As someone who is interested in experiencing a variety of bicycles and sharing my impressions with others, I find myself constantly re-examining the question of how long it takes to get a "proper" impression of a bike. When I test ride a bicycle, the experience is different on so many levels from when I own the bicycle and ride it in on a daily basis. There are discoveries I make about bikes months into owning them.
Also, when I own a bicycle - even if it's one of my "experimental bikes" and I know from the start that I will probably end up selling it eventually, there is something about the personal responsibility of ownership that makes me more comfortable forming impressions of its characteristics.These are all reasons why I differentiate "bicycle reviews" - which I limit to the bikes I own, from "test ride reports" of the bikes I try. And I also mention how long I'd ridden the bike at the time of the review, so that the reader can factor that in. For instance, riding the Abici for an entire afternoon around the city and riding my friend's Retrovelo for a good portion of our long trip through the countryside, were quite different experiences than riding the Trek Belleville for 10 minutes on the side streets adjacent to the bike shop. And, riding my own Gazelle, Bella Ciao and Pashley were different experiences still, and my impression of these bikes takes hundreds of rides into account.
Ultimately, I feel more comfortable offering an opinion about bikes I have owned, however briefly, than on bikes I have merely test ridden or borrowed. And I am considering what that means in terms of Lovely Bicycle. Should I try to make it a point to own the bikes I feel would be especially interesting to review, and then later sell them, accepting the loss as part of the costs of running this blog? It's a neat idea, but probably not financially feasible. Extended borrowing would be the next thing, but there are all sorts of logistic and conflict-of-interest problems when it comes to that as well.How long does it take you to get to know a bicycle? Is a test ride enough, or do you have to own it for a couple of months before you really feel familiar with it? When you read reviews and test ride reports, do you pay attention to how long the author has been riding the bike and factor that into your impressions? Finally, what do you think is the optimal time period to wait before writing a review?
Well, my first encounter with clipless pedals occurred sooner than I anticipated. Last week the Co-Habitant decided to update his pedals, and the new set arrived in the mail today... which meant that he could gift me his old ones. I thought that surely this gifting would take place some time in the future - a distant, abstract future. But no. Cheerfully he attached them to one of our vintage roadbikes right then and there, so that I could give them a try. Don't get me wrong, I myself had expressed interest in this. But... I don't know, I just didn't expect it to happen immediately!
I expected that clipping in would be relatively easy, but clipping out difficult. It was the opposite. At first I could not to clip in. I tried and tried, but my foot stayed on top of the pedal and the mechanism would not engage no matter how hard I pressed. I struggled to figure out what I was doing wrong, but the explanation turned out to be simple: I am a weakling. We had to loosen the tension almost to the max for my foot to engage the mechanism. Even after that, I still had trouble pressing down with enough force and in the exact position necessary for the cleat to catch. Clipping out, on the other hand, was intuitive: the sideways twist of the foot is exactly the same motion required to get out of Power Grips, so I found it natural.Transitioning from the kitchen sink to the trainer, I practiced for some time, clipping in and out successfully. I then decided it was time to go outside. I felt pretty confident at this point. Nothing to this.
Aside from the tale of failure, I have some observations about the shoe and pedal set-up. I can't find the model name of the shoes, but in retrospect getting clipless shoes with laces was silly. Being stiff and unyielding, they are difficult to put on and tighten, and it's a pain to tuck the laces under the velcro. I am also not sure these pedals are right for me. They are Shimano SPD 520s: mountain bike style, double sided and with a very small surface area. I know that many love this type of pedal, but to me it felt like not enough of my foot was connected. Pedaling on the trainer, I had the sensation that there was too much pressure on the spot where the cleat meets the pedal and that a larger contact area would have been better. Maybe these particular shoes are not stiff enough, or maybe I would do better with a different style of pedals. There seems to be a consensus that the mountain bike clipless system is easier than the road system, but I wonder whether I might prefer the latter. Unfortunately, there is no way to try these things out.
