Entering Oregon

Custom Rear Racks for Roadsters

As some have astutely observed in the previous post, my Raleigh DL-1 now has a rear rack! It is notoriously difficult to find racks that will properly fit these bicycles (without slanting), and the racks that originally came with DL-1s are almost impossible to get ahold of. This here is a prototype for a custom rack by Red Barn Classic Bicycle Accessories, designed and built by metalsmith Jon Gehman with some input from me, specifically to fit the vintage Raleigh DL-1.



The Roadster Rack was built based on the dimensions of the original racks that were typically used with the DL-1, but features some delightful add-ons.

The platform of the rack is fortified with a graceful arch - something the original lacks. There is also a handy light mount at the end for attaching a tail light.



Here is a detail shot. The Roadster Rack is made of 3/8" seamless aircraft chrom-moly tubing; brazed and silver soldered. It is enamel painted, and the matte finish is a good match for the aged paint on my bicycle.



The rack also features these nice loops for attaching bungee cords. Needless to say, these are extremely useful.



Though the functionality of the rack is impeccable, I have to say that - at least for me - the practical aspects are overshadowed by the looks. I am not sure how well my pictures portray this, but the lines of the rack are mesmerisingly graceful. The arch, the light mount, the bungee loops, and even the gentle curves of the platform itself - everything is perfectly proportioned and pleasing to the eye. It makes me feel like a criminal for having now attached a set of Wald folding baskets to my rack - but hey, I needed to carry my laptop bag!



If you are interested in commissioning one of these gorgeous racks from Jon Gehman, the price is $125. And keep an eye on his website for upcoming products, which will include French chainguards and other secret things. I am collaborating with Jon on some of the designs, so you will notice that his pictures are of the prototypes I have on my bikes. However, I am not involved in the sales of the products (nor do I receive any revenue from the sales) - so please contact Jon directly if you'd like to place an order or have questions about his other products. We would also be glad to know what you think of the design, so please feel free to post your honest feedback here.

Oslo Airport Gardermoen

Hi, just back from Norway and for those into flying, I’ve got here some airplane and airport eye candies while I work on my Oslo fotos.

Flight to Norway is about 2 hours including taxiing. The flight itself was uneventful; I mostly spent my time reading the travel entries in the in-flight magazine. One of the interesting stories there is a Norwegian couple who got married in a romantic chateau in France. For the Norwegians, and their astronomical eye-popping prices duly inflated with government tax, it is much cheaper for them to wed outside their home land. Or, to vacation all the time and stay away from home.







We took Norwegian Air, the new price fighter airline company of Norway. They fly direct to Oslo and Copenhagen from Amsterdam.I’m not fond of flying. I get tense when its take off and landing. And when there is turbulence I try to diffuse my nervousness by forcing myself to nap.

There are a few airports in Norway but the main international airport is called Oslo Airport Gardermoen located about 50 kilometers north of Oslo in the Akershus region.

Now here’s something to fittingly rave about the Gardermoen Airport: It is a glass house! There is so much light everywhere and I can perfectly understand why there is a need. During late autumn, throughout the winter until early spring, darkness envelops the whole country with during winter only having 4 to 5 hours of daylight. So with placing glass walls and glass ceilings, this bids a positive psychological effect that facilitates a much lighter and happier atmosphere. Light always livens up the mood. Even the tube connecting the airport gates to the airplanes are made of glass.








Here is a couple of unfortunate baggage's falling off from the cart in Gardermoen during handling from the plane to the baggage belt. Aside from this, we witnessed a young blonde man (local methinks) handcuffed and literally dragged by his feet, while protesting, by two police officers.



The glass see-through tube from the airport gate to the airplane and queuing up for our take-off turn on the runway.
As a visitor, the easiest and cost-effective way to get from Oslo Aiport to Oslo Sentralstasjon (Oslo Central Station) is by train, and the best choice, which unfortunately is not advertised visibly in the airport, is the NSB train, the country’s national train. The local stop train takes roughly 25 minutes to get to Oslo Sentral. One-way ticket is 102 NOK per person, and re-tour is 204 NOK, which is about €24. Not cheap.

When leaving Oslo S to the airport, take the Lillehammer stop train as this stop in Oslo Airport Gardermoen. Don’t mistake this with the Lillestrom train!

The other train option from the Oslo Airport to Oslo Sentral is the expensive airport express train called Flytoget. I strongly suggest--use this only if you are going to Norway on business and you need to be at your meeting early. Flytoget Express Train takes 19 minutes to get to Oslo Sentral and services the tracks 6x per hour. Not much difference in time really compared to the national train but the price, yes! One-way ticket is 170 NOK and re-tour ticket is 340 NOK, a whopping almost €40 train ticket! The price closely rivals Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express but not comparable really because the UK railway and London metro is a complete enigma for someone who is not local. Norway railway on the other hand is very straightforward.




