A couple of moonlight exposures...

After my snowshoe hike yesterday I couldn't resist taking a few moonlight exposures when I got home. It was such a sublime night.... very mild for early February, with a temperature right around 30 degrees. The image above is of my house, taken from the snowshoe trail which leads down to the lake. The image below is of some icicles hanging from a rock on the beach in front of my house. Both are 30 second moonlight exposures! Enjoy...

(Below: I threw this one in just for fun. Its a piece of ice from the Lake Superior shoreline in front of my house. Isn't it amazing how clear it is? It was about an inch thick.)

Clipless vs Power Grips

After using Power Grips for the past two years, last week I switched to a clipless setup (Crankbrothers Candy 3 pedals and Mavic Cyclo Tour shoes). Having ridden with the new setup for about 100 miles now, it's pretty clear that I will be sticking with it. And while the feel of riding with Power Grips is still fresh on my mind, I wanted to compare my impressions of the two systems.



The purpose of both Power Grips and clipless pedals is to provide foot retention, which many roadcyclists find useful. Power Grips are thick diagonal straps that bind your feet to the pedals while still allowing easy escape. They can be worn with street shoes. To extract your foot, you must slide it back while rotating the heel outward. Clipless pedals contain binding mechanisms that latch on to the cleats attached to the bottom of cycling shoes. They can only be worn with special shoes.To extract your foot, you must rotate the heel outward until the cleat disengages from the pedal.



As far as foot retention, I do not feel a huge benefit to using clipless over Power Grips (assuming that the Grips are adjustedtightly). In two years of using the latter, never once have my feet accidentally come out. With the clipless setup, the connection to the pedals is more secure and more precise, but in all honesty I am not sure it's necessarily "better" as far as power transfer and what not, at least not for someone at my current level of ability. I have not noticed any difference in speed after switching to clipless.



The ease of clipping in and unclipping feels about the same. Having found a brand and model of clipless pedals I am comfortable with, I do not experience difficulty using them. Clipping in does require more precision than sliding my foot inside a Power Grip, but once mastered it is actually faster. Clipping out is very similar to extracting my foot from a Grip, requiring the same rotation of the heel. The time it takes me to unclip is about the same.



The main reason I prefer my new clipless setup to Power Grips - and this was entirely unexpected - is that I find it considerably more comfortable.I had not even realised how much discomfort I was experiencing until I switched to the clipless shoes. Before I would occasionally get blisters and numbness from the straps, which is no longer an issue. And it's great not to feel anything pressing down on top of my feet. I do not feel the spots where my shoes attach to the pedals, so there is no pressure on the soles of my feet either.



Needless to say, these are all just my personal impressions and are by no means intended as some definitive verdict. I've been getting requests for a comparison and did not want to wait until the memory of using Power Grips faded. As before,I think Power Grips are a fantastically useful product for those who do not feel comfortable with clipless pedals or simply do not want the commitment of having to wear special cycling shoes on their roadbike. I have done paceline rides and fast group rides with Power Grips, and it's been fine.That said, the difference in comfort I've experienced makes me glad I've finally mastered clipless, and I don't see myself going back.

In Defense of Bad Weather

All week long people have been apologising for the weather. It's been raining severely for at least a portion of every day that I've been here. But the thing is, I really don't mind. And it is certainly not ruining my stay here.



Consider, for instance, that some of the most dramatic scenery emerges in bad weather. The gathering of storm clouds. The mist rising over the glens. The waves crashing onto rocky shores. Tall grass windswept. These things cannot be captured - or seen, for that matter - without this so-called "bad" weather.In the rain, colours look brighter, more saturated. The smell of flowers grows more intense, Textures come out that are not otherwise visible.



In bad weather, you get to know a place better. Any spot can look charming in the sunshine and under blue skies. But how will it look in the rain and under the shadow of storm clouds? Some places are rather depressing as soon as the weather turns bad; others are breathtakingly romantic.



They say rain is good for your complexion, that it makes your skin radiant and restores elasticity. Just think: Every time you are out in the rain, you are really getting a beauty treatment.



