Volcano's Out

Climbing rangers have recently been spotted in the park. Check back soon for some updates related to climbing, skiing, and park access. Hope everyone had a good winter!

Happy Birthday to Aric and I

I realized on my last post that it was post #999, which means my birthday post is #1,000. That is a lot of blog posts for someone who did not want to do a blog to begin with!



Today was Aric and I's birthday, and since he took his week's vacation and spent it with us, that meant we celebrated the day together. We went down to Sumter Landing during the day and ate lunch there and spent at least two hours at Barnes and Nobles looking at all the books we would love to read. We then walked around and shopped together. As usual, we enjoyed the special golf carts we ran across there.



We came back home to cool off some, and then headed back down to the latest square and had dinner at City Fire Restaurant and watched Man of Steel at the movie theater there. It was a nice, quiet day for us but the fact we were together made it a great birthday for me.

Orcas Island ..

In a stroke of luck I had off for two days while my father in law would be camping in the San Juan Islands. So Jennifer and I hatched the plan to join them on Orcas Island.



After Jennifer got home from work on Sunday we packed up and drove up with the intention of Mirabelle sleeping in the car. It worked and soon we she was running around on the Ferry having the time of her life, interacting with others, and enjoying the wind and views.



After the hour boat ride, a reasonable car ride got us to our campsite in Moran State Park. We had grand ambitions of heading to the summit of Mount Constitution for the sunset, but by the time we were done preparing dinner, we were all ready to call it a day. Our guests would be meeting us the following morning and we wanted to be ready.



I awoke early and went for a hike near the campground while waiting for them to wake up. When I got back we had breakfast and then attempted to hike to Cascade Falls from our campground. We stopped a tenth of a mile short of the falls at a small waterfall where Mirabelle got to play with rocks and leaves before we headed back to the campground.



At the campground we found our relatives and hatched the plan to drive to the false summit of Mount Constitution and hike to the summit to give Mirabelle a nice nap, and conserve energy so she could walk down the trail. Mirabelle slept from early on to the Summit Lake and then proceeded to do her own hiking for most of the final mile on her own. Making the hike a bit longer than anticipated to reach the summit.







We stayed a while on the summit taking in the fantastic views while Mirabelle played with a new friend on the rocks.






Mountain Lake and beyond






Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters group



Then Mirabelle got into the pack for the significantly shorter hike back to the car. We then drove into town (Eastsound) and had dinner before retiring to camp.



The following morning we were leaving, so we opted for a short hike to the beach at Obstruction Pass State Park. Mirabelle did the hike in by herself, and played/explored on the beach while we explored and took dips in the refreshing water.



Then we made a quick hike back to the car and an even quicker ride back to the ferry to be on time at the dock.



This was Mirabelle's first two night camping trip and she loved it! Hopefully we'll get a few more trips in the next weeks before it may get too cold for her.

Wordless Wednesday :: Schooldaze ~ Fifth Grade

Of all my school pictures, this is my favorite!

How The Cokinos Brothers Came To America One At A Time

The Cokinos Brothers came to America one at a time, one after another. The eldest, Adam, came first and let me tell you, the town they came from was tiny-a one donkey burg-way over the Peloponese Mountains a long way from Athens. Farming and the sea were the top two industries-and still are. Then there is the monastery - the one my father always threatened to send me to if I didn't straighten up. They could have used me. When we went to visit in 2005-only three nuns were left, and they weren't spring chickens. (They call it a monastery;we would say convent) Anyway, it just boggles my mind that my Papou and his brothers ever got out of Dodge way back at the turn of the century over those mountains and down to a port. My grandfather, Panos (Peter) Kokinos came on a steam ship called the Georgia and arrived in America on October 7, 1905. It took him thirty days to get here. The eldest brother, Adam had already arrived and opened a candy store on K Street. They worked together making candy and icecream by hand in the basement until there was enough money for Peter to open his own store at 1103 H Street NE. In 1909, another brother, Dionisios arrived, but he decided not to stay. Then after WWI, they sent for their brother, Alec who lived with his brother, Peter until he got married.