Big Bend National Park. Texas. It was here that I got my first taste of “real” hiking. And it was here that I discovered I was physically capable of more than I thought. And it was here that Mother Nature really turned it on – 80 degree temperatures one day and snow the next! I loved the range and diversity of the landscape. The mountains and the desert.
Grand Canyon National Park. Arizona. Specifically The Bright Angel Trail. I met my friends Sue and Fred for an unforgettable journey into the Grand Canyon. It was my first night sleeping out in the open, beneath the stars. And my first overnight backpacking hike. It was challenging and at times I wasn't sure I would make it back up to the rim!
Montana. After ten months on the road, I was in need of a break. Thank goodness for friends! Susan and Don allowed me to rest and relax in their vacation home in southwest Montana for almost the entire month of July! Then it was north to Glacier National Park before heading even further north.
On the trail to Willow Hole.
It was nice that someone showed me the way to go! One couple that I talked to on the way back thought that the trail ended here.
And that dry river bed? Well, it wasn't really dry at all. Along the edges I noticed that the sand was darker. Digging into it with my hands confirmed that it was damp and going down a little further it was really wet. Further along the trail there was standing water in some spots. It was an unusual winter throughout most of the U.S., wet and cold. And that unusual winter has given us an unusual spring as well, with water showing up in places where it hasn't been for many years.
Willow Hole. A pool of black, brackish water.
This area was about a mile from Willow Hole. On my way in I had met a couple and we had talked for a while then they started back out. As I returned they were sitting on the two large rocks in the foreground with their feet soaking in the water. They said it was refreshing and asked me to join them, which I did. When I got my shoes and socks off and stuck my feet in the water, they laughed because I immediately pulled my feet out. The water was cold. Extremely cold. I was amazed and wasn't expecting that, but they were right, it was refreshing. We sat there for half an hour or more, talking and relaxing.
At the end of the trail. Done! Is my face flushed from the heat and sun or is it a reflection from that bright red shirt?
Every time we visit Ringling, I want to visit the car museum but we just haven't managed to get there until now. I love classic cars. In fact, I love them more than the guys in the family do. So Nathan humored me to visit here, and Austin opted out and stayed in the front lobby and ate ice cream. 
Well, that's not true...before he sat and ate ice cream, he did humor me with one photo op picture:
He has been pestering us about driving since he obtained his learner's permit, so I teased him that he could drive that car anytime he wanted to! Back to the museum...this is the second oldest continuously running car museums in our nation. There are over one hundred cars inside. They had a fabulous collection.
The very best part of it all was the unexpected surprise that had Austin kicking himself for not wandering past the lobby. There were four Beatles cars there! So cool to find that here!
I loved this place! So glad we did make it inside today.
Oh what a happy September 1st! I have a new bicycle!! More accurately, it is a newly-acquired old bicycle. This was completely unplanned, but the opportunity presented itself and I could not pass it up.
This is a Raleigh DL-1 Lady's Tourist - one of the best known original loop-frame bicycles. I got it from a very nice local collector, and I really can't thank him enough. The 22" frame feels tailor made for me. The actual height of the saddle is the same as on my 21" Lady's Sports, because the seat tube on the DL1 is considerably more slack. This bicycle is in great condition. We will replace the tires and brake pads, and she will be ready to roll.
As you can see, it is missing a chaincase - but I already have a lead on a full chaincase that should fit it. I also have a lead on a set of vintage-style rope skirtguards, the kind that connect to holes in the fender. I love the vintage bicycle community.
Here is the 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub. Filthy but so sexy!
And here is the gear shifter. The DL-1 has rod brakes, which I would not want on a commuter. But I am fine with them on a collector bicycle that I only plan to take on quiet rides.
I have no place to store this bicycle, so I am still not sure how I will deal with it logistically! But this really is a vintage dream come true, so I will think of something. You can see how happy we are together, even before the chaincase/tire/skirtguard upgrades!
I love the look and feel of woven dress guards. To me they seem more graceful than the solid vinyl type - allowing for the wheel's spokes to remain visible, while still protecting clothing from flying into them. They can also give a bicycle more "personality," as there are many patterns and different installation methods to choose from. A year ago, it was almost impossible to obtain dress guards like these without making them yourself. However, now there are several options available and I have done my best to get my hands on them.