In the rain the country roads are mostly empty - ideal for cycling in peace and tranquility while enjoying views unobscured by cars and tourists.



It's a clichéto say there is no such thing as bad weather, and I don't really believe that anyway. There are tornados, hurricanes, lightning storms, blizzards. But some heavy rain? I get my camera, check my brakes, wear waterproof clothing, turn my lights on, protect my equipment inside a bicycle bag, and enjoy the ride. No need to apologise, Ireland - the weather is lovely!

The Joslin Sisters Photograph

The photo below is of four of the daughters of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin. It has been retouched to remove some writing that partially identified three of the four women. From that, and comparison of other photographs that have been identified, the ladies are:

• at left, Roxie Arminta Joslin Parkison (1853-1941)
• top, Anna Eliza Joslin Klingaman (1844-1885)
• right, my 2nd Great Grandmother, Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower (1849-1937)
• bottom, Mandella "Della" Joslin Quillen (1866-1943)

The only daughter not pictured, that would have been living at the time, was Ida Blanch Joslin Dressler Lewis (1863-1937). There is a picture of Ida and her husband at the bottom of this post. A picture of Lysander and Lydia can be found in this post.

I received the scanned image from a fourth cousin, Jane (descendant of Roxie), in April .. about six months after we made contact via the internet. She received the image file from another descendant of Roxie.

We don't know where or when the picture was taken but Anna Eliza died in July 1885. Della was married at the age of 17 in July 1884, perhaps they got together then. Malissa was living in Whitley County, Indiana at that time while Anna Eliza lived in Jefferson County, Iowa. Roxie was probably still in Barton County, Kansas as was Della.

Just Another Sunset...

These pictures almost weren't taken. As I was sitting at the picnic table at the Sebastian Inlet State Park Campground, getting eaten up by the tiniest little critters I have ever seen, I decided to go for a walk. I usually take my camera but for some reason didn't this time. As soon as I got to the road and saw the clouds over the water, I turned around and went back for it.

Interesting clouds. Nice, yes?
But I didn't think the sunset was all that spectacular.
I should have known better.
4:53 p.m.

But then I walked further down the road.
And the sun got lower.
And the clouds changed.
And I zoomed in a bit.
5:04 p.m.

A change of position and I zoomed in a bit more.
5:06 p.m.

Just a little further down the road.
5:14 p.m.

It just got better with each passing minute.
5:17 p.m.

And then it was over.
5:22 p.m.

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

One version of the History of Taps

I can't pass up a good sunset. Especially one that combines clouds and water. The perfect subjects. Mother Nature showing off yet again.

Just as a side note, the only “adjustment” made to these pictures was to resize them for posting to the blog. The colors and contrasts are just as they were captured by the camera. All I did was press the shutter button. They are, quite simply, Mother Nature at her awesome best!

Posted from the Brevard County Public Library, Melbourne Branch. Thanks to their free Wi-fi.

Salty Roads and Salty Air

The past few days in Boston have been interesting. A snow storm was expected on Tuesday morning, and several towns pre-emptively salted the roads in anticipation. It did snow a bit, but a big storm never came. What did come was a stretch of severely cold, windy days. The resulting landscape has been one of the more bizarre sights I have ever seen along my commutes: white roads, white trails, white mist - all of it very much resembling snow, except that it's salt.



The overzealous road treatment has its benefits. Despite riding in sub-15°F temperatures in the suburbs after a mild snowfall, I never had to worry about sleek road surface conditions. It was wonderful actually: I had lots to do and my mobility was in no way impaired as it sometimes is on days like this. Even the trail along the Charles River was thoroughly ridable, which has been great for avoiding heavy traffic on the roads during rush hour.




Still, the drawbacks are impossible to ignore. The salting has been so extreme, that over the course of two days it's hurt my face, mouth and eyes. It isn't difficult to imagine what corrosive effects it must be having on vehicles, including bikes, and what damage it must be doing to the environment. Many locals have expressed concern over this, succinctly summarised on the Boston Streets website.



