Adjusting to the Velo Timezone

This is the first time when my stay in Austria involved cycling from beginning to end - without relying on public transport for any reason. And a curious thing has been happening: everywhere I go, I am always early!

I am a moderately punctual person, but definitely not someone who is obsessed with arriving "on the dot," let alone ahead of time. So why was this suddenly happening? Then it hit me: After living in Vienna on and off for 3 years now, I've developed an internal "estimator" of how long it will take me to get to any given location in the city - based on my experiences with the U-Bahn (subway) and trolley systems here. Even though I cycle now, my internal time estimator has not adjusted yet and still functions based on "public transport time" - making me always early, because it is actually faster to travel in Vienna by bicycle! To me this revelation was a "wow" moment because Vienna is such a large city. Sure, traveling by bicycle is more pleasant, but it never occurred to me that it is also faster. I can honestly say that my days here have been made less hectic by the time I've saved on commuting. I like being in the velo time zone!

Call of Duty 28, Coolum Cave, Queensland Aust.

Photo: Phil BoxBeautiful winter conditions, steep, steep rock and my favorite lap route.

Antoine is on belay for this lap at the "Coolum Sendfest" .

One Way Tikit: a Bike Friday Folder

For some time now I've been curious to try aBike Friday folding bike. They are pretty unusual around these parts, so an opportunity never presented itself. Imagine my delight upon discovering that someone I knew owned one. Hidden deep in her bike cave, this single speed Tikit stood mostly unridden since the owner, Pamela, stopped commuting to a downtown office. But hearing of my interest she dusted off the machine, and soon I was over to examine the rare specimen.






Made by the family-owned Green Gear Cycling in Eugene, Oregon, Bike Friday folding bikes have been handbuilt in the USA since the early 1990s. The range of models includes road, touring, mountain, commuter and tandem folding bikes - and all are highly customisable. Most of the models are designed around 20" wheels, with the fold optimised for packing the bike into a suitcase. However, the Tikit commuter modelsare made more compact with 16" wheels, and are designed to fold quickly for multi-modal transportation.






Welded in steel, frame and fork, there are 9 Tikit models in all, offering different drivetrain and handlebar setup options. The One Way Tikit is the single speed/ fixed gear version.






It is set up with a flip-flop hub,






v-brakes, fenders, built-in chainguard,






straight handlebars,





a handy carry handle (could be a bottle cage here instead),






and a low-rider style front rack.







Being a fan of generator lighting, Pamela had set up the bike with a dynamo hub wheel (unattached here, as it had recently been loaned out).







A bike bag also comes with the Tikit, which can be stowed away into a tiny packet when not in use.






Unlike most other folding bikes, Bike Fridays are available in different sizes. I am unsure what size this Tikit translates to, but its virtual top tube measures an inch or so shorter than the Brompton's (which is approximately 59cm). The seat tube is quite tall, with the saddle barely low enough to accommodate myself and the bike's owner (we are both just over 5'6"). However, as I understand it, the seat tube is modular and can be cut down or replaced with a shorter one.





Bike Friday Tikits have had a couple of modifications over the past few years. The area over the bottom bracket is now made stiffer, with older models retrofitted with a stiffener bar. They have also recently made a beefier stem for the Tiket, the older one having been recalled (the bike pictured here has the new stem).






The fold is fairly quick, "less than 9-12 seconds after loosening one twist-locking fastener," according to Bike Friday.






It is Bromptonesque in sequence, except for the seat tube - which gets folded over, rather than slid down.







Notably, the front pannier can be kept on the low-rider rack as the bike is being folded.






The folded bike can be rolled along, using the wheels themselves, with the bag still attached.






It can also be carried by the handle - though Pamela notes that carrying the bike gets heavy and uncomfortable quickly, particularly when stairs are involved. Picking up the single speed Tikit, it did feel slightly heavier than an all-steel Brompton similarly equipped. And the fold is not as compact. However, the carry handle is quite comfortable compared to how a Brompton must be carried, and being able to roll the Bike Friday by its actual wheels (rather than by the tiny roller-wheels on the Brompton) is a big help.