Meanwhile back in Greece, somewhere in the countryside near Sparta, a man walked out to his yard, and a bullet mowed him down. No one knows why. He left behind a daughter, Panyiota, my Yiya, who was soon shipped off to America to live with her brother, Tom and his wife, Christina in New Jersey. Fortunately someone knew a lonely Greek bachelor in Washington who had a candy shop, and no one to share it with. Peter got on a train and went to looK her over. He was a much older man, but a handsome one. In later years, with every story, he would always get older, and Paniyota much younger. The Greeks never put much weight on actual birthdays. At any rate, at age 30, 35 or 40, Peter wasn’t getting any younger back then. They were married at 3 p.m. on July 30, 1914, and took the 6 p.m. train back to Washington.

My father, George, was born at home -919 11th Street NE-right around the corner from the candy shop. He wasn’t allowed to sample so he took to wearing a big overcoat with lots of pockets-winter and summer-and soon lost all his baby teeth to his sugar habit. He didn’t speak English until he got to kindergarten at Wheatley Elementary. The candy stores did great, but then Woolworth’s moved into the neighborhood around the mid 1920s. Adam had bought a farm way out in Rockville, and Peter had bought property at the end of the trolley line - where the street car turned off Wisconsin Avenue at Macomb Street and went on to American University. Peter built almost a block's worth of storefronts that he rented with apartments upstairs. It was going to be his retirement. You can see this building today - it has big fake cactuses out front and is mostly occupied by the restaurant Cactus Cantina.

Adam also had a retirement plan of living in the country. He bought a farm near Tuckerman Lane in Rockville. Unfortunately, his caretaker smoked in bed, and that was the end of that plan. Uncle Adam sold his candy store to the Vilanos family and ended up moving up to Philadelphia, where his wife came from. He started a coffee company up there.

Peter opened another candy shop on Macomb Street, but this time there were no customers. No people lived out there. The workmen building the cathedral would come by though, asking for lunch, so Panyiota ran upstairs and made them soup. Soon the Macomb Cafeteria was born, and they were in business again.

Alec moved uptown with them. Meanwhile, the Haramkapolos brothers had just brought their sister, Koula over from Greece where according to legend, she couldn’t find a man that was good enough to be her husband. Then she met Alec, and when she shook hands with him, she decided he was the one. Koula and Alec were married in 1926 and lived in the apartment over Burka’s liquor.
So that is how the Cokinos Brothers came to America... and stayed.

Thoughts of Spring

Even with the two weeks of cold, nasty winds we have been having my thoughts have been turning to spring. The days are longer and the birds have started singing as they look for mates. Since we finished the sunroom on the back of the house I decided to try some summer bulbs in pots. I put in a bleeding heart that hasn't come up yet, and a couple of lilies that are about 3 inches now, and some Dutch Iris that are the small grass-like blades that you can just barely see in the pots. I brought in a couple of pots of nasturtiums and one of allisum last spring. They have done better than I expected if not a lot of blooms. The bright orange and yellow ones were like reminders of things to come even if there weren't many.

Settling In

We are all settling in and finding our groove still. We are adjusting to Austin being back with us and he is adjusting to having parents again. It is always interesting when your offspring spends extended time with someone else because they just tend to change a bit when they do that. Especially when teenagers and experiencing a place where people live their lives a lot differently than your home does.



I think it is so good for them though so it's worth whatever bumps go along with that process. I love seeing how it has stretched his view in some areas and how much he is still the same in others. All part of the growing and learning that happens as part of being a person.



I'm also grateful that we have family that let him spend that time with them. He will no doubt have fond memories of that time for years to come and he knows the family better due to the time to bond more deeply. Family is so important to Austin, so it's one of the greatest gifts to him to be able to spend time there with them. Thank you for allowing that to happen.



As far as what we are doing here, well not much. We are having very slow and lazy days. We are playing pickleball some. Austin is tinkering and playing with his new favorite toy, a motorcycle. I gotta give him much praise on how patient he was to wait to ride the bike, since he actually bought it last spring and had to wait to ride it until now. He mostly uses it to ride to the Y, where we bought him a membership so he could work out.



Beyond that we are situating our lot the way we want it to be and figuring out what our lives will look like this winter. I think Ava rolls with the punches better than the rest of us, as long as she has a window seat view of the action that is!

