Clearing Above the Mist

Washington locals already know, but for those of you "out-of-towners" the month of July has been unusually stormy. Right now there is 100' visibility in Paradise (elev. 5400'). This has hampered many climbers on approaches and backcountry skiers with navigating. Luckily, even with all the poor forecasts, the upper mountain has stayed clear and relatively calm.

Climbers have been out gettin' it done. The storms below offered amazing sunrises and sunsets. Both standard routes (Emmons/Winthrop and Disappointment Cleaver) are still in great shape - as well as most non-standard routes. Climbers utilizing both the public shelter and the bathrooms at high camps should remember that these facilities are for them; please keep them clean. Do not leave trash, any food (even unopened food), or equipment behind - "leave no trace."

The photo above and right is from the shoulder of the Emmons Glacier earlier this week. These great conditions won't last for long! Hope to see you on the mountain.

Index ..

Adam and I had planned early in the week to head out to Index on Thursday. Initial weather reports were favorable for climbing, but not ideal. The forecast when we left Seattle in the morning was perhaps even less ideal, but still favored climbing with a predicted partly cloudy/partly sunny day.

Pulling into the parking lot there were low clouds and not much sign of the sun. We walked the thirty seconds to the lower town wall to see much of it wet, including potential starts to routes we were intending to do. I walked around for other objectives while Adam took a party separation. Godzilla was dripping and Princely Ambitions was plenty wet. I met Adam back at the base of Aries crack where I told him we might as well climb since we were already there. We geared up at the base of Aries crack hoping to continue onto Taurus after we gained the first ledge. Or at least we would see if things looked dry enough to continue.


I led off, finding the rock not thoroughly wet, but damp enough to cause a loss of friction. Upon reaching the crux I could not get enough traction on my left foot smear to make a move and slipped a few times. After repeated attempts with my arms tiring I gave up on finding enough friction to move upward. I lowered and we committed to setting up a top rope on the pitch by climbing the gully to the right.

I took the first shot on top rope and was now stymied by my inability to get a good fist jam higher up. After a few attempts I let Adam have a go at it. I told him his smaller hands might be the ticket as the crack was a bit too small for me to get a fist in, and it might be just right for him. Adam climbed on top rope and was surprised I made it as far as I did on lead. Then he worked the crux for a while before finally pulling the moves to gain the ledge. I came up and once again had to work on trying to make a jam work before I finally found the only thing that would work for me. A solid forearm jam/cam with my right arm gave me the needed hold to move up and complete the moves to the ledge. And some people think it is a good thing to be a tall, big handed climber?

Heading into the Aries crux

Once on the ledge I told Adam I'd like to have a go at the rest of Taurus. After getting a short distance up on the following crack, my foot slipped. I repositioned and tried again. I was able to make the next move, but the following moves had less positive options for feet and the crack looked a bit thinner and harder to protect, so I came down pulling my pieces and waiting for dryer conditions.

I told Adam I'd head up Great Northern Slab to reach the rap station. The climbing on GNS was fun and when Adam reached me I told him I'd like to lead the next pitch as well. After some slightly damp moves pulling around the roof, I was on the ledge at the base of the next crack. Somehow I did not see the easy way up and attempted to go up and gain the crack after a few moves by coming in from the left. This involved an awkward move where I was mantling from a horizontal crack while side pulling with my right hand. I couldn't manage the move and told Adam that "I am probably going to fall here." After a few tries I realized I could down climb a few moves and take the proper beginning to the crack and continue easily. That little episode left me a bit frazzled, and that remained with me the rest of the pitch. Although I did feel I climbed it fairly well. I brought Adam up and we rapped.

Adam on GNS

In typical fashion, I try to go to Index when it is a little too wet for Index. Hopefully I'll be able to get out there and climb when it is dry and then I will not feel too sketched by wet rocks and slippery feet.

Is the Wheel Lock a Useful Feature?

Yesterday I mentioned not being a huge fan of bicycle wheel locks (or "cafe locks"), and so I wanted to elaborate. Most typically used on transportation bicycles, the wheel lock is a circular contraption that is installed over the rear wheel, with a metal latch sliding through the spokes when the key is turned. The wheel lock immobilises the bike, thus making it more difficult to steal - especially if the bike is heavy. I thought it was a neat idea before I owned one, but the Axa wheel lock on my Pashley annoyed me so much that I eventually removed it. The older model on my Gazelle works much better, but I am still considering getting rid of it.



Here are the pros and cons of the wheel lock as I see them (and your impressions, of course, might differ):



Pros:

. It's useful as an extra lock, for those who like elaborate lock-up jobs.

. It's useful if you're sitting in an outdoor cafe or a park bench, with your bike within sight.

. It's better than nothing if you forget your main lock.

. It's better than nothing if there is no structure to which you could lock your bike.

