Happy Birthday to Aric and I

I realized on my last post that it was post #999, which means my birthday post is #1,000. That is a lot of blog posts for someone who did not want to do a blog to begin with!



Today was Aric and I's birthday, and since he took his week's vacation and spent it with us, that meant we celebrated the day together. We went down to Sumter Landing during the day and ate lunch there and spent at least two hours at Barnes and Nobles looking at all the books we would love to read. We then walked around and shopped together. As usual, we enjoyed the special golf carts we ran across there.



We came back home to cool off some, and then headed back down to the latest square and had dinner at City Fire Restaurant and watched Man of Steel at the movie theater there. It was a nice, quiet day for us but the fact we were together made it a great birthday for me.

Casa Blanca Gift Shop

This little gift shop is across the street from the Laughing Lizard Cafe. Someone did some great work on the outside. I haven't been in it in years so not sure what kind of merchandise they offer. I need to go in again.

Bradford Pear Tree

Since I have started this blog the post that has been viewed the most is of some Bradford Pear Trees in full bloom that I took about 3 years ago. Now that my own Bradford Pear is in bloom I took some photos and I am posting them now. This first one is of the small tree. Bradford pear trees are considered ornamental trees that do not put on eatable fruit. They are used in landscaping for their beautiful spring blossoms and rusty red leaves in the fall as well as dense green leaves in summer.



Sunburst through the tree.



Photos taken at night back lit by a flashlight. These blossoms glow at night almost as if they had a light in each little blossom.















Blossoms against a blue, New Mexico sky.

Christmas Moose

One of my 4 Christmas Mooses that I use to decorate at Christmas.

Laughing Lizard Cafe

The Laughing Lizard Cafe in Jemez Springs, NM has been there for over thirty year that I know of. But I think it has changed hands several times. It sits right on the main road almost in the middle of town. We have eaten there a few times and it was excelent food. They have a few rooms for rent but I've never heard anything about them.

The Surly Cross Check: a Worthy Host for 700C Fat Franks

What's this... another test ride? a new bike? As a matter of fact, it's a bit of both! A new bike for a certain someone, and a test ride for me as reward for tagging along. And it all began will a spare wheelset...

As part of my brisk trade of hats for bicycle parts over the winter, I've acquired some neat items - including parts I did not necessarily have any use for. Among these were a mint condition handbuilt wheelset and a pair of equally mint Schwalbe Fat Frank tires in 700C. Yes, 700C and not 26" - a monstrous size which made it exceedingly unlikely that I would find a host for them. After coming to that conclusion, I was about to put them up for sale - when I noticed the Co-Habitant looking at them longingly. Upon some prodding, he confessed to harboring a desire for an off-road bicycle with just such a wheelset and tires. Okay then: I wouldn't sell them. But where would we find a frame to fit them? The Fat Franks are 700C x 50mm, limiting the choice to 29er mountain frames, a couple of Rivendell frames, and, of course, custom frames. The latter two options were out of the question, as he decidedly did not want this to be an expensive project. And he didn't want a 29er mountain bike, because he dislikes sloping top tubes. After some feverish research, we discovered that Surly could be an option, and headed to Harris Cyclery (a sponsor) with our own wheels and tires in tow.



The 700C Fat Franks will fit the Surly Cross Check and Long Haul Trucker. We are 60% sure that it is possible to squeeze fenders in there as well. There are not many fender options for tires of this size, but Berthoud and SKScould be possibilities. Any experiences with them with this bike and tire combo?



To spare you the suspense, the Co-Habitant is getting a 62cm Surly Cross Check frame, in robin's egg blue - or rather I am getting it for him. We will pick up his actual frame on Saturday. Above he is riding the floor model, with the original wheels and tires.



And here is the same bike fitted with our wheelset and the Fat Franks.



The difference between Surly's Long Haul Trucker and Cross Check models, is that the former is a heavy-duty touring frame, while the latter is a more versatile cyclocross frame - which can be used for anything from commuting, to racing, to off-road, depending on how it is set up. The Cross Check has shorter chainstays and lighter tubing than the Long Haul Trucker - which suits the Co-Habitant fine, as he wants a tough, yet lively ride and does not plan to transport bulky loads on this bike.



