Minnesota Milky Way

I went out with a few local youth last night to look for the northern lights. While the aurora was visible, it was very, very faint. The Milky Way, however, lit up the sky! This image was made at about 12:30 a.m. Exposure time was 30 seconds, aperture f4.0, ISO 6400. It was also the coolest night (temperature-wise) that we've had in a while. It actually dipped slightly into the 40's last night. This was good for high ISO photography, as the temperature cools the camera's sensor doesn't build up as much heat and therefore generates less noise in the final image. Enjoy!

Bikes Gone Wild?

We saw this in an alleyway in Harvard Square earlier this evening. A fence full of bikes is a surer sign of spring's arrival than crocuses!

Some seemed to be particularly effected by Spring Fever. Are these bikes up to no good?

The old Roadster was bemused, recalling his own wild youth in the '60s.

Of course, our Miles and Marianne were more discreet and only nuzzled affectionately. Happy Spring and happy cycling!

Goat Rocks

Emily, Ron, Nick, David, Dan and Doug arriving at Snowgrass Flats.



After setting up camp, we headed south to climb Mt. Gilbert. Cispus Basin and the southwest section of Goat Rocks.



On day 2, we went north to climb Old Snowy. Goat Lake and Mt. Rainier as seen from the Pacific Crest Trail.



A snowfield full of Watermelon Algae.



Wildflowers at Snowgrass Flats with Mt. Adams in background.



In addition to all the incredible sights, we got to pick sweet huckleberries all along the trail. We just might have to plan another trip to this area!

Sunset at Cobscook Bay

Wednesday, September 19th - - A stormy day sometimes brings a beautiful sunset. After driving around looking for a 'better' spot to view the setting of the sun, and not finding one, I returned to my campsite just in time...





Sometimes I am, quite simply, amazed by the beauty of Mother Nature. The south-eastern sky was filled with a soft, muted pink...






While the western sky was ablaze with fiery streaks of orange.





It was a beautiful sight! Yes indeed.

NFS Chainlube: Rain or Shine

2,000 miles. That's about how long it took for my chain to need lubricating again after I applied this stuff earlier in the summer. I should specify that all of those miles were done in "4 seasons in a day" Northern Ireland, a good percentage of them in overshoe-worthy rain over gritty, filthy, crumply chipseal farm roads.




In the past several years I have used a number of chain lubricants, pretty much the usual suspects you'll see in bike shops. Most of them have worked splendidly in good weather, and anywhere from decently to poorly in bad weather and gritty road conditions. What makes the NFS Chainlube stand out for me, is that it truly excels at the latter. Not only does it take longer to wear off in the rain, but it somehow attracts less grit and sand than the Other Brands I've used.




I should note that I am generally not big on bicycle chain maintenance. I don't go by any kind of schedule and only oil my chain when it starts making noise. In stretches of good weather, it can be a long time before a chain needs re-lubricating. The trouble is my penchant for cycling in bad weather. There have been times I've ridden in conditions where my chain has needed maintenance after a single sub-100K ride. That has not happened since I switched to the NFS Chainlube. This product goes on light, and fairly little of it is needed. This, in combination with how long it lasts, makes a $15 bottle go a long way.




NixFricShunChainlube (NFS for short)is a product brought to you by the framebuilder-oriented cycling forum Velocipede Salon and it comes with a backstory. It's a fine story, but I won't focus on it here, because I feel it muddies the point. Point being, that this chainlube does not need a story, cause, or hip affiliation to help sell it. Though initially I bought this product to support Velocipede Salon, once I used it I became a convert. Then I bought a couple more bottles to give as gifts, and the cyclists I've given them to have become converts as well. Rain or shine, with an emphasis on the former, for me this stuff has gone the extra mile.

Solar Shock Wave

There were AWESOME northern lights last night! It was an unexpected (for me, anyway) occurrence as Earth passed through a region of south-pointing magnetism in the solar wind. I didn't know there was even a chance of northern lights until I looked at the Aurora Soft Serve News website late in the afternoon and saw that the aurora was "Active". I kept checking the site throughout the evening and the kp index kept creeping up until eventually it was at "Storm" level! We had quite a few clouds at sunset which had me discouraged but not long after the sun went down the sky cleared and stayed that way the entire night. I left the house at 11:00 PM and returned about 4:00 AM. This photo is my favorite out of the 300+ images that I shot last night. I was even lucky enough to capture a shooting star in the top left of the photo! The feeling that you get as these waves of aurora wash through the sky is indescribable. Let's just say you feel very humbled and fortunate to be able to witness such an awe-inspiring phenomenon!

Grandpa Vic and Some Grandkids

A couple years ago, my uncle Bill Phend, sent a few photos he had scanned. Finally found where I'd put them on my hard drive. . . this is the only one that had Grandpa with us kids. Taken in August of 1949 at the home of my Aunt Phyllis in Columbia City. Looks like Grandpa and Kathy are the only ones enjoying themselves! That's me in front, cousin Tom, brother Doug (behind me), cousins Mike and Kathy, and Grandpa trying to keep us all in one spot.