. If you live in an extremely safe area, you might be able to use it as your only lock - which would eliminate the need for a bulky U-lock or cable lock.



Cons:

. Its theft prevention effectiveness is limited.

. It is heavy (like having a U-lock permanently attached to your bike).

. If it jams in the "on" position, your bike will be immobilised.

. Some models are difficult to use and can hurt your fingers while you fiddle with the lever.

. Once installed, you must lock it every time you leave your bike. Otherwise someone else could lock it and walk off with the key. On most models, it is impossible to remove the key in the un-locked position.

. You can break a spoke if you forget that the lock is activated and try to forcibly roll your bike. Likewise, a passer-by can break a spoke if they try to give your locked wheel a spin with their hand.



Do you have a wheel lock on your bike? If yes, what make and model, and have you found it useful?

Cycling and Hairstyles: Long vs Short

This morning I received an email from a reader asking whether I prefer long or short hair for cycling. Short answer: Long!




Last summer I chopped my hair for the first time in nearly two decades. While I didn't do it for the sake of cycling, I did expect short hair to be easier to manage for someone who rides a lot compared to my previously unruly mane. Surely it would feel lighter, be less prone to getting disheveled and sweaty, be easier to comb. Lots of active women have short hair, so this logic made sense.




But oh how wrong I was.You know how sometimes you have a bad hair day? I feel like I've had a bad hair year.While I like the look of my bob and it was nice to have a change, as far as cycling it's been annoying and fussy. Not long enough to fit into a pony tail, it is long enough to fly into my eyes when I ride unless I use lots of pins. This includes the times I am roadcycling and wearing a helmet - loose strands won't stay under the helmet, but fly in my face unless I remember to pin them down. Post-ride maintenance is harder as well. When my hair was long and it got disheveled or tangled after a ride, I could simply put it up in a "messy bun" and it would look decent enough. With short hair there is no way to hide the mess; looking presentable after a sweaty or windy ride is a challenge.




So while it may seem counter-intuitive, my experience as a cyclist has been that long hair is easier to deal with: With or without a helmet, I can just tie it back or braid it and forget about it. Now that mine fits into a pony tail again, I am ecstatic and feel like I need to write a note to myself with a reminder to never cut it again. I could see how a buzz-cut or pixie cut would be low-maintenance, but my chin-length bob has been anything but.




What are your thoughts on hair maintenance and cycling? Have you changed or tweaked your hairstyle as a result of riding a bike?

Cross Town Express to Castle Island

This past Sunday marked my biggest vehicular cycling accomplishment to date: We rode from Cambridge/Somerville to South Boston and Dorchester - via a 9-mile route that took us straight across greater Boston. It's by no means the most cycling we have ever done, but it was certainly the most cycling we have done through a high-traffic urban environment. (We do not attempt to photograph ourselves while riding in traffic, so these photos were taken along the South Boston waterfront.)

Referring to the map above, we went from point "A" to "B," then to "C" and to "B" again - and of course eventually, back home to "A".

Our destination was Castle Island in South Boston, where the goal was to cycle along the Harbor path through Dorcester and back. The harbor path is quite nice and about 3 miles in length, but it is crowded with pedestrians in the summer. In early November, however, it is just perfect: Still enough people for it not to feel abandoned, but plenty of room to cycle.

As you can tell by the photos, I was on my vintage 3-speed Raleigh DL-1 with rod brakes. No problems at all. The widely spaced 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub combined with lowered gearing (22 tooth cog) was more than sufficient for any elevation we encountered.

Oh, and I finally installed lights and a bell on this bike. The headlight is a CatEye Opticube LED mounted to the right fork blade, and the tail-lights (not visible here, but see the last two photos of this post) are Cateye Bike LD610s, attached vertically to the rear stays. The bell is a Crane brass bell.

We began our ride on Sunday mid-day and there was considerable traffic, but not too bad. Interestingly, as soon as we crossed the bridge into South Boston, we got some friendly comments from local motorists. Not what I expected given the aggressive reputation of this area. I think people found our vintage bikes and dressy attire appealing - a nice thing to see on a Sunday?

For those unfamiliar with the history and cultural climate of South Boston ("Southie"), it is an old working class neighborhood that has traditionally been predominantly Irish. And I don't mean just Americans with Irish heritage, but a considerable number of recent immigrants: you can hear Dublin and Cork accents spoken. Over the past decade, the area has grown more ethnically diverse, and some parts of it have also become "gentrified". But overall, the feeling of its historical roots still remains. The image above is the old Women's Bath House (now part of a community swimming facilities) that is located along the harbor path right before Castle Island.

