The Bikes of D2R2

"This is just... ridiculous," I finally managed to say, looking around in a daze. Laughter. "Didn't you know this is the biggest bike-show ever?" No, I did not!



And I thought I was well-informed about the D2R2 before finally taking part this year. It is a "dirt road randonee" with lots of climbing. It offers glorious views of rural Massachusetts and Vermont. And cyclists travel from all over the Northeast to ride it. But knowing this did not prepare me for the bike festival that unfolded before my eyes. I had brought my camera for the scenery, but before the ride even began I was running around photographing bicycles.





So what bike does one bring to a 70-180 km ride that is infamously hilly and takes place mostly off-road? Wide tires, responsive handling and low gears were the general consensus. Getting more specific, most of the bikes present fit into several distinct categories.





To my amazement, classic steel bikes with wide tires, front racks and French-style handlebar bags were extremely popular. Not that I am not pleased to see that; I am just genuinely surprised that so many of them even exist on the East Coast. 650B wheels were rampant, as were the 42mm Grand Bois Hetre tires.





There were quite a few low trail bicycles, both custom and production, including those by Boulder, Rawland, Weigle and Matchak Cycles.








There were also many vintage refurbishments and 650B conversions - some frames with aftermarket braze-ons, canti bosses and paint jobs, and others unaltered.






Current produciton road-to-trail bikes with standard front-end geometry were also well represented - both with 650B and 700C wheels - in particular the early Rivendell models.





And of course there were Bridgestones.








While mass produced bikes in this categorywere present as well, it seemed to me that the custom, small-batch production, and vintage bikes outnumbered them.Many local custom builders were represented, including Circle A, ANT, Sketchy, IgleheartandWojcik.





Whether modern or classic in style, handlebar bags seemed to be more popular than saddle bags, regardless of a bike's front-end geometry. I am guessing this is because a handlebar bag makes it easier to retrieve items without stopping, while providing a built-in cue-sheet holder.





In equal measure to the fat tire classics group, the other huge category were cyclocross bikes. Their performance-oriented geometry, relatively light weight and clearance for wide tires make them good candidates for riding dirt roads.





Most of the manufacturers represented were local builders: Geekhouse, Independent Fabrications, Seven, Firefly, Tomii, Spooky.






I have never seen so much titanium at one event before, although steel and carbon fiber were also popular.





Some West Coast names made an appearance as well, including Rock Lobster and Vanilla.






The cross bikes were generally outfitted fairly minimally, with only a small bag on the handlebars or behind the saddle. There were some groups and teams present who treated the event semi-competitively and tried to make their bikes as unencumbered with extra weight as possible.






Some even went so far in this regard, as to leave the frames unpainted!





While not as popular as the road-to-trail roadbikes and cross bikes, mountain bikes were a distinct presence. Not the fastest on climbs, and the limited handle bar positions could get tough on the longer routes, but the mountain bikes were great on descents. Terrain was not an issue with their enormous knobby tires.






In the opposite camp were those cyclists who feel quite comfortable riding dirt and gravel on standard roadbikes, fitted with the widest tires the frames and fork clearances would allow - usually 28mm. Some believe there is some speed advantage for those who can manage this. But the drawback is that narrower tires tend to get more flats off road, potentially canceling out any lead time. Of those cyclists I spoke to who'd gotten flats (sometimes multiples) during the ride, most were riding tires 32mm or narrower.





Finally, there was a handful of upright town-and-country types of bikes, including comfort bikes, step-throughs and mixtes. All had wide tires and low gearing and overall their riders looked comfy and happy. While I saw a few walking up hills at several points, this could have been avoided with lower gearing. With the right features, it is quite possible to ride an upright bike comfortably on this type of ride, as long as there is no expectation of keeping up with those on more aggressive machines.






There were a few cyclists hauling trailers with children and pets, which was fun to see, not to mention impressive. Wish I could have captured them in motion.






