Wild beauty

Isn't he gorgeous?

There must have been condensation on the camera lens, or fog, or a bit of both. I doctored it, but this is the best I could do.

Here's the original:



Ghost bobcat!

I apologize if you're getting sick of the game cam pictures. I haven't found time to take anything new myself, between the cold weather, frenzied soapmaking, and the RAIN. Not a great amount, but we've had a couple of long-slow-all-day rains. I wish we'd get a few more, we really need them.

FC asked earlier whether the camera went through a lot of batteries. Not really, usually. When it's cold like it has been lately -- it's been getting down into the low twenties or teens more often than normal this year -- the battery life is shorter. We always use Duracell batteries. That Energizer bunny is cute, but he ain't got nothing on Duracell when it comes to game cam battery longevity.

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Submitted to the Friday Ark.

Gunks Routes: Something Interesting (5.7+) & The Dangler (5.10a)

(Photo: Mid-route, placing the most important piece of gear on the Dangler (5.10a).)




I usually try to climb on Veterans Day. My office is closed. Since many people don't get the holiday off the cliffs are usually empty.




This year I was supposed to climb with Gail but she had a very busy weekend and on Sunday night she backed out, telling me she was exhausted. She already had a solution figured out for me, however. She proposed I get together with another climber she knew named Marat. We'd never climbed together but we'd met briefly once at the cliff. From our brief conversation that day I gathered Marat was an experienced climber. He seemed fine to me, and if a person as careful as Gail was willing to climb with him then so was I.




Marat and I ended up having a great day together. We started with Grim-Ace Face, a pretty excellent 5.9+. But more on that later. I want to talk now about what we did afterwards.




I felt comfortable with Marat after our first few pitches, so I confessed to him a little dream of mine. I told him I wanted to climb the Dangler.




Now, I say that I "confessed" to Marat because I had this fear in the back of my mind that he would react to my little dream with scorn. You see, some very experienced and well-respected climbers think of the Dangler as a joke. They say it is too short, consisting of just three or four challenging moves. They claim it is contrived. They say it doesn't deserve the 5.10(a) rating Dick Williams bestowed upon it in 2004. (The rating has, no doubt, been adjusted upwards over the years. Todd Swain put it at 5.9 in his 1995 guidebook, and back in the 1980's the Dangler was listed (as a variation to Three Pines) in Richard DuMais' coffee-table book Shawangunk Rock Climbing as a "strenuous" 5.8.)









(Photo: The Dangler in the '80's. Taken from Richard DuMais' Shawangunk Rock Climbing (1985). You tell me, does that look like a 5.8?)




The elites' disdain for the Dangler is likely enhanced by the fact that the route presents such an attractive photo opportunity. The old-schoolers see groups of three or more climbers camping out on the GT Ledge, taking photos and whooping it up while everybody gets a turn on this little climb... it just doesn't fit with their idea of the trad experience.




Personally, I wasn't concerned about any of that. I wanted to try the climb because it looked exciting. Who wouldn't be excited by a perfect horizontal crack at the edge of a long roof, 150 feet above the ground?




The Dangler has been on my "easy" 5.10 list all year. For some reason I was sure I'd have no trouble climbing it. I thought that so long as I could place good pro I would be fine.









(Photo: Getting started on the Dangler.)




It turned out that Marat, like me, had never done the Dangler. And he was more than willing to follow me up it. But first we had to get up there.We decided that Marat would lead the neighboring climb Something Interesting (5.7+) up to the GT Ledge. Then we'd be perfectly positioned for the Dangler.




This was my first time on Something Interesting in a while, but I have led it twice before. It is a great route. The long first pitch follows an obvious slanting vertical crack up the face, all the way from the ground to the GT Ledge. As is typical of Gunks face climbs, the crack provides holds and pro, but no real crack climbing is required. The first time I led the pitch, back in , I thought it was totally cruiser. I must have really been feeling good because I couldn't even tell where the crux was supposed to be. The second time I led the climb I remember feeling tired. On that occasion I remember the crux very clearly at a bulge about 40 feet up. But on that day the whole thing felt like the crux, with several good hard moves amid the general steepness.