Boston Streetsrefers to the decision to salt roads as the “windshield perspective,” linking it to the assumption that "everyone gets around inside a glass-enclosed, climate-controlled vehicle" and believing that it shows "utter disregard for the pedestrians, bicyclists, dog-walkers, and water-drinkers among us." I am following this debate with interest, eager for an alternative yet effective solution. As a cyclist, I must admit that I have enjoyed the salted roads (and bike lanes and trails) for the increased mobility they have afforded me this winter, so it had not occurred to me to interpret the practice as car-centric. But I am concerned about the environmental and corrosive effects, as well as the possible harm to my health (what else do they mix with the salt, and is it good for me to be swallowing it every day?).



The real issue, as I see it, is that any city trying to make itself over as a "cycling city" - as Boston and other North American cities with harsh winter climates are doing - needs to have a plan not just for the warm months but also for the cold. Unfortunately, we do not. Boston removed the Hubway bike share stations in November, posting a"closed for the season" message on their website. The Charles River Trail is being plowed this winter not due to bike-friendly city policy, but to the sponsorship of New Balance(thanks guy), which is done mainly for the benefit of runners and joggers, not transportation cyclists.



I am conflicted about the salting of roads. I do not like to criticise unless I can offer an alternative solution, which in this case I cannot. Something to think about as I thaw my chapped, salt-burned face after this evening's travels. It's broodle out there.

Aftermarket Dynamo Lights: a Clean Look

When setting up dynamo lighting on a bicycle with no provisions for it (i.e. no internal routing or special braze-ons), there is always the question of how to route the wiring so that it looks "clean." After all, no one likes to see black wires coiled around a frame's fork and tubes. When setting up the lights on my Rivendell some time ago, the Co-Habitant and I developed a nice method that is practically invisible, and I've been meaning to share it. So when we recently did the same to my Bella Ciao, I made sure to document it.

This method assumes that your bicycle is equipped with fenders, and that you are installing both a headlight and tail light. I will also assume that you already know how to connect the lights themselves; this is not meant to be an electrical tutorial.

The key to our method is using as little wiring as necessary - running it in a straight line parallel to existing stays and tubes, as opposed to coiling it, and securing it with colour-matched zipties. It's a simple idea, but colour-matched zipties really do blend in with the bicycle when all is said and done. You may be surprised to learn that they are available in all sorts of colours - from bright rainbow hues, to neutrals such as clear, white, cream, taupe and gray. We use small gray zipties to route the wire from the tail light along the non-drivetrain side fender chainstay.

In natural light, the result looks like this.

We then proceed along the non-drivetrain side chainstay, using a larger colour-matched ziptie. This frame is a sort of pale military green, and this beige ziptie blends in nicely.

Continuing the same underneath the bottom bracket.

In natural light, the wiring really does "disappear" when routed in this manner, staying close to the chainstay.

If your frame already has shifter cable braze-ons on the downtube as this one does, then you can simply attach the wiring to the shifter cable itself (small black zipties this time). Otherwise, use two large colour-matched zipties for the dwntube, like we did here.

For the headlight, you will need to leave enough wire so that your ability to turn the handlebars is not constricted. We prefer to achieve this by creating a coil here. To do this, simply wrap the wire tightly around a pen or a stick.



And voila, there is your coil. Notice the additional ziptie along the shifter cable, just to keep everything neatly in place.



Finally, use the same colour-matched zipties along the fork as you did along the chainstays, routing the wire to the hub as tautly as possible.



Even frames with internal routing often lack provisions for the fork, and here I find it especially important to find zipties in a colour that blends in with the paint - otherwise it can look as if the fork is cut into pieces, its elegant curvature disturbed. I am using my camera flash to show the process, but in daylight this really looks quite unobtrusive.



In natural light up close.



And from further away.



Having used this method on three bicycles now, I am pleased with it and don't particularly covet frames with provisions for internal routing. Nothing has ever come loose, and visually I am pretty happy with it. You are welcome to use our method, or to share your own.