Gritty to Pretty: the Lovely Donation Bike!

I am pleased to report that the refurbished vintage donation touring bike - also known as "the roadbike for women who fear roadbikes" - is ready! As often happens with these things, the project took longer than I anticipated. In the end we did not have time to put the bicycle together ourselves, and I entrusted the job to the saintly Jim at Harris Cyclery - which contributed the labor pro bono and donated the remaining parts my build was missing, thus becoming a sponsor of this project along with Velo Orange. My sincere thanks to them, as well as to all readers who contributed parts and funds to this effort. This is not yet the official give-away announcement, as I first wanted to show off some pictures and describe the bicycle in detail. I hope you like it!

So what exactly is this bicycle... It began as a vintage Shogun 400 touring bike that looked like this when I picked it up, but has been rebuilt from the frame up. When I spotted the original bike, I immediately thought it had potential. The early '80s Japanese cro-moly frame with relaxed geometry promised a comfortable, "Rivendell-esque" ride. And, despite the fairly small size (52cm), it looked like there would be no toe overlap, even with fenders. As many know, it is extremely difficult to find a roadbike in a small size, with relaxed geometry and no toe overlap - be it modern or vintage - which is what makes some of these unassuming vintage Japanese frames special. My idea was to start with such a frame and build it up with comfortable, functional components - ending up with an unintimidating "starter" roadbike that a beginner would be able to learn on without undue nervousness or discomfort.

The biggest priority was the handlebar set-up. When women tell me they cannot ride vintage roadbikes, much of the time this turns out to be because the handlebars are uncomfortable - lacking a sufficient "shoulder" area. Those who are new to drop bars often assume that they are all the same, but in fact there are dozens of models, with subtle variations in shape. I chose theNitto Randonneur handlebars for this bike, which have long, flat "shoulders" and a slight, ergonomic flare to them that most cyclists find extremely comfortable, particularly on long rides.



I also chose modernTektroshort-reach brake levers, which are easy to squeeze from the top, even for those with weak hands.



Finally, I chose Silver bar-end shifters, which are much, much easier to use than downtube shifters and less awkward than stem shifters.



The leather handlebar tape is by Velo Orange. I had never tried it before and was glad to discover that it has a softer, more matte texture to it that Brooks leather tape (which I personally find a little too slippery).



Velo OrangeModel 3 touring saddle. Saddle comfort is one of these things that is different for everyone, but I have to say that (somewhat to my surprise) I found this one more comfortable than the Brooks B17s I once owned. The leather is very different from Brooks leather, and I cannot speak for its longevity or durability. But for me, there was no "breaking in" period, and no pressure on sensitive body parts. I will soon write a review of this saddle with additional details.



Velo Orangehammered fenders, their pattern of indentations resembling a honeycomb. Later I will also post a comparison between the VO and Honjo versions of hammered fenders.



Velo Orange also provided the headset and their Grand Cru double crankset. It was exciting when these cranksets came out, because they are classically shaped yet affordable. Personally, I find the looks of chunkymodern cranksets rather depressing, so it's wonderful that these are an option.I have not ridden with them except during my test rides of this bike, but I welcome readers who've owned them to provide feedback. The pedals included are MKS Touring pedals, which I have on most of my bikes and love.



The wheels are 27" touring wheels from the early '80s - a slightly nicer and cleaner version than the ones originally on the bike. The tires are the puncture-resistant Panaracer Pasela Tourguards. The headset, bottom bracket, chain, brakes, and front derailleur have all been replaced with modern components.



The rear cassette and derailleur are pretty much the only components that were left original. They are in good condition, but the downside is that the bicycle is only a 12 speed - as bikes of its era are. In order to upgrade to a cassette with more cogs, we would have needed to get modern wheels, which was beyond the scope of this project.



Here is a close-up of the bicycle's colour: an unusual champagne-lilac that I personally find very attractive.



The frame has been left original - frayed decals, rust spots and all - and I want to make it very clear that at heart this is still a vintage bike that looks its age, despite the updated components.



I received a Rivendell "SaddleSack" as a donation from one of my readers, but I think this bike works better with a Carradice. So I will let the recipient choose - either the SaddleSack, or one of my own Carradice bags, as shown here. I will soon post a review of the SaddleSack (pictured here).



