Ice Screw length?

Flow Reversal in typical conditions, early Winter.











When the original Chouinard screws came out...you know 30 plus years ago,,,most every one had the rack full of 22 and 28cm screws and maybe a Snarg or tow. A full rack then was 8 may be even 10 screws.



Kinda shocking really just how few screws we used BITD for some fairly steep climbing. Considering it generally took two men and a boy to place the screws of the dayin cold ice.



I don't mind giving an opinion (ya that is obvious) of what I wear or what I think on most things but the tools or crampons that you choose are up to you. Same with the other gear you use. The idea here is info, comparisons and opinions. Choices.The length of screws Ichoose generally depends on the quality of ice. Ice quality isn't something always easily known from the ground when sorting gear. The links below offerssome ice screw infothat has been passed around in the community. That info convinced me to change what I use for ice screw sizes a few years ago.



This is not a blog post I would have ever thought to make but Runar asked so here ya go.









My climbing rack includes BD Express and Grivel Helix screws in the 10cm through 16cm sizes. Generally I like the 13s if given a choice and I have good ice.I'll use a 22 or a 16 for V threads. But prefer a 22.



That said a number of better climbers than I use only 16cm tubes and up foreverything,



More here.



http://www.jjgeng.com/html/body_ice_screw.html



http://www.needlesports.com/catalogue/content.aspx?con_id=095232e4-4caf-49ec-8495-9c9e00a633da





More of Oscaron Flow Reversal in really fat conditions, late winter .

An Igleheart and a 'Sex Hub'

At the New England Bicycle Expoa couple of weekends ago, I had the pleasure of meeting legendary New England framebuilder Christopher Igleheart and briefly test riding one of his bicycles - an upright commuter model called the Yoyodyne. One cool thing about this bike - aside from it being an Igleheart - was the3-speed Sturmey Archer S3X hub - aka "the sex hub." Several people I know have set up their bikes with this hub and their feedback has been intriguing, so I wanted to try for myself. And what better way than on an Igleheart bike?



Located just North of Boston, Mr. Igleheart - like many local builders - traces his professional beginnings to the legacy of Fat City Cycles, where he started as an apprentice welder in the 1980s. By 1994 he had established Igleheart Custom Frames as an independent operation, spcialising in TIG-welded steel. In the chaotic environment of the Bicycle Expo, a sense of calm presided over the crowded Igleheart booth. The man is very comfortable with his work and discusses it in a way that communicates his experience and versatility. Road bikes, mountain bikes, transportation bikes and even randonneuring bikes - he knows them all, executing them in his distinct aesthetic.

Unfortunately, I somewhat dropped the ball on photographing this beautiful bicycle. The high noon light was unflattering from every angle, the background I chose was too busy, and people kept coming up to ask about the bike and distracting me. The results are washed out and entirely unworthy of the Yoyodyne, so I did what I usually do with ruined pictures: upped the contrast and at least tried to make them atmospherically interesting.

The Yoyodyne is designed as a fun and comfortable city bike. This particular one has a green frame and an orange fork, which is an unexpectedly pleasing colour combination.

ColumbusZona is a comfortable all-around tubing that contributes to a plush ride quality. The welds are very cleanly done. The segmented fork is one of my favourite fork designs and I never tire of its various iterations from different New England framebuilders.

Components cater to urban commuting, combining good quality and budget considerations: single crankset,Soma stem and Oxford swept-back handlebars, cork grips, simple city brake lever, brass bell, and a front rack. [edited to add: I just learned that the price for this complete bicycle is $1900 - good deal!]

Cardiff leather saddle with copper rivets. You can't see this very well here, but the seat post has a special feature that allows the top of it to be easily detached and reattached, without having to re-adjust saddle position.

And of course, the exciting 3-speed fixed gear hub. A testament to just how distracted I was, I even failed to capture the "S3X" label. It's on the other side.

Sturmey Archerhas a new gear shifter for 3 and 5-speed hubs that is versatile in that it can be used both on upright and drop handlebars. I found it a little difficult to budge in comparison to the traditional trigger shifter, but perhaps that can be adjusted.

It's difficult to properly test ride a bicycle at a crowded Bike Expo, but I made a half dozen laps on it around the large parking lot in the back of the building, as well as cycled up and down the long driveway a few times. With a constant stream of cars coming and going it was like a slower version of actual urban cycling.

The ride quality of the bicycle felt familiar as soon as I began pedaling. Cushy and easy to handle, it was not unlike a vintageRaleigh Sports - only more responsive, 1/3 of the weight, and made of far nicer tubing. I would feel comfortable riding it in city traffic. However, I would need a longer test ride to determine how it handles potholes at speed.

