Flohmarkt Finds

Vienna has a passion for flea markets, and lots of them pop up at different times of the year - often set up like neighborhood festivals, with food stalls and music. The big year-round flea market is next to the famous outdoor Naschmarkt in the city center. It is open every Saturday and it is enormous - with stalls stretching as far as the eye can see selling everything from antique silverware and gramophones, to locally made wool socks and Chinese designer knock-offs.

I walked through the Flohmarkt this Saturday on my way to lunch with a friend, and spotted two interesting Austrian bicycles. The first is a very old Steyr.

I am thinking this can't be later than 1920's, because of the "spoon brake" - that single rod brake with just a pad to stop the wheel from spinning. Any opinions?

On the headbadge is a woman with a shepherd's staff. She looks either sleepy or grumpy, which I thought was funny. I have seen Steyr bicycles in Vienna before, but none quite this old.

The second bike was this all-green Bergkönig ("Mountian King").

Could this be the original mountain bike? Hmm...

The handlebars are flat-ish and with a short reach, once again suggesting a mountain bike design. The grips are real rubber and are partly melted. Dynamo powered lighting; side-pull caliper brakes.

The sprung leather saddle is unmarked. Very neat that even the springs and the seat post are painted green. Not sure what that metal wrap is on the top tube - any ideas?

As I was leaving the market, the sun finally came out, so I snapped some shots from the U-Bahn platform.

Here is another. I have been to this flea market many times, but this was the first time I've noticed vintage bikes. Despite the rust, I think they are pretty good finds for someone local who has the room for them. I would love to find out more about their history, so if you have any information please share.

Autumn Rainbow

Near Greenwood Lake - Cook County, MN. The other day I was driving the back roads from the Gunflint Trail back to Grand Portage. Along the way there were a few rain showers and at one point the sun came out and I saw this beautiful, full rainbow. Luckily I was in a place where the trees weren't as tall so I was able to get a good view of it!

Outerbanks of North Carolina

Last night we arrived at our destination. It was late so we didn't really have a chance to see anything. Ava woke us up at 6 am so we could see everything very well this morning. Since we were up and anxious to see the beach, we hurried out there. Good Morning Beach!

Antique Fetish

image from collectvelo

For those who like vintage bicycles, just how far back do you go? For me, bicycles from the 1900s to the 1930s (like the 1900s Elvish above) are absolute eye candy, and while I would not use them as commuters, I can spend hours sighing over their beauty. So I wanted to share some of my favourite photos of antique bicycle components. With their gorgeous forms and elaborate engravings, these seem especially appropriate during the holiday season.

image from radlmax

Antique bicycle lights. These are candle lights! I understand that oil lamps were also used. Say what you will about modern LEDs and dynamo lighting, but these antique lamps were works of art.

image from Corey K.

Wooden (?) grip with etched silver detailing and matching bell from a 1897 bicycle. I have always wondered about wooden grips, and these are the nicest I have seen by far.

image from the Bicycle Bell Museum
A Dutch bicycle bell from the early 1900s, manufacturer unknown. I am not certin, but this looks like sterling silver? So gorgeous I want to cry!

from the collection of radlmax
Probably the most beautiful fork crown and brake combo I have seen. This is from a 1925 Styriarad, made in Graz, Austria.

from the collection of rebalrid

Could this 1900 Gough & Co. saddle be one of the earliest predecessors to my Brooks B18 "Lady"?

image from Copenhagen Cycle Chic
These early Soviet crochet dressguards must have been breath-taking in their original state. This would be my ideal dressguard, if only I had the time and skill to replicate it.

from the collection of adl2k

Gorgeous chain case on a Hawthorne Flyer bicycle.

image from huubvanhughten
And of course, the beautiful vintage Gazelle chainwheel, featuring actual leaping gazelles. This has got to be the cutest chainwheel ever made - just look at the little tail and antlers! With its resemblance to a reindeer, this could even double as a holiday ornament. Anybody using bicycle components to decorate their home for the holidays?