Bicycle Trainers and Winter Withdrawal

[1884 trainer, image via Wikipedia]

I am curious to know how many of you out there use bicycle trainers. I am now seriously considering one, as mywinter roadcycling situation is truly dire. The frequent snow is making it impossible to plan rides, and all the muscle tone I'd built up over the Spring, Summer and Fall is slowly but surely disappearing. I am starting to feel lethargic and out of shape. There is a lot ofpininggoing on -and it's only the start of January!



Bicycle trainers are a new concept for me and I have no idea what to expect. To what extent does being on one resemble actual cycling?Can they be used with fixed gear bikes?Is fluid necessarily better than magnetic? I don't want rollers, I don't want the trainer to be noisy, and I don't want anything overly complicated - but otherwise I have no idea. Please chime in, and no doubt your comments will be useful to others who are considering this as well. A trainer cannot replace the thrilling experience of riding a roadbike on the open road, but it can at least help me stay in shape while still interacting with my own bicycle. It's going to be a long winter...

Affording Beautiful Bicycles... and Other Things You Love

Many people who are not "into" bikes consider the cost of a new lugged steel bicycle (such as a Pashley, Rivendell, etc.) to be much too high. I sometimes get comments such as "I love your bicycle! How lucky. Wish I could afford that." These comments leave me with mixed feelings. First, because I think the person could afford it, if they really considered it a priority. And second, because statements like those imply that I must be economically privileged compared to them - which is almost always untrue. If you love something that happens to be expensive and really wish to own it, there are ways to afford it. You just need to think creatively and be prepared to restructure your lifestyle. The goal of this post is not to give advice, but to describe my own experience - which I hope might be helpful to some.



For some years now, I have recognised that quality and aesthetics are extremely important to me, and that I enjoy owning, using and collecting certain things very much - to the extent that I am quite willing to sacrifice other things in my life to have them. What was necessary, I realised, was simply to identify those items or activities I would be willing to sacrifice. Perhaps there were all sorts of things I was including in my lifestyle out of habit that did not need to be there. If I could endure going without them, it would free up funds for the things I had always dreamed of. So these are the areas of my life where I save in order to afford the things I truly want:

1. Living arrangements: We live in a very small apartment. It often feels cramped, but the rent is low.

2. Television: We do not have cable and do not even own a television set. Does not bother us one bit.

3. Dining out: For me personally, eating in restaurants is just not all that enjoyable. Also, we hardly have the time!

4. Groceries: I know how to cook things from scratch. I learned early from my mother and I can do it quickly. This skill allows me to avoid buying prepared foods and frozen semi-prepared foods. Consequently, our grocery bills are low.

5. Alcohol: We aren't big drinkers, which further reduces the grocery bills.

6. Entertainment: Our preferred methods of entertainment tend to be either free (walking, cycling, looking at stuff) or to coincide with the things that we are already doing as part of work: going on photo-shoots together, browsing art stores, etc. We prefer these activities to movies and concerts.

7. Jewelry: I am not big on owning lots of jewelry. I am more like my grandmother, who had her one "signature set" of pearls and never wore anything else.

8. Shoes: Same goes for shoes. I know that women are supposed to love shoes, and I do - but for me this does not translate into wanting hundreds of pairs. I prefer to own only a few, in classic styles and of high quality.

9. Clothes:When I was younger, I used to be seriously into fashion and would buy clothes constantly. But sometime in my late 20s, something changed and I now prefer the "several mixable classic pieces" thing. It works, it looks good, it minimises the energy I put into getting dressed, and it just happens to save money.



10. Professional salon services: I like to cut my hair myself. I do go to the salon once every 10 weeks to get my colour brightened, but that is it. Lots of women I know go every 4 weeks for cut and colour, which really adds up. I stopped being interested in professional manicures or waxing services in my mid-twenties. And thankfully, I hate massages, spas and saunas.

11. Gym: No gym. No membership fees.

12. Personal care products: Many of us, especially women, own a huge amount of various face creams, body moisturisers and hair serums. I believe that using too many products is not only costly, but, more importantly, not good for you. A couple of years ago I vowed to minimise, and have.

13. Vehicles: We used to own two cars. Now we only own one and we drive it much less than we used to.



So that is my list of things I do not spend money on. The things I choose to spend money on instead include: an enormous library (really, you might be shocked to see how many books I own!), my beloved collection of fountain pens, my vintage photographic equipment, a top of the line laptop every few years, coffee (I am a hopeless addict), and now also - you guessed it - bicycles.