Castle Island itself (which, as far as I can tell, is really a peninsula) curls around and connects to another part of the mainland via a narrow strip of land (see point "B" on the map above). This strip does not naturally close all the way, but they built a bridge to complete the loop. The Pleasure Bay Loop is part of the cycle path and offers nice views of the Boston mainland, the harbor, and the mysterious industrial landscape of the Conley Terminal of the Port of Boston.

Arrival at Castle Island via the Pleasure Bay loop. Here we were approached by an elderly man who asked us about our bikes and told us that he rode a DL-1 in Ireland since the 1930s - because the roads where he lived were bad and it was the only bike that could handle them. More evidence that the DL1 makes a great "off-Roadster". The gentleman also told us that his other bike at the time was a "fixed wheel bicycle" - hard core!

Finally, here is the real attraction of Castle Island: Fort Independence - originally built in 1634 for the sea defense of Boston. The fort is located upon a hill, and visitors climb it to sit and watch the airplanes land at Boston's Logan Airport just across the water. On the photo above I managed to capture one of the planes landing - though they look much larger and more impressive in person! The cool thing about planes landing, is that there is always a group of them, waiting for their turn to land in a cluster of lights in the sky. Then suddenly one light separates form the cluster and begins to move toward you until it grows larger and more plane-like. It really is pretty neat to watch, and Boston's Logan Airport is special in that it's surrounded by water.

Walking my bike up the hill; a corner of Fort Independence in the background. Didn't want to cycle on the nice grass.

Next to Fort Independence is the legendary Sullivan's. This is a fast food place that serves everything from delicious cheeseburgers to lobster bisque (there are healthier alternatives as well, but somehow they don't seem appropriate). As you can see, Sullivan's even had VIP parking for our bicycles. The thing to do is to order from Sullivan's, then take the food to the top of the hill and dine while watching the planes land at sunset.

The sunsets on Castle Island are beautiful, but difficult to capture.

We enjoyed cycling along the South Boston waterfront, as well as the process of getting there and back. Returning home at night was particularly nice: the beautiful lights over the water, the melodic noise of traffic, the peaceful darkness. It feels good to be comfortable cycling through the city you live in.

If you are in the Boston area and want to try cycling to Castle Island, the best way to get there from the center is on Summer Street, straight to the end. Summer Street may seem intimidating, but it is surprisingly okay. If you don't feel confident the first time, go on a Sunday morning: Everyone will be either asleep, in church, or nursing a hangover. The streets will be yours!

Cokinos Brothers on H Street

Here it is - the oldest photo so far of the Cokinos Brothers Ice Cream and Confectionery owned by my grandfather, Peter George Cokinos (pictured right) at 11o3 H Street Northeast. This photo was taken probably around 1919- after his brother, Alec (pictured left) came over from Agoulnitsa, now Epitalion, Greece. All that is left now in this spot is a convenience store - in a new building.

The "Lady" Finds a Home! (Thoughts on the Brooks B18)

If you have been reading this weblog for a while, you might remember that I had purchased a Brooks B18 "Lady" saddle some time ago, thinking that I would put it on my Pashley. However, the Pashley ended up staying with her native B66S, while the special edition "Lady" remained in its pretty box.

I had tried to fit the B18 on other bicycles as well, but it was not a success. Only now has it finally found a home, upon the Raleigh DL-1 Lady's Tourist. They are a perfect match.

Here is how it looks with the vintage Tourist saddlebag.

View from the back.

The problem I had with the B18 on other bicycles, was that the shape of the saddle conflicted with their frame geometries. I will try to explain the problem: The B18 is a very wide saddle. So wide, that my derriere (which is by no means small) does not cover it sufficiently for unrestricted pedaling on most types of bicycles. As I bring a leg down to pedal, the back of my upper thigh/ lower butt area presses painfully against the stiff side of the saddle, causing extreme discomfort. It's not a matter of the saddle being broken in or not broken in; its very structure causes this problem. Basically, a bicycle frame needs to have a very slack seat tube angle - so that the pedals are positioned considerably forward of the saddle - in order for it to be humanly possible to pedal while sitting on the B18.

On the above photo you can see that the Raleigh DL-1 Lady's Tourist has a very slack seat tube angle. See how the saddle is practically lying back over the rear wheel as opposed to standing straight up above the pedals? That's basically what needs to happen for the B18 to be suitable. With the legs moving down and forward, as opposed to straight down, the butt/thigh area is not in contact with the wide part of the saddle and pedaling does not cause pain. Both my Pashley Princess and my Raleigh Lady's Sports have considerably steeper seat tubes, which is why the B18 did not work with them. However, the Raleigh DL-1 and the "Lady" are a match made in heaven. With the appropriate frame geometry, the width and softness of the B18 are extremely comfortable.

The B18's maiden voyage upon the DL-1 Lady's Tourist. It has stood the test of a 2-hour tour of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, so I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The B18 is truly a gorgeous saddle and can be a dream on the right bicycle.