Balancing Rock

Other End of Tunnels

This is the other side of the tunnels. The canyon with the creek at the bottom is on the left hand side.

Can't Get Enough of This

I just can't get enough of this:

La Sportiva Baruntse revisted

With the volcano in Iceland nixing my plans to climb in Chamonix earlier this spring I had some time and money on my hands and no place I really wanted to go. That is a dangerous combination!

Daniel Harro's email last month and pictures of the work done on his Spantiks got me thinking.

The Baruntse gives my foot a great fit and offers a full length, rigid, nylon midsole so it front points very well. I like the support, lacing and cuff better for my foot than the Spantik. The over all warmth of both boots I suspect is very comparable with similar upper design and materials.







The obvious advantages of the Spantik is it has a foam midsole for extra warmth on top of a carbon fiber midsole used to cut weight and add rigidity. The other thing Sportiva used in the Spantik design is a very thin Vibram sole to also lower the weight.

After seeing what cobbler Dave Page of Seattle did to Daniel's Spantiks by adding a Nepal midsole and big block Vibram sole it got me thinking. Wrong direction for Daniel's Spantik imo by adding the weight of a Nepal sole/mid sole and duplicating the Baruntse combination, but how about going the other way and dropping a few ounces?







I took my Baruntses down to Dave Page's one afternoon and described what I wanted. Dave pulled out a couple of different Vibram sole options. I had brought along a accurate electronic scale to see if the weights "added up". And sure enough, it looked like a resole with the "proper" La Sportiva Vibram would drop 4oz per boot and add more insulation under foot while doing it. ( I didn't think the added insulation was needed but..if it goes with a weight drop why not?)

I ended up with a Baruntse that weights in at 2# 15.5oz compared to the factory Spantik at 3#.05oz. A total of 1.5 oz difference. Spantik has a 26mm mid sole at the ball of the foot and my lwt Baruntse has a 25mm midsole thickness in the same place.

Original La Sportiva factory, size 45, weights:

Spantik 3# .o5oz
Baruntse 3# 2.50oz

semi custom boot weights:

Spantik with a Baruntse liner 2# 13.5oz
Baruntse w/inner and lwt sole 2# 15.5oz

I ended up dropping only 3oz per boot but I did gain some sole insulation as well. The new lug pattern has a sold toe areas and will be better for pure rock climbing. Certainly more cushion in the boot now, both in the sole sole and heel. Down side? The Vibram soles are thinner so they won't last as long on hard surfaces. Same durability issue on a Spantik as well. But the Baruntse has more surface area being used on the newer sole.














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Factory Baruntse and a Trangpo Extreme GTX in size 45



I like climbing technical ground in the Baruntse better than in the Spantik so it is a win/win for me. And even with the resole I am still almost $200 under the Spantik retail. Would I do it again? Cost was $78.00 for the resole. No real reason to do it other than curiosity on my part to see what kind of weight loss I would come up with. But if I wanted to take the Baruntse on a cold, technical Denali route, I would do it again in a heart beat. No question it is less weight and a warmer boot now. Warm enough to leave the over boots at home above 17K.....may be :)

This is an modification that would cost La Sportiva nothing in production and it would offer us one more option for dbl boots.



Factory sole..
















Baruntse with a lwt, La Sportiva factory resole added.

Painted Turtle

A surprise yesterday while driving past a small pond, I happened to catch a glimpse of this small Painted Turtle in the corner of my eye. I backed up and watched him for a while, but when I opened the door of my truck he didn't like that and moved towards the water. I snapped this shot just before he slipped beneath the surface.

Cycling and the Summer Sun

After weeks of freezing temperatures and rains, the past few days have been super-sunny, hot and humid. The rapid transition has plunged me into a frantic search through my abode for appropriate attire and sufficient sunscreen.

Complexion-wise, I am pale - with purple rather than orange undertones. Venturing out after a winter season, I tend to look like something from Flowers in the Attic. And I am ridiculously sensitive to heat and humidity, to the point where a mere stroll down a street without shade on a summer day can result in heat stroke or sun poisoning. What then, of the miles of sun-drenched bicycle routes in greater Boston?

