Ridlington - Brooke - Preston - Ridlington

About 9 miles. With Maureen and Barry.





I forgot the magic tracking machine, so I'm trying to write this from memory and a map. Barry was leading this one, and I don't pay as much attention!



Parked in the corner of the sports field, walked back towards the village and followed the footpath sign down Noel Lane, past 'The Old Noel Arms' and cottages.

Ridlington Church

We followed the path across fields towards the river Chater and some 'fish ponds', turning right along a quiet road, shortly after a bridge in a field of pale orange sheep.







This forms the MacMillan/Leighfield Way, passing Priors Coppice on our left. When we reached a T junction we turned right for a few hundred yards, then left at a crossroads into Brooke.











There we went past the church and took a slightly hidden path (because workmen had placed their portaloo strategically) to the right.

No risk of activating these.

Preston Church

(tbc)

Seeds!

My Renee's Garden seed order came in the mail the other day, and I am very happy with the seeds. The packets were larger and had more seeds than I thought, so that was great.

Here are the packets I bought online:

Swiss Chard 'Pot of Gold'
Arugula 'Italian'
Mesclun 'Paris Market Mix'
Radishes 'Petit Dejeuner'

OBX From My Window

It's been a bit since I took pictures while we are driving somewhere, so I decided to do it yesterday while we drove up to Nags Head. I am so in love with the scenery here. When Austin was here with us, he wasn't impressed in the least with it. BORING is what he said. I can see why it would seem kind of monotonous to some. I never tire of it though.

I normally hate driving with the windows down. I didn't even like riding with the top down when Nathan had a convertible. Here, I want to not only roll the windows down, I want to hang my head out the window like a carefree dog.

It's just soothing to me for some reason.

There was quite a bit of smoke up that way, and it really triggered my allergies. Still, it was worth it. Once we arrived in Nags Head, we did a bit of shopping and scored some greatly needed beach shoes and new shirts for a great price. As we were leaving the store, we ran into Jack and Ruth, a couple that I work with. We ended up eating dinner with them at the Mexican restaurant Azteca and it was very good. It was a nice bonus to have good company too.



Ok, back to the scenery. It's postcard perfect, isn't it?

New York Landscape From My Window

I've gotten fairly good at shooting pictures from my window in a moving truck. Today I called Diana while out with Nathan so that I could tell her how wonderful it is here and ask her to come and visit us. Nathan wasn't about to wait around for me and my marathon long phone call, so I managed to shoot and talk on the phone too. I'm sharing that to explain why I managed to catch the rear view mirror in almost every single picture today.



This area really is so beautiful. I'm glad we got to visit here. Did you hear that honey? I'm glad we came here. I really didn't want to come to New York this year...but so glad we did now that I'm here.

The colors are just gorgeous here. Not quite fall colors yet, but right on the brink of that change.

I've been fascinated by cornfields this year. Maybe it is because we were out west last year and didn't see any there. Maybe it is because we stayed in one place long enough to see them growing. Either way, it just feels like summer and feels like America to me when we drive by them.

I'm also feeling sentimental about farms since I lived in an area surrounded by them at one point in my life.

I think I'm going to feel a bit sad when summer seems officially over this year. On the other hand, I love Fall when we are in the northern areas so maybe I will just be thrilled to enjoy the fun of that too.



Living the life in New York!

French Inspirations II: J'Adore René Herse

As far as vintage roadbikes go, none have gotten to me quite like the impeccably elegant René Herse. For your viewing pleasure, I present some glorious René Herse mixtes throughout the years. Though Herse mixtes are legendary, photos of them are nearly impossible to find online, and I thank the collectors at reneherse.com for their permission to use these images. (For Part I of French Inspirations, see here.)

An early René Herse mixte with twin lateral stays, (c) 1947. To me, it brings to mind a woman in a shimmering evening gown with perfect posture, holding a glass of champagne in a slender hand as she looks out into the sea. Am I anthropomorphising? Well, maybe just a little.

Beautiful lugs and fork crown.

Lugged connection points where the lateral stays meet the seatpost. (This is so much nicer than the welded plate behind the seatpost on my Motobecane mixte.)

How amazing to see a 1940s derailleur. Notice the unusual derailleur hanger design off of the chainstay.

Original Lefol Le Paeon fenders. Velo Orange now sells a beautiful Honjo remake of these.

I am curious about the handlebars. They seem to be Northroads, but weren't these bicycles fitted with the Champs-Élysées bars that these are based on? I would love to see the original Champs-Élysées bars on an early Herse mixte like this one. More photos of this bicycle in higher resolution available here.

Here is a later model of a René Herse mixte - a touring bike (c) 1964. It is incredibly well preserved and part of a gorgeous touring pair. I know that some people do not like mixtes with drop bars, but I am not one of them. The beauty of the mixte is that it is versatile, and I think that the drop bars on the above photo look as natural and elegant as porteur bars. The frame design now features a single top tube branching off into twin stays at the seatpost. Personally I prefer the earlier design, with continuous lateral stays, but still this bicycle is gorgeous.