All of this struck me before I remembered about the bike being fixed gear. What I mean is that usually the fixed-gearness of a bicycle tends to dominate my impression of it, but here this was not the case. It felt more like a comfortable 3-speed, on which it just so happened that I didn't coast. This could be due to the bicycle's handling, or it could be due to the hub.

The ride with the S3X hub felt interesting, but I would say not entirely like a fixed gear bike. When I ride a single speed fixed gear, there is more to the sensation than merely not coasting. I feel like I have a direct connection to the drivetrain, and for me that is part of what makes riding fixed gear bikes enjoyable. This aspect is gone with the S3X: It basically feels like a nice 3-speed hub that does not allow you to coast. Shifting is easy and the gear spacing is just about perfect, but no matter what gear it is in, the feeling is not quite the same as single speed fixed gear.

One thing you have to watch out for with the S3X is that if not adjusted properly, the hub can "space out" and go into coasting mode for a millisecond's time at the end of each pedal revolution. Several people I know who've installed the S3X hub report this, and I experienced it as well - which makes me think that the adjustment has to be extremely precise in order for it not to happen.

While I like 3-speed hubs and I like fixed gear, I am not sure that the combination is for me, as it introduces a degree of complexity into both categories. But I still think it's a neat idea, and I am glad I tried it. In future, I hope to have the opportunity to learn more about Igleheart bicycles and to take one on a longer test ride. Many thanks to Mr. Igleheart for allowing me to ride the Yoyodyne!

Wordless Wednesday :: Icelandic Church

Near Keflavik, Iceland. Summer of 1973.Copyright © 1973/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

We'd Like a Table with a View... of Our Bikes!

It is perfectly normal to stare at your bikes while out having coffee or dinner. Right?...

A Sign of Summers End

Nature provides us with many signals that the end of summer is near. One of those signals is the fireweed - when the top buds blossom forth and the plant goes to seed.

Travel Gadget: my MAPS and my GPS

Currently I am juggling between 2 mobile phones. Both have different purposes and I am keeping it that way.

The Blackberry is for work calls and work emails. This phone is strictly for work. There are only 2 people who knows this number outside work and that is the Dutchman and my mom.

The Nokia Mini is my personal phone. I call here. I SMS here. I Facebook here. I internet here. Maybe I should try blogging here soon too. But most importantly, I use the OVI Maps and GPS here—this is actually the functionality that made me buy this phone. Being a travel addict, I need my MAPS and my GPS.

The dosage I get:

Free Drive Navigation Worldwide
Free Walk Navigation Worldwide
Free Maps and Maps Update (any city and country in the world)
Free Events guides
Free Lonely Planet guide (very basic)
Free Michelin guide

So in preparation for our upcoming holiday, today Dutchman and I downloaded the California, USA map. Just a few more nights and we are off! We also downloaded the Jordan map for my trip in April with Blondine, as well as the Philippine map for future use. There was also an automatic update for Europe map which is what I badly need seeing that the highways in the Netherlands have been recently upgraded. The A2 highway for example is now unrecognizable!

Nevertheless, what I wanted to say is, I am not a tech geek but I am very happy that I have Nokia OVI Maps in my phone. The software is free to download and GPS is of course free to use worldwide. No additional costs.

Recently, Nokia revamped its go to market strategy by teaming up with Microsoft. Several doomsday analysts thought it’s the worst team up ever, a marriage that is bound to fail? Nokia has been losing market shares to iPhone and Blackberry while Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS barely has a 3% market share. How can 2 losing companies become successful in this highly competitive mobile communications market?

I have no idea, but for now, I am sticking with Nokia because of the OVI Maps and GPS.

Skyscrapers of the Kansas Plains

Tuesday, May 10th - - Driving in west-central Kansas, you can't help but notice these tall buildings punctuating the sky. Nearly every community has one, or several. Sometimes they are seemingly in the middle of nowhere, with no town or community nearby; simply in some farmer's field. And, they are almost always near the railroad tracks.



These photos were taken as I was driving (yes, actually driving) west on the K-96, as it was called by the local inhabitants, aka Kansas State Highway 96. The overall bluish cast of the photos and any “blemishes” are caused by shooting the pictures through the windshield. I'm not gonna say how many shots I took that were fuzzy and totally out of focus! But it sure was fun to do...



















Another view of the same grain silo as in the previous photo.

How I Tried to Go Skating

As part of my commute I often take a shortcut through the back of Harvard Yard, and some time around early December a mysterious construction site appeared there. At first I was annoyed to have to go around it. But as the construction took shape, it began to look suspiciously like... Could it be? Oh my goodness yes, a skating rink! One afternoon last week the construction fence was suddenly gone and the rink open. Just like that!