Everybody's list of truly enjoyable things versus things they can do without is personal, and only you can decide where your priorities lie. If you have your heart set on a lovely, but expensive bicycle, ask yourself this:

What do you want more: dinners out every Friday night over the following several months, or a new Pashley?

What do you prefer as a gift for the winter holidays: jewelry, sweaters and trinkets, or a pooled family gift of a Rivendell frame?

Which is more important to you: clothes and shoe shopping every weekend over the following year, or a custom mixte?

Would you rather go to the movies/spa, or shop for bicycle components?

If you've been reading this weblog, you know what my answers to those questions have been. The point is, that you can choose. How much do you enjoy all the different little things in your life that you are paying for on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis? More than you would enjoy a dreamy bicycle? If not, then stop doing some of those things and use the money saved to buy that "unaffordable" bike. Voila. You are now as "lucky" as I am and can afford it. Congratulations and enjoy your new ride!

The Apprentice... aka ice skills again

"Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a structured competency based set of skills."











Ice climbing is a subtlesport. At first glance it would seem to be all strength andbravado.



It isn't. Knowing the difference between a high volume flow and a low volume flow can not only save your life it might well tell you where the best line on the falls will be or tell you whento climb or not in a snow storm or bright sun light instead.



Having an "eye" to know where the quality of the ice changes and will most effect screwand tool placement is not something you can learn in a day's outing. It is just a start. Most will need seasons, or moving to Canmore to accumulate that education.



Pulling plastic has about as much to do with ice climbing as playing basket ball. Both will get you in shape if done at a high enough level. Neither skill will mean squat when you clip on a pair of crampons.



Ice climbing is alsoextremely gear DEPENDANT. I have said many times any old club will do in place of a decent ice tool if your skills will. That is true. But miss match boots and crampons and having the ability to do a gazillion pull ups won't help you for long.



I know for a fact having good rock climbing and rope skills will make you a better ice climber. For no other reason than it will allow you to manage the rope systems easier and quicker.Basic rock climbing skills on how a rope runs or should run are required on ice just as they are on rock.



But being able to lead 5.12 trad (and few really do) isn't going to help you much on ice if you have never placed a screw. It is simple right up until the point it isn't. Why anyone would ever put in a bad screw is beyond me.Finding poorly placed screws while following simply dumbfounds me. Either the leader is WAY in over his head or they are an idiot. Take the time to learn how to put in perfect screws while on theGROUND. Then never, ever put in a bad one. Learn what it takes to accomplish that. It aint rocket science but then it isn't all that easy either with out some practice. Your first grade 4 pillar is NOT the place to belearning how to place screws.



Just as your first 5.10 hand crack isn't the place to learn how to place your first cam. Hello!



I learned to climb ice with a couple of friends who had also....never climbed water fall ice. The sport was new then. The original screws and ice pitons seldom worked. We learned together as the ice climbing standards became more difficult and the gear better. We paid our own dues. Luckily none were costly. But they easily could have been. I can still honestly stay I have not taken a lead fall on ice. But only through the grace of God.



The skilled ice climbers I am lucky enough to climb with can all generally claim the same. Only "modern mixed" has changed that. Even then a smart man/woman will go to great extremes not to fall with a pair of crampons on. You down climb. You hang on the rope, your umbilicals or a screw. You DO NOT fall off.



Remember, "it is a all fun and games until someone loses and eye." Fall off and it just may be your eye!



These days "ice climbers" seem to be born in a gym. Falling is a way of life.



Don't get me wrong...nothing wrong with falling. I have done my own share learning to lead well enough to put up trad .11s and 12s. Andthere were a lot of falls involved both on a top rope and on lead.



You must learn how to DOWN climb.



Climbing up something you can't easily down climb is tantamount to swimming off shore and well out of sight of land. Better to have a safety net. A big one if you can't down climb easily and quickly what ever you climb up. Sure you'll do leads that you can't easily reverse. But they should be damn few and far between. If you can lead grade 4 ice in comfort, you should be able to easily and quickly down climb grade 3 ice. Grade 5 ice on lead then Grade 4 ice should be an easy down climb.



