has ran into and likely ever will. Lucky for you/us!



Here is why. It takes some pretty amazing technology to get "us" to buy anything. But when you realise that dropping a pound or two in gear and upping the performance a LOT is possible...dollars mean nothing. Assuming you happen to have access to those dollars. And we do. Cash or charge? Either way the disposable income is there when you get gray hair.



I hear over and over again that the newest cutting edge gear was aimed at the "elite" of the sport. That "elite" means the young. BS! Yes Bullllllll Shit!









A good sports car, good Scotch and a good powder day is wasted on the "young". Simply no appreciation for what the bad ones are yet. If you had really thought about it, themarket for that cutting edge gizmo that you are talking about behind closed doors, is for the guy with money in his pocket. Any guy with money in his pocket. That would be the guy in the ice park and the guy now taking the swing into side country skiing.



That would most certainly include the 40 something skiing off the Midi. Or the 40 something hard chargers at Crystal Mtn or Jackson Hole back here in the States, The same places whereI first saw the TLT5 being used.



The guides and climbers I sawon the first season of the TLT P in Chamonix? Pro discounts of course. The guys dropping in off a lift?...FULL retail of course!



I am here to tell you. 40 years of alpine ice, water ice and lift served and BC skiing I am doing it better now and having more fun at it because of the "cutting edge" gear available. Simply becauseI took to heart a comment a buddy of mine made a decade or so ago, about gear, "OPEN YOUR MIND!"



My take is the out door industry needs to stop, rewind, reboot and rethink who they are building for and where the money is coming from.



The real goal of any of us in the outdoor industry should be education. We need to make the cutting edge gear the norm..simply because it makes the sport (sports) more fun and the energy required to participate less. We need to make that gear the norm by educating the consumerwhy that new gearis worth the money. "You canclimb harder, you will ski better and you will be more comfortable while doing it". "Open your mind!" How hard is it to say that? Even easier to actually experience and believe.



That "gear" is exactly what makes the cutting edge accomplishments of the the newest generation of youngsterspossible. Pays to remember that.

Hardee County Wildlife Refuge

Last night we went to a Happy Hour at Rich and Donna's place. I forgot to take my cameras so you will have to go to Donna's blog to see how much fun we had. I hope we have Happy Hours every single week this winter because we have time to chat with each other and the food is fabulous!



Today Austin discovered some very sad news. He and Lee, the manager here, were the first on the scene of a very bad accident a few days ago. Austin was understandably very shook up over what they witnessed there. There were some very serious injuries involved. He read in the paper today that one of the victims, a thirteen year old boy, passed away. My heart ached over this news even without being a witness to the accident. It is the kind of news that kicks every Mom right in the gut. To be honest, I cried and cried when he told me. I hate that this happened. I hate that it happened because someone decided to drink and drive.



I decided to grab my camera and go visit one of my favorite Peace River places. The wildlife refuge across the street. Although there are many neat animals there, my favorites today were the cats that were there. We had to make nice to get past the ones guarding the boardwalk.



Once they saw we were determined to move forward, they formed a gang. The black one was rather feisty.



Some were sitting on the guardrail, meaning they were pretty much everywhere.



They cheered me up a bit immediately. I think it was mostly due to the babies.



Have you ever seen a cuter thing than a baby kitten face?



Or maybe it was seeing the Momma with her babies. It reminded me that although death is a tragedy that is gut wrenching when it involves a child, there is also always new life to celebrate.



I hate that any mother would have to know the pain the mother of this boy is living through right now. I hate that my boy is feeling a portion of that pain due to his involvement. I love that there is always new life. And that it is how the circle of life is, sad and happy at the same time sometimes. It's just one of those weird things in life.



Austin will be attending the viewing and the funeral. I am proud of his compassion and willingness to offer comfort during this horrible time and because I am his Mom, I'm worried about how this is affecting him. So please send all the love and comfort you can for everyone involved. Kiss your kids and tell them you love them. Remember that no matter how hard it is to be a parent, it is a wonderful thing to have our children here with us. They are always our baby kittens, no matter how old they get. And every single minute we have with them is precious.

Summer fitness?

From http://www.skintrack.com/



"Q: I think we should discuss summer training for skimo racers on two levels – for occasional racers and those that like to keep fit (REC category), and for the elite athletes shooting for spots on national teams and those seeking ultimate performance for their goals in the mountains (ELITE category).

In all cases, the emphasis is on efforts on less than 3h and the peak performances are expected to occur between January and March.

Do you agree we should address both groups specifically? If not, propose a better differentiation or none at all."



Answer: I definitely agree that both groups should be approached differently, simply because their ultimate goals are different. Because of that, their preparation will be slightly different.

As an elite athlete myself, preparation is something that I absolutely love. I treat racing as puzzle, where you have to scavenge around to find the right pieces to achieve your ultimate outcome.

It’s that process of scavenging for what I need to do to arrive on the starting line of my goal race as prepared to compete as I can be that I thrive on. It’s a trait I learned from Simon Whitfield, one of my closest friends and someone who’s sporting results on the day speak for themselves."







It is a good read. More here:



http://www.skintrack.com/skimo-racing/skimo-racing-summer-training-interview-adam-campbell/