This really made my day

In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably tell you that this envelope was sent to me by a cousin. (She added "Incredibly Good Smelling" to the actual business name.)

But still. It really did make my day!

Second Chances for Custom Bikes?

As a (somewhat) reasonable person, I recognise that sometimes a deal is just not for me, no matter how good it is. But I can still feel disappointed, can't I? Peter Mooney is a famed local framebuilder who has been making custom bicycles since the 1970s, including his own lugwork. I love his frames and very much hope to have one of my own some day. And for a brief, dazzling moment, it seemed that such a day might come much, much sooner than I expected.



As usual, these things have a way of finding me when I am not looking, and in this case the "thing" was a second hand Peter Mooney bicycle. As soon as I learned of the bike's existence and availability, I was ready to bargain and prepared to sell or trade my other vintage roadbikes in order to get it. Going by the description, it seemed that the frame was my size - so it was only a matter of seeing it in person and test riding it.

But the stars were not aligned in my favour. Although the bicycle does not look allthat small in the pictures (compare it to my Moser), it felt very small once I tried to ride it. The size is 50cm (center of the bottom bracket to toptube), which is only 2cm smaller than the size I normally ride - so maybe there was something additional in the proportions that didn't feel right to me. Not sure what it could be, because the top tube actually seems long-ish, and the stem is long as well. Does anything unusual jump out at you, looking at this frame?

And I guess that is just the thing with a custom-built frame: It was custom-built for someoneelse,which is bound to make second-hand purchases tricky. And the fact that it was built for someone else (judging by the components, most likely in the mid-1980s?) also makes me wonder what is the story of this bicycle - why did the previous owner give it up?

The bicycle certainly has nice components - Campagnolo everything. And though it was clearly ridden, it looks to have been well maintained.

The elegant seat cluster with the white outlining is my favourite part of the lugwork. I hope the original owner appreciated it as well.

Who knows, maybe some years from now I will have a Peter Mooney bicycle of my own - in my size, in my favourite colour, and maybe even with custom lugwork (let's just say that I already have sketches for the lugwork!). But with this particular bike, I am glad that I was able to resist. It's a bad idea to get a bicycle that doesn't fit you, no matter how good of a deal it is.

If you are between 5'3" and 5'6" and are interested in this bicycle - it is in the custody of Vin at Old Roads, whose contact information you can find here. For the right person, it is a rare chance to own a bicycle by one of the great framebuilders. But what are your thoughts on getting a custom bike second-hand? I imagine that the more unique the original owner's anatomy, the more difficult it would be to find a new home. I wonder how many custom bikes get second chances, and what are the circumstances under which they switch owners.

Cork It or Cloth It?

When it comes to wrapping handlebars, the typical options are cloth tape and cork tape. And my impression is that many, if not most, cyclists today consider cork tape to be more comfortable. On the surface this makes sense: cork is softer, and gripping something soft ought to feel better than gripping something hard.

However, I generally prefer cloth tape. This tends to surprise people, but here is my reasoning: I feel that the softness of cork tape can be counterproductive, because it necessitates a tighter grip. When I ride a bike with cork handlebar tape it initially feels cushy, but over time I notice that the cushiness is making me grip tighter and my hands grow tired from the exertion. Because cloth tape is firmer, it allows my hands to relax and I am not perpetually squeezing.



Of course, in order for the firmness of cloth tape to work in one's favour, the handlebars must feel comfortable to begin with. The handlebars on my vintage Trek(first picture) have a weird squared-off (rather than tubular) shape to them, which my hands refuse to conform to. So until I can afford better handlebars on that bike, I am using cork tape to disguise the square shape.



Similarly, I always had some form of cork tape or grips on the vintage Motobecane mixte I used to own, because its aggressive geometry would place too much pressure on my hands.



But once I managed to slacken the seat tube angle (with the help of a swept back seat post) and improve the hand position with the Belleville handlebars, holding the bars finally became comfortable and cloth tape felt better than cork.