On the Symbolism of Cargo Bikes

Lately I have been spotting more and more cargo bikes and trikes "in the wild" in the Boston Metro area. Bakfiets, Christiania, Nihola, Xtracycle, Yuba Mundo, Gazelle, all sorts of neat models. Interestingly, almost none of them could have been purchased locally, because no local bike shops carry them. This seems to be based on the bizarre notion held by local bike stores and importers/distributors, that Boston would not make a good market for cargo bikes. I have personally heard this rhetoric many times from various members of the bicycle industry: Cargo bikes in Boston? Oh no, there is no market. Terrible place for cycling. Awful drivers, dense car traffic, narrow streets with no room for bike lanes, rude people. It's a good place for fixies and such, but cargo bikes? No way.

But clearly there is a lag between how Boston is perceived by the bicycle industry and what is actually happening here - especially in the lively suburbs (more like boroughs) of Cambridge and Somerville. Beacon Street - a main road that acts as a border between the two - features parade-like processions of cyclists during morning and evening rush hour of almost Copenhagenesque proportions. Women in skirts, men in smart blazers, child seats strapped to rear racks, baskets on the handlebars, enormous panniers, and even - that's right - cargo bikes.



No market for them, eh? I must have seen half a dozen over the past week alone. And since local shops won't sell them, the cargo-bike-starved population of Boston is forced to travel to Portland ME or NYC to shop for them, or else order online, or else attempt to get them direct from the distributor with lots of behind the scenes begging. Odd really.

At this point you might be wondering why I care. In fact, why do I have reviews of cargo bikes here at all (see my test ride reports of the Bakfiets, Larry vs Harry Bullitt, Christiania and the Maderna Cycle Truck)? I don't have children and I don't really have enough stuff to transport on a regular basis to need a dedicated cargo bike. So why the interest?

I think cargo bikes are important in that they indicate how far a city has come in embracing and normalising transportational cycling. They equate cycling with safety and comfort, as opposed to danger and athletic skill. The mere sight of cargo bikes suggests:

"Look, people here must feel comfortable carting around their children by bike!"

"Look, there are people here who even replace their trucks with bikes!"

"Look, it must be okay here for bicycles to take up lots of room on the road!"

And of course when people see signs that something is okay to do because it looks like others do it, they are more likely to consider doing it themselves. So even if they do not need or want a cargo bike per se, they may be more likely to look into cycling with their children, cycling with baggage, cycling on the road, and other aspects of transportational cycling because these ideas are suggested by the mere existence of cargo bikes.

I suppose a simpler way of saying what I am trying to say might be that cargo bikes are symbolic of a strong, healthy "bike culture." Going with this premise, I am pleased that more of them are popping up in Boston and wish the industry would take note. What about your city?

Peace River After Much Rain

The kids kept telling me how high the river was after all the rain we've had. I think this winter it has rained more than any winter I can recall in Florida. So it didn't surprise me to hear it was high.



Tonight, we took a walk back there to see it ourselves.



It was as beautiful as always back there. And the river was higher than I've ever seen it before!

Since we are gearing up to head out of this area in a few days...I'm wanting to soak up the beauty while we are still here. With all the rain, there is green everywhere. It just screams Spring!



I love it! Living the life in Florida!

Gone to Texas...

Monday morning I left Columbia City. With daytime temperatures in the low teens for the 3 days I was there, I was looking forward to some warmer weather!

While I was home in October, my best friend from my college days (Indiana State University 1979-1982) found me on Facebook! (And through her I "friended" our Photography Professor and another classmate.) I hadn't seen Connie since 1985 (or thereabouts). I've driven through Terre Haute several times in the last 20 years and each time would think of her but never took the time to stop.

Monday afternoon I paid Connie a long-overdue visit. I took a chance that she would be home and not busy and stopped without calling ahead. Not good form, I know, but I didn't know I was going to stop until I got to the Third Street exit!

As luck would have it, she was home! We had a wonderful visit, though only about 90 minutes long. It was great to see her again and hopefully it won't be quite so long until the next visit!

Connie and Me. Photo taken by her daughter. December 13, ...
Connie's grandson, Declan, was doing his best to stuff his hand in my mouth!He is such a cutie! Blonde hair, blue eyes, chubby cheeks. And so sweet.
Snow was on the ground, but the Interstates in Indiana were mostly clear. They had just enough moisture on them so that trucks and cars sent up a fine salty mist. My black van is mostly white right now. Driving through Illinois on I-70 there were an awful lot of cars and semi-trucks in the median and along both sides of the highway. Many were “right side up” but several were on their sides and a couple had completely rolled over. Not a pleasant sight and I was thankful that I had missed the really bad weather.

Turning south on I-57 and I-55, the temperature started slowly rising, from 16 to a high of 24! Once into northern Arkansas the snow had disappeared and the roads were dry. Yesterday afternoon I smiled as the sun came out and the temp kept going up. It was a blustery 55 degrees when I stopped for the night a little ways west of Texarkana, and 55 degrees never felt so good before!