Aquamarine

We have been staying on Cape Cod since Saturday and will be here till the end of the month. The water is freezing, but the scenery is gorgeous and the bicycle trails are nearby.



Marianne was happy to discover that her aquamarine outfit matched the colourscheme of the landscape.



Come to think of it, so did mine! Yesterday we spotted seals frolicking on this beach, though I failed to capture them on camera.

Felder Rushing

Yesterday some friends and I traveled to Tuscaloosa for a seminar called, "Gardening in Dry Times".



But really, we went to see Felder Rushing. That's him posing with his hanging salad garden ("I don't even have to bend over to eat it!").

He's one of the more entertaining people you'll ever hear speak. Whenever his name is mentioned, you'll notice that four or five folks will automatically chime in, "Oh he's such a hoot." And he is, but you learn a lot too.



His traveling truck garden. Seventy miles an hour, and everything is fine.



Not your grandfather's notion of truck farming.



Flamingo #1.



Flamingo #2.



The whole of it. Note the wind chimes on the right. "If you see whiteflies, just drive faster."



My favorite bumper sticker.

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Check out his website for more great unusual gardening ideas, photos of previous incarnations of the truck crop, articles, and more.

Lug Samesies! Vintage Bianchi vs Trek

I was initially going to sell my vintage Trek in October, but decided to wait until Spring. Now I am glad to have waited, because it is interesting to compare it to its replacement, the Bianchi.While the two bicycles differ in purpose and geometry (the Bianchi is a racing bike whereas the Trek is a "Sports Touring" model), what amazed me when the Bianchi arrived is that their lugwork is nearly identical. I had camera troubles on the day these pictures were taken, so excuse the quality - but have a look:



Plain and "pointy" lugs on the Bianchi with fork crown.



Identical style of lugs and fork crown on the Trek, only with "Trek" engraved into the crown instead of the Bianchi's "B".



Classic seat cluster engraved with a "B".



Same classic seat cluster engraved with "Trek."I don't have good pictures of the drop-outs, bottom brackets and brake bridges, but those are equally similar. Even the spacing of the braze-ons for the rear brake cable along the top tube is the same.



As far as tubing goes, the Trek is Reynolds 531 for the main triangle and the Bianchi is Columbus, both with cro-moly stays and fork. And they were produced just one year apart - the Trek in 1982 and the Bianchi in 1983. I guess I should not be so amazed that just because one bike is American and a sports turing model while the other is an Italian racing bike, there are such similarities in lugwork. After all, both are factory-built frames and these lugs must have been popular at the time. The Trek and Bianchi ride very differently and there is no mistaking one for another once I am on the saddle. But my disappointment in the generic frame construction makes me aware of how much Ivalue difference in bicycles. I like looking at a bike and being able to distinguish its lineage from another by details of construction and not just by the stamped brand name and the decals.

Abbie and Kaylah's Baby Lambs

Nathan's brother, Chris, and his wife, Katee lived in Arizona when we were out west. We had fun visiting different places there and even went to the Grand Canyon together. They have moved back to Virginia since then and now live in the house that the three brothers lived in while growing up. We knew they had added animals to their space, but I have not been up there to see all that is going on until this visit.



I hit the jackpot when I did go up, because two babies were born that day. One of them was born minutes before Mom and I arrived and was still all sticky and wet. What a beautiful thing to be a part of!







They are all active in 4-H, and shared some of what they are doing there. Abbie showed us her skills with bracing.



Katee showed off some of the beauties that live here. It was clear to me that she spends a lot of time bonding with the animals and really loves it.











We can't forget about the chickens. Well, you really can't forget about chickens because they won't let you if you are anywhere near them.



Every farm needs a great dog and this was one great dog. I wanted to bring Zoe home with me.



It was so heartwarming to see life and love filling the place that had sat empty for far too long. Do you think I could fit one of these in the RV? It could sleep right next to the horse I am wanting to bring along when we start to travel again! That will be one downside to our lifestyle, no space for the cool animals that the other family members get to own. I guess I will just have to be content to soak up the goodness of their animals when I visit and be the aunt to both the children and the pets.





Living the life in VA!

Bella Ciao Superba: Ready and Available!

Fashionably late and appropriately glamorous, the Bella Ciao Superba is here! I was nervous up till the moment I saw it, but the bicycle is perfect. The pre-ordered bikes should be off to their owners very soon.



To recap for new readers, this is the result of a collaboration between myself and Bella Ciao, and you can read about it here and here. Twelve bikes were made as a special edition and they are available exclusively at Harris Cylery in West Newton, MA. I know that a good portion of them have already been sold, so please check with Harris for availability. The price is $1,495. I am not the one selling the bicycles (and I do not receive commission on the ones sold), so please contact Harris directly with all sales inquiries.



The Bella CiaoSuperba frames were handmade in Italy, using Columbus Thron tubing. The frame size is 54cm, with 700C wheels. Tires are the cream Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, 700Cx35mm. The wheelsets are proprietary to Bella Ciao, made inhouse.



The Superba includes all the components and accessories pictured here, which I will detail below. It is a 3-speed bicycle with a rear coaster brake and front handbrake, internally routed dynamo lighting front and rear, leather Brookssaddle, natural cork grips, chaincase, and a handmade rear rack.



The stainless steel racks were designed by me and handmade in Dorcester, Massachusetts by Trimount Ironworks. They are rated to carry 18kg (40lb) of weight, provide attachment for bungee cords, and will accommodate a variety of pannier systems.