This time around, following Marat, I just had fun with it. I don't have much to say about it except that it is very enjoyable, with lots of nice moves. It is a sustained, long, high quality pitch.




I should add here that the second pitch of Something Interesting, which goes from the GT Ledge to the top of the cliff, is also well worth doing. It doesn't have the sustained quality of the earlier climbing, but the opening moves up to a pin and around a corner to the right are good. The easy traverse left that follows and the jug haul up the final corner are also nice. It seems that most people skip this pitch nowadays, which I think is a shame. If you reach the GT Ledge and you're not up for the Dangler, why not continue with Something Interesting instead of going down? Or better yet, move around the corner to your left and do the awesome final pitch of Anguish (5.8).









(Photo: Moving out. You can see here where I messed up a little. The rope is caught around my right leg, but I am unaware of it.)




Once Marat and I were both on the GT Ledge, I moved the belay over to the right and took a good look at the Dangler. Stepping up to the horizontal crack, I placed two good cams. Then I tested out the pose I'd be adopting for the rest of the climb: I reached out and lifted myself off the ledge, getting fully horizontal and locking my left heel into the crack. It felt secure but strenuous, and having gotten the feel for it I stepped down again.




Marat suggested I could get up there, place another piece a little further out, and then step down again before really committing. Seemed like a great idea to me so I did it. Then I looked over my gear-- the cams seemed secure. I could see that more good gear would be available as I moved out the crack. I told Marat I thought we were in good shape.




"You have a three-piece anchor!" he said.




Okay, when you put it that way....




I realized all of a sudden that I had an audience. A party of three had done the route before us and they had paused in their descent to watch us. This made me nervous. I tried to ignore them. (Later they sent me all of the great photos you see here, for which I am eternally grateful. They were from California, visiting the Gunks for the week.)




It was time to go.




I'd never been on the route but of course I already knew what to do. It is hard to climb regularly in the Gunks without seeing some people do the Dangler. I had seen climbers moving out almost to the end of the crack and releasing their feet, pivoting to the right, then hooking their right foot around the final shelf and doing a pull up on good holds to get back into a standing position.




I'd also seen people protect the route rather poorly, which is completely unnecessary. The climb is extremely well-protected if you place the gear that is available. I think some people find it too strenuous to place the gear once they get fully horizontal, however, so they just run it out from the initial placements. It seems to me that doing this risks a swinging fall back into the face of the cliff, which is something I'd much rather avoid.









(Photo: In the final heel hook, getting ready for the pull up.)




When I got fully out there I didn't find it too hard to place the necessary gear. I got a great # 2 Camalot. The heel hooks were solid and I also found some useful holds for the right foot under the roof. You really need just one piece out there, and a number of different sizes would probably work. It took a little bit of hanging in there, but I was able to reach over my head and place the piece (see the photo at the top of this post). I felt really safe once I had that bomber yellow Camalot in place.




Then I let my feet release from the wall so I could swing into the pivot.




And something went terribly wrong. I found myself tangled in the rope. It was disorienting. For a second I thought I must have clipped the wrong strand. I told myself not to panic and to hang on!




It turned out my leg had simply caught the trailing strand of rope. Everything would be okay if I could just get disentangled without falling off. As I waited, hanging in there by my fingertips, Marat whipped the strand to get it loose and in a few moments I was free again. I was now at a disadvantage, however, because I was motionless, in a dead hang over the abyss. My feet were attached to nothing and time was ticking away. I needed to throw my right foot over my head and hook it on the shelf, without any swinging momentum to help me.






I could hear the crowd of onlookers cheering me on. (Thanks, guys!)




Somehow I managed it. I threw my foot over the lip and made the pull-up to get out. Despite the rope snafu I got the onsight. I Dangled-- and Tangled-- and emerged victorious.











(Photo: Finishing up.)






After I got through the crux I kept on going to the chains at the top of the cliff. I didn't think Marat would have any trouble following the route. If you feel your second might need coaching it would probably be wise to build a belay right after the crux or on the next ledge up instead of proceeding to the top.