This makes me wonder whether the prevalence of cork tape we see today could generally be a symptom of uncomfortable positioning. Are more cyclists choosing cork tape because their position places too much weight on their hands? And furthermore, has this somehow become normalised in what is now considered "proper bike fit"?



A number of times now, I have been approached by other cyclists and asked how I "can stand" having my handlebars wrapped in cloth tape, as well as how I manage to cycle without padded gloves. Don't my hands hurt? Well, no. I feel no pressure on my hands, so the bar tape is really just there to provide a pleasant surface texture to the handlebars, rather than to "fix" any discomfort issues. Since cork tape is fairly new, I wonder what those who have been cycling since "back in the day" think about the cloth vs cork issue.

How Slow Can You Go?

In cycling, some associate skill and experience with being able to go fast. But going slow - and I mean really slow, like walking pace - can be even more difficult. When I first began riding as an adult, I could not keep my bike upright at super-slow speeds. I remember that the steering was hard to control; I'd end up losing my balance and having to stop. Even a couple of years down the road, it was easier to ride at 20mph than at 2mph. But finally I got the hang of it, and today I am able to ride at walking speed with no trouble at all.




Looking back on this, I would say that slow cycling is one of the most useful bicycling skills I have picked up so far. Here are just some of the practical applications I've noticed over the years:




Wobble-free starting

When I talk to novices about cycling for transportation, a common theme that comes up is the fear of swerving into traffic when starting from a stop at a light. You can see it in the city: When some riders push off from a stop, the front end of their bike will wobble before they gain sufficient momentum to proceed in a straight line. Now, some bikes are easier to balance at slow speeds than others, but with sufficient skill even a twitchy bike can be ridden at walking speed wobble-free, eliminating this anxiety.




Navigating traffic

Riding in the city can be all about stop and go traffic. Being able to cycle slowly while maintaining full control of the bike makes this easier to handle, allowing the cyclist to maintain momentum and to travel more efficiently. Particularly useful is what I think of as "hovering." This is a practice that is somewhere between trackstanding and riding at walking pace. It comes in handy when inching your way forward in a line of stopped cars, changing lanes in dense traffic, waiting to turn left at an intersection, or proceeding in ambiguous right of way situations. It is much easier to both show your intent and accelerate from a position of hovering than it is from a stopped position.




Safe MUP sharing

It used to drive me nuts to ride on crowded mixed use paths. Finding it stressful to navigate around hordes of unpredictable pedestrians, I would simply avoid MUPs during peak hours. But the greenways around here are quite scenic and can be relaxing if riding slowly is not an issue. The same "hovering" skill I find useful in road traffic works just as well for meandering amidst joggers and dog walkers.




Riding on dirt and uneven surfaces

Cycling through muddy, rocky and otherwise challenging terrain can reduce a bike's speed considerably. Yet keeping your balance and being able to steer the bike precisely is more important than ever in those conditions. My new-found enjoyment of unpaved riding has much to do with improved slow cycling skills.




Thinking back to how I finally learned all of this, two distinct experiences come to mind. First, riding fixed gear. I remember vividly how the fixed drivetrain made me feel dramatically more in control of the bike at slow speeds. No one was there to instruct me; it was as if the bike itself was teaching me. And after getting my body used to balancing on the fixed bike that way, some of that eventually transferred over to freewheel bikes.




But the real change was a result ofinstructional paceline rides. These rides taught me a number of useful techniques, including how to maintain continuous pedaling and consistent cadence regardless of speed. To ride slowly, we were instructed to switch into a low gear while pedaling and feathering the brakes, instead of coasting. This taught me to maneuver the bike smoothly, to control my speed with precision, and to stay stable even when moving at a crawl. Somehow pedaling made all of this easier and reprogrammed my body to balance with the bike. Almost immediately, I saw major improvements in my everyday bike handling skills.




If fixed gear bikes and paceline rides are not for you, one thing you could try is this: When out riding, pay attention to your pedaling. To slow down, try switching into a low gear while pedaling continuously, instead of coasting while pedaling in a high gear occasionally. To slow down even more, feather the brakes while continuing to pedal. Try to go slower and slower using this technique.Gradually your body will learn to maneuver the bike at slow speeds, whether pedaling or coasting.Learning to ride slowly transformed me as a cyclist; it is a skill I highly recommend picking up.