But I was surprised tandems were not popular. I spotted only two: a Seven and a Burley.






There are many choices for bikes out there for those interested in hilly off-road rides. While the D2R2 seemed to be dominated by custom, vintage, refurbished and otherwise unusual bikes, there are plenty of production models that can meet the requirements as well. Based on my own experience with this ride, I would say aim for wide tires, low gears, and handling that is as responsive as possible without exceeding your comfort zone.




The D2R2 was possibly my favourite ride ever and I will write about it soon. Meanwhile, the full set of bike pictures can be found here.

Birthday Boy

Remember the Straw Brothers? Eric the elder just got older.There's no particular story here, just the very photogenic Eric did some climbing and I took some snaps.







I don't always go with the fall shot, but this one I think retains all the energy and body tensionof the move.I reckon if you hold that exact pose, but get a bit closer to the rock, you should be able to pull that move off.



Everyone deserves a Lei on their birthday.

The statistics on strangulation rates of tropical island belayers is higher than you might expect.

All the gang gobbled up this lush cake in his honour.

6 Inch Howling Coyotes

Small Horse

This is one of my smallest horses in my collection. This colt is only about 1 inch tall and is china. I have 3 blue horses on a wheel that came out of a cracker Jacks box that are only about 1/4 of an inch tall each that are the smallest I have. I couldn't locate them for this photo shot.

Pine Tree on Ridge

Southwick circular

Led by Barry, with Maureen, Eddie, Gordon and me. Fine, coldish wind. 8 miles approx. I managed to screw up my garmin trace. The route is similar to the one we did on 19th September, but slightly longer, and walked in the reverse direction.



We started from Southwick church, and followed the lane where the two benches are. At the bottom end of the lane, if you look to the right, you will see Henrietta, of whom more later.









The lane crossed the stream via a bridge just beyond the ground of the Hall. The path wends its muddy way across the field straight into the woods, but we turned right (east) instead of straight ahead, then later left (north) through Howe Wood.





We followed the path around the wood, turning left alongside the wood, then right along a field boundary. The huge Apethorpe Grange came into view, and we followed the 'diverted bridleway' around the small lake, where we saw three herons, as well as a few gulls. The path took us round more or less three sides of a square, coming out near Lodge Farm. We climbed up gradually pausing for a break at a 'bothy'. (Not often you find a flush toilet out in the sticks!)

The walk continued past Morehay Lawn and into Holey Brookes, where we turned right, then left just before Southwick Wood. The path runs slightly south-west, alongside the wood, and past Boars Head Farm and Cottage, and becomes a surfaced track, leading gently downhill, past Crossway Hand Farm, down to the Southwick Road.



Across the road, we crossed a bridge and followed the path uphill along the hedge as far as the derelict Tottenhoe Lodge. Here we turned left following the hedge, then through a gate and diagonally across the field to another gateway. Here the path dips down into the hollow. There is a stream marked on the map, but even in January, there was no more than a muddy trench with the odd puddle. A bit of a drag up hill to the farm at Provost Lodge, where we walked between two outbuildings, then followed the road until at the top of a slight rise there is a gate, and the path turns left. We continued along the path beside the dried bamboo, past the Short Wood Nature Reserve and emerged on the Glapthorn Road, near the Water Tower. A short half-mile down the road, and we were back at our start point.





Eddie wanted to dip his wellies in water. I wanted to photograph Henrietta (see above). Off we went to the bridge where we met a man with a dog. He told us he'd made the figure, inspired by Henrietta Moraeswho was a 'muse' of Lucian Freud, and Francis Bacon. Bacon's portrait of her is being auctioned at Christie's next month, as it happens.





Bill Richardson, a resident of Southwick for 76 years, also showed me these two works representing the changes in agriculture over the period.



































I was reminded of the implement gate we saw at Holly Lodge near Moulton, on Monday 8 August . No connection apparently.





Bill Richardson also made the stone village sign, which I'll photograph later, and produced a book (The Arm of Coincidence?) under the name of Bill James.



- health warning - chunk in middle where I'd switched tracker/timer off, and chunk at end part of homeward car journey

Ice, Snice and a good Screw...

Here is another recycled bit from 2/1/10 early last winter.







I wrote the following on 2/28/08



"Ice screws? If you are not currently climbing with the newest generation of Grivel screws you are wasting energy. I’ve tried EVERY new screw design currently on the market, in almost every snow and ice condition you can think of. With all due respect to Black Diamond, and with no hype, no bs, there is no other manufacture even close to Grivel's current production. The Grivel screws are as revolutionary to ice climbing as Jardine's Friends were 30 years ago. Big statement I know. But placing good gear, easily, where you want it instead of were you could makes climbing much, much easier and a lot safer."



"To support my comments I have the newest Grivels (360s and Helix) and both models of the newest BD screws on my rack now. I'll stand by my original comments as the Helix being the best of the bunch the majority of time. Although the 360 is good may be even a toss up with the BDs..although the BDs rack/stack and deploy much easier. The BDs just don't start or cut ice as easily. I am not a big fan of the 360, wacky hanger design, although the 360 does have an advantage over all of them in tight placements."



"Sitting here at the key board I see that the BD screw has longer initial teeth and a thinner tube profile. Both of which should be an advantage over the Grivel chewing into ice. Grivel threads start a bit shallower at the teeth (by 1/10s of an inch). Which technically means it will start a bit quicker but it isn't much. The thread designs are totally different from Grivel to BD. Grivel's finish is obviously smoother. All issues which will make a difference +/- in performance.



I'll easily admit both Companies offer good products and everyone develops there own preferences."



In the past two years, I have learned a lot about ice screw manufacture. The level of nickel plating, the weight of ice screws, the differences in thread, tooth and tube profiles and the inside diameter of the tubes. I've looked at the hanger designs and how that effects racking and initial placement.



In design and manufacture I would have thought that the newest BD screws would have been the best available. I've seen a multitude of in house tests that show all sorts of info why the BD or the Grivel tubes are the "best".



I am a big believer in numbers so the other day I pulled out a few more brand new BD Express screws to make up for the other half of my Helix rack I would leave at home. Off I went, fat, dumb and happy to the local ice crag.



Mind you the climbing wasn't hard...WI4 and good feet but really bad ice. Ice was covered with snow in many places, terribly chandelier and thin. Scary enough for me that many times I was placing two screws at a time hoping to get at least one solid screw if I wasn't hitting rock. Not a technique I would normally use or recommend so you can get an idea on my mind set. In 130 feet I placed 9 screws as pro. 6 of them were placed as 3 pairs.



Once again I got a clear picture of the actual physical differences between BD and Grivel screw placement. I then spent part of the afternoon today, resharpening the same batch of screws, both BD and Grivel.



Some of my observations I found interesting while doing the sharpening. The BD screws remind me of a fine honed razor knife. Really sharp but something that won't hold an edge for long or be very durable. Cuts well till it gets dull. But the thinner side walls and razor edge dulls quickly in my experience. The Grivel on the other hand have more of what I would call a "combat edge", that stays sharp even with some abuse. Both take some effort to resharpen to factory spec.



I don't particularly like the 360. I find the crank and hanger too cumbersome in use. So I generally don't use it. The Helix marginally better. But enough better that I prefer its down sides over the additional effort to place a BD Express. I have no loyalty to any gear manufacture be it BD or Grivel. My loyalty is guaranteed by what works.



So I used the Helix on water ice almost exclusively. But because of the huge weight savings over any other steel screw I take the BD Turbos into the alpine...for water ice or snice. There is so little "real" difference in use between the two brands. But the weight difference is a "big" thing. 20g or close to 1 oz in a 6 oz screw.