With its hub flipped to freewheel mode, I rode the Tikit around Pamela's neighbourhood. My first impression was that the front-end handling was not dissimilar from my Brompton's. In fact, I would describe the Friday as feeling like a "less extreme" version of the Brompton in that sense. As a result of this similarity, I immediately felt familiar and comfortable with the bike. While the Tikit is Bike Friday's commuter model, with less focus on performance than the others, I certainly found it lively enough - a fun, quick, maneuverable ride. This makes me want to try a smaller size - I bet it would be even more responsive for someone of my stature. With the 16" wheels, there would be no danger of toe overlap no matter what frame size I chose.




On pothole ridden streets, the Tikit's ride quality felt a bit harsh. Riding over torn-up pavement I felt vibrations in my hands and jolts throughout (an impression the bike's owner agrees with). However, on decently maintained roads the ride quality was smooth and pleasant. As an aside here, where we live the roads are particularly poorly maintained; just have a close look at the picture above to see what I mean - the entire street is like that. One could certainly argue that these are not "normal" commuter conditions.






After my initial spin on the Tikit, I then rode it again - this time loaded with some weight. We attached a pannier to the low-rider rack, in which Pamela placed a 10lb bottle of antifreeze. This is about the maximum weight she would typically carry on this bike, she said. The Tikit's low-rider will accommodate most standard panniers, including the one shown from Ortlieb. On a small wheel bike, it is actually not a "low" rider, since it sits above the wheel. This is also how it manages to lift the pannier high enough to keep from dragging along the ground. Little notches along the rack's tubing prevent the pannier from sliding, so it sits securely. The rack is one-sided (right side only), and rolling the bike along I could feel the weight of the pannier pulling to the side. However, once in motion no such thing was discernible. The Tikit handled great with the unilateral front load - I could not feel it at all. This system does limit how much weight one can carry on the bike, but it is handy enough for commuting. I believe that a rear rack is also available for this model.




While I would not switch from my Brompton, I liked the Bike Friday Tikit and would feel comfortable riding it for transportation. A particularly big advantage, as I see it, is the variety in sizes and customisation options. Being able to roll the bike by its wheels is handy as well. And being able to use a standard pannier, as opposed to having to buy a proprietary front bag, could be another plus for those with multiple bikes. Careful tire, saddle and grip selection could compensate for the rough-road harshness I experienced.






When I was over to test ride this bicycle, the owner surprised me by announcing that she plans to give it away. That's right: Pamela Blalock's personal Bike Friday One Way Tikit pictured here could be yours - complete with flip-flop freewheel/fixed gear hub, fenders, front rack, spare generator hub wheel and a spare set of tires (pannier not included). For details of the give-away, please visit The Blayleys blog!




And if you are in the market for a folding bike, visit the Bike Friday website and prepare to be dazzled with their myriad of stock and custom options. The history of the company is pretty interesting as well. Folding bikes of all types made in Oregon, USA, with prices starting at $1,400 and around a month lead time. Pretty neat!

Anniversary Fashion Friday

It has recently been revealed on facebook that jjobrien is "in a relationship".

Climbers, this one snuck up on me sideways on a Tuesday afternoon.

I get this "confirm relationship" message, I hesitate for a moment, start considering the ramifications, I mean we have children, grandchildren, a house, cars, but this facebook relationship thing is looking more official than anything I've been used to up to this point.Having not officiated this relationship through achurch orstate registration, I think facebook might be the highestauthorityto recognise us.So it's time to come clean. But what facebook doesn't say is that this relationship started in 1972.It's true, I fell in love with Sandra Phoenix. Sorry, Dr. Phoenix phdHere's a few photos I have on hand this relationship anniversary day of March 4th.

Juice Alley, Mong Kok

Nice shirt jj, embroidered eagle on white cotton by Jag.

Those sunnies are mine now.



photo: Lee Cujes



Gearing up for the Chinese coldness in Mee and Gee store HKThis is where I first met mynew coat "Wolfie". Remember "Sheepy"? I still miss Sheepy.