I could hardly pedal fast enough to get close and read the bright crimson sign. And guess what? It is free to skate there, and $5 to rent skates. Technically I still own a pair of skates circa 1995, though sadly I have not been able to find them since we moved to Boston. I can picture these skates vividly in my mind: They were white with jet-black heels and shiny blades, utterly beautiful, and they cost $29.99 at Olympia Sports. "I will buy them for you, if you really think you can do it this time," my mother said. And I nodded vigorously. Oh how I wanted those skates!





Perhaps now is a good time to explain that the intensity of my love for skating is matched only by my utter lack of ability. Born to a set of parents who skated proficiently since childhood and believed it to be the most natural thing in the world, I stunned them with my clumsiness and lack of coordination.



I remember my first time on the ice: It was a crisp winter evening not long before my 4th birthday, and a huge skating rink was set up in the park under garlands of lights. My mother - a slender, elegant beauty in a tailored overcoat - glided across the ice effortlessly with a serene smile on her face... as she dragged her little piggy of a daughter along, who flailed and stumbled and continued to be dragged to the sounds of Tchaikovsky blasting from the park's loudspeaker system. "Don't worry, you'll get it!" my mother would say as she glanced down at me occasionally. But mostly she lost herself in the music and glided, dragging me across the ice regardless of whether I was upright or not.





Attempts to get me to skate continued through that and a couple of subsequent winters, but my skills showed little sign of improvement. The "don't worry, you'll get it!" gave way to "but you're not even trying!" until finally my mother gave up. But my yearning for the ice remained, and every winter I sighed as I watched the figure skaters on television. As a teenager I asked for a pair of skates for my birthday and began to visit a local rink on my own - skating in a slow and duck-like manner close to the guard rail. I was remarkably bad, but somehow I still enjoyed it. I took these skates with me to college, grad school, and beyond, visiting local rinks for more of the same. And now I can continue here!



Yesterday I knew that I would finally have an hour gap in my day, and I made sure to withdraw some cash. I was ready to rent skates and I cycled to Harvard Yard full of anticipation.






But of course I should have known that it would not be so easy! Just days after the snow storm, the temperature had shot up to nearly 50°F by mid-day and when I arrived the rink was closed "due to weather." So, I have yet to go skating. But at least I tried. And I'll try again as soon as the temperature drops and my schedule allows.




Cycling past the rink last week, I did notice the skates they were using and was a little disappointed that they were a sort of brownish-beige. I want some white ones like I had before, and am thinking that maybe I should get a new pair of my own. Third time could be a charm, and I might actually learn how to skate... though I'm not holding my breath!

Shipwreck

This is what is left of the Peter Iredale that ran aground October 25, 1906. I had seen it before in .. but there was more of it showing this time. About all that is left is the metal parts of the ship and just a few of the pieces of wood under the top part where they are a little bit more protected. It is one of the few shipwrecks that people are alowed to right up to and explore around it and as you can see in the photo even on it. There were some young men who climbed up on top and sat there while we took photos. They were having a great time and I envied them their ability to get up there.

El Oso y el Madroño (The Bear and the Strawberry Tree)

Madrid’s coat of arms is a Bear sniffing the fruits of a strawberry tree. The statue can be seen at Puerta del Sol, in the heart of Madrid, the capital of Spain.



And I have two fotos of myself taken with this statue. The first one was in 2005 and the other one was in June, just two months ago. I have this odd feeling that the statue was moved, that it used to be standing right on the busy shopping street that intersects Puerto del Sol.



Foto on the left was taken during winter, February 2005 and on the right during summer, June . Judging from the pictures I do not think I have changed much in 6 years.



For the history geeks, here is the history of the coat of arms (taken from Wikipedia) why Madrid City Council chose a bear sniffing fruits from a strawberry tree to use as its emblem:



‘When in 1212 took place the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa between Alfonso VIII of Castile and the Almohads, the council of Madrid sent a detachment in support of the Christian king. We know, by chronicles of the time, that these troops carried a flag or banner which identified them: a statant bear on a silver field. This is the first mention in history, of the shield of Madrid.

Soon after, in 1222, a fact took place that modified the shield of the town. The clergymen of the Madrilenian parishes confronted the Council for the use of the fodder in the fields and forests in the municipal jurisdiction. Those were important resources for both institutions, and both wanted the use of these lands. Due to the importance of both groups affected, a royal mediation was necessary. The sentence declared by Alfonso VIII determined that the fodder would belong to the clergymen, whereas the forests would pertain to the Council. This decision did not convince the clergymen, but satisfied the Council. In fact, the council was so satisfied, that it immediately modify the shield of the municipality, adding a tree as proof of its new possessions. The figure of the bear ceased to appear walking, to be over its back legs, eating fruits from the tree.’



More stories of Madrid soon!