A close-up of the stays attachment point. I am not certain when the switchover from the continuous twin lateral stays design took place, but possibly in the late 1950s - early 1960s.

And this is one of the later original René Herse mixte designs, again with single top tube branching off into twin stays at the seatpost, (c)1972s.

Stay attachment looks a bit different from the '60s model, in that the stays lie close to the main tube. Because Herse made bespoke bicycles, I am not certain whether this reflects a change in design, or a customer's request.

These wrap-around seat tube lugs are not typical for a mixte. See here for more photos of this bicycle from different angles and in high resolution.

It is interesting that these Herse mixtes all have the characteristic "seafoam" colour scheme that I have also noted in these other early French lady's bicycles. More interesting still that it happens to be my favourite colour. It is a delicate, gray-blue-green, not as harsh as the aquamarine of my Motobecane. I can stare at it all day and I hope you enjoy these images as well. A big thank you again to reneherse.com for their terrific website.

RootsTech :: Day Two

It was another busy and mind-boggling day at RootsTech. I didn't do much socializing since I attended presentations all day long!



As with yesterday, the keynote address was impressive with a nearly full room of attentive genealogists. Given by an enthusiastic and very dynamic speaker - Josh Coates – the topic was “Exabytes, Social Clouds, and Other Monstrosities.”



I've never tried Voice Recognition Software but after listening to Luana Darby in “Can You Hear Me Now? Voice Recognition Software and Genealogy” I may just have to give it a try! Someday. (I'm not sure my little netbook is capable of effectively using the software.) I have a lot of obituaries, deeds, wills, and estate files that need transcribing and it seems it may be easier to read/dictate them into the computer rather than trying to type up the documents myself! The obits could probably be done by scanning then doing OCR on them but that always seems to require some cleaning up of the text. It seems that Voice Recognition Software has come a long way in the last 10 years or so. The software still requires “training” to your voice and your manner of speaking but she says the accuracy is quite good.



Jill Ball did a great job directing the panel in “Genealogy 2.0: International Panelists Discuss Their Use of Social Media to Connect With Cousins, Collaborate on Projects, Discuss Issues, Market and Promote Genealogy Services and Perform Acts of Genealogical Kindness.” Jill, Amy Coffin, and Audrey Collins offered up examples and opinions on the various topics listed in the title of the presentation.



I seem to be attending sessions on topics where I have limited knowledge. Kinexxions is on blogger but I went to the presentation on Understanding WordPress by Amy Johnson Crow. Each platform has it's pros and cons and since I've got five years worth of posts on blogger, I don't think I'll be switching it over to WordPress. However, I would certainly consider using WordPress for a new blog – if I ever decide to start another one!



My last presentation for today was “Google's Toolbar and Genealogy” by David Barney. I learned so much during this presentation that my head was spinning! If you get a chance, I highly recommend watching this one when it becomes available on FamilySearch. It should be available soon along with the keynote addresses and other sessions.



I didn't take any photos today other than the one below...





Elyse Doerflinger and Michele Goodrum were “caught” doing what many other genealogists did after the sessions were over for the day! Michele is holding a wand scanner that she had been using to scan pages of a book – she says it works great once you get the hang of working with it.



As you can see, the place was pretty busy. I decided not to attempt any research since I'll be staying in Salt Lake City for a while after the conference is over. I also opted to not stay for the viewing of “Who Do You Think You Are?” though I did watch the show from the comfort of my motel room!

Happy Tears? Bracing for Winter...

At first glance, this might look like a "sad panda", but it's really not. It's just that today was 35° F and windy out. Riding to my destination I must have been a site, because tears were streaming down my face, then freezing in disgusting patches all over my cheeks. Mmmm!

So yes - Now I understand what cyclists mean when they discuss goggles for winter riding. I don't do well with goggles, because they mess with my spatial perception. But (some) sunglasses I can deal with, so I think I will wear them in the winter just as I wore them as "bug shields" last spring.

One thing I truly love about the winter is the beautiful light. Velouria thinks it flatters her colouring and gives her a sense of mystery. She also thinks that she will look quite nice once the snow arrives. What a vain bicycle!

Dramatic self-and-bike shadow. That lumpy stuff on my face is the tears - next time the sunglasses are coming for sure.

Overall, I am still trying to figure out how to be consistently comfortable cycling during the cold season. While I continue to cycle almost every day, I have to be honest: It does not feel as great as it did in the warmer months and I do not get the urge to go on rides (as opposed to using the bike solely for transportation) when it is below 40° F. Maybe I just need to allow myself to get used to it gradually? Also, I must admit that I am getting slightly terrified at the prospect of riding in the snow. On the one day it seriously snowed here so far, I was sick and didn't ride anywhere, but more snow is coming soon and I am going to have to face it. The posts on other blogs make it seem like "wiping out" on ice is not just a possibility, but an inevitability, and that doesn't sit well with me. I can't imagine not cycling during the winter, but I need to think of a plan and to brace myself.