It did not take him long to decide that he likes the Cross Check.At around $400 retail for the frame, and many of the needed components already in our possession, this is going to be a quick and exciting build - just in time for our very tardy Spring! Lord knows the boy is long overdue for a new bicycle - and if a Surly is what he wants, I am happy to facilitate.



While the Co-Habitant was consulting with fabulous and wise mechanic Jimabout the build, I was not idle. As luck would have it, Harrishappened to have a 54cm floor model of the same bike in stock, and I seized the opportunity to test ride it. I've wanted to try a Surly for some time, and what better way to do it than with these delightful tires?



Surly frames are TIG-welded cro-moly steel with lugged fork crowns, and they accept threadless headsets and stems. Still, in their overall look the bicycles are fairly classic, with comfortable, relaxed geometry.



Overall, it's a simple, tidy construction. The canti-lever brakes and numerous braze-ons are useful, without looking cluttered as they do on some utilitarian bikes. I think the powder blue colour is good for this bike - softening upand adding interest to Surly's rugged, no-nonesense aesthetics.



As far as welds go, these are pretty clean.I prefer lugs on this type of bike, but the Co-Habitant likes a variety of frame construction methods.



The floor model I rode was fitted with Salsa stem and handlebars and SRAM "brifters." I found the shape of the handlebars to be quite comfortable - with roomy "shoulders" just like Nitto Noodles. The brifters were all right and squeezing the brakes was easy enough. Compared to regular aero brake levers, I find these combination levers to be too clunky - my grip can't comfortably close around them and I feel as if one bad bump can send my hands flying off the handlebars. Still, over time I think I could get used to them. If I were ever to get a modern roadbike, I would be fine with this type of set-up.



Riding the SurlyCross Check was a better experience than I had anticipated. One common criticism of Surly bicycles, is that they are sluggish and stiff - but perhaps that applies to the Long Haul Trucker specifically and not to the sportier models such as the Cross Check. Giving the tubing differences at least, that would certainly make sense.I did not test ride the bike extensively, as we did not have a great deal of time and it began to rain heavily.But on first impression, the Surly felt similar to my Rivendell in its stability and comfort. As a roadbike, it felt "easy" to ride and it could be a good choice for a beginner for whom a Rivendell is too pricy. On the 54cm frame I rode, there was considerable toe overlap with the 700C x 50mm Fat Franks, so I would not recommend tires this huge on small frames. But on a larger frame like the 62cm size the Co-Habitant is getting, it's not a problem.



The Surly Cross Check strikes me as a versatile, comfortable, attractive, and reasonably priced bicycle that straddles the border between classic and modern. It is also fairly easy to get and test ride: While some shops have more floor models than others, chances are that your local bike store carries Surly. If you do not object to a TIG welded frame and a threadless stem set-up, this is probably one of the best values out there. The Co-Habitant's build will be modestly classic and I hope to share the final result shortly. Any owners of the Surly Cross Check out there?

Fountain

I do not remember this large fountain being in the Patio Market the last time I was here but it looks like it has been here forever. Inside of it somewhere was a pump that kept the water constantly circulating so that it looked like the bucket was always spilling water out.

Leavenworth Trip ...

Adam and I did a three day weekend in the Leavenworth area finishing with helping out Matt with field trip on Sunday.

We took a midday ride out on Friday for some cragging at Clem's Holler. Arrived around Noon and headed up the steep trail. We had lofty goals of climbing some nice sport climbs, but decided to warm up on the first two pitches of Playin' Possum. Doing only the first two pitches keeps it at a reasonable 5.8 instead of the .10a rating it has for continuing onto the third pitch. I led the first pitch, and Adam led the second. While the climbing was not particularly difficult, my head wasn't totally in the lead, and I had to hang a bit at one point (mostly to rest my feet) before continuing upward. After completing the climb, I was not exactly ready to tackle the harder projects, so Adam and I went searching for Arselips and Elbows (5.8) a 14" wide top rope crack.

According to the book, Arselips is "up and left" of The Hatchet. We found it to be generally left, and that dropping down into a meadow was a more sane way of reaching said climb. We first attempted with some exposed moves on grassy ledges before dropping to the meadow and coming back up. I'm pretty sure we were mostly following goat trails. The terrain was sometimes steep, and had a thick coating of ponderosa needles on it adding to the slippery factor. Plenty of sticker bushes in the area too. You have to persevere to get to this climb. Once there, we had an easy hike up to the bolts to set up a top rope. Then it was time for the groveling to begin.