Picked out climbs make you lazy. Make an effort to get on ice climbs that aren't just "sport ice" and totally picked out with foot steps and pick hooks up big sections of the climb. I like that kind of fun climbing myself, "hook and book". But it is TERRIBLE for the techniques required to climb virgin ice.

Get on new ice when you can. You might find Grade 3 ice is hard enough again to get your attention and still be really fun.



Following? If you can't follow any ice pitch faster than your leader can run it out......you REALLY NEED TO STOP AND ASSESS you own skill level. Reality needs to meet ability. Because one of two things is happening here. You are either attempting to climb way out of your skill level or the leader has skills you are a long ways from attaining yet. Nothing wrong with either......it just makes a hard day (and possibly dangerous day) in the mountains for leader and follower if that difference isn't recognised and understood. Just be honest with yourself and your partners. Always push yourself on a top rope or as a2ndto go faster and climb better. You can bet that is how the otherguy got thatmuch better.



Danger? Yes, ice climbing will get youkilled if you aren't careful. It aint the gym or the local cragging area. Things go to shit quicklyon ice and snow. Lots of pointy things to poke holes in your own personal meat bag that can cause problems. Lots of things falling down for one reason or the other. Climbers at drastically differing skill levels put the responsibility (and the majority of the safety issues) on the more experience and generally faster climber.



Leading? Leading isn't a big deal. Falling off and getting injured is. Who do you think will have to haul your sorry ass off the mountain if you take a winger? Better hope your partner is up to the task.



No one has the "right" to lead. You earn that right through experience, patience and skill. You may know how to clip on a pair of crampons. But do you know how to actually fit them? You can buy all the cool gear, read of the books or pump your instructors and partners for infobut if you don't know how it works and most importantly UNDERSTAND the gear/info what good is it when the shit starts to fail?



And all of it will eventually fail, including your partner...



You better have a good plan.



Soloing?



If you want to climb in the alpine fasterand climb more difficultwater icelearn how to be confident soloing in your comfort level of technical skill. In the right conditions WI3 should be casual. The same bullet proof ice in the alpine might well take a belay, the rope and protection. Know the difference. Learn how to simul climb and more importantly...when you should and should not simul climb.



Grades on ice and in the alpine mean very little. Conditions generally mean everything. Think condition, then the technical grade if it is a concern.



You don't yet know what you don't know. Again, nothing wrong with that. But time to open your eyes if you fall into that category and start paying more attention. We all "fall" into that category in case you are still wondering. Including me as well as everyone i climb with. Work harder at going faster, being more aware of your own and your partner's skill setand over all safety. Learn how to down climb among other things. Up your rock climbing skills and over all climbing SPEED in the summer. Better and faster belays, not just your pure climbing speed. It will help your ice climbing and alpine climbing next winter.



Back to the Apprenticeship?



It is asystem oftrainingthe practitioner ina structured competency based set of skills.



To get good and stay safe ice climbing (or alpine climbing) you need to serve a Apprenticeship.



Either get some good professional instruction or find a friend (or a long list of friends) who has/have the ability and desire to pass those skills on to you.



I am still asking questions and learning every trip to the ice. Are you?



Days are long past that I would suggest a few buddies teach themselves how to climb ice....if you want to stay safe while learning our craft.



This post has been called a rant. Fair enough, but IMO more an impassioned plea.But rather a rant to wake some up than stone silence and let them get hurt.

First Alpine route - Paciencia 8a, Eiger nordwand

On the crux of Paciencia, Eiger north face. All photos thanks to the talentedAlexandre Buisse




June and July were some of the most busy and challenging days of my life, none of which involved any climbing. The death of my father Norman was not a good time. Not wishing to talk about it much more on this, my climbing blog, all I should say is that at least I was able time to spend time with him first.




There wasn’t much time before other life events called for action. Claire, Freida and I moved house. Just ‘round the corner’ to Roybridge. We now have a great base for Freida growing up and it was a pleasure to put my back into working on it and preparing it for my family. Each day, I got up early, worked until the wee small hours and repeat…




So my planned trip to the alps with Calum Muskett crept up on me. I’d done next to no climbing for several weeks with everything that had gone on. A few fingerboard sessions, a couple of TCA sessions, that’s it. I could still one arm a first joint edge. But endurance was nil.











Here mate, is that the Eiger?




When I started to drive south from the highlands, the extent of the problem with this started to dawn on me, since our discussed objectives were basically a list of the hardest routes in the alps. Top of the list was Paciencia, the hardest route on the north face of the Eiger. First freed in by Ueli Steck and then repeated just once by David Lama in . Reading Lama’s blog made me wince. He rated it one of the hardest routes in the alps and said he was utterly exhausted by the time he reached the top. Although the pitch grades don’t too bad; 6b, 6a, 6a+, 7c, 7c, 7a, 8a, 7a+, 6b+, 6a+, 6a+, 7c, 7c+, 7b, 7a, 6a, 7a+, 7c, 7a, 6c+, 6b, 6b, 6c+ Many of the pitches are tad on the sandbag side. For instance, one of the 6b+s we thought translated to E4 6b.




On paper it was completely ridiculous for me to go near it. However, predictably, after meeting Calum in Chamonix we decided in about 2 minutes we’d head straight to the Eiger for the first route. It would also be my first alpine route.









Another great 7c pitch, full of north face atmosphere




A day later we were scrambling up the classic 1938 route to the foot of Paciencia. It was misty, damp and cold and after a drippy bivi I woke up ready to fail. Thankfully, our intention was just to have a recce and get our bearings on the Eiger. That day we hung about on the first few 7c and 8a pitches and I tried to give myself as big a workout as possible. I achieved that goal with ease.




I wasn’t sure about going back up. Perhaps it would be better to do a few easier routes first? I couldn’t think of a good way to even suggest that to Calum, who is already an accomplished alpinist, just a couple of years younger than me at 19. So we went back up, taking the photographer Alexandre Buisse with us for the first day. After soloing back up the 38 route in the afternoon we bagged the first few 7c pitches before dark and settled into our bivi, ready to go for the 8a in the morning. The morning however, was mostly spent melting snow to fuel some serious tea drinking on our ledge. Once we got started, we both dispatched the brilliant 8a pitch with much enjoyment. What an amazing pitch in spectacular surroundings.









Calum on the rather thin first 7c pitch




Our clear objective was for both of us to free the entire route with no falls, whether leading or seconding. All of the many 7b and 7c pitches were very hard to onsight, as we already knew from reading David Lama’s account. So we decided to give ourselves three full days to climb to the top since we would need the extra time for both of us to succeed on each of the 23 pitches. When we reached the second bivi below the Czech Pillar, we spent the following day both climbing the hard pitches that followed, before descending for one more night on the ledge. Both of us were tired that day, and I almost fell right at the end of a 7c+ pitch, where I knew Lama had also fallen. I knew I didn’t have the energy for another go within the hour, so I just held on like my life depended on it when a foothold broke 4 moves from the belay ledge. While Calum worked on the pitch, a helicopter appeared, hovering close by. The door opened and a long lens popped out and took some pictures of us. I thought to myself, that doesn’t happen in Scotland.









8a, or more tea?




We rose at 6am the next morning both feeling rather better than anticipated. Just as well, since the first task was to jung and haul the bag back to our highpoint before commencing the final 8 pitches, including one more of those nasty 7cs right near the top. We both climbed strongly on that pitch and we carried on that momentum all the way to the end, pulling into sunshine at 6pm on the top. The crux was yet to come for me however. I’d had blisters on my toes from wearing boots that didn’t fit my feet on the recce day. Nearly 4 days in my rockshoes had made them considerably worse. The walk back down to Grindelwald was a teeth gritter. Of course, now I’m sitting in a cafe the next day, everything feels better.









I learned a lot some new beta on big walling tactics from Calum, and was certainly inspired by his confidence, backed up with skill and problem solving ability. He took the route very much in his stride, as I’m sure he will many more harder routes. Thanks to Ueli Steck and Stefan Siegrist for opening the route. It must’ve taken a lot of effort.




So, where’s my boulder mat...

Sunrise Over the Sandias

How Slow Can You Go?

In cycling, some associate skill and experience with being able to go fast. But going slow - and I mean really slow, like walking pace - can be even more difficult. When I first began riding as an adult, I could not keep my bike upright at super-slow speeds. I remember that the steering was hard to control; I'd end up losing my balance and having to stop. Even a couple of years down the road, it was easier to ride at 20mph than at 2mph. But finally I got the hang of it, and today I am able to ride at walking speed with no trouble at all.