Dutchman likes to film take-offs and landings. He is crazy about airplanes or anything artifical that flies . He should have been a pilot.



Our plane, Norwegian Air enroute to Amsterdam flying above Oslo or nearby in the surroundings.



Dutchman describes the city as a ‘uitgegroeid dorp’ which means—a developed [insert smirk here] village. Oslo is really small, 10 minutes of biking and you will find yourself in the outskirts of the city already.

Still, I’d like to go back there sometime in the near future to see the Fjords. I’ve already done some research, about 1200 kilometers coastal drive from Kristiansand to Trondheim via picturesque towns of Stavanger and Bergen, but I plan to combine this trip with boat and train to cover all the bases.

More stories about Oslo soon.

Fantastic views at Xigia Tavern during lunch

Leaving South Xigia Beach, we hit the main road and just 500 metres away we saw this tavern with a spacious parking lot. We stopped to check it out.

It turns out that the tavern is perched on the mountain sea cliff and looking out to the blue Ionian Sea. Fantastic views! I personally loved the thick trees giving shade to the diners, they bid a very cosy and romantic ambience, and oh, the birds happily chirping away from tree to tree. Well, what can I say? In this restaurant, you do not need man-made music to accompany the beautiful view.

So I told the Dutchman—this is it. We are not going anywhere else for lunch =)

When we came back from holiday I did some research on the restaurant and it turns out that its specialty is seafood and the owner is Italian who migrated to Zakynthos, Greece. This restaurant is very popular among the locals and the tourists as well. That is why it took us a LONG TIME to be seated. Guests came pouring in and we have to wait patiently in line. Dutchman was grumbling and ready to leave but I put down my foot and told him to be still.

Eventually we got our table with a nice view. Because the restaurant was buzzing with diners, ergo overcapacity, it took a while for them to take our order and for the food to arrive. I didn’t mind, I am enjoying my view with a glass of wine while waiting. Plus they gave us free bruschettas. That was a surprise indeed and it was lovely.

Dutchman ordered Greek salad and for me steamed mussels. We were going to order more but when the bruschettas arrived we decided to just leave it as it is. The food is enough already for both of us. Food here is 4.5 stars out of 5.

At the back of the tavern I saw a garden and an infinity swimming pool. It looked like a perfect place to hold a party or just to privately chill out. I wonder if the owner lives here as well? Well, one thing for sure they have a gorgeous property with breath taking views.

Waiting for our lunch to arrive...

There were lots of birds chirping from the trees and we noticed as well that there were many bird houses hanging above us.

Finally, lunch has arrived!

Bruschetta came first.

Greek salad never tastes the same outside Greece. Take note, onions and tomatoes here are sweet.

My steamed mussels and half a lemon.

Another angle foto of the taverna's terrace.

The verdict: food wiped out clean.

The taverna has its own private infinity swimming pool as well:

From our table we can see South Xigia Beach where we swam in the morning:

A boat came to unload its passengers for a swim:

Garlic and pine corns, they seem to be the theme of this tavern:

Next: More beautiful remote beaches!

Calendula

A sunny calendula flower in the garden.

I'm “Home” for the Holidays...

Greetings from Louisiana! I've made it safely to my destination and will be here through Christmas and New Years. It's not “Home” as in Indiana, but it is “Home” in the sense that my friends welcome me as family (we are, after all, distantly related). Mother Nature has not been very cooperative with the weather since I left Utah so it is quite nice to be “settled” in and out of the elements for a few weeks. I can't thank them enough for allowing me to be a part of their family!



To all of my friends and family scattered around the country, and all of the readers of Kinexxions, I offer you my heartfelt wishes for a Merry Christmas.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Eva Leah and Ervin Shock

My aunt, Eva Leah Wiseman and her husband Ervin Shock are interred at North Webster Cemetery in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana next to her parents Charles and Elsie (Shuder) Wiseman.

SHOCK
EVA LEAH / 1908 - 1967
ERVIN E. / 1908 - 1991
Photo taken July 12, .. - Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

Even after traveling from Maine to Washington, I'd be hard pressed to pick a spot prettier than the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Nathan and I drove around just to snap some pictures of this most glorious landscape. I am as enchanted by it as I was 20 years ago when I first saw it. Is it just me, or is this place breathtaking?



























Living the life in lovely Virginia!