There is a provision for attaching a battery-operated tail light to the rack, for those who wish to supplement the dynamo lighting.



One thing I like about the stainless rack with its thin tubing, is that it has the effect of being "invisible" on the bike. I've played around with a number of different racks, and this definitely suits the bicycle best. I may write a separate post about the rack design in the near future.



The high-polished alloy handlebars are made by Bella Ciao. I would describe them as a hybrid between North Road and Porteur style bars, and they are possibly my favourite handlebars on the market today.



The bike is fitted with natural Portuguese cork grips from Rivendell and elegant Tektro city brake levers. The cork grips will be left unfinished, but they can be shellacked by the owner - which will make them darker. The brake lever can be placed either on the right or on the left.



Brass bell, of course.



The dynamo-powered lighting is by the German manufacturer Buechel.



It looks fairly classic and unobtrusive, and works nicely.



The dynamo hub is Shimano. The wiring is routed externally up the fork, then internally through the frame, exiting through one of the chainstays.



Sturmey Archer3-speed coaster brake hub.



Front caliper brake.



Brown Brooks B72 saddle.



Non-slip platform pedals.



And the fork ends/dropouts (I like to remove those black dust caps, but forgot to do it here). You can also see the bungee cord attachment point on the rack here.



The colour of the bike as it shows up in the pictures here is fairly accurate. It is not the same colour as my own bike, but a more vibrant, saturated pastel green. If you have any questions about the features, I will be glad to answer them here. I hope that the owners of these bicycles will be pleased with them - I am very happy with how they came out. There is some talk of more bikes, but nothing is certain yet - so your thoughts are welcome. Many thanks to Bella Ciao again for the opportunity to work on this project, and many thanks to Harris Cycley for all of their help.

Geraniums

My geraniums are enjoying being outside after a long winter in doors. They are all starting to bloom better. They bloom in the winter but not as well as they do outside.

What I did on a Saturday in Luxembourg City

Luxemburg (or Luxembourg) City is a very small cosmopolitan city. It is a trilingual city, locals speak French, German and Luxemburgisch. I guess it should be quadringual if you throw in English into the equation which most people speak anyway.



The country has a reputation of being a tax haven which is the reason why it is rich in the first place.







Now, many people who come to visit the Grand Duchy find themselves wondering where to go, what to see and what to do here other than shopping. Shopping in Luxembourg is definitely better than PC Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, and that is if you are into signature labels. But other than that, in order to enjoy this city, you really need to know where to go.



The easiest resource in order to get to know the city would be Luxemburg Tourism’s website and of course some intensive googling, which is the reason why I blog my travels in detail; experience by experience and bit by bit. It is my way of giving back to the travel world for all the great advice I received online.



Nevertheless, I was planning to do some art viewing but realised I was too lazy to stare at other people’s works so I stuck to my fall back plan—go slow, walk around, do nothing, just be free. I need this wandering aimlessly to de-stress and recharge myself. It helps empty my mind when I do not have a plan and when I do not think of serious stuff, like work.



Well I did went to the Grund as planned but other than this, I just went with the flow. Here’s what I did.









First thing that I did was to check in to my hotel, Le Place d’Armes Hotel on Place d’Armes. I have a very strategic home base to explore the city. Place d’Armes is the heart of Luxembourg City.



Then I chilled out at Cafe de Paris located just beside the hotel with a glass of port and did my favourite pastime, people watching. The city and women are quite fashionable, just my kind of style--classy, with taste. Of course expensive, but not show off.









Checked out the Grand Ducal Palace along the way of course.









When I am wandering around aimlessly, I love to look at delicatessen and bakery shops. Sometimes I buy something, sometimes not, but it gives me warmth to see the lovely delights on the window display. It was Three Kings when I was there and this deli-patisserie shop and restaurant called Kaempff-Kohlercomes highly recommended. Amust visit if you are a foodie.







Place Guillaume is a big square you will not miss.









Another square you will not miss, Place de Clairefontaine. The Notre Dame Cathedral is located just beside this square.







I was curious of the cathedral of course so I went inside to take a peek. Majority of Luxemburgers are Roman Catholics including the royal family.



Then I went to visit the Grund. I wanted to book my dinner reservation at Mosconi and have pre-dinner drinks at Scott’s Pub. It turned out that Mosconi was closed so I just walked around the little commune and consoled myself at Scott’s with a glass of sparkling wine. Dinner will have to be somewhere else.









Then I went back to the city centre and passed by Place de Clairefontaine again. The squares here in Luxemburg city are very bright and sparkling at night.









My wandering led me to the shopping lanes and surprisingly there were still shops open. What happened? Naturally I shopped. I am an accidental shopper; I only shop when the opportunity is in front of me. I bought stuff at Vicomte A and Massimo Duti, two of the very few shops that were open late.







I was debating with myself if I should just eat at my hotel’s restaurant, La Cristallerie or look somewhere else, when I saw La Lorraine on Place d’Armes. The restaurant looks inviting from the outside and there were many people dining already which is positive. In addition, the French menu didn’t sound shabby at all. This will do.







Delicious pumpkin soup.







Escargot! Garlic buttered snails. They are so delectable. I can do another serving really.







My main: Salmon with sea snails, cooked egg and vegetables. This was nice except for the vegetables--dry and overcooked.



No desserts for the evening but a little cup of espresso. Service at La Lorraine is top comparable to real fine dining restaurants.







Place d’Armes at night. A quick stroll on the square after dinner.









Then it is time to call it a night, and go back to my hotel. I will be pampering myself with a nice hot bath.