A long bridge over the Charles River (Longfellow Bridge), its menacing sunshine ready to devour me.

A hazy view of the city from the bridge.

Massachusetts Avenue - the most popular bicycle commuters' route through Cambridge - with hardly a tree to defend from the sun's rays (picture taken pointing backwards, while stopped on red).

The way I've been dealing with the sun so far, has been mostly via the avoidance method. In my head I have a sort of alternative bicycle map of the areas where I frequently ride, with tree-lined routes at the ready if a day is sunny and hot.

I also tend to avoid being outdoors in the summer from mid-morning till late afternoon, trying my best to schedule my trips and meetings during times when the sun is gentler. Sometimes these methods work, but other times they are insufficient.


I do drink water, wear loose and light-coloured clothing, and use sunscreen - but that too has proven to have its limits. Until recently, it had always been my understanding that the potency of sunscreen beyond SPF 35 is marginal and that higher SPF numbers are mostly a gimmick (and potentially hazardous). However, last year - when cycling daily on the open roads of Cape Cod for two weeks at the end of September - I repeatedly got burned while wearing my SPF 35 sunblock. So this year I have purchased SPF 80 sunblock and pray this does the trick, while on some level being uneasy about the possible adverse effects of overusing this stuff.

If anybody has advice on this issue, please share. Last year, I noticed visible damage to the skin on my face and hands after a summer of cycling, and I want to avoid this in future. Are there other pallid and sun-averse cyclists out there, who have gotten adept at combating the sweltering heat?

Hurrican Irene's Destruction

When we left the OBX area, we had plans to come back quickly. Today we realized that is not likely to happen given the devastation there. Out of all the places we have visited so far, this was by far the one that felt the most like "home" to me so I'm sad we won't be going back just yet. We hope to return in the spring and in the meantime we will send supplies and do other things to help this area as they rebuild.

Handlebar Hoopla, What Now?

MyRoyal H Mixteis almost built up, save for the fenders, racks and lights. I don't want to post glamour shots before the bike is completed, but let's just say it has some unusual features! The build has been slow, but more or less trouble-free so far... until we ran into an unexpected glitch with the handlebar setup.



My idea for this bicycle was to install VO Porteur handlebars with Silver bar-end shifters and Guidonnet brake levers. In theory this seemed like a good plan, but in practice several things have gone awry...



First, the stem length we thought would work (6cm) is apparently too short, because when I lower the bars down to where I want them, the bar-ends overlap too much with my knee if I sharply turn the handlebars while the pedal is in the up position. So we had to exchange the stem, and thankfully the shop that sold it to us was willing to do that. We are now installing a 10cm stem and will see whether that eliminates the overlap.



But the bigger problem is the Guidonnetbrake levers themselves. They look fantastically French and provide plenty of braking power, but I find their placement awkward.



As you can see in the pictures, the Guidonnets are shaped like a pair of short rod-brake levers. They are installed in such a way, that their curve is meant to follow the curve of the handlebars. And because the Porteur bars are quite narrow, my hands end up in a position that is too close to the stem when braking - which I find suboptimal in its effect on the bicycle's handling.



{Edited to add: I have now test-ridden the bicycle with these brake levers extensively. When going over 12mph, the handling in this position stabilizes; slower than that it is somewhat shaky. It is basically a very aggressive position close to the stem, similar to the "fixie grip". The levers are good if you want a bike with swept-back bars to handle aggressively in city traffic. The levers are not so good if you don't.}



As you can see here, the Guidonnet levers don't allow you to brake from the upright position on the handlebars, but make you lean forward and move your hands closer to the stem. I find it counter-intuitive to brake in an aggressive position and shift in a relaxed position; should it not be the other way around? I will test ride the bike some more once we install the longer stem, but I suspect that I might have to admit that the Guidonnets were a mistake - which leaves the question of what to do instead.