When Your Shoes Give You the Slip

A few weeks ago I tried to wear these shoes while riding Marianne. After getting half way down the block I had to return home and change, because they kept slipping off the pedals. Yesterday, I tried the same shoes on Eustacia Vye, and was delighted at the lack of slippage. The Pashley's platform pedals must be grippier than the Motobecane's, though the Pashley has rejected shoes in the past as well.

This brings me to the general issues of footwear on bicycles. I don't like to pretend that something is easy for me when it is not, just for the sake of making cycling seem super-easy and convenient. And finding shoes to wear while cycling is not always easy for me. In my pre-velo days, I wore mostly dressy high heeled shoes, and occasionally flat dressy shoes like the exquisite Italian green ankleboots in these photos. However, I must confess that I find 75% of my footwear problematic to wear while cycling.

The problem is not the heels, but the soles: they tend to slide off the pedals. To me it seems downright hazardous to cycle like that, especially when standing up. An additional issue is when soles are thin and/or flexible: I find it uncomfortable to push on the pedals in shoes like that. As a result, I wear only a small portion of the footwear I own when cycling. And since I cycle pretty much every day, this means that I have basically stopped wearing all those other shoes, some of which I greatly miss.

So ladies, what do you do? Do you get grippier pedals? Textured soles installed on all of your shoes? Or do you honestly not experience this problem when wearing your dressy shoes, like the magical women of Denmark? I want to battle the "shoe slip", but I need a plan.

Top 10 Ways to Bike Uphill without a Helmet while Breaching the Gender Gap

So a few of us were debating what makes a good sensationalist headline in the bicycling blogosphere, and the title of this post seemed just about perfect. Sure, it's missing a couple of things. I considered adding "...while cycling vehicularly on a low-trail bike dressed inRaphaand listening to an audio book of Grant Petersen's the Shoes Ruse." But in the end I decided less was more and went with the shorter version.




And as posts rarely live up to the promise of the titles that lure us to them, I will remain true to this tradition of disappointment by informing you that I will, unfortunately, not be traveling to California at the end of this month. Ithas nothing to do with my preparedness for the ride and I hope to take part in a different AdventureCORPS event in the future;the organisers have been very understanding. Stuff happens and - well, that's all really. I will practice my top 10 ways to bike uphill closer to home for the time being.




One reason sensationalist titles are on my mind lately, is that I've been getting more emails than usual with requests to host "guest posts" from various marketing entities, or to write such posts for other websites, or to embed commission-generating links into my content. I think these people find me because my titles are somehow "SEO'ed" without my realising it or doing it intentionally - a thought that for some reason depresses me. It also makes me extremely self-conscious about providing links to products, businesses, online stores, etc. in my posts, be they sponsors or not. Does it create the (false) impression that I am getting commission from those links? Or do I indeed derive some indirect benefit from it, such as showing the businesses I link to that I can drive traffic to their sites and thus encouraging them to sponsor me? Once I start thinking this way, the whole bike blogging racket starts to feel like one giant minefield and then I need to snap out of it before I can write anything unselfconsciously again.




A little while back a reporter contacted me for an interview and I declined. She responded by demanding that I prove that I am "real" and not a marketing hoax. I was offended and kind of shaken, though in the reporter's defense this was around the time of the "Amina, Gay Girl in Damascus" scandal and the idea of hoax identities was popular. I sent her a polite email with the contact information of a local reporter who had met me in person, and that was the end of it. But it left a bad taste in my mouth, as did meeting some industry people at Interbike later who confessed they'd thought it was my husband and not me who actually wrote the blog while I merely posed for pictures. Ouch?




