Month: August 2013

Categories
Clothing Gear

Sun Sleeves

Sun screen, essential though it may be, is a sticky mess. Even “dry” sunscreen isn’t very nice stuff.  Add to that the necessity of slapping it on all-too-frequently, and you’ve got a prescription for avoidance.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a pair of sun sleeves.  These are made by Specialized; I didn’t research them very carefully, as I wanted them quickly, and sun sleeves have already mostly disappeared from the brick-and-mortar stores I’ve checked (it’s time to stock for fall, don’t you know?), so I hope they do the trick.

Tight bands around my arms — and backpacks — have always been problematic for me, so I’ve had to compromise between keeping my arms from going numb, and getting enough grip at the upper ends of the sleeves in order to keep them on. We’ll see how this works out — maybe I’ll need garters across my collar and back??

Categories
Tours, Trails & Group Rides

The Spoke

While visiting Williamstown, Massachusetts last June I explored the town a bit on Basil, and, not far from where I stayed, I found this bike shop.

It was the end of the day, and I was very sorry, since my experience here was one of the best I’ve had anywhere.  The owner, Nate, loves his shop,  and his employees were cheerful and helpful, too.

I’d read about The Spoke online before I left — at least to the extent of knowing that it existed — but, as the geography in the area was unfamiliar, I had no idea where it was.  When I spied these profiles as Basil and I rode by,  I realized I’d stumbled upon it. (I think these are both Sun cycles: A Spider fat tire mountain bike, and a Tomahawk recumbent.)

There were more bikes out front, but I was eager to get inside.

And whew, what an “inside”!  I stood in open-mouthed wonder for a couple of minutes, trying to take in all I could see.  Basil settled in with the crowd, behind a tricycle and next to a mountain bike, and I asked about fluorescent gloves and blinking lights.

Nate had the gloves in stock in larger sizes, and then checked his catalogues to see what was available.  Not much, as it turned out (and none at all in small sizes) so I’m just hoping that changes before my current set wear out. He took note of the helmet I was wearing, and enthusiastically showed me the newest version — which is now available in fluorescent yellow.  (I immediately regretted having  just purchased my non-fluorescent version right before this trip!)

See those open boxes? They look as if tons of good things are just waiting to be unpacked  .  .  .  actually, the whole store felt like that: Bikes! Bike stands! Gloves, jerseys, fittings, saddles! Tons of helmets (which are behind what you see here)!

Somehow The Spoke has managed to cram a huge inventory of bikes and accessories into a space that feels a lot like an old-time working shop.   Stuff is happening here!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into a bike shop and encountered bored, indifferent, or completely disengaged employees. But not here:   Nate and company appear to love what they’re doing, and it shows.

Williamstown  is a relatively isolated college town in Northwestern Massachusetts, replete with narrow roads and with a forbidding winter; it’s wonderful to know that a great bike shop has survived and thrived there.  Lucky Williamstown!

Categories
Miscellaneous

No Cycling? No Worries

A baby sling works just fine.

This boy is not concerned that Basil and I are grounded. He can catch a ride with Mr. Diarist any time he wants to.

(Why, yes, I am getting a bit desperate — writing a blog post every single day is a bit of a challenge if the whole premise of the blog is temporarily off-limits!  However, I promise no more cats for a while — one way or another I’ll be back on cycling –as a topic, at least — shortly. Like tomorrow.)

Categories
Books

Cyclepedia

I’m spending a lot of hours with my leg propped up these days, which, thanks to the impossible profile, isn’t very conducive to much in the way of ordinary activities.

I am normally a voracious reader, but typically do my reading only just before sleeping, so it’s been a a bit of a shift to implement that activity in the middle of the day.  In lieu of cycling, I’ve been effecting that change with a batch of bicycle-related books.

Cyclepedia is the sole album among my current crop of cycling books, and the title is also the name of a current exhibit at The Portland Art Museum in what is arguably the cycling capital of North America: Portland, Oregon.  The exhibition showcases approximately 40 cycles collected by Austrian designer Michael Embacher; the book itself showcases just over 100.

And what a collection it is, ranging chronologically  from the French Vialle Velastic (1925) with its fantastic carriage leaf spring seat post to the German Hase Pino Tour upright/recumbent tandem (2010) with everything imaginable in-between.

The book is not ordered chronologically, but eccentrically, which added enormously to my reading pleasure. Reading it is like strolling through a private collection, arranged to suit the collector, without any external restrictions imposed. The photos, by Bernhard Angerer,  are clear, stunning, and artful; and the text is just enough — neither wordy nor academic, but perfectly suited to a coffee table work whose primary joy lies in the graphic presentation.

I particularly appreciated the table supplied for each cycle, which allowed for quick and easy comparisons of weight, components, and so.  The volume has no traditional index; instead there is a mavelous visual index, with pages of photos of each cycle neatly laid out with page numbers noted.

There’s quite a lot here for any cycling enthusiast:  plenty of folders, early carbon models, some fascinating tandems, and a couple of exciting tricycles, too.  The majority of the collection seems to date from roughly 1965 forward, but there are three models from the 1920s, and  a number from the 40s and 50s, too.

The “Statistics” page offers a beautiful time-line, with weights (in kilos) and frame materials noted.

My only quibble?  Somehow everyone (beginning, presumably, with the author, and continuing on through the publisher) got Andrew Ritchie’s name wrong. It’s recorded as “Ritchley”, which is a pity, especially in such an otherwise well done work.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Still Grounded

Basil and I are still living life in limbo.  My original small surgery resulted in complications, and the complications have developed complications.  It will still be several more weeks before Basil and  are cycling again.

We’re dealing with it, and trying not to gripe too much. As is often the case, things could be worse.

This little guy had had a much harder time.  He spent a week in hospital unexpectedly, and then had equally unexpected — and much more extensive — surgery. We both have had our stitches removed, but he got the worst of that, too, since he had to have general anaesthesia even for that procedure, which has left him groggy for days afterwards.

Also, he’s still wearing that awful cone.  At least I can groom myself — and Basil, too, for that matter.  Bah, humbug  just the same.

Categories
Luggage My Brompton

New T Frame Mod

Basil can never have too many bags, right?  I own a slew of Brompton bicycle bags (well, three, and the Brompton “basket”), and have made quite a few, too.  Each has its place, but no one is perfect, and there’s always a new idea to play with.

I started with a T bag frame.

This time around, I wanted bag that was as tall as a Brompton T bag, but smaller, narrower, and closed all around with a zipper. So I took the T bag frame apart, leaving only the center section (which I promptly forgot to photograph just after the destruction).

Then I bent 1/2 inch copper tubing into a more-or-less pear-like shape (well, half a pear, anyway).

Once one side was done, I traced the shape onto cardboard, so that I had a fighting chance of replicating it for the other side of the frame.

This sort of thing is much better done in a workshop rather than on a kitchen floor. I managed to pull a muscle in the process of bracing the tubing, and didn’t get the sides perfectly symmetrical. “Hand made” has its flaws.

Then I stuffed each newly-bent side into the T frame.  The resulting bag frame is not perfect, but it will do.   The frame is not substantially less wide at the top than the original T frame, which is what I had in mind, but it is so at the bottom.  Without tools, I wasn’t able to bend both ends as drastically as I would have preferred.

It will do, though. Now all I need is the bag.

(For those new to Brompton bags, each clips to a luggage block on the Brompton bicycle frame.  In most cases, the luggage slips onto a removable inner frame, like the ones above, which have the mate to the luggage block built into the back side of the lower frame.  This allows one frame to support a variety of bags — and also allows for a a lot of amateur experimentation.)