Aspen Roads

Wordless Wednesday - Knapp Lake

Knapp Lake, Noble County, Indiana. Infrared Photograph.Summer of 1985. Digitized ...Copyright © 1985/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Climbing Program Manager

I'm pleased to announce that Stefan Lofgren has officially been selected for the permanent position as Climbing Program Manager. Of course, he's been serving in this role in an acting capacity for over a year now, but his skills, drive, and vision for the program have proven him to be the best person to further the professionalization of the Mount Rainier Climbing program. Stefan has worked for over 20 years in the parks in the Pacific Northwest-most have been here at Mount Rainier, but he has also worked at Olympic. He knows the mountain, the weather, the people, and the environment. While serving in the acting Program Mgr. role, Stefan has guided a major transformation toward professionalizing the overall operation, establishing increased permanent supervisory oversight for staff, provided his staff with increased training opportunities and additional time to prepare for the season, created clear guidelines and SOPs which have helped reduce risk for his employees, spearheaded the first major climbing permit fee increase in over 10 years, and has set a vision for the program which will provide for an even more effective operation that works safely and efficiently doing the amazing things that the climbing rangers do. In addition, he worked with park staff to envision and implement a webcam for Camp Muir and established network connectivity for the Camp. These items will increase the safety for visitors going up to Camp Muir, and enables supervisory staff to spend more time on the mountain than at their computers in Longmire. Congratulations, Stefan! - Chuck Young, Chief Ranger, Mount Rainier National Park

Silver River State Park

After eating our lunch, Donna and I decided we had plenty of time to do something else before heading home. We tossed around a few ideas and then decided to go to Silver Springs. I have never visited there before and am very much wanting to see it. We drove over there, only to see they were closed! After August 18th they are only open on weekends and holidays. We passed Silver River State Park and decided to try that instead. I asked the girl at the front gate what was at the park and after her giving us the run down we went inside the park. We parked and saw the Cracker Pioneer Village and Silver River Museum, which are only open on weekends and holidays.



We looked at our map, then saw a sign for Sinkhole Trail and decided the sinkhole sounded interesting. We started down the sandy hiking trail, with flip flops, and decided very shortly after that it was hot and we didn't have the best hiking gear on. I also saw on the map that this path was 70 minutes long and we still wanted to do the trail to the river, so we turned around and backtracked at that point. We then took the River Trail so we could see the Silver River. We arrived at the river and I saw an alligator right near the boat ramp.



You can barely see him, but he is to the left of the wooden post. We hung out here a bit, catching our breath and giving my aching calves a rest and listened to all the sounds of nature around us. Then we headed back.



Just as we began to head back, it started to rain. That should have been no surprise to us because we had noted that it felt like it was going to rain, saw clouds and heard thunder. We must have thought we could beat it still, but we did not at all. Since we were so hot and sweaty, the rain felt nice. We were worried about our cameras but once we situated them in dryer spots we laughed the whole walk back to the car. I am borrowing Donna's picture to show you what we looked like when we were done with the trail.



This was not the adventure we were expecting, but then again, they rarely are! It was a great day. Hopefully we will manage to get a few more day trips in again before we head back to Peace River!

Fizik Microtex Handlebar Tape

Last week we replaced the cloth tape on the Co-Habitant's Surly with Fizik Microtec tape. He wanted something that would not get dirty, did not require shellacking, and was not as heavily padded as cork tape.I've been using this tape in red for the past several weeks, so I suggested he try it. We both purchased it at Harris Cyclery, but it's available in many bike shops.



FizikMicrotec bar tape is a synthetic tape with about half the padding of typical cork tape. The perforated surface is smooth, but not slippery. It lies down flat, the edges resist fraying, and the surface stays clean. I know some complain that cloth and cork tape tend to get dirty and frayed, so if you want a bright handlebar tape that is durable and retains its colour, this could be it. Mine looks and feels the same after 300+ miles of sweaty gripping as it did when first installed. But more importantly, this tape could work for those who find cork tape too soft and cloth tape too hard - it is sort of the happy medium.



Although visually the perforations resembleleather tape, there are no tactile similarities. The Fizik tapeis stiffer than leather, and it feels distinctly synthetic to the touch. While I would not describe the surface as slick, I can see how some might find it too smooth - especially if riding without gloves. My preferred handlebar wrap is cloth tape, but on some handlebars - particularly on modern ones that have channels for cables - I feel that I need more padding. The Fizik Microtex tape is durable, easy to wrap, provides just enough padding, and is available in a variety of colours.

Yuccas & Sandia Mountains

This nice view of two different yuccas some gray sage and the Sandia Mountains with a little of Rio Rancho inbetween was also taken on Southern Blvd. in Rio Rancho.

More Rodeo

Bareback bronc riding, my one photo of the team roping, and barrel racing.