I am starting to ramble and free-associate, but I guess the common thread for me here is the theme of absurdity. The absurdity of using catchy titles to get people to read bland content, the absurdity of making plans and announcing them, and the absurdity of this blog. I hope my readers not take any of it too seriously. Instead, let's go ride our bikes... regardless of gender, stance on helmet use and approach to elevation.

Shop Bench

This bench was outside one shop door and looked like it was worth taking a picture of.

Dynafit Speed Skins? Help!?

I'm a little desperate here. I just bought a pair of Se7ev Summit Dynafit skis and figured getting the Dynafit skins would be easy. Seems there are none to be had in the US through normal channels. Anyone know where I can get a pair?Do they ever go on sell in Chamonix? I'm looking for a pair in163cm.



Huge "THANK YOU!"to everyone that offered sources and advice on the skin search. With everyone's help I was able to find a pair of Speed Skins for my new boards this morning! Seemingly the last pair still available in the US ;-) Truely pure chance but both skis and skinscame from REI

Fungi forms

Fungus: any of a major group of saprophytic and parasitic spore-producing organisms usually classified as plants that lack chlorophyll (molds, rusts, mildews, smuts, mushrooms, and yeasts).*

Lichen: any of numerous complex thallophytic plants made up of an alga and a fungus growing in symbiotic association on a solid surface.

*Edited to add:
Dave from Via Negativa writes:
"... I would quarrel with "usually classified as plants" - I think most taxonomists now assign molds and fungi to their own kingdom. Lichens can be partnerships either with green algae (Plant Kingdom) or blue-green algae (Monera)."

Thanks Dave! I borrowed that from ol' Webster, who is clearly as behind on taxonomic updates as I am.

Dave also identifies the first shelf fungus below as Turkey Tail.
*End of edit


A Cup fungus


Witch's butter (Tremella mesenterica, a jelly fungus)

Thus ends my knowledge of fungus names. I love all the different shapes though.

Scenic Cycling: National Seashore, Cape Cod

Cycling on Cape Cod is a remarkable experience. Earlier I wrote that we had been looking forward to the Cape Cod Rail Trail. We have now been on it twice, but to tell the truth it is not my favourite place to cycle on the Cape. Don't get me wrong: It is a nice, long trail through attractive wooded areas with relatively few interruptions. It is a great resource. But the special thing about Cape Cod is its abundance of coastland: the open ocean and bay views, the coves, the miles of saltwater marshes and sand dunes. The rail trail bypasses all of that, and so I feel that cycling on it does not capture the essence of the area. For a real "wow" experience, I recommend cycling along the National Seashore - a 40-mile stretch of coastal nature reserve with breathtaking views. You will have to cycle on the road with motor vehicles, but the route is very bike-friendly.

If you are hesitant to share long stretches of the road with cars, you can arrive to the National Seashore via the Rail Trail (pdf map here). Towards the very end of the trail in Wellfleet, turn right on Marconi Beach Road (above two photos) and this will take you right to the dunes. This road is spacious, virtually free of traffic, and breathtakingly scenic. It ends at Marconi Beach and the Marconi Station Observation area.

At the end of Marconi Beach Road is this beautiful landscape of sand dunes, tall grasses and miniature trees - on a hill overlooking the ocean.

Lucy and Rodney, our vintage Raleighs, found the area very romantic. Here they are enjoying the view of the dunes.

And here they are gazing at the ocean.

The Co-Habitant joins them in Thoreau-like meditation.

Here is Lucy Threespeed on her own, posing in front of the Marconi Station exhibit. Guglielmo Marconi is commonly credited with having invented the radio, and the Marconi Station in Wellfleet MA is the site of the first successfully completed transatlantic wireless communication between the U.S. and England in 1903.

There are many beautiful sites to photograph, but we were too busy cycling. These photos should give you an idea of the area's natural beauty.

Exhausted but pleased, Lucy and Rodney look forward to their next visit to this unique and wonderful place.

Summer on Top

During the past week of cloudy weather in the lowlands, rangers and others have been enjoying sunny skies and stellar climbing conditions on the upper mountain. Even with the forecast of snow and cold temps the past few days rangers experienced the very opposite above 9,000'. Check out recent reports on the DC, Liberty Ridge, Little Tahoma, the Kautz Cleaver, and the Emmons on our route conditions page. We'll try to stay on top of things as they change and we get new information.