In retrospect I wish I'd stayed near the crux so I could enjoy the show and take some photos of Marat on the route. He got through it just fine but I could hear some meaningful grunting going on! It would have been fun to watch.











(Photo: Looking back at Marat from just after the crux.)




Having done the Dangler I now say this to you: ignore the haters. This is a great route. The movement is unusual for the Gunks. The climb is not contrived; it follows a perfect natural line. And the pro is excellent. Yes the crux is short, but don't many Gunks classics have short cruxes?




Above all the Dangler is just an exciting good time. I had a big smile on my face for the better part of a week after doing it. I totally scraped up the back of my right leg doing the heel hook and I did not care. It was worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Petunia detail

I had some fun today taking pictures of the flowers Jessica recently planted around the yard. This is my favorite shot of the bunch that I took today. I need to buy a macro lens again for my big camera, I haven't had one now for a few years and I miss it. This was taken with my small point-and-shoot camera, a Canon PowerShot G11. It does nice macro work!

Making a Bicycle Your Own

When getting a bicycle, whether new or vintage, it can be nice to personalise it - to make alterations here and there, so that the bike feels distinctly "ours". I am often asked for advice regarding various aspects of this process, from budget, to component choices, to colour coordination. And while these things are highly personal, there are several general points that I propose keeping in mind.



1. Address functionality and comfort before looks. Prior to buying colourful panniers and covering the bike with flower garlands, make sure the saddle position and handlebar height are properly adjusted for your proportions and postural preference. You may be surprised how much just that factor alone can change the "personality" of the bicycle. And this, in turn, will better inform subsequent aesthetic choices.



2. Personalising the looks of your bicycle need not involve buying lots of costly accessories. Some of the most delightful decorations are also the least expensive. Consider that things like ribbon,faux florals,twine, and stickers can cost mere pocket change. A simple bow in your favourite colour on the handlebars, or some flowers along the edge of your basket, will create an instant, lively transformation. And if you have an old bicycle with scratched up paint? You could turn it into a "zebra bike", "tiger bike", or "bumble bee bike" by wrapping appropriately coloured electrical tape around the frame to create stripes.



Of course, with an older bicycle there is also the option of using paint. You could trylug outlining, hand-painting small panels, or even paintingyour own designs along the entire frame. In Europe I see bicycles hand-painted with flowers, polka-dots, zebra stripes, peace symbols, lady bugs, and all sorts of other simple motifs.A paint pen for lug outlining will set you back around $2. Enamel paint will cost around $6 for a small can.



3. Avoid formulaic accessorising. If you saw it in a magazine or on a popular blog, chances are that so did hundreds of others. Do you really want to spend all that money on limited edition saddles, deluxe grips and exotic tires, just to end up with a bicycle that looks identical to lots of other bikes? Take the time to consider what combination of things would suit you individually, rather than trying to recreate a popular look.



[image via Boston Retrowheelmen]

4. Explore ways to trade and barter with other bicycle owners. The components you no longer want might be just what another person is looking for, and vice-versa. This is considerably more affordable than buying everything new, and can yield interesting results. I acquired some of my best stuff via trades, including saddles, dress guards, a rack, and even an entire bicycle!



In the end, the bicycles that are the most striking and feel the most "yours" are those that reflect your personality - regardless of the budget that went into achieving that.

Below Zero Netherlands

It’s been antartica here in the Netherlands. For 2 weeks already. This is what it’s like living inside the fridge.







My lease car from work died on me the other day. I think the cold triggered the problem. I haven’t heard from the garage yet. It looks like they are struggling to find out what is wrong with the car. In the meantime I’m driving a loaner car.



My other private car is doing fine. We make sure to turn it on and drive the car to the in-laws in the weekends so that it won’t die like the last time. If a car is left unattended for a longer period of time, especially during winter in below zero conditions, it will eventually die, albeit temporarily.







I had a stroll with my client during their lunch break. In Dutch we call it, ‘We gaan even een frisse neus halen.’ This means, ‘Let’s go get some fresh air.’ However, if literally translated it should say, ‘Let’s go get some fresh nose.’ Hehe.



