Chihuly in the Desert

Chihuly in the Desert, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Here's some of Chihuly's glass I wrote about earlier. He truly is a gifted artist to be able to envision these incredible pieces of art.

Exploring by Bike: Alternative to Touring

While I both travel and cycle a great deal, I have come to the conclusion that bicycle touring is not for me. This is not to say that I have anything against bicycle touring at all; it sounds like fun for those who enjoy it, and I love reading others' accounts of it. But it does not appeal to me personally for the same reason I've never liked touring in general: I am not satisfied passing through places. For instance, the idea of touring Ireland - that is, trying to see as much of the island as possible by going from town to town - would leave me feeling disoriented and empty. I enjoy getting to know a place, connecting to it in some way. And I don't feel that I can do that via sight seeing and moving on.






The way I see bicycle touring, is that it is first and foremost about traveling by bike. But what if we want to delve deeper rather than go further? Exploring by bicycle could be a rewarding alternative.






My idea of exploring involves choosing a location of significance, and committing to staying there for whatever length of time is sufficient in order to feel settled. For me that means a minimum of a week. The key is then to have something to do there other than sightseeing in of itself. A work-related project. An artistic, literary or research pursuit. Relatives or friends to visit. Something that anchors me to the place and provides an occupation.






Long ago I've noticed that when we approach a trip as a vacation, we expect the place we are visiting to entertain us. But that approach cannot possibly reveal what this place is truly like. For that we need to actually experience it in a real-life setting, as a temporary resident with a purpose rather than as a tourist. We will still get to see all the sights while there, but everything we see will attain a far greater sense of context and personal meaning.





We will also be much more likely to notice nuances that might have otherwise evaded us.







So where does the bicycle come into all of this? Well, to me the bicycle makes an ideal tool for exploring, in that it allows me to set my own pace and to vary that pace spontaneously. I can go as fast or as slow as I like. I can cover long distances or I can ride around in circles. I can carry all that I need with me for the day, transitioning easily between cycling for the sake of cycling, exploring, and transportation. On my first day on the Antrim coast my travel radius was tiny, but I rode quite a bit. Another day I might find myself 50 miles from my home base.





On my bike, I can feel the landscape open up and reveal itself to me as it never does with any other mode of transportation. I can also ride to the grocery store - or to the pub, or to the library, or to a meeting, or to a friend's house.







The bike allows me to feel at home, comfortable, and entirely independent in the place I am exploring and I couldn't ask for more. Maybe I will tour some day. But for now I prefer to stay put and go deep. The bicycle is as perfect of a companion for this kind of travel as it is for touring. The possibilities are endless.

Assateague Island :: The Wild Ponies

For many people, the only reason for going to Assateague Island is to see the Wild Ponies. If so, it could be a little disappointing for them, especially if they only spend a few hours on the island. A 20-minute video shown at the visitor center provides a good, if somewhat romanticized view, of the little ponies that have roamed the beaches, pine forest, and salt marsh of Assateague Island since the 1600s. There are two theories regarding the stout little ponies: one is that they arrived on Assateague's shores when a Spanish galleon ship, with a cargo of horses, sank offshore. The other is that they are remnants of the herds of early colonial settlers who grazed their horses on the Island. Apparently a Spanish ship wreck was discovered recently in the waters off Assateague which gives credence to the first theory.

Both the Maryland and Virginia sides of Assateague Island have wild ponies; each has a herd of about 160 and a fence at the state line keeps the two herds separated. They roam the island in bands of 5-10 ponies so you aren't going to see a lot of them all at once. I did see a group of 10 or so one day sauntering through the main parking lot on the beach side of the island. They were there long enough to stop traffic, then moved on down the road.

Although there are 30+ miles of beautiful white-sand beach, the part that is easily accessible to visitors is only about 5 miles long. Undoubtedly, the ponies roam the beaches too but I never saw any on the beach though they were grazing along the road on the beach side of the Island. I did see quite a few ponies on the bayside - in the marsh areas and in the campgrounds. My suspicion is that there were one or two bands of ponies that roamed those areas and I kept seeing the same horses over and over ;-)

These guys followed me around for quite awhile one day. I'd back off and they'd keep coming. Eventually they tired of the game and went off looking for better pastures.

The grass must have been pretty good alongside the marsh boardwalk. On this day there was a group of six of them. Three were on the boardwalk and the other three were off in the marsh. The ponies aren't very big. Short and stout is an apt description. In the background there is a woman standing next to two ponies, she towers over them. The tallest ones that I saw were maybe 5 feet tall.


There are signs posted stating that you are not to feed, touch, or even approach the horses. I never saw anyone feed them but did see a few people touching and petting them. I didn't go searching for the ponies. If they were in the same area where I was I'd go see them but I really didn't get too close. They are considered to be wild animals but they are definitely not afraid of humans. The ponies are left on their own, to fend for themselves. They are not cared for or treated if they become sick. The only food they get is what they find for themselves: marsh and sand dune grasses, rosehips, bayberry twigs, persimmons and even poison ivy.