The Estate of Dederick Hoffman :: Property Widow Kept at Appraisement

In addition to the Widow's Allowance provided for Susannah Hoffman by the administrators of the estate of Dederick Hoffman, she also took a few items at the time the estate was appraised.







A list of the property with Its value that the widow kept at the appraisement.

Estate of Dederick Hoffman (Packet 805) Columbiana County, Ohio

FHL film 2032459 accessed June 8, ..








A list of the property with Its value that the widow kept at the appraisement.

Estate of Dederick Hoffman (Packet 805) Columbiana County, Ohio

FHL film 2032459 accessed June 8, ..

	D C
one twelve gallon kattle - - - - - - - -	02 50
one ten plate Stove and pipe - - - - -	11 00
one German Sermon book - - - - - -	01 50
one lot of Flax - - - - - - - - - - - - -	00 40
one Table - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	00 75
one bed and beding - - - - - - - - - -	06 00
one lot of flax and tow - - - - - - - -	00 75
one Reel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	00 25
one lot of lether - - - - - - - - - - - -	01 00
one Spider frying pan pot trameland coffee mitt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	02 00
one fat hog - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	03 00
one chest - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	01 00
one Side Saddle - - - - - - - - - - - -	06 00
three chairs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	75
	$42 00

The above is an Inventory of the property that the Widow kept at the apprased value

May 15th 1826

Samuel Hoffman

John Hoffman

Administrators of the Estate of
Detrick Hoffman Deceased

The total as calculated by the appraisers was $42.00 but their addition was off a little as the amount adds up to $41.90 which is the amount shown in the final settlement papers.

Trave & Storm

Our two ponies Traveler and Stormy

Harringworth circular, via Seaton, Morcott and Barrowden.

Led by Mel, with Norma, Brenda, Kate, Shirley, Maureen, Marion, Chris, Barry, Gordon, Terry, Jill and me. Weather fine and warm. Looked as though it would rain as we reached the cars. 8.5 miles approx. 488 ft of climbing.




Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we set off from the middle of Harringworth - the steps of the cross make a comfortable seat for girding ones feet. Our first choice of route is rapidly aborted since nettles and shorts make a poor combination.

We take the second path on the Gretton Road out of Harringworth, turning right across the Welland valley, heading northwest over fields, with the viaduct to our right. We cross the river the river - higher than it has been after recent rain. We make for the big farmhouse, take the path round this and to the road. Over the roadwe go up the steps to the dismantled railwayand head uphill to Seaton.



Here we turn right and walk to the crossroads, heading east. We take the road ahead, which follows the ridge, and gives great views over the valley and viaduct.






Just after the road starts to go downhill, and at a right hand bend we take the path to the left, - marked Rutland Round. It takes us downhill and under the dismantled railway.

The merry throng - about to turn on to the path

under the old railway

Coming up towards the A47

After a few more fields we climb up to the A47 and cross over before taking a footpath which crosses a field diagonally (northeast). When we reach Morcott High Street we turn right. We cross the Stamford Road near the White Horse, and head southeast towards Barrowden.





Beware though. in the wooded section there be wasps, and two were stung. I think they had the bad luck to be at the back after the rest of us had disturbed the insects.

We have to cross the A47 again here, and it's an awkward spot. Once over we walk along the road due east into Barrowden.



This plaque catches our eyes. Mr Google helps answer our questions with info from Maurice Kellner's Genuki page about Barrowden:

In 1829, a Thomas Cook met Marianne Mason, a farmer's daughter living at West Farm, Barrowden. He was an itinerant Baptist missionary, but due to a lack of funds, he became a wood turner and cabinet-maker. They married in 1833 and moved to Market Harborough. On 5th July 1841, they hired a special train to take some Leicester Temperance supporters to a rally at Loughborough. This was the foundation of the Thomas Cook travel agency.

The community shop makes an excellent coffee stop, with outdoor tables.

First aid for wasp stings

Time to relax

From here it's a gentle downhill walk, once we've retraced our path back out of Barrowden. At the junction we take the (left-hand) Seaton road not the one to Morcott, and at the next farm road turn left and then right along the Jurassic Way - over a stile and across fields - all pretty dry with clear paths. We go diagonally over the fields, then follow the hedge south west. We reach a track and cross over so that the hedge is now on our right. After another four fields or so we meet another track and turn left, downhill to the Welland and Turtle Bridge.

What the stylish walker is wearing this year

and more stylish walkers

leaving Rutland for Northamptonshire




We turn right alongside the river and follow its course for a while

The other side of the viaduct

We cross the fields belonging to the riding school, and reach the road into Harringworth. A change of footwear, and into the recently re-opened White Swan for a very good sandwich lunch. A few drops of rain threaten, but we've had a fine dry walk.