Home Alone, with Bicycle

In the weeks without me, the Co-Habitant has not been idle: He has transformed his already handsome Motobecane Super Mirage into a mean, lean, sport-touring machine... and then some. For your entertainment, I post his mobile phone pictures of Myles.



Can you spot some of the, erm... unusual updates?



First, there is the bell mounted on the top tube. Yes, the top tube. An eccentric choice, but I think it looks distinguished!



Then there is the computer on the handlebars. The juxtaposition of the computer and the twine makes me giggle. In return, he threatens to put one on his Pashley as well.



And, Oh God, what's this? He installed clipless pedals (SPD 520) and bought clipless cycling shoes to go with them. Madness!



Of course, you've probably noticed these. Yes, they are twin, fully twined water flasks - with sports sprouts, or whatever those things are called. Spectacular, no?



And finally, behold the pump under the top tube. Myles is officially ready for anything - though I don't know about those clipless pedals. The Co-Habitant insists that he likes them, and I guess I should accept that. Maybe with time, he will twine them...

All Eggs Great and Small

My blog friend Shannon over at the Not So Virtual Homestead was writing recently about a huge egg that one of her chickens surprised her with.

We got a surprise too, but it was in the opposite direction.

One of the Dominique chickens must have gotten tired of laying normal eggs, and left us this tiny one.

A normal Dominique egg is on the left for comparison.

I didn't realize until I uploaded the pictures, that the depth of field on the macro setting was so shallow that to have the little egg in sharp focus meant that the normal one was a little fuzzy. Oops.

By that time my curiosity had gotten the best of me and I'd already cracked open the lilliputian egg to see what it looked like inside. So, no do-overs.

The inside looked pretty much like a normal egg in miniature.

(My sister recently made a comment about my liberal use of 50-cent words, so I had to work in "lilliputian" just for her.)

Star

All the big horses wanted to do today was look silly

New Wheeling Suit and New Adventures

Looking at Velo-Vogue's spring selection of "bike wardrobe remixes," I realised just how drab and unspring-like I looked compared to the others.

My "spring wardrobe" when I rode Marianne on April 1st. Sure, gray on gray is my signature look, but spring is all about rejuvenation. So over the weekend I put together a new Wheeling Suit.

Floral shirt, slate-blue leggings, sky-blue cardigan, and navy shorts with white buttons. No black or gray in sight. Even the saddle shoes are cream and brown, with red soles and brown laces.

These shoes are actually a God-send and I recommend them if you are looking for a stiff-soled, comfortable cycling shoe with a vintage look. They are Bass, very reasonably priced, and come in several different colours - including the more classic black-and-white saddle shoe scheme.

The soles are textured, springy and stiff- a rare and wonderful combination. The leather is thick and structured, but didn't rub or pinch even the first time I wore the shoes. And the brown matches the darker shades of my Flyer.

Lest you be alarmed that my ensemble consists of shorts and such practical shoes, I will explain that the Wheeling Suit is specifically for sporty rides and light touring - something I hope to do a lot of this year.

A couple of days ago I raised the saddle on Marianne as far as it could possibly be raised so that I could still just barely touch the ground with one toe "en pointe" and the other foot on the pedal. Last year, this would have been impossible for me and I needed to at least touch the ground with a full toe in order to stop safely on the bike. But my balance is much better now, and I felt ready to go further. I still find it impossible to mount and dismount the bike "properly", but the "one toe en pointe" method is good enough, as even on the steep-tubed Motobecane my legs are almost 100% extended on the pedals now.

Amazingly, raising the saddle in this manner amounted to almost 2 extra inches of seatpost. And this little adjustment completely changed my relationship with the bicycle. The combination of my improved skills and this more aggressive riding position, has made me appreciate Marianne's steep geometry and extreme responsiveness. Rather than trying to reduce and "tame" these characteristics, for the past week I have been enjoying them - for the first time since owning this bicycle.

In addition, I have had a major "skill breakthrough": I have finally learned how to balance properly - including "steering with my hips" and riding hands-free (yes, even on this bike!). I'd read about how to do this countless times, but that didn't help me learn it viscerally. I think what finally helped me learn, was watching the velodrome cyclists doing laps hands-free when they were taking a rest. Something in the "imitation" areas of my brain must have clicked at that moment, and my body finally got it. And I didn't even realise that I had gotten this, until I noticed myself turning at an intersection by tilting my hips rather than using the handlebars - my body did it on its own, and the "Aha!" moment followed. I will stop myself from being too self-congratulatory about something most normal cyclists have been probably doing since age 10, but I am nonetheless excited. Clearly, there are many new things to learn ahead. Hope springs eternal!