Colour Theory for Bikes

As someone who deals with colour all the time - taking pains to get it "just right" for paintings and photography setups - I am fascinated by the role of colour in bicycles. Choosing colour is not just a matter of "what matches what." It is a matter of understanding the psychological mechanisms involved in human colour perception and processing - which to me has always been interesting. But taking it down a notch from the realms of art-speak and neuro-psychology, here are some thoughts on colour choices as they pertain to setting up bicycles:



Handlebars and saddle

My go-to standard for handlebars and saddles is the brown family.The reason I like to use brown as opposed to black, is that brown enhances the colour of the bicycle frame, whereas black tends to "deaden" it. Being neutral, brown will not compete with the frame colour, just as black will not. But it will make the colour more vibrant, more emphatic - whereas black will leave it flat.



This works especially well on "cool" frame colours - such as blue and silver. And using twine and bits of leather on other parts of the bike (chainstay protector, kickstand, waterbottle, saddlebag straps) will further enhance the "warming" effect.



Brown can also make a black frame look less intimidating and more "personable" - as well as bring out the details in what would otherwise be an expanse of black-on-black.



But of course, black has its place as well. Black accessories make a bike seem more aggressive - which can look good on some bicycles. And depending on the "personality" of a particular bike (lady's military bike?), you might not necessarily want the frame colour to be overly vibrant.



And when it comes to racing bikes, an aggressive or sporty look is usually more fitting than an "earthy" look. This can be achieved either with black, white, or brightly-coloured saddle and tape combinations (ideally in a contrasting colour to the frame). Bright and high-contrast colour schemes are exciting and suggest high energy, fast movement. If that is what you want your bike to communicate - go with it. And if not, you can tone it down with browns and neutrals, as I have done to this bike.



TiresIt goes without saying that performance and not colour should be the first consideration when it comes to tires. But assuming that you can get equally well-performing tires in a variety of colours, it can be nice to play around with that element as well. While I do not hide my crazed preference for cream tires, I do not suggest that they are "the best" option.



Cream tires can look elegant if you are going for a delicate look and have taken pains not to include any black on your bike. Here they make the bicycle look a lot more "serene" than had I used other tire choices.



And they can also look elegant as a contrast to the frame.But there comes a point - and for some it arrives much sooner than for others - where cream tires can be just too much and overwhelm the rest of the bike (I think that here I am dangerously approaching that). I also don't think that cream tires look good on a cream or white bicycle. It is too low-contrast and reminds me of "ghost bikes." Achielle does the cream-on-cream look better than others, and if you go in this direction adding prominent brown accessories to break it up a bit is the key.



A good, traditional option if you are looking for classic tires, are "gumwalls" - which are tires with back tread but tan sides. The tan fits nicely into the "organic" saddle and handlebar colour scheme, without the tires competing with the rest of the bicycle for prominence. I also like it how the alloy rims, the tan sidewalls and the black tread create the visual impression of 3 circles, one inside the other.



Bags and accessories

I am very conservative when it comes to bicycle "luggage," so perhaps I am not the best person to ask about this one. Mainly, I don't like it when bicycle bags are too distinct in relation to the bicycle itself - whereas the trend now (especially for accessories targeted at women) seems to be brightly coloured luggage with prominent graphics. It's not that I am "against" flowers, polka-dots, curly-cues, and the like. It's more that I want my bicycle to be the main focal point and not the bag. So I prefer to get subtle, classic accessories in neutral colours. As with saddles and handlebars, I think that the brown/olive family works well for a nature-exploring sort of look, whereas black works well for a more aggressive or racy look.



Decorations

Unless intentionally using decorations to distract from the rest of the bike, the colour of the decorations should not stand out too much from the other colours on the bicycle. Otherwise, the eye will get drawn to the decoration itself, with the rest of the bike an afterthought.



Frame Colour

If you are getting a bicycle frame re-painted, or are trying to choose a colour for a custom bike, the colour selection is of course a matter of personal preference. But based on my own experience (and conversations with others), keep a few things in mind:



1. Speaking very generally, super-bright colours work better on sporty bikes, whereas subdued colours work better on touring and transportation bikes.



2. True white is very harsh and almost never looks good. Even if a bicycle you like appears white to you, the actual colour is almost definitely a pale cream, a very light gray, or an off-white. Think twice before asking for a true white paintjob.



3. If you are getting the paintjob (especially powdercoat) done at a "budget" type of establishment, beware of asking for metallic colours. They are easier to mess up, and flaws in them are more visible than with regular colours. Flaws in lighter colours are also more visible than flaws in darker colours.