These things, the nuances in the language, you only get to learn in time. After 10 years in this country, my Dutch is fluent. I conduct business in Dutch. I think in Dutch. When I speak English, I throw in Dutch words. But I still learn everyday many things... from new words, new sayings to ways of expressing and writing my thoughts in proper Dutch. Of course, I have an accent, and I have grammar blunders and insecure moments too.



But if I compare myself to other foreigners who have been here for 10 years and more, I think I did very good. My clients and business partners do not believe I’m just 10 years in this country, so that is a good sign. But I tell you, getting to this level with my Dutch wasn’t an easy walk in the park. I have to work VERY HARD for it and I still am actually.







This was taken earlier this afternoon between Dongen and Tilburg.



On other news, we have finished packing about 80% tonight for our upcoming wintersport holiday in the Alps. This will be a whole week of skiing (moi) and snowboarding (Dutchman). Come Friday the holiday feeling will hopefully sink in.

Sand Trails Meet Road Tires

I know that some people are afraid to venture off road on road tires, but you might be surprised how versatile a good road tire can be.

We were cycling along the coast in Wellfleet, Mass., when we came upon this spectacular fire road.

The sand road, which is no more than a narrow trail in some stretches, runs trough several miles of dunes and saltwater marshes. You can see the depth of the sand here by the tire tracks on the left and the foot prints on the right.

There were no other cyclists on the trail and at first we did not think that our bicycles could handle it, but apparently they could. We rode at a slow and even pace without incident, enjoying the gorgeous views that were inaccessible from the road.

We both have 32mm tires on our Motobecanes: mine are Panaracer Pasela Tourguards and his are Continental Ultra GatorSkins. Both of these have good kevlar protection and are pretty fast on the road. Great to know that they perform off road as well. The above photo gives a pretty good sense of the depth of the sand we were able to cycle through. If you have never encountered sand on a bicycle before, the thing to keep in mind is that you should avoid making sudden or sharp turns. If you need to turn, make it a very wide turn and do it smoothly and gradually.

Here is a deeper pile of sand where we had to stop and walk the bikes (or in my case, push the bike forward with my feet). There were a couple of these patches, but not many.

As the trail wound closer to the water's edge, the sand became increasingly wet and covered in shards of sea shells.

Here is a close-up. We rode through that too.

I was worried that the sea shell shards might puncture our tires, and here I am yelling something to that effect. But in the end we decided to go through with it, and que sera sera.

The tires emerged filthy, but intact.

Cycling through the sand felt wonderful, especially since it gave us access to places that would otherwise have gone unexplored. One does not necessarily need a mountain bike just to go on some fire trails, even if they involve dunes and marshes. Invest in good tires with kevlar protection and don't underestimate your roadbike!

Ray of Sunshine

After a night of snow that continued through the morning, I thought for sure this would be a day of working at home. Then suddenly the snow stopped and it grew warm and sunny. And just as I stepped outside to get some coffee, the Co-Habitant came home early due to a change in his schedule. Our eyes met and we knew at once what the other was thinking: Bike ride!

This was the first time we've been on a real ride together in weeks. The Pashleys were ecstatic to finally roam freely in each other's company.

It grew so unseasonably warm, that the snow was all but melted by the bright sunlight.

Only this treacherous footbridge really posed a problem, as it was covered with patches of ice and hard snow. The Co-Habitant sped through it as if it was nothing, but I was more cautious after seeing one jogger after another slip on the ice patches.

When the sun began to set, it was one of those golden sunsets and the views were just beautiful.

I especially love the sun's reflection in the ice formations on the Charles River.

Sunlit cityscape in the distance, with that massive field of cracked ice stretching towards it. So magical.