Dressed for the chill at YangshuoSandra wearing "Peak" in black.













She also climbs.

A bit.

Sometimes.

Like this, on her 50th birthday in Ton Sai.













By the power invested in facebook, I do take this woman.













On Notching, or the Joys of the Hole Saw

This might surprise some of you, and it was certainly a surprise to me, but my favourite thing about the framebuilding experience so far has been learning about all the machines in Mike Flanigan's shop. I have never been into this sort of thing before, preferring to use the simplest tools possible for DIY stuff. The "shop atmosphere," with its various lathes and saws spinning menacingly, has always confused and intimidated me. I am not sure what changed now. Maybe the part of my brain that's responsible for this kind of stuff is just now maturing, but suddenly I am like a kid in a candy store. The machines are super-useful, physically easy to operate, and are proving to be excellent teaching tools when it comes to mechanical concepts I find difficult to grasp.For example: notching!






Building a bicycle frame is mainly about joining together pieces of tubing, which involves a lot more work than merely brazing or welding the joints. For instance, before the tubes can be joined they need to fit together properly.






Think about it: When we get a tube, its edge is cut straight across. But if we want that edge to join the rounded surface of another tube, weneed to sort of scoop out the center of that opening, to scallop it. This is what's called notching - also known as mitering or coping.






And because the tubes join at an angle that is almost never 90°, the notch must be done asymmetrically, to fit the precise angle. In theory, I understood the concept, but in practice I had a hard time imagining concretely how this was to be done. How were builders able to determine the shape of the scalloped edge with such precision and draw it on the edge of the tube? Too embarrassed to ask this question, I tried to read up on it. Unfortunately, the more I read, the more confused I got.






But the mystery was cleared up in a matter of seconds once it was time to notch my own tubes. Mike has what's called a horizontal milling machine, which can be fitted with all sorts of tooling - including hole saws of various diameters.






A hole saw is literally a round saw that makes holes in things. They are available in a variety of diameters. You choose the saw that matches the diameter of the dominant tube - the one to which you will be joining the tube you want notched.






After attaching the correct saw and installing the to-be-notched tube in the clamp, you then set the angle of the joint, according to your bicycle frame's geometry.






And that's it. As you turn the crank, the hole saw makes its way through the edge of the tube and notches it. Basically the saw forces the shape of the dominant tube through at the correct angle. Watching this happening I experienced a sudden flash of understanding and it was immensely satisfying.




Of course, by far not everyone who builds bicycle frames has this type of machine handy, and the low-tech notching method involves using lugs to make guide marks, then a hacksaw to make the cut.But even if I never have access to such machines again, operating them has done me more good than I can express.






I love the clean look of a notched frame; the way everything fits together perfectly and makes total visual sense before you get it all filthy with flux and leaky brazing marks. But also, watching the tubes fit and actually getting how and why they fit is wonderful.My head is bursting with the sudden understanding of concepts I've previously struggled with, and that is an exciting feeling to have. Whether it's framebuilding or any other subject-matter, it is never too late to learn new things.

Tieton River Climbing ..

Julie injured her foot in Montreal. So mountain excursions were out of the question as should could barely walk at times. So, she was interested in some rock climbing. Due to her injury, and the suspect weather forecast for Leavenworth, we decided to see what Tieton was all about. The forecast for Tieton was to be 60° and mostly sunny. Since it is a two and a half hour drive, we left Seattle at 5am to maximize our climbing. This was unfortunate, as when we first arrived in the parking lot around 7:40am, it was still quite chilly.

We figured we'd warm up on the hike (about a quarter mile of trail - the second half uphill.) When we got to the base of the climbs, it was windy and in the shade. It felt even colder than the parking lot. We sized up our first climb, and neither of us were willing to start climbing due to the cold. Since we were the only ones there, we left our packs, and headed back to the car where the sun was shining. As we got to the car, a few other climbers showed up. We chatted, and decided to drive down the road to check out "The Bend," another area of Tieton climbing. (We were at Royal Columns.) After our short drive and a stop at the toilet, we headed back up to the crag.

Once there, we put on all the clothes we had, and started slowly to do our first climb. The first choice was the three star Western Front (5.3). We started easy to gauge how tough the climbing would be. Tieton has a reputation for having stiff grading, but we didn't really think so. I will say, that the climbing is fairly steep for the grade in concern to Western Front. I led the route, and found it very heady, as many of my gear placements were not ideal. The climbing is crack climbing between the andesite columns and the moves were pretty straightforward. However, I found gear placement to be difficult, and some of my gear to be suspect. Julie followed the route and saw the difficult placements. One of the issues I had with gear was that I neglected to bring up a #4 Camalot, because the guide book said gear to 2.5". This was regrettable, as there were multiple good locations for it along the route.

First cold lead of day

After completing the route, I ran down near the car (and sun) to warm up a bit. I returned as the sun started lighting the tops of the columns where Julie had waited for me. It was somewhat warmer now, but still chilly. But the sun was starting to heat the columns, and it was around 11am.

Julie led out on the next route, The Rap Route (5.5). It was a short stem/chimney, that became a crack above a short column. The route did not feel any harder than Western Front, but seemed to have easier gear placements. After I followed, and we rapped from the top, we contemplated our next move.

Now that the sun was out we decided to eat lunch and relax on some rocks at the base of the columns to warm up a bit. We briefly sought out our next objective, but returned to the rock when we realized how windy it was just around the corner from our lounging spot. After more relaxing, we finally got up to do our next route.

It was my lead, and I chose Good Timer (5.4) because the small roof on Slacker (5.4) scared me off a bit. (That and Slacker was more in the shade and seemed to be windier.) Good Timer had some loose rock on it, and again was somewhat difficult to protect. The climbing was fine, but nothing remarkable. After I led it, Julie cleaned it and we contemplated our next move.

We found a route on the far left that looked interesting to us. Julie asked if I would lead it, and so I gave in. It wasn't in our guide book, so we weren't sure of the grade at the time I started up. The route seemed to be a lower angle than our previous routes, except for the last 6-8'. About a third of the way up it had a small crack which was too small for my fingers except at the very top of it. I worked my way around it to the right and made my way up the rest of the pitch. I found this route to be the most enjoyable climbing of the four we did. Perhaps it was because it took gear better and I felt better protected because of it? Perhaps it was just the route? After we climbed it, we borrowed another climber's guide book in the parking lot and found out the route was a 5.7. ("The finger crack" which I bypassed probably gave it that rating.)

After that, we left for home.

My take on Tieton is that the rock is slightly better than at Vantage, but still quite dubious. The climbing is fairly interesting and enjoyable if you can look past this issue. However, it is difficult, especially when leading to get over this. After Julie followed Good Timer, she told me she thought the whole column was going to fall. I found myself more concentrated at times on the pro and its ability to protect a fall, than on the climbing itself. The terrain is somewhat different than Vantage as well, as it is a greener part of Central Washington. I'll probably return to Tieton at some point, but not likely soon.

A few more pics located here.

Friends and Their Place in Our Life

This is a picture of our friends that visited us, on top of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. I have to give a sincere thanks to them for their visit with us. We had such a wonderful, wonderful time with them. We truly just soaked up every minute we were them. It was interesting, it was easy to just spend time chatting about our lives with them and they were such grateful company when we extended even the slightest things their way. They honestly were just a joy to be around and we felt lucky to have them as guests. When they thanked us as they left, we said it was our privilege and we meant it.



Now that we have had the craziness of the hurricane, we see all the more how important our time with them was. They brought such joy and peace to us, and that carried us through our evacuation and the days to follow.



It has me pondering the role that friends hold in my life. The older I get, the more I realize that I get by not with just "a little help from my friends", but rather I get by with a lot of help from my friends. This past winter, I really realized that. While going through what we did, it gave me the gift of analyzing exactly what friendship is to me. It gave me the chance to evaluate what I want from my closest friends and why it was necessary to ask for that from someone that is a close friend of mine.



Barb has played a significant role in all of this for me. While I was sorting through one friendship in particular this past winter and sharing it all with Nathan, he wasn't quite understanding clearly what I was explaining to him. During this same time we met up with Barb and John for a few hours in Florida and as we left he said, I can see now why you are so frustrated with that friendship. Barb and your friends like her have spoiled you. They are such good friends to you, why would you want to settle for something that is so much less than what they are willing to give you?



And he was exactly right. I have friends like Barb that have set a higher standard in my life than I would have asked for myself, and they have shown me that I don't have to settle for friends that are only there when things are happy and fun if I don't want to. I am so grateful for that. It doesn't mean I don't still love the other friends in my life, just that I don't want to put as much time and energy there at this point in my life.



He said he was in awe at how well Barb knows who I am and how supportive she is of me being..well, me. I agree. I hope I give the same to her in return. Because at the end of the day, isn't that all you can really hope for in a friend-that they work at knowing the real you and appreciating the real you? Not to say my friends like Barb don't speak up when truth needs to be spoken to me. They do. Boy, do they sometimes! And they still love me and stick by me even then. Because I trust how much they do know me, I trust their input.



They also let me share honestly with what I see in their life without taking offense, even if they disagree. If something is a big deal to one of us, we don't downplay that or try to talk them out of seeing it that way. We let it be what it is to them. If someone is sad or depressed, we honor that as much as much as if they were happy and full of joy. We work at adjusting our behaviors where who we are is spilling over onto each other in ways that hurt or cause stress for the other, while still remaining true to who we are. And this particular group of women that I am talking about has managed to do this for about a decade now. I hope we are still there for each other for many more decades.



I value friendship far more than I ever did when I was younger. I wonder if that won't continue to be more and more true the older I get. I hope so, because when a friendship is a good one, it is a rare and precious thing.



Thank you, my friend, and all of you women in this particular circle of my friends. You all rock!

A foodie’s haven in Copenhagen: Torvehallerne KBH

With Noma recently taking the spotlight as the best restaurant in the world, Denmark is seriously becoming a foodie paradise. Before the Copenhagen trip, which was before Noma was again selected as the best restaurant for , I earnestly checked out my options of having dinner at Noma but later on realised that my chances are regrettably very slim, i.e. getting a table at Noma is like getting invited to a presidential dinner, and secondly, since when is it nice to dine alone in a Michelen starred restaurant?

So while in Copenhagen I backtracked at the idea and concentrated on finding my way to Torvehallerne KBH instead, a showcase of culinaire slash farmer’s market haven.

My hotel’s concierge informed me the night before that there will be snow flurries in the morning, however he said that after 10AM it will stop and then we will have sunshine.

It is now past 10AM and I have just finished dressing up and now watching TV in my hotel room but outside is grey and I can still see snow falling down. This spring long weekend trip has turned into a last hurrah winter trip. Nevertheless, it was getting late for my breakfast so I decided to just wing it to Torvehallerne KBH. I am hungry, and I have a map and a sturdy hat anyway.

The Torvehallerne KBH is a great place for first timers in Copenhagen (foodies or not) to sample Danish cuisine, as well as other popular international cuisines, i.e. Spanish, Italian and French. It is actually a farmer’s market with the usual raw produce of vegetables, fruits and meat available, as well as stalls selling gourmet charcuterie and cheeses. Moreover, there were cafés, restaurants and bakery stands offering ready-to-eat foods.

The market is housed in 2 separate galleries that resembles a greenhouse. You have to physically go out to go to the other hall. When in Copenhagen, DO NOT MISS THIS.

Here are my pictures when I toured the place:






This stand called ‘Ma Poule’ (french cuisine) has a long queue of customers. It is selling duck confit sandwiches. Here are the guys busy tearing the meat into pieces before serving them on a sandwich.


Here is the fish section:




Cheese and charcuterie, my favourite by the way, and more:




I had a very nice smushi breakfast here. A smushi is a smaller and more artistic version of the smorrebrod (Danish open-faced sandwiches). It was a very pleasant respite as well to be sitting inside with a warm cup of coffee while outside is snowing.

Their website in Danish: Torvehallerne KBH. The market is located on Frederiksborggade.