4. Prepare yourself for the fact that the colour never, ever looks the same on the bike as it does on the tiny colour chip, let alone on the online colour sample. I have seen some pretty amazing discrepancies, where after the person spends a month wringing their hands about the "perfect" shade, the colour on the bike does not even look like the same colour family as the chip they chose. One thing you can do, is give the painter a sample of the colour you want and ask them to find the closest match. They have experience with the way the colours actually looks on a bike. Alternatively, you can find out the colour code of a bike you like, and ask for that exact one.



There are those who take bicycle aesthetics very seriously and start to pull their hair out in despair if they cannot find the exact shade of orange handlebar tape they wanted. And there are those who could not care less about the details, and just use whatever components and accessories are available. I see myself as somewhere in the middle, leaning perhaps just a tad towards the former. (What? You think it's more than just a tad?...) While I enjoy setting up my bicycles in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to me, I do it quickly and intuitively, without dwelling on it too much. Then I ride the bike and get it filthy beyond all recognition - which is part of the fun, at least for me.

Grand Canyon :: Sunset at Yaki Point

We had been told that Yaki Point, on the southeast side of the Grand Canyon, was a good spot for viewing the setting sun, so on Thursday evening (April 15th) we caught the shuttle bus and headed that way.

We arrived almost too late, the “color” was disappearing rapidly in the Canyon. This view is looking northeast from Yaki Point.

This shot and the next one were taken about five minutes after the first photo, still looking to the northeast.


Quickly returning to the west side of Yaki Point, I was just in time to catch the sun dipping beneath the horizon. The swirling clouds and dramatic colors show up beautifully when using the 7x zoom!

Other spectators were also photographing and enjoying the sunset.

This is one of my favorite photos. Not just because of the fantastic color (due to the clouds and pollution) but because you can also see multiple ridge lines – to me it “says” Grand Canyon. (Note: Well, you may or may not be able to see the multiple ridge lines... I could see them fine on the image on my laptop but not after uploading the image to blogger. Bummer.)

Just One More Iris Photograph

I promise, this will be the last Iris picture posted this year! It's such an unusual color, least one I've never seen before. These are hybrids that we bought a couple of years ago that I brought with me when the house was sold. They didn't bloom last year but according to my mother that's normal as they don't usually bloom the year they are planted. This is the only one that is this color, all the others are the light blue/pale purple color.

More Thoughts on Tandem Riding

I hoped that I'd get over my tandem fever by now, but instead I have only grown more curious. So when local tandemnist Matt O'Keefe offered to take me on an early morning ride, I was there with bells on.Matt and his wife Susi have been riding tandem for years. They have one for the city and one for sport, both of which Matt -production managerat Seven Cycles,and welder at Merlin prior to that -built himself.



A former mountain bike racer, Matt's attitude to cycling is "the less pavement, the better." When we set off, he suggested we do an unpaved loop instead of going on the road. I had no objections.



I was actually very interested in the logistics of how a tandem would work where we were going. The thing about dirt roads in the Boston suburbs, is that they are more like trails: For the most part not technical, but quite narrow - at times claustrophobically so, with a path through the woodsjust wide enough to fit a single bike. They can also be twisty.I was curious how a tandem could be wrangled around corners through some of the trickier spots.



But neither the tight turns along the narrow parts of the path nor the sharply zig-zagging boardwalks across bogs were a problem: Matt steered the long machine with precision through gravel, dirt, mud and sand, over ruts and ditches, and around tight corners. Tandems really can go anywhere! The experience from the stoker's seat was fantastic. All I had to do was pedal, and the huge bike did all this cool stuff under Matt's captaining.



In this vein, I keep mulling over the idea that tandems are a great way to expose cyclists to styles of riding they are not yet comfortable with on their own. They could be a tool not only for couples and friends of disparate abilities, but also for cycling clubs and various organised events. For instance, I can imagine a club event where experienced tandem captains offer stoker spots for tours through gorgeous but tricky terrain. Or a tandem race, with stoker positions open to cyclists who would not race on their own. Just a thought, but it could be great fun... Then again, it could turn out like this. Either way, I am in!

Pirates of Nassau Museum

We can't seem to visit any place without hitting at least one museum during our visit, so it is no surprise we had to do the same here. This little museum was lots of fun, starting out with the hilarious tour guide. Here he is encouraging me to take a picture of his "booty":



The museum was a little pricey for what it offered ($12 for adults) but we did learn a lot about pirates while we were there so I'd still recommend it.



From their website:



The
Golden Age of Piracy lasted for thirty years, from 1690 to
1720 and Nassau was at its heart. Here was a tropical pirate
paradise which attracted the greatest concentration of pirates
ever seen in the New World.