Upper Kautz Cleaver/Success Couloirs

Remember your sunscreen and sunglasses even when you are still under cloudy skies! Come up and talk to rangers for the most current conditions.

Down Town

One of the main streets in Clatskanie.

Charleston SC From My Window

Although we already left here, I wanted to share a few shots from this fabulous city that I took on Sunday. I loved this city. We have already put this on our list of places to come and stay in!

When Spouses Worry About Cyclists

I get a fair number of questions from readers - and, interestingly, only heterosexual men so far - asking for advice on how to deal with spouses worrying about them cycling.Somedescribe situations where wives implore them not to go on club rides, or are against them riding for transportation. Other stories are less dramatic, but nonetheless involve an overabundance of spousal distress that in turn makes the cyclist feel guilty.Doesn't my husband worry, they ask? What do I say to ease his mind?




Of course my situation is different, in that my husband is himself a cyclist. His understanding of what riding a bicycle entails is based on reality and not on the negative portrayals of it in the media. Still he does worry about me at times, especially when I go off with riders whose speed and skills far exceed my own. He deals with his concerns by asking me questions and trying to gauge how prepared I am for the ride and how well I myself understand the risks. And I admit that I worry about him too. While he rides considerably fewer miles than I do, I would describe him as more of a risk-taker. If he is late coming home from work, I worry.




It could be that this is the essence of spousal worry: Perceptions of risk. Do wives tend to perceive their husbands as risk-takers more so than the other way around? It would explain why I never hear from women complaining that their husbands worry too much. It could also be that, for whatever reason, female cyclists are more likely to have spouses who also ride bikes.




Either way, unfortunately I am not certain what to suggest here. You could reason with your spouse using statistics, descriptions of how safe your route is and how careful you are - but when fears are irrational this does not always work. Attempts to get your spouse into cycling could do the trick, but could also backfire if they try it and find it frightening. Showing them entertaining materials (films, books, pictures, blogs?) that depict cycling as safe and fun could be a way to go, but how exactly this could be implemented is not clear to me.




While we all want to be free to do as we like, we also don't want to drive our loved ones sick with concern for our safety.It would be good to hear from readers who've gone through this type of situation and resolved it successfully.

Purple Door

I liked this purple door and bench by an art gallery.

A short history on rockered skis?

This is a cut and paste from the DPS web site.



Th full unedited version can be found here:

http://www.dpsskis.com/company/timeline



I've included some of their time line here becauseit mirrors my own thoughts in a similar time line. It is not an endorsement of DPS skis. I'll do that myself much more clearly in the upcoming ski reviews along with other manufacturer's skis. I don't think anyone can deny Stephen Drake's/DPS's involvement in the current crop of state of the art skis.



Back in the mid '80s there were European back country skis that were wider than normal...up to 80 and 85mm under foot. The Rossignol Alps 3000s was an example. They had much bigger tip curves to help get the tips out of the snow and on planequicker. Typically skied in a 180cm or a 190cm. Short when a 200 or 205cm ski was more typical for the adult male. The short and fat, Alps 3000 was acommonski for Canadian Heli Guides at the time.



Prehistoric, The Rumblings: 1997-2002



1997DPS founder, Stephan Drake, is spending his second season in Las Leñas, Argentina. He is on Rossignol Viper skis, 60-something mm underfoot. After a 1-meter storm, he makes his 100th over-the-head face shot turn down Eduardos. He collapses in a pile of exhausted sweat at the bottom. His pro snowboarder roommate ollies over him at 50 mph and slashes a huge wave feature at the bottom couloir exit. Stephan (and Dane) wants freedom from the fall line, and ponders quitting skiing and taking up snowboarding.



1998Drake picks up Volkl Snow Rangers and Rossignol Bandit XXX's—temporary solutions that offer glimmers of hope.