Looking back on this, I would say that slow cycling is one of the most useful bicycling skills I have picked up so far. Here are just some of the practical applications I've noticed over the years:




Wobble-free starting

When I talk to novices about cycling for transportation, a common theme that comes up is the fear of swerving into traffic when starting from a stop at a light. You can see it in the city: When some riders push off from a stop, the front end of their bike will wobble before they gain sufficient momentum to proceed in a straight line. Now, some bikes are easier to balance at slow speeds than others, but with sufficient skill even a twitchy bike can be ridden at walking speed wobble-free, eliminating this anxiety.




Navigating traffic

Riding in the city can be all about stop and go traffic. Being able to cycle slowly while maintaining full control of the bike makes this easier to handle, allowing the cyclist to maintain momentum and to travel more efficiently. Particularly useful is what I think of as "hovering." This is a practice that is somewhere between trackstanding and riding at walking pace. It comes in handy when inching your way forward in a line of stopped cars, changing lanes in dense traffic, waiting to turn left at an intersection, or proceeding in ambiguous right of way situations. It is much easier to both show your intent and accelerate from a position of hovering than it is from a stopped position.




Safe MUP sharing

It used to drive me nuts to ride on crowded mixed use paths. Finding it stressful to navigate around hordes of unpredictable pedestrians, I would simply avoid MUPs during peak hours. But the greenways around here are quite scenic and can be relaxing if riding slowly is not an issue. The same "hovering" skill I find useful in road traffic works just as well for meandering amidst joggers and dog walkers.




Riding on dirt and uneven surfaces

Cycling through muddy, rocky and otherwise challenging terrain can reduce a bike's speed considerably. Yet keeping your balance and being able to steer the bike precisely is more important than ever in those conditions. My new-found enjoyment of unpaved riding has much to do with improved slow cycling skills.




Thinking back to how I finally learned all of this, two distinct experiences come to mind. First, riding fixed gear. I remember vividly how the fixed drivetrain made me feel dramatically more in control of the bike at slow speeds. No one was there to instruct me; it was as if the bike itself was teaching me. And after getting my body used to balancing on the fixed bike that way, some of that eventually transferred over to freewheel bikes.




But the real change was a result ofinstructional paceline rides. These rides taught me a number of useful techniques, including how to maintain continuous pedaling and consistent cadence regardless of speed. To ride slowly, we were instructed to switch into a low gear while pedaling and feathering the brakes, instead of coasting. This taught me to maneuver the bike smoothly, to control my speed with precision, and to stay stable even when moving at a crawl. Somehow pedaling made all of this easier and reprogrammed my body to balance with the bike. Almost immediately, I saw major improvements in my everyday bike handling skills.




If fixed gear bikes and paceline rides are not for you, one thing you could try is this: When out riding, pay attention to your pedaling. To slow down, try switching into a low gear while pedaling continuously, instead of coasting while pedaling in a high gear occasionally. To slow down even more, feather the brakes while continuing to pedal. Try to go slower and slower using this technique.Gradually your body will learn to maneuver the bike at slow speeds, whether pedaling or coasting.Learning to ride slowly transformed me as a cyclist; it is a skill I highly recommend picking up.

6 Inch Howling Coyotes

Plaza de Bib-Rambla and afternoon tapas

The Bib-Rimbla, a pretty square ringed with beautiful buildings and tapas bars & restaurants with terraces is the heart of Granada. The name means ‘gate of the river’ because the square originally stood on a sandy river bank.

This central square is actually very important and has served Granada’s annals of history very well. Festivals and jousts were held on the plaza during the Moorish times, bloody bullfights during the Christian era and during the Spanish Acquisition, it was used as a tribunal—those found guilty were burned on the spot. Now, that is a mottled, colourful and turbulent historic square right there.

To get some gastronomic action in Granada, come to Bib-Rambla square.


Restaurant terraces on the square.


Pretty windows and balconies again that I found on the side streets of the square. In the middle foto is the marble 'Fountain of the Giants' located on the middle of the square built during the 17th century.


The square and the beautiful characteristic facade details of the buildings surrounding it.