Looking up from the base

The opening moves were on the face while stepping on boulders to gain the crack. Once at the top foothold on the outside, it was time to move in. I found the chicken wing very secure, but it took a fair amount of trial and error to get some sort of secure leg into the crack. The left side of the crack is also a loose corner, with a small finger crack, but I did not feel too comfortable grabbing on it as I was afraid to pull it off. Inside the crack it was narrow, and a deep breath could mostly keep my in my place. I realized after some struggling that I had to exhale to make moving up easier. In my first attempt, I managed to gain the crack and move a few centimeters off the outside rock before needing my left foot to do something. I took a rest while Adam gave it a shot.

About to leave the outside world

Adam gave the crack a try and made no further progress than I did. He tried it first in his trail runners figuring that would give him an advantage. After his attempt, he decided his next attempt would be with rock shoes. I gave it a second go with a result of getting about six inches higher than my previous attempt. I was able to successfully use my left arm and leg in the attempt, but found the upward progress too much of a struggle to continue further. Adam gave it one last try and it looked something like this:

He's in there

After getting to roughly the same height I did, Adam melted out of the crack and I lowered him to the ground. We both agreed that that was the most effort we have ever put forth to move two inches! I thought I could get up any 5.8 in Leavenworth on top rope. Apparently, this climb proved me wrong. After our struggles, we called it a day and headed back to the car. Our sport climbing objectives at Clem's Holler could wait for another day.

We awoke late (8am) on Saturday, and had breakfast in camp. By the time we packed up camp, it was about to rain and when we arrived at parking for our intended destination for the day (Peek-a-Boo Tower) there was a light rain. Looking west made us concerned so we drove to the mouth of the canyon hoping for better weather. We stopped in the Snow Creek parking lot and by the time we rolled out of there, it was raining as well. So we headed to Peshastin again.

It appeared that others had the same idea when it started to rain in Leavenworth, and many small parties of climbers dashed out of the parking lot to get to climbs quickly. We were in no rush and decided to climb Windward which we figured no one was running to. When we got there, I was not too enthused about leading it and we decided to walk around to see if we could get on something else. When we arrived at Dinosaur, and saw no one on Potholes, we jumped on it. Adam had me lead the first (5.8) pitch and he said he would decide at the belay about leading the second (5.7) pitch. I personally have always found the second pitch harder, but that may just be me. No real surprised on Potholes except for me having more difficulty this year with the crux of the first pitch. And Adam getting a good chuckle from watching me struggle with the final moves to the anchor. We rapped off and headed to Grand Central Tower to climb the West Face.

Adam past the first bulge on Potholes second pitch

It was nice to finally lead the West Face and not have any trouble on it. Well, no trouble climbing it. There was a party that was off route on Nirvana Ridge that kept raining sand down onto us. It does not make for a comforting lead. Adam followed, and even got hit by a slightly bigger rock on the way up. We rapped off to find the wind had died off and it was downright warm out. We decided the clouds cleared enough to the west to try the Icicle again.

We drove back and watched the outside temp drop from 68°F to around 60°F by the mouth of the Icicle. We stopped there to head to Surf City to climb a few moderate cracks. We started on Paydirt, a nice 5.7 finger crack that I would revisit. I was a bit too tentative on the lead on this one, and I am not sure why. (Must have been the theme for the weekend.) I had a minor slip and even opted not to place gear at one point. Hopefully I can revisit that one with a better head.

Stepping into the finger crack

Adam then led Blunt Instruments which was one of those cracks that does not really require crack climbing technique. It was a bit dirty at the top and also finished with a slab like Paydirt did. (Although the Paydirt slab was a bit more runout.)

After that I attempted to lead another route there called Undertoe. I couldn't get a decent first piece in and so we called it a day. This time we were at The Mountaineers group campsite and had a feast. Ben Evans showed up and cooked a huge pan of bacon chorizo paella.

Sunday I was pretty spent from the weekend (and sleeping on a Z-Rest) that I had the student I was with lead all pitches on Midway. I did not climb well, and even used a piton as a foot hold before attaining Jello Tower. It was nice to sleep in a bed last night.