[image via Reinassance Bicycles and ecovelo]

One possibility would be to install inverse brake levers (which I already have lying around) and fit the Silver shifters into a set of Paul's Thumbieshandlebar mounts, as Renaissance Bicycles has done on the build shown above. I have never seenSilver shifters mounted on the handlebarsbefore, only the (considerably less classic-looking)Shimanos. Having spoken to Bryan from Renaissance about it, I learned that he has rigged up a system to make the Silver set-up possible, and I am considering emulating it. The problem is, that the Co-Habitant is vehemently against this plan: He insists that placing the shifters on the handlebars would "cheapen a high end bike". I understand what he means, but I disagree when it comes to the Renaissance method involving the Silver shifters; I think it looks surprisingly elegant. Honest opinions?



The alternative solution would be to get rid of the Porteur bars and take the Albatross bars from Marianne - installing them in the same upside-down manner, only with bar-end shifters and with the entire bar wrapped. I could do it, though I was really looking forward to havingthePorteurbars on this bicycle. Maybe there are other possibilities I am missing? I would like for this bicycle to retain a vintage French look, which I feel is better achieved with the Porteurs than with the upside-down Albatross. Suggestions welcome!



{Edited to add: the Guidonnet levers have now been sold; thanks for your inquiries!}

Bicycles and Escapism

[image via collectvelo]

A little while ago I came across this beautiful old photo of three Parisian ladies with their bicycles. How happy they look, how carefree - it was a picture that put a nostalgic smile on my face... until I noticed the date, which was 1942. Carefree Parisians giggling on their bikes during nazi occupation? Historically, the photo did not make sense. I was not the only one to notice the discrepancy, and soon comments began appearing below the image, such as "It looks [as if] nothing happened in France during the war?" and "odd, they didn't care the Germans were occupying their city?" The person who posted the photo then explained that it was a publicity shot from a 1942 fashion show, "Journée de `l'élégance à bicyclette." Now it made more sense: The image was intentionally designed to be one of much needed make-believe - suggesting the sort of light-hearted existence that was very far removed from the realities of actual life in Paris at the time. The bicycle here was used as a symbol of escapism.



Looking at contemporary visual narratives involving bicycles, my mind keeps drifting back to this photo and I cannot help but see a connection. While analysts have attempted to explain the current trendiness of cycling with economic and environmental factors, that never rang entirely true to me. There is an undercurrent of hysteria in both the commercial, political and personal focus on the bicycle we see today that goes beyond practical concerns and even aesthetic interests.It is as if the very idea of bicycles - in its deep-rooted association with a simpler, more innocent era and also in its inherent promise of mobility - has the power to reduce anxiety, which could explain its popularity (and marketability?) during times of heightened uncertainty, threat, and social unrest.

A Day off and a drive on the Needles Highway

Well the start of week 3 of work and we are all settled in so we decide to do some more exploring. The Needles Highway had been closed because there was still snow on it when we arrived but it is open now so off we go! The Needles Highway is a scenic byway filled with twists and turns and narrow one lane tunnels.

and the Rock Formation from which it derives it's name

A tight squeeze even for us!I make a friend along the wayThe views are fabulous

Where'd Gary go???



Cathedral Spires in the distanceCaution Wild Life at Large! (in small tunnels)

It's been2 weeks since we have done our hike-a-day and I have put back on 2 of the 10 lbs I lost getting here - so I think we should tackle the Cathedral Spires Trail. Seems the trail hasn't been groomed in awhile!



Since that was so much fun we added on the Sylvan Lake Loop



All throughout the forest there are downed trees that have been cut up into blocks.

Apparently they are having a major problem with a destructive Pine Beetle. Cutting the infected trees into smaller chunks reduces the larvae's ability to survive. After 100+ years of Man suppressing forest fires, the forests have become too dense allowing disease and pests to transfer easily from tree to tree.

Next on the list was Mt. Rushmore but as we leave Sylvan a dense fog is coming in. So this is what we saw of Mt. Rushmore! Oh well another day!