And so that's it, in a nutshell. To my eye, this bicycle looks modestly beautiful, which is what I was aiming for. It is fairly light and is easy to carry. It is not "fast" by modern roadbike standards, so please don't expect to race or join paceline rides on it. Neither is it a bike for a tour of the Alps, since the gearing is somewhat limited by current standards. It is really meant to be a low-key, introductory roadbike for those with no athletic background, for those who want to explore nature while getting a bit of exercise, and for those who don't want to wear lycra and be all "serious" about roadcycling. If you've been unable to ride roadbikes in the past, this bike may be a good alternative to the ones you've tried. It is friendly. It is stable. There is no toe overlap. Lots of room on the handlebars for moving your hands around. Brake levers are easy to reach and easy to squeeze. Frame geometry is relaxed and won't hurt your knees.Having ridden the bike myself for a bit, it handles as comfortably and easily as I hoped. I've even ridden it in a dress and sandals, and it was great - just a really easy-going, "smell the flowers" kind of bike. Bicycles with drop bars are not for everyone - but this is as unintimidating of a way to try one as I can offer. I will announce the contest rules and timeline in the coming days, and I hope this bicycle will find the right owner.



I want to express my thanks again to Velo Orange, Harris Cyclery, and the generous readers who have contributed to this project: Justine, G.E., Neighbourtease, Spindizzy, Cedar, Somervillain, and others!

Tombstone Tuesday :: George and Minnie Linvill

Minnie Belle Shuder was born August 10, 1878 near Oswego, Kosciusko County, Indiana. She was the daughter of Isaac and Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder, my Dad's grandparents and therefore was a sister of my fraternal grandmother, Elsie Shuder Wiseman.

According to their Kosciusko County Marriage Application, Minnie was married in Indianapolis to Richard Harry Larrabee, son of Cornelius and Meliss (Conn) Larabee., on August 10, 1906. She was 28 years old and he was 36. When their only child, Richard J. Larrabee, was born on March 5, 1915 she was 36 years old. However, I'm not positive that they were the birth parents as her obituary states that Richard was her foster son.

Apparently, her husband went missing for a while. In an article in the Northern Indianian dated January 17, 1918 we find that "Mrs. R. H. Laribee [sic], the daughter of N. L. [sic] Schuder of Barbee Lakes, has asked Marshal C. W. Douglass to assist in locating her husband who was missing for more than a month. Inquiry was being made at Indianapolis where he was last heard from December 11th. He was a carpenter and for a number of months was employed by the government and worked at Camp Taylor and other army cantonments. Early in December he accompanied his wife here and returned to Indianapolis, where their goods were stored, intending to move them overland to this county. Mrs. Laribee received a letter from him after he went to Indianapolis which stated that because of the bad weather the draymen wished to postpone the trip for a few days. That was the last heard of him. Mrs. Laribee says her husband was suffering from a severe cold when he went to Indianapolis, and says it is possible that he may have become ill and taken to a hospital. He has a brother in Indianapolis."

A note in my cousin Caroline's files stated that Richard was never heard from again. However, Minnie and Harry R. Larrabee were found in the 1920 census living in Warsaw, Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 230). Harry was listed as a 50 year old carpenter and Minnie was 41 years old. Listed with them was a son, Richard, age 4 years.

It seems that all did not go well for Minnie and her husband. An index of Whitley County Marriage Records show that Minnie was married to George W. Linville on May 18, 1928. I haven't gotten a copy of the marriage application yet but the index gives her last name as Schuder instead of Larabee. It should also tell us whether her first marriage ended by divorce or death of Richard Harry.

Minnie passed away at age 68 on November 27, 1946 at her home in Millersburg, Indiana. George was 70 years old and still living in Millersburg when he passed away on April 10, 1949 while visiting his stepson, Richard Larabee in Goshen, Indiana. His obituary stated that George was a wood worker and had formerly resided at Churubusco, Warsaw, and New Paris. Survivors were listed as a step son, Richard Larabee, and a step grandson, James Larabee.

George and Minnie are interred at the North Webster Cemetery in North Webster, Kosciusko County, Indiana. They are in the same cemetery as her parents and several siblings, although in a different section.


Thanks to wonderful directions from my cousin Charlene, I found Minnie's gravesite. It is in the southernmost section of the cemetery and the marker is the first one in the row just beyond the big bush. You can see the blue waters of beautiful Lake Webster in the background.

GEORGE W. / 1878-1919
MINNIE B. / 1878-1946
LINVILL
Photograps taken May 21, .. - Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Greetings From... North Carolina

In an attempt to evade the wind and rain, I left the Richmond area the morning of Friday the 13th, heading west and south, stopping for the night in the small town of Stuart, Virginia. It had rained off and on during most of the drive. Sometime during the night, the rain finally stopped.

The next morning I awoke to sunshine and blue skies and drove the few miles west to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The good thing about driving the Parkway this time of year is that there are very few other people doing the same. The bad thing about driving the Parkway this time of year is that all the campgrounds are closed as are the visitor centers and picnic areas.


Near Cumberland Knob, North Carolina
From the Blue Ridge Parkway - November 14, ..

Huntingtoin's Phantom Wall?

May 3, .



"I just climbed the southwest face of Mount Huntington in the Alaska Range with Clint Helander. Call it what you want: the third ascent of the Phantom Wall, a new variation, or a new bail, whatever--it was incredible!



Here's the skinny on our climb of the Southwest Face of Huntington. We repeated the crux pitches of the Phantom, but missed the summit due to very bad weather. So call it whatever--I'm calling it a fun adventure up an incredibly beautiful mountain.



Clint and I left our camp on the Tokositna Glacier at 4:30AM on May 2 under perfect weather and snow conditions. The "Death Valley" used by Jay Smith and Paul Teare looked, well, deadly and we agreed to not submit ourselves to this needless objective danger. So, the plan was to gain the technical climbing on the southwest face (the crux pitches of the Phantom Wall) via a snowfield that cuts across the face from the Upper Park on the Harvard Route. We simuled up the Harvard, arriving

below the Spiral in about four hours. A short downclimb and traverse led to the middle part of the face. From here, we climbed about six pitches of technical terrain (75 degrees, M6R, A2) along the right edge of a steep diamond shaped wall to gain the lower angle terrain above. We had some beta from Jared Vilhauer that was crucial to moving quickly over this ground. The weather started to break down (the first time the forecast was right in a week!) as we simuled up the middle of the face above. We soon lost visibility as winds picked up to 30mph and snow started to fall. We couldn't see the summit, so we kept going straight up. This landed us in the middle of the summit ridge, where we conceded to the weather and turned tail, deciding that our fingers were worth more than any summit. The descent down the West Face Couloir (Nettle-Quirk) was awash with spindrift, often reducing our visibility to less than a few feet in the darkness, but it went surprisingly quickly at right around five hours. For a final bit of excitement, I poked into the bergschrund and another crevasse in the course of ten minutes, eventually stumbling back into our camp at 3AM on May 3rd for a 22.5 hour roundtrip."



Kurt Hicks



Kurt's guiding web site:

http://kurthicks.com/












Mark Westman's photo from the facelast year





Congrads gentlemen and well done!

Birthday

My birthday is within a week.

While looking for something else recently, I came across a folder of old pictures that included some birthdays.

I've been meaning to scan some old pictures for a long time. Seeing hurricane evacuees talk about losing all their pictures made me want to do it all the more. Now I am inflicting them on you.


My first. Awww.


Four generations, at the old house. Mom says I used that coffee table to teethe on. She still had those tables and lamps up until about 8 years ago.


My third birthday. I must have really been wanting that book! That's my partner in crime Janie to the left.


The calm before the storm that was my 10th birthday. For some reason this picture makes me a little sad. I have no idea why!


Playing Bingo. Basically this is every girl in my class, except for Pam who must have been sick, plus a few from the neighborhood. I remember them all very well, and am still in contact with three of them. I'm the skinny one in pedal pushers on the right, the one with the unfortunate glasses. I'm waving.

Obviously there was not racial integration in schools in my town at this time. Schools were either all white or all black back then. I think they started mixing the schools up about 3 years later. I imagine it was the same in most of the south.

Today's not really my actual birthday, but it is the birthday of one of the other girls in this picture. Back then new mothers stayed in the hospital for about a week after giving birth, so she and her Mom were still in the hospital when my Mom went in to deliver yours truly.


My little brother and sister got their own table in the front.

One of the girls at the middle table used to help me tie my shoes in kindergarten. One of them moved away, and we never heard from her again. Another one got falling down drunk at our 20th high school reunion. And one of them was the class valedictorian, and finished college in 3 years. While she was away at school, her family's house burned down and they lost all their pictures. She now lives in a beautiful house with her husband and 3 sons, has a great art collection, and is as skinny as ever.


I look even goofier in this one, but just dig all those flowery pants!

Gimme a break, it was 1969.

Nowdays kids seem to have birthday parties every year - I know my nieces do. But besides one other (that I couldn't find any pictures of), I think this pretty much sums up all my parties.

Maybe I'll have another one when I turn 100. Maybe not though. I'm not really all that big on parties anymore.

---
Edited to add:
Although it galls me to have to admit that photos of my childhood are now considered "vintage", have a look at Square America for more old photos.

Moon Over Sandia Mountains

Second Thoughts on First Impressions

It was one month and one day ago that I mused about my first impressions of the Fujitusu ScanSnap S300 document scanner. To say that it has exceeded my expectations would be a gross understatement.

The above print screen from the ScanSnap manager shows that 8,335 pages have been scanned!

In just one month.

Only one paper jam. Only one sheet of paper got "scrunched up" a bit because of it. No real damage done. Impressive, indeed.

2.1 gigabytes of data generated in 1,363 files of varying sizes, ranging from 1 to 200 pages per file.

Confession time. I've been scanning the "easy" stuff first! The stuff that is already somewhat organized. Also a five-volume set of books on the Berlin family - soft-cover, spiral bound. Easy enough to remove the binding without causing damage. They aren't listed in the online catalog of the Allen County Public Library so the books will be donated to them. Maybe someone else can get some use out of them. And several other books that will be passed on to other researchers. I certainly don't want to get into any trouble over copyright issues, so to put that issue to rest, the scanned copies are strictly for my own use, they won't be given to or shared with anyone else, except perhaps for a few pages.

The scanning is amazingly quick. I'm using the laptop computer to do the scanning since it is newer, faster, and has USB-2 capability. The output is quite acceptable but, to state the obvious, the quality of the output is dependent upon the quality of the pages being scanned. Just think of the adage "Garbage In - Garbage Out" which is true with most things! On average, it takes about half as long to generate the searchable pdf file as it does to scan the documents (i.e., an hour of scanning will take about half-an-hour to make the files searchable). If the pages are double sided text it will take twice as long to make them searchable.

The software that comes with the ScanSnap creates the searchable pdf files without the need to have the full version of Adobe Acrobat. If you have pages with very small type or with the older style fonts (think old newspapers) the software doesn't do that great a job with the OCR but I've been impressed with how well it does overall. The software also allows you to add or remove pages from a pdf file (if it was created by the software) so you can scan in small batches and then combine those into one file. I'm not sure how much data the scanner will store in memory so if I'm scanning a large number of pages I usually do a maximum of about 30 pages to one file. After all the pages for that particular document are scanned, I merge them into one file, then delete the small files. It's really not as complicated as it sounds.

To make some space for the scanned stuff, I had to spend a couple of days cleaning up the hard drive of my desktop computer. Basically I created an Archive folder on my laptop and on the external drives used for backups and moved a lot of older files to that folder. They are still accessible to me, just not on the desktop computer.

Well, I still have lots of files left to scan, though there are now some "blank spots" on the shelves! Progress is being made... and, believe it or not, it really isn't that tedious. One advantage to having the files digitized is that, in most cases, the information is easier to read. Another is if the pdf files are made searchable then the text can be copied and pasted into a word document or into my genealogy database, saving on some typing.

If you are thinking about digitizing your genea-documents, I highly recommend this little scanner. It is a bit pricey for a scanner, but in my opinion, well worth the money! It won't replace your flatbed scanner for scanning photographs since that isn't what it is meant to do. But it does what it was designed to do - scan documents - and does it very well.

Cycling with a Backpack

After not having owned a backpack for nearly a decade, I recently bought one - mainly for nature walks, which I hope to do more of. The backpack is on the small side, lightweight, with lightly padded adjustable straps. I do not know much about backpacks, but this one is very comfortable for walking and it is waterproof.




Of course having gotten the bag, I was immediately tempted to wear it on bikes that have no provisions for carrying loads. It was fun at first, but now that the novelty has worn off here are some notes:




. I can feel the weight on my back. When I move around on the bike the weight inside the bag shifts and affects my balance.




. The straps rest a little too heavily on my shoulders and their width constrains movement. (Interestingly, I have tried a few cycling-specific backpacks in the store and their straps are even wider - I can hardly move my arms.)




.On an upright bike, it feels as if the weight of the bag pulls me backward a bit.




. On a roadbike, despite being small the bag obscures my vision as I check behind me for cars.




. Each time I have worn the backpack on a bike, my back was drenched in sweat afterward.




. These things notwithstanding,having tried riding with messenger-style bags when I first began cycling, I definitely prefer the backpack. It feels more secure and stable. I've never been able to get a messenger bag to really stay put on my back, even when it's a bicycle-specific design.




In a pinch having a backpack is great, because it makes it possible to carry a load on any bicycle without requiring the presence of racks, baskets or panniers. But if given a choice, I would rather attach things to the bike itself.




On a separate note, I wonder whether there have been attempts to make a backpack for road cyclists to run errands on their way home from a ride. It would fold up tiny, fitting into a jersey pocket like a musette bag but expanding into a large rucksack. It could then be filled with groceries on the way home and would be fine to wear for just the last mile or so. I sometimes wish I could stop by the store on my way home from a ride, without having to switch to my transport bike first. Of course, there is also the issue if locking up the bike...




What has been your experience cycling with a backpack?

Gloucester from My Window

Yesterday we went to visit the library here again. I love the library here. Seriously, it is probably the nicest library we have visited since going on the road. Since Nathan came along with us, I was able to snap pictures from my window. There are some gorgeous brick buildings here. It is really a pretty town to visit.

And in the random, things that make me go hmmmmm category: First, there are these things in some of the yards. I think they are beehives. I want to find out for sure. This one is in front of the school here.



The second one is a sign outside of a church. I don't understand what exactly this sign means. Does it mean those that are depressed aren't blessed? If that is the case, wouldn't that just be even more depressing to the ones that are already depressed? I'm telling you, this sign had me still pondering things while in the shower the next morning.

I'd go in and ask them what it really means except clearly I am PMSing and my temporary insanity would disqualify me as an intelligent person with whom to hold a conversation. And I'm afraid if I did, next week I'll drive by and it will say "TOO DEVOTED TO BE BLOATED". I don't even want to see the angry mob of chocolate cake eating women that would show up to protest that sign. Well, I kind of do want to see that angry mob, because I'll be right in the middle of it!



If by now it appears that I have far too much time on my hands...I don't. I'm just procrastinating doing the work that is stressing me out because I don't have it done yet. Just because I yelled at my family this morning due to that stress, embarrassed myself as our dear friends knocked on the door while I was yelling (and I ran and hid in the bathroom like any self-respecting crazed female does) and we are supposed to be heading out the door in ten minutes and I shouldn't leave until I get my work done...that doesn't mean I should stop blogging and do.the.work. Refer back to the first sentence under the last picture. Enough said.

Our view right now, in Mactan Island

So we are staying now here in Mactan Island to escape from the chaotic civilization of Cebu. It’s time for the real holiday: a holiday at the beach



The view from our hotel room when we woke up this morning and the morning after next and next and next...



Relaxing view from our breakfast table at BE Resorts, Punta Engano, Mactan Island (Cebu, Philippines).



Although Mactan Island is far from being the paradise island for beach lovers, it is the nearest place with holiday resorts that offer sun, beach, island boat hopping, snorkeling and diving from Cebu City. A few facts here: Mactan Island is actually a coral island and in the beginning there are hardly any white sands here, moreover beaches. What most resorts did was to reclaim the beach by hauling white sand from other parts of the region to the island. So whenever you are in Mactan Island, sitting on the beach and digging your toes under its white sands... do not be fooled. Remember, it is ‘artificial beach’ =)



The island however is rich in history. Year 1521: It was here that the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, commissioned by the King of Spain was killed during a battle on the Mactan shores by Lapu-Lapu, one of the local chieftains in the island.



Outrigger boats moored halfway from the shore, the first foto is the view from our room.



The view from the outdoor terrace to the pool and beach while having breakfast this morning.







They serve freshly made right-on-the-spot cepes, pancakes and eggs every morning during breakfast and moi after having a nice one.



The view from the outdoor terrace to the pools and the small beach.



Ready to hit the beach here. Will probably do nothing, maybe read a magazine, stare at the (fake) beach, stare at the sky, stare at the Dutchman who is red as a tomato and stare at the other girl as well - they seem to be the only ones baking themselves under the sun. The rest of the Asian tourists are hiding, afraid from the sun, haha.



I like that they have a small outdoor pool by the beach and by the bar, most especially I like the modern and minimalist design and colours, very soothing to the eyes. Great for de-stressing.



You can charter an outrigger as well to visit the neighbouring islands.





Pictures of moi of course.



Ah, lovely weather here at the beach. Finally. For now, enjoy with me my margarita...