Real Gone

Friends began to suspect it some time ago, but I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to admit it, even to myself. But now it's gotten to the point that it's affecting my sleep, my social life, even my work on the blog. And so the time has come to tell the truth:I am building a bicycle frame.




My mentor isMike Flanigan- fabled builder, instructor, and patron saint of the local steel-addicted youth.So at least I am in good hands. But why do this at all? I don't think it will lead anywhere. I don't think I will be good at it. It's something I simply can't help.




In part, I blame my environment: Boston is so replete with framebuilders, that the behaviour has become normalised here.Perhaps naively, I thought that I could watch friends light up those frame joints over and over and not get tempted. But after 3 years of it, I caved. "I'll try it once," I said.




Then there is the annoying combination of my curiosity about things like bike handling and frame geometry, coupled with my poor ability to grasp abstract concepts. In the end, I do not see a good way to "get" this stuff other than the hands-on method. If I want to understand tubing diameter and thickness, I should work with some tubing. If I want to understand frame geometry, I should put one together and see how everything fits.




Finally, having worked on a few collaborative projects with framebuilders now, I kept feeling uncomfortable with not understanding their process as thoroughly as I would have liked. When working with a fabricator on a future project, I want to be 100% aware of what I am looking at and agreeing to, not 90% as I was during the latest one. If I am interested in bicycle design, I need to go through the fabrication process myself at least once.




So those are my reasons. Maybe they are logical, maybe not, I have lost perspective at this point. But in any event,here I am: eyes blurry after weeks of reading and re-reading what I only somewhat grasp, and elbows deep in tubing which I am almost certain to ruin. And I haven't even gotten into the hard stuff yet. The brazing, that point of no return, begins next week. Mike seems to think I will actually be able to ride the bike I make, but I am not getting my hopes up.




I've been taking a lot of notes, and will continue to do so in the following weeks. I plan to post at least some of these notes online here(the name "Not a framebuilder" is a joke, inspired by my encounters with Bruce Gordon and Richard Sachs).There is not much content there at the moment, but the notes are coming. I will also write up a few cohesive posts about the whole thing on this blog, once it's over. In the end it might be a story of failure, and I am willing to accept that. Won't know unless I try!

My Cat Loves Bicycles

We thought it was cute when our cat showed an interest in the Pashley Roadster. But that was nothing compared to her reaction to the vintage Raleigh!

According to the Co-Habitant, she was "all over it" immediately, sniffing the bicycle and trying to lick it. She went into some sort of ecstatic frenzy and could not be pried away!

So apparently my cat loves bicycles! -- or at least quality English bicycles? -- We will need to conduct some research to determine the extent of her attraction.

Sapsucker holes

Sapsucker holes in cedar

Edited to say:
Here's what a yellow-bellied sapsucker looks like. One of these days I might get lucky and get a good bird picture... but not today.

According to most sources, a sapsucker's drilling usually does not harm trees.

Lake Dorothy ..

The lake

Jennifer and I went for a mellow hike to Lake Dorothy. This is a highly maintained trail. (Lots of stairs.) It has an elevation gain of perhaps 1000' depending on how far you go and it is only about a mile and a half to the lake. Once at the lake there are numerous campsites and toilets for staying overnight.

Stairs and large downed tree.

Lake Dorothy is one of the larger lakes in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and is nearly a mile and a half long. We walked to the halfway point where Jennifer got a swim in, while I rested on shore. Then we continued to the far end of the lake before turning around and heading home. You could continue on the trail generally south until you reach the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River as well. But at that point you would need a car shuttle.

Jennifer was looking for a nice mellow trip to start hiking again and this proved good for that. Although we both wound up tired at the end and had to stop at the Sultan Bakery for a snack to make it home.

Fungus on tree stump

Also, it was quite crowded for a Monday. I presume it is a mad house on weekends.

Retrovelo Paula (Thou Shalt Not Covet!)

I have been dying to see Anna's new Retrovelo Paula, but ever since my arrival in Vienna circumstances conspired against it. Finally, we arranged to get together a couple of days ago. We planned to meet by the river for an elaborate photoshoot, naïvely expecting the warm spring days of the past couple of weeks to continue. Alas, the weather here has turned absolutely horrid - freezing temperatures and icy gusts of wind. We abandoned the riverfront idea and instead met near Anna's university department. It was so cold that we barely managed to take a few pictures before seeking refuge indoors. For what it's worth, here they are:

Anna and the Retrovelo Paula by the Goat Statue outside her department at the University of Vienna. The bicycle frame is what Retrovelo calls "pigeon blue", with cream Schwalbe Fat Frank tires. I have to say that the bicycle is difficult to photograph and I almost feel bad posting these pictures here, because in person it looks so much prettier. I was simply speechless when I saw it.

"Pigeon blue" is a soft powdery French blue that goes perfectly with the cream tires. If you ask me, the loop frame Retrovelos are much more attractive that the diamond frame version. I like this bicycle soooo much better than the Paul we tried last November.

Closeup of the fenders, tires and my favourite part - the triple-plate fork crown. Yum.

Despite still being in pain from my injuries, I obviously had to try the bike. I rode it briefly on the campus path, and I must say it is spectacular. I liked the ride better than any of the Dutch bikes I have tried so far (Azor, Gazelle and Batavus) - mainly because it is just as comfortable while being considerably sportier and easier to handle at slow speeds. And possibly I liked it a bit better than my Pashley. The seat post is more slack than on the Pashley and at the same time the Paula seemed faster to accelerate at slow speeds. I can't jump to conclusions after such a short test ride, but this was my initial impression. I must admit that I had a serious case of bike envy after riding the Paula.

In honor of meeting Paula, I wore matching tights - which she liked very much.
On this picture you can see the hubs, chainguard, rear rack and tail light (which is dynamo-operated, like the headlight). I love the rear rack design, and it looks even nicer on loop frame models than it does on the diamond frame. It would be very easy to install a dressguard on this bicycle, but I am not so sure how easy it would be to find a full chaincase to match. If Retrovelo offered a chaincase to go with these bicycles, it would be much appreciated.

In general, while the specs on this bike are pretty much identical to the Paul reviewed here, the overall impression is completely different (nicