Cat in the Wrap

Wiley cat playing with Christmas wrap paper and ribbons on Christmas morning.

Bruce Gordon Was Nice to Me

I spotted him in the shadows, at the back of the exhibition hall. It was unexpected. This was Interbike after all, not NAHBS. But there he was, behind a big beautiful red bike with Bruce Gordon decals, underneath a banner with the mysterious word SOPWAMTOS (which, I soon learn, is the Society of People Who Actually Make Their Own Sh!t). A broad-shoulderd, slightly slouchy, gray-haired man with the face of a Soviet literary dissident circa the 1960s. I would give anything to have the writing skills to describe Bruce Gordon's facial features and expression. But alas, I must struggle. Coyly suspicious? Exuberantly grumpy? Playfully defiant? Something like that.






If you don't already know, Bruce Gordon is a framebuilder out in Petaluma, California. One of the best, they say. One of those guys who has been at it for decades, one of the legends. At a loss for words from the bizarre charm of his physical presence, I blurt out something generic about being pleased to meet him. In reply he laughs with a bitterness that is masterful in its combination of sincerity and theatrics. "If I could go back and do something else with my life, trust me I would!" he snorts. "So... want a bike?" Out of curiosity I ask about the wait list. "I am all caught up," he says, "no wait list. You can go ahead and write that on your blog" (the last word is accompanied by a playfully-scornful - or maybe not so playfully, this is ambiguous by design - roll of the eyes. But who cares. Bruce Gordon has no wait list? Okay, I will write that.)








Next we discuss his famousDangerous Pointy Brakes, which I'd recently tried on one of Pamela Blalock's bikes and discovered to be surprisingly functional (unlike most other cantis I've tried). He was pleased to hear this. For a small fortune the brakes could be mine. Alas I had neither the required sum, nor a bike on which these superior brakes could go. But yes, I would mention them on my "blog."






What can I say. I could have moved along at that point. But I don't know when to quit. And no, that's not even it. In truth, I was a little smitten. I wanted this man to keep talking. I wanted to study his face and figure out what or whom it reminded me of.






So I stuck around, touched the bike, asked questions. He quickly grew suspicious of how much I seemed to know about frame geometry and such. "Oh don't tell me. You're planning to become a framebuilder!" I assured him that I was not, but confessed that I might be building a frame for myself shortly. Nothing serious. Just to give it a try. But becoming a framebuilder, no. I understand the amount of training that requires; I know that earning a living that way is next to impossible. "You're damn right it's impossible." And thus began a speech about the horrors and deceptions of the pipe dream of becoming a framebuilder that claims hopeful innocents of my generation by the dozen. Bruce Gordon's opinion on the matter is basically a more extreme version ofthis. "If I could save just one young person from becoming a framebuilder, I would die happy," he tells me. I believe him, and promise to never become a framebuilder.






He eyes me with sadness and shakes his head. He asks what I used to do for a living before the tragedy of succumbing to bikes. I tell him briefly, and soon we are talking about bikes as one would talk about a disease. He tells me some personal stuff, I reciprocate. We commiserate. Before I know it, the conversation begins to resemble the sort of jaded, weepy, vodka-fueled exchange that takes place at around 3 in the morning. Except this is Interbike, high noon, and I am sober.






The following day, I walked by the booth again and gave Bruce Gordon an uncertain wave. I genuinely did not think he'd remember me; it was as if our conversation the day before had been something I'd imagined. But he did remember. And then he gave me this pin. It's a limited edition. The regular one reads "Bruce Gordon was rude to me."




And that is my story of meeting Bruce Gordon. You should buy one of his bikes. I hear they are good and he's all caught up on his wait list.

Red Rocks

Wind & Sand

It is so dry here. We are in a heck of a drought as are several of the other southwestern states. The wind blows and the sand creeps into the house through each and every little crack. You might think you have the best windows made but find out there is not any window that seals well enought to keep this dust out. There are brush fires everywhere. New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona that I am sure of. Tornados are just as bad like in Iowa and Wisconsin. These photos don't show the wind and dirt that well, but they are kind of blurry due to the blowing sand. The first one is after a windy day when the sand is blown like little waves.

Bikes, Balance, and Riding No Hands

So, yesterday something monumentally cool happened: I rode no hands for the first time. (Before anyone points out that the picture shows one hand on the bars - this is not captured in the picture!)I was alone with no one to witness my no-hands magnificence but the drivers passing me on the quiet side street.I had both hands off, and not just hovering above the bars, but properly off - dangling at my sides as I sat back on the saddle. I rode that way for an entire block, then put my hands back on the bars when it was time to turn. Then I took them off again and rode that way for another couple of blocks. I would have kept practicing, but it was freezing.




I was riding the Paper Bicycle, cominghome from skating, and somehow the bike seemed to whisper to me "You can take your hands off the bars now, do it..." - so I did. I was absolutely amazed that I could do it, and that it felt relatively safe and intuitive. The front wheel just kept going unwaveringly straight as I pedaled. But having tried the same maneuver on a couple of other bikes (both upright and road), it didn't work and the front end seemed way too unstable with my hands off the handlebars. So this appears to be bike-specific for me. I am wondering what it is that makes some bikes easier to ride no hands than others.If I practice long enough on thePaper Bicycle, will I eventually feel comfortable riding a "normal bike" no hands as well, or is the skill unlikely to transfer? I will try not to get too excited, but this is making me feel like maybe I am not an entirely hopeless case!

Monnickendam in a nutshell

Monnickendam is located north east of Amsterdam and is part of the Waterland municipality, a group of towns and little cities of the glorious Dutch medieval past situated by the water. I came here by car which is probably the easiest way to come here, but there are buses as well that regularly ply the area from Amsterdam.

My list of things to do and see in Monnickendam:

(1) Climb the Speeltoren – This was on my plan to visit, I even checked the tower inside from the ground but didn’t buy the ticket to go up because I wanted to first go around town on foot and then have my beer at a café. I guess I people watched too long with my beer at the café that I lost track of time. Before I knew it, the tower was closed.

(2) Visit the Grote Kerk (Church) – Located by the entrance to the village. There will be a separate post about this.

(3) Tour the town on foot to enjoy the architecture – The town is small so it’s easy to walk around. Do pay attention to the houses, their details, the houses here are famous for their ‘puntgevel’ and ‘trapgevel’ (step-gable roofs) as well as for the ‘gevelstenen’ (sculptures on the facade) on top of the doors. In fact, many houses and buildings here are classified as rijksmonument, meaning they are state preserved. You can find these houses and buildings on the 3-fork street: Noordeinde, Middendam and Kerkstraat.

(4) Enjoy as well the canals and the petite wooden draw bridges.

(5) Check out the haven and then have lunch or drink here – There are choices, from the Waag Huis restaurant to a couple other terrace restaurants dotting the little inner haven and Middendam street.

Let me give you a little walking tour of Monnickendam through my fotos below:

This is one of the main streets, the Kerkstraat, the street that leads to the center.

Dutch architecture on Noordeinde and Kerkstraat.

The most popular gevelsteen in Monnickendam, the Gulden Hand. Gevelstenen are sculptures mostly found on top of the doors.

The Speeltoren on the left, an old house with a beautifully carved door canopy.

More period style details, another beautiful gevelsteen.

This snake balustrade at the entrance to the raadshuis (city hall) reminds me of the pyramid of Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico.

Wooden draw bridge in the residential part of the town and this is how the locals live here, very quaint.

Moi by the Speeltoren and the Raadshuis (city hall).

Another wooden bridge - this has to be manually pulled when bigger boats pass by.

The inner haven, looks busy, and the Waag Huis by the haven which is now a restaurant.

Houses by the haven on Gooische Kaai and more cafe terraces.

Love this foto of an old man drinking beer under a colourful parasol.

The 'Langebrug' in the haven, actually a narrow wooden bridge connecting each side of the haven. Paling is a sort of fish the Dutch specialize in, they are usually smoked, and although fishing is not anymore a main industry in Monnickendam as such in the past, the town has, in a way, kept the fishing culture alive.

The haven taken from the Gooische Kaai.

Canals and some Dutch souvenirs, as usual, yellow clogs and wooden tulips.

It is best to come to Monnickendam during late Spring, Summer of course and early Autumn when the weather is bettter (although unpredictably gloomy at times) and when the (cafe) terraces are open.

You can also combine this outing with a trip to Broek in Waterland (another pending entry with loads of fotos) and Marken, both are quite near to Monnickendam. As well as Volendam and Edam, not as near as the earlier choices but they are not too far.

Islands in the sky

The fog over Lake Superior yesterday was mesmerizing. One of the best places along the whole Minnesota North Shore is from the Mt. Josephine wayside in Grand Portage, where this photo was taken. We had a series of intense thunderstorms roll through the area yesterday and in between each storm the fog was incredible. Sometimes it would roll in and completely hide the Susie Islands from view, other times it was just thin wisps of fog in between the islands. My favorite views were when the fog was thick in between the islands but not completely covering them. It looked as though the islands were up in the sky, floating in the clouds.

Chocolate Tartelettes

Tartelettes au Chocolat, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.
These tartelettes will satisfy any chocolate lover, as they have both dark and white chocolate in them. I made them last night and was surprised at just how easy they were to put together.

The buttery crust of pâte brisée goes well with the dark chocolate ganache, and makes for a delicious dessert that is sure to please.

The recipe is posted below:

Chocolate Tartelettes

Makes six 4.4-inch tartelettes.

Pâte brisée:

Recipe adapted from Paulette Buteux's La Cuisine Toute Simple, 1973.

- 200 g flour
- pinch of salt
- 100 g butter
- 2 or 3 tablespoons of cold water
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar*

*I added some sugar to the dough to make it a little sweeter, since it is after all a dessert.

Sift the flour into a bowl, throw in the pinch of salt, and make the flour into a mountain-shaped pile. Preheat the oven to about 400° F.

Cut the butter into small pieces and put them in the center of the flour mound. Add the 2-3 tablespoons of cold water, and knead rapidly (or use an electric mixer). Work the dough just until it is smooth, does not stick, and is firm enough to be rolled out.

Roll the dough out until it is about 1/5th of an inch thick. Drape the dough over your buttered tartelette molds and press into the corners. Gently press the bottom of a measuring cup onto the dough to ensure that it evenly covers each tartelette mold. Use a fork to poke holes in the crusts so that they do not puff up in the oven.

Bake the tartelettes in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the crusts are starting to turn golden brown. Be careful not to let the crusts burn!

Dark chocolate ganache:

- 10-12 ounces of dark chocolate (62-70% cocoa content), chopped
- 3/4 cup of heavy cream

Heat the cream in a saucepan until it comes to a boil. Add the chocolate and let sit for about 1-2 minutes. After waiting the 1-2 minutes, whisk the chocolate-cream mixture together until smooth.

White chocolate ganache:

- 4 ounces of white chocolate
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream

Follow the same instructions for the dark chocolate ganache above, but let it thicken for about 10 minutes after whisking. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag (or a Ziploc bag with the tip cut off).

Assembly:

Carefully remove the crusts from the tartelette pans. Fill the crusts with dark chocolate ganache until there is about 1/4 of an inch left between the chocolate and the top of the crust. Pipe the white chocolate ganache onto the dark chocolate in your choice of design. Refrigerate the tartelettes until the ganache has become fairly solid.

When ready to serve, remove the tartelettes from the refrigerator and let stand for about 20 minutes at room temperature so that they soften a little.

In Copenhagen: a Dane asked me what is ‘happiness’?

Trivia: Did you know that the Danes are the happiest people in the world? Use google please for more info =)

It was a sunny day in Copenhagen with sporadic passing clouds. I wanted to enjoy my afternoon in the city with a glass of wine while people watching, something that is always in my agenda when I am travelling. Luckily, I found an available table at the outdoor terrace of the strategically located ‘Café du Norden’ on Stroget and Kongens Nytorv (the Kings New Square). Here, I met Bj.

That is Bj at my back before we actually met and had a chat.

I always carry my little black notebook with me and my Montblanc pen.

Bj is in his 50’s, lives in Copenhagen and works in the finance industry. He is married and has a daughter. He’s basically spending his afternoon chilling out with a beer in the city while his wife and daughter went to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, a unique open-air museum located by Oresund, about 42 kilometres north from the capital city. It is the same museum that I wanted to visit that same day, however, I wasn’t feeling very well so I decided to stay in Copenhagen instead.

We didn’t really talk about the Danish being the happiest people in the world or Denmark being the happiest country. We talked about Copenhagen and what brought me to the city. Then we further talked about travel. We talked about our jobs. We even talked about Christiania. Our discussion went deeper and we talked about life. About happiness.

Different people have different thoughts about what happiness is and what it means to them.

He asked me, ‘So, what is happiness to you?’

To me, happiness is relative. It is something of personal nature. The character, the personality, the person’s personal circumstances and the stage in life this person is in, will determine how that person will view and understand happiness.

Happiness to a 16 year old is different to someone who just recently graduated from university. Moreover, someone who is between 25 and 30 years old, who thinks he or she can conquer the world, will have a different view of happiness compared to a person in his or her mid to late 30’s who have other factors in life to consider, i.e. children, a more stable job, etcetera. When we reach our 40’s, our take on happiness will be different as well—I know this personally because I am at this stage currently. I am sure that reaching our 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, another state of happiness will enter into the picture.

With that, I believe that happiness is a state of achieving contentment, which is a continuous and evolving process throughout the stages of our lives.

If I look back at what made me happy before, it humbles me big time. I have gone so far in life. So I try to hold on to these snippets of my bygone days to keep my feet firmly on the ground. I try to be grateful each day and to always go back to the basics.

I can honestly say that I have gone past the material happiness stuff. I do not anymore feel the nagging need to constantly prove myself, to be accepted by others, to be number 1 at work and to be the best at whatever situations and circumstances I find myself in. Importantly, I have learned that happiness is something that we ultimately can control and can decide.

Right now, what makes me happy are my travels-discovering the world and being with the Dutchman.

Another picture of me and Bj before we actually had the chat.

View on Kongens Nytorv, the Kings New Square.

The afternoon went fast and before we knew it Bj and I have to part ways. His family will be home anytime soon and they are expecting him for dinner while I am faced at the challenge of finding a restaurant.

I thanked Bj for his time and for the thought-provoking discussion we shared.

Now it’s my turn to ask you—What is happiness to you? What will honestly, at this very moment, make you happy? Will you go for it?