As the sun set, we rushed to complete the trail loop so as not to be caught there in the dark. The Co-Habitant rides like a maniac, even on the slow and stately Pashley. He is much too fast for me, but I am too arrogant to ask him to slow down - so I brace myself, lean forward on the handlebars (this must look quite comical), and pedal as hard as I can. This time I even passed him a couple of times, which made me realise that riding the Pashley exclusively over the winter months, if only for commuting, has had some effect on my strength. He also complimented my improved leaning technique on turns, which pleased me immensely. Leaning on turns is one of those things that didn't come naturally at all. I guess now I finally got it, because I no longer have to think about it - the lean just happens and I even hold the inner pedal up without realising that I am doing it. It must seem silly to be excited by this, but you have no idea how uncoordinated and unathletic I am. The next goal is to conquer the "steer with your hips" thing. Maybe.

Our sun-drenched afternoon gave way to a surprisingly frigid evening, and after getting off the trail we hurried to seek shelter in a cafe. Once inside, I collapsed on the armchair - realising that I was completely depleted of energy. I was revived by hot coffee and a piece of dark chocolate, but unfortunately once we got outside it was even colder than before. We rode home with incredible speed just to warm up. My legs are now mush and I am so tired I can't think straight - but the ride was a welcome surprise in what has been a decidedly low-intensity season.

Next week I am leaving for Austria again and will be there for a month. Hopefully, when I return to the US spring will be in the air and I will be able to go on long rides again as often as I like. In the meantime, today's wonderful ride will be a nice thing to remember while I am abroad. And I have reason to believe that this time I might actually have a bicycle of my own while in Vienna - the person whose place I will be renting might have a spare. Either way, Lovely Bicycle shall continue relatively uninterrupted as it goes international again.

Georgia Sunrise

Funny thing about how the world turns... for every sunset there is a sunrise. Though ordinary they might be, each one is a sight to behold. I don't often get up early enough to catch the sunrise but on this particular day I was camped along the northern shore of a little inlet on Lake Blackshear in Georgia Veterans State Park and I was awakened by the early morning light. The colors in the sky were magnificent. But, of course, by the time I had gotten around and outside some of the awesome color had dissipated somewhat, but it was still quite nice.






February 1, .. at 7:16 am Central Standard Time.





Taken at 7:29 am.


It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the light changes and the dramatic effects, especially during the times of a sunrise or sunset.

Begijnhof

The spinster’s semi-monastic private community is a secret little place, an inner court stashed nicely in the center of Amsterdam’s medieval quarter away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The Begijnhof is not always easy to find but there are two entrances; one is in the Spui square--this is the brown arched door and the other one is on the side street from the corner of Spui (by Esprit Café). Walk a bit further down the alley until you reach an intersection and you see an arched brick gate.



The begijnhof is open daily from 8AM to 7PM. When visiting here make sure to keep voices down as you are treading on private residential grounds.




On the left foto is the main entrance of the Begijnhof. Middle foto is a garden near the Spui entrance with a sculpture of a Begijn, not sure who she is, could be the famous Begijn Cornelia Arents. Right foto is the entrance from Spui square.





Most of the town houses here are built during the 17th and 18th centuries. Tourists and non-residents are not allowed to venture into this side of the Begijnhof.





Left foto is the Roman Catholic Begijnhofkapel (Begijnhof Chapel). You can see on the middle foto the bell tower of the English Presbyterian Church while on the right foto you can see its entrance. English masses are serviced here.





Left foto is the interior of the Begijnhof Chapel and on the right foto is another section of the Begijnhof. The Black wooden gothic house is probably the most famous house in the hofje and is recently renovated.



The Beginhof, a non-religious organization was formed in the late 14th century for a very noble cause. Many unmarried women from noble backgrounds came to live here with the goal of doing charity to the community without the religious pressures from living in a convent. The begijnen take a vow of chastity but they can always leave if they want to marry.

The last original begijn (I call them semi-nun spinters) died in 1971 and until now only unmarried older women are accepted to live here. There are about 47 town houses in the hofje.

In the begijnhof you will also find the only English Presbyterian Church that offers English services in the Netherlands. Across this church is a Roman Catholic Chapel, the Begijnhofkapel, a much ostentatious one than the English Church I suppose.



The whole begijnen concept is unique so when in Amsterdam do not miss this.

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