Last winter a BD Express literally saved my live while being lowered off a thin lead and one of my two screws popped out of marginal snice. Another place where I had set a pair of screws hoping for the best. A pair of BD Express this time and the only gear 60 feet out, set in a tiny patch of "hope and a prayer" snice, 10" apart. The first screw popped within milliseconds after taking full body weight! The second took the dynamic load and then held, thankfully. My guardian angel had to work over time for a few months last year :)



Screws are really expensive these days. BD Express or the Grivel Helix can be had for $55/60.

I pay retail for mine and it is painful. I'd suggest you "try before you buy" if it is possible.



A comment from a buddy I trust, Doug Shepard, doing a BD Turbo Express review in Dec of '07.





"How is real world performance? These things rock!



They start easier than my old BD screws. At least as fast to start and place as the Grivel 360 screws in my opinion, which I thought was the fastest screw on the market to place. Combined with the multiple clip-in points, this screw takes what is great about the Petzl Laser (ease of use), the Grivel 360 (extremely easy to start), and the old Turbo Express (durability and ease of racking) and duplicates or improves on each idea.



Multiple partners have all commented on how much easier the new Turbo Express screws are to start, place, and remove. They are an all-around improvement over the old model. Only time and extended use will tell how durable they are compared to the old model and competing products."





Bottom line? You can get too anal about some things :) I am about ice screws for sure. To some extent it is personal preference and what you are most used to climbing with. Between the BD and Grivel the difference is little. Obviously I have a preference and I am sure the BD crew cringes and roll their eyes, rightfully so, when I post something like this, while Gioachino @ Grivel rubs his hands in glee.



The newest generation of ice screws are amazing. In many ways they have opened up much of the new mixed terrain and allowed the old "classics" to be done faster and much safer. There are no losers here.

Coyote

A fisheye view of the ice

Check out this photo of me taken at sunset yesterday by Bryan Hansel. He used his fisheye lens to make this shot. I think it's super-cool! I took a break from photos today and didn't even pick up my camera once... so yes, if anyone is wondering, I do have "camera-free" days :-) What I did do was go cross-country skiing for the 2nd time in almost 20 years. Skied about 12 to 13 kilometers and it felt GREAT! The temp was pretty warm but the track was good and it was an awesome ski with friends!

The ice return

Laura and I decided to take the trip toour local cliffsto see what we could climb. We found that the ice has mostly recovered from the warm snap,although most of the longer routes need a little more time to be safe. The weather forcast calls for cooler temps this week and by next weekendmost linesshould be in great condition. We ended up getting a late start and only did one line, but we sure did pick a good one. The line was about 150' long and had some serious funkiness to it. The bottom was nice and phat (but took much removal for good reliable sticks).As I got towards the middle of the route the pillar got worse with very new unreliable surface ice. A nice rest made above this section made the final push to easier ground very doable. The upper section was very thin and didn't take very good screws. The last 20' of steepness was a horrorfest of hollowed out shit from the previous freeze. The final topout was an overhanging lipconsisting of sloppy mud on my right andon my left was a 300+lb block of oldice with nothing but 10" of air between it andthe wet rock.Not really sure what was holding it in place. My last piece of gearwas 15+ feet below me. It was my last long screw into a blob of ice not fit for the using.It made it toabout the 4th thread. After a serious hesitation, mental prep.and almost sharting in my goretex, I commited to the final moves of mud and deathblocks.It seemed like an eternity, but I made it to the tree and slung it with pride.Iwas happy to be standing in 3" of muck and water for my belay. I cringed as I peeped down over what I had just overcome. I swapped golves to bring life to my hands. They were wet and cold from being onthepitch for 1hr. and 15min. I'm sure Laura was freezing from her extended belay session, so I quickly put her on and got her climbing. She did very well coming up the steep section and made quick work through the easy section. The top proved to be tricky for her as well as she rolled herself onto the top, muck and all. No style points, but success was ours. We setup a rap madeour way to the ground. Wedecidedone was enough and opted to head home. Our day was not without incident though.I ended up gettingnailed by a UFO on the back while cleaning upropes. It left a nice knot on my back. Wrong place, wrong time. All in all it was a great day. Wedubbedtheline G Gully WI5- with fullpucker rating for the topout in current conditions. Here's a few photos from today!