We had our afternoon tapas on the square at Il Caffe de Roma. Dutchman was hungry so he ordered his usual favorite fare—anything pasta. That would be too heavy for me so I settled for a tapas mix but when it arrived I was surprised of the serving. It was huge! I had to solicit help from the Dutchman to finish the plate. On the tapas platter: french bread with butter, torta de patatas (potato omelette), empanada de atun (baked tuna pie), manchego cheese and smoked ham drenched in olive oil.


My unexpected afternoon tapas and a glass of sangria.

I was really surprised with the tapas as I was expecting to be served with a mix of nibbles instead of bigger portions, but they were good. 4 stars out of 5.

Milan Bars (Alcohol-Free)

When most people think of Milan bars, they probably picture something like this:

[image: venere.com]

But these are the ones I had in mind:

The Velo Orange Milan Handlebars have now replaced the drop bars on my mixte. I picked her up from Open Bicycle today after the surgery. The bars are missing grips, but already looking beautiful. They are not nearly as wide as the distorted perspective of the shots makes them seem, but I can't get a better photo right now.

I replaced the drop bars and brake levers on Marianne after injuring my hands using the original set-up. Let's just say I am talented when it comes to injury. With the new set-up, the braking power is superb and the hand position is sporty (similar to holding the top of the drop bars) yet comfortable. The stem has been replaced with a taller and longer Nitto Technomic. The brake levers are Shimano mountain bike levers. I have some nice dark green cork tape for the wraps, which will be shellacked and twined. Will post updates once the makeover is complete.

Oh and they also removed the "pie plate" from the back wheel. It couldn't be snapped or cut off, because there was a stiff metal ring holding it together that needed to be removed as well. Marianne was very happy to get this procedure done, because all the hipster bikes in Boston were making fun of her. Now she is looking nicer than ever!

What Our Hands Can Do

Looking over these photos from the Friday after Thanksgiving, I noticed something interesting: Almost everything pictured here is hand-made.The dress I am wearing was made by my mother. The hat and scarf were made by me. Even the bicycle was hand-made by an Italian frame builder for Bella Ciao. This combination was not intentional, but once I noticed it, I found it striking.

My mother knitted this elaborate wool dress for herself in the early 1980s and wore it all through her 20s and 30s, after which point she gave it to me. The dress suited her much better, but that has not stopped me from wearing it since I were a teenager. It only occurred to me recently how remarkable it is for a dress like this to survive being worn for three decades by two different women - neither of whom are at all gentle with their clothing. And yet here it is, still looking fresh and current.The tailoring, the textural variation, and the attention to detail are incredible by today's standards - and my mother made tons of this stuff when I was a child, while being a busy career woman, too. (I remember seeing her knit while speaking on the phone and reading a book about mathematics at the same time... )



While my own attempts at knitting are fairly pedestrian compared to my mother's past projects, they do have one feature in common:longevity. I knitted this scarf back in grad school, and 8 years later it remains alive and well, while countless store-bought ones have since fallen apart. My friends, for whom I've made clothing as far back as high school, give me the same feedback - some of them still wear the things I made in the mid-'90s. Noticing this was a big reason why I started to knit and sew again this year: I am not that great at it, but the stuff I make lasts and fits me better than store-bought.



Over this past year I have done something a little nuts: I've sold or given away most of my clothing - stuff that I had collected and saved for more than 10 years. When I was younger, I was into edgy fashion and quirky designers, but lately that interest has all but faded - replaced by a curiosity regarding how far I can go making things on my own. Aside from knitting, I have been cutting up some of my remaining old clothing and handsewing "new" clothes out of it. Hopefully I will get a sewing machine for the holidays, which will allow me to take things further. In the past I have dabbled in making my own fountain pens as well. And eventually - maybe, just maybe, I would like to try my hand at building bicycle frames - or at least designing them à laGrant Petersen.



While my framebuilding days are not yet on the horizon, I do have enormous respect for bicycles hand-made by others, and an insatiable curiosity about the process. Whether independent framebuilders such as JP Weigle, Peter Mooney, Royal H.and ANT, or small manufacturers such as Mercian, Rivendell, Velo Orange and even Pashley andBella Ciao - I am impressed by the sheer amount of work and consideration it takes to get the design, the construction, and the finishing just right. The more I learn about the process, the more overwhelming it seems. In a world of homogenous, mass-produced goods, it is amazing to witness what our minds and our hands are capable of creating.

Sunrise & Morning Glories