1999Drake buys a dusty pair of Atomic Powder Pluses sitting unused in the backroom of a Colorado ski shop. 115mm underfoot and surfable, he takes them down to Las Leñas the following season. There will be no more thoughts of snowboarding from this point on.



2000Drake lands a cliff in the Aspen backcountry, and bends the tips of his heavy metal Powder Pluses into a Rockered shape. Initially he is bummed. After skiing them further, the skis take on a whole new life; they ski more dead, but are surprisingly more surfable. The fall line opens up.



2000Drake is spending every summer surfing pow in Las Leñas and experimenting with big skis. High speed pow skiing is now outpacing snowboards.



2000-2002Drake builds a collection of Rossignol Axioms and Atomic Powder Pluses. He custom paints their topsheets.



Beginnings: 2001-2005

2001-2002Drake is riding hard with Volkl Snowboarder and former Swiss ski team member, Cyrille Boinay in Las Leñas. Drake's skis are now 110mm underfoot, custom-painted, custom rockered Rossignol Axioms with a build date of 1993. The two chairlift rides and late nights are spent discussing how the lifestyle of storm-chasing powder junkies, and this new dynamic way of surfing powder on skis isn't being represented by manufactures or media. At Las Leñas' Atenas wine bar they conceive a new ski brand that will reflect the culture and a revolutionary ski technology—carbon fiber. Drake is tired of trekking around the backcountry and wrestling skis that weigh 14lbs/pair. He wants light, ultra-high performance versions of the double metal laminate clunkers he is skiing on. Surfing and snowboarding have it right; light equipment is best for both energy conservation and high-performance riding; carbon is the ingredient to make it happen in skis.



2002-2003DrakeBoinay, Ltd. is formed (DB Skis). A four-ski quiver is designed. A U.S. based manufacturing partner is secured. The flagship shape is the Tabla Rasa- the first 120mm underfoot pintailed, and rockered ski ever made - 30cm's of Rocker go into the design and design notes, but DB's manufacturing partner can't quite build it. It still skis great with its long nose and setback stance. In the Tabla Rasa's product and design descriptions, the benefits of "Rocker" are touted. Rocker officially enters skiing's vocabulary.



2002-2003Boinay and Drake meet Swedish ski photographer Oskar Enander in Engelberg, Switzerland. They enjoy great powder sessions and lines in classic European ski bumming fashion.



2001-2003Meanwhile, in Colorado, Shane McConkey and future DPS partner Peter Turner are building the Volant Spatula. Its design characteristics are dubbed, "Reverse Camber and Reverse Sidecut." The Spatula takes powder skiing to ‘11’.



2005Drake and Peter Turner meet in Utah. A partnership is born. Instantly they launch into discussions of flex patterns and laminate structures. The fire is rekindled for the perfect carbon fiber ski. Turner infamously tells Drake, "it will be no problem for us to build these carbon skis elsewhere." DPS is born, the vision to create the perfect ski using spaceage material continues, and the duo begin designing an entirely new five-shape quiver of skis, including the iconic and groundbreaking Lotus 138 and Lotus 120. The Lotus 138 morphs the Tabla Rasa and Spatula concepts into the first Rockered ski with sidecut: a design that is copied by another brand within 1.5 years. The Lotus 120 shape becomes the template for the iconic 120mm pintail design: a shape that practically every major and small manufacturer now produces.



-The move is made to switch back to plastic sidewalls. Another start-up issue forces yet another radical move in production engineering. Through the process, a huge breakthrough is made that gives long-term viability to the pure carbon ski concept. Now, pure carbon fiber skis can be made with the consistency and regularity of conventional fiberglass skis. All cosmetic durability issues are nailed. The warranty rate on a high-end carbon skis drops below 1 percent. The future of high-end carbon skis is secured.



The groundbreaking Wailer 112RP is introduced alongside a new Women's line. DPS relocates its HQ to SLC—under the shadows and deep snow of the Wasatch.



Editors note:

Bottom line? What we can do so easily now on some of the most advanced ski designs, you simply couldn't do prior without using a snow board.