Muir Snowfield and the Disappointment Cleaver Route

Check out this 2x6 style of crevasse crossing. The image was snapped over the weekend (thankfully the board didn't)... The lumber has since been pulled, so now climbers must find another way around the crevasse. Here's more on the DC...

I received a few comments about the ice mass on the Muir Snowfield. Avid Rainier skier Ron Jarvis had this to say,

"When I started playing on Rainier in 1991 there were no dismounts required while skiing from Muir to Pebble in late summer/fall and as I recall that seemed to be the case right up until the last 2 or 3 years (dementia notwithstanding :-) ).

I would also add that similar conditions (volume/snow-ice depth) also seem to be the case on the contiguous neighbor to the east, the Paradise Glacier."

Leavenworth Givler's Dome ..

Adam and I discussed an outing, but I had to be back in town in time for my class. So cragging was an obvious choice. I wanted to do something that involved placing gear and not just clipping bolts, so I convinced Adam to head to Leavenworth. Being that it is November we didn't get an early start, as it is usually a little too cold in the mornings to make climbing not fun. When we arrived in the Icicle, the temp was around 36° and clouds/fog were keeping us from direct sunlight.

November morning in the Icicle

Our plan was to hike up to Givler's Dome to climb Givler's Crack. This extra 45 minutes of hiking would give us more time for the day to warm up. Within ten minutes or so we were above the fog and receiving the warmth of the sun. We got off route a few times on the way up and had to scramble a bit to get back on track, but eventually made it to the base.

Since Adam was not up to leading the route, I would lead both pitches. And for whatever reason, the first pitch scares me. Perhaps because I flailed on it the first time I climbed the route. I've climbed it twice since then with no problems though. I placed a nut high and started up. I found the hands difficult as I had placed the piece where it interfered where I wanted to put them. I down climbed to the ground and restarted. After a few moves, I placed a second piece which then interfered with further hands. But I was able to move past it and continue. I finished the pitch feeling like it was the worst I had ever climbed it.

I brought Adam up and he had to hang on the rope to remove my stuck #4 from down low. He then climbed the second half of the pitch not using much crack technique for his hands. He arrived at the belay stating the first section wasn't as hard as I made it look.

Adam on the first pitch

We exchanged gear, and I was off leading the next pitch. I don't recall how I previously climbed it, but this time I wanted to try and keep my feet in the crack as much as possible. This proved a bit uncomfortable, but I persevered. Instead of going all the way to the top, I set up an intermediate belay once the angle eased, so I could see Adam climb. Unfortunately, the best spot for a comfortable belay did not offer a good view of the pitch, and I only got pics of him on the last portion of the pitch.

Adam on the second pitch

When Adam arrived at the belay, he kept going to the top finishing with the easy section to the boulder. We quickly hiked down to our packs. We took a lunch break and basked in the sun before heading to another destination, Rare Earth.

Adam finishing the route

For the second time this year, the Rare Earth crag has eluded me. Adam and I hiked around trying to find it, but wasted all of our time. Even consulting the newer guide book was unhelpful as it shows the crag to be down and right of Mastodon Roof. Turns out it is really down and left of it. After almost two hours of scrambling, hiking and bushwhacking, we found it but not with enough time to complete it and get back to Seattle. So we made note of where it was at, and hiked out.

It was great to be out on such a beautiful November day. It was a bummer that we only climbed one route. And even though we pitched it out to three pitches, it really is only two. I think we'll have a better idea of how to find Rare Earth the next time as well. I think this trip satisfied my urge to get out and rock climb, and perhaps my next trip this year will be to climb snow or ice.