Some of the most beautiful woven dress guards available today are these handmade ones by Bobbin & Sprocket. They can be crocheted in different patterns, according to your specifications (you can see them here on Bobbin & Sprocket's own bike and here on an ANT bike). I ordered a set for my mixte a couple of months ago, but have yet to attach them - because I've decided to do a drilled-fender installation, rather than use the clips provided. The clips don't attach securely enough for my fenders - and I am weary of having the guards fall off and get tangled in my wheel spokes. Earlier, I reviewed the DutchSimeli dress guards, and clip and fender compatibility was also a problem (they only work on bikes where there is a lot of room between the fender and the tire).
For these reasons, I don't think clipping woven dress guards to fenders is the ideal solution, and suggest the traditional drilled-fender installation instead. I had this done to my vintage Raleigh DL-1 last year, using a simple set of dress guards that a reader had sent me from Portugal. The fancy ones in the picture above were a gift from a friend in Autsria, and are waiting for the right bicycle.
The ones I decided to install on my Gazelle were this set I bought fromMike Flanigan ofANT, who has recently begun to order them from Europe. They are simple, stretchy and durable, and I thought the colour scheme suited my Gazelle nicely. Drilling fenders for dress guards may seem like a daunting task, but the actual act of installing them is not difficult, if you have a good drill. What's difficult is making the commitment: You can't "undo" the holes in your fender once they are there, and nearly every set of dress guards requires a different number of holes.
The first step is to consider what part of the wheel you want the dress guards to cover. There is no right or wrong in this regard: If you look at vintage dress guard installations, they are all over the place. Some prefer to cover 1/4 of the wheel, others prefer to cover the entire top half, and others still prefer something in between. Once you choose the coverage area, mark its beginning and end with masking tape. Then, evenly attach a tape measurer along this area. This will allow you to easily mark where the holes are supposed to be. The dress guards I used required 28 holes, which ended up being 1" apart.
Depending on what bike you have, you do not necessarily need to remove the rear wheel or even deflate the tire when drilling the holes. On Dutch bikes and English Roadsters, there tends to be so much room between the tire and fender, that if you insert the drill bit as far inside the drill as it will go, it will be too short to reach the tire after piercing the fender.
The hooks that come with dress guards are about as thick as medium-sized paperclips, so 1-1.5mm is a good size for the holes. We used a 1mm drill bit. 
It is good to have a drill with a side handle attachment, as this allows you to keep your hands steady and to have more precise control over the drilling.
I would also suggest using a fresh drill bit and having a spare one before you start, in case it breaks.
And here we go!
If you measured correctly, the holes should look fairly even - but if not, don't panic. These things are meant to have a hand-made look to them and are forgiving of small mistakes.
Inserting the hooks into the holes is fairly straightforward. One additional step to consider, is leaving room for the "cafe lock" if your bicycle has one. This should be done at the time you are measuring for holes in the first place.
At the drop-outs, the dress guards are typically attached to a bolt using a hook that is provided with the guards. (You will have to remove the nut, then insert the hook, then retighten the nut.) You may have to play around with how you angle that ring to which the cords are attached: The rack stays, the shifter cable and the hub indicator chain may interfere with it, and then you sort of have to angle the ring and insert it over/under, as applicable. Every bicycle is different in this regard, so it is impossible to give precise instructions here.
The important thing, is that in the end nothing sticks out in a way that can catch on your clothing. For example, we crimped the hook on which the ring rests, downward.
And that is pretty much it. Describing the process step by step in itself makes it seem complicated, but it only took us an hour - which I think is good, considering that it was our first time and we were afraid of messing up. You can see the finished installation in an outdoor setting in this post.Looking at the final result, one could say that these guards could look better if they were fanned out over a wider area - but I wanted the coverage to be denser. It's really a personal choice, and I am pretty happy with how mine have turned out. If you own a drill, this method of dress guard installation is worth considering.