Nassau
was well suited as a pirate base of operations, its waters
were too shallow for a large man-of-war but deep enough for
the fast shallow draft vessels favoured by pirates. From their
snug harbour they could employ their hit and run tactics to
full effect; they devastated merchant shipping that plied the
trade routes just a short sail away. Their pirate gold and
goods formed the basis of a thriving community that attracted
rogues, merchants and wild women from far and wide.



It was
said that when a pirate slept he did not dream of going to
heaven but instead to return to his favourite port of Nassau
on New Providence Island.


Now you
can join them when you explore Pirates of Nassau, an new
interactive museum of Piracy in the heart of this historic
city.





My favorite part was learning about female pirates. They sounded pretty fierce. It was a fun visit and added to our already interesting day.

Big Bucket

For what ever reason (only the kittens know) our 2 new kittens prefer to drink water out of the larger water bucket that the dogs and older cats use. They will do this even though I put a smaller bowl down for them to use. At first they could just barely reach the water when it was at the top of the bucket. And yes, it is a Easter kids bucket.

The shell test is done!

Two days and literally inches of rain fell before it finally turned to wet snow as we climbed into Spray Park. Thenat 2AM Saturday (day 3) morning the moon came out and the temps dropped to 15 degrees F.We were able to get some of our gear dried over night and a short climb in before the nasty NW weather rolled back in late today.



Miserable for the majority of it but very educationaland well worth the effort.But not an experience I (or the rest of the CT test Team) want to repeat any time soon. There is a reason I like climbing in the dead of winter! I like water best in FROZEN form.



More to come once we get all the geardried out and and our field notes into hard copy. Some obvious winners and losers on this one. There is no ignoring ice cold water running down your back in these conditions. Or the specific jackets that we all ended up favoring during the monsoon.

My climbing pack?

I have gotten a number of emails asking me to be more specific on my own climbing pack design that Randy sews for me @ Cold Cold World.



These are the specs off the Spectra Ripstop version of the Ozone:





Pack weighs in at less than 1.5 #. Material is Spectra ripstop. Shoulder harness is off a full size CCW pack for the extra padding required on heavier loads. Some where above a 35L in my 21" back size.



Pack weight goes up as you add material weight. Same pack in the redballistics nylon shown in the pictures is 2.5#. Better weigh your own pack if the maker published the weight. I found one of the current manufactures a full 1/2# heavier than advertised on their"2 LB" 210d Dyneema Ripstop, 30L sack with a 17" back panel.I use a quality digital postal scale whichseems to help. My packs have a 21" back panel and the weights published above are thosepack's actual weightsin Spectra and Ballistics nylon. No gimics.



(details)

Custom sizing (which everyone should do if it is available to you)

custom pattern originally based on the Ozone size but with a bigger more oblong bottom

2liter+ water bottle size top pocket

2nd zippered pocket in bottom of the lid with key holder

Zippers reversed on the pockets for use on hanging belays

pull down shoulder straps instead of "pull up"

main bag has azippered "guide book" pocket...I use it for food and a head lamp generally

covered lid buckle which protects it while being hauled

removable foam pad

oversize shoulder straps for the extra weight when required

Perlon haul loop which is easier to clip on and off the anchor in difficult stances

dbl strap patches on lid (which I have yet to use but couldn't live with out)

dbl rope straps across the top of the pack, attaches ropes or tools just as easily

dbl bottom

10" extension with draw string

lid is extendable and or removable

bar tacked daisy chain on the bottom of the lid strap



There are no other attachment points on the pack...everything including, helmet, tools and crampons go inside the pack. You are forced to pack light.



I generally climb with the pack without the lid. If the lid is attached, it is likely stuck down inside the pack while climbing.



I've been using this "same" pack for years in many different and seemingly unlikely places. Randy's version is the best of those packs for my own use.



Sitting on a similar sized pack,during a quickascent of the West Buttress of Denali in the late 70's,usingthree pin skinny skis below 11K.









Bottom patternshape we ended up using for more comfort and volume is the larger orange pack. Shown with an earliersmaller CCW prototype.

Final pattern for the bottom panel of these packs.







Internal, 8" x9" pocket in the main sac. The higher, second zipper is the foam pad pocket.





Sewn on Ozone lid and an the extendable lid version I prefer with Velcro showing on the right.







Loaded and slightly extended, with tools strapped across the top under the lid. The toolsalso easily fit inside the pack as well...as hard as that may be to believe.





In all the pack is very simple. Butit is the detailing and attention to details when it is being sewn thatmakes the pack so awesome for my own use. The internal pocket for a bit of food or gel and a head lamp as an example, the extra thick, full size shoulder straps, the easily accessed and manipulated haul loop, the clean design when you need to haul, the easy extendable or removable lid, the small unpadded wings to give extra support on the hip belt when needed with heavier loads.



who, what and where:



Randy Rackliff @ Cold Cold World603 383 9021



http://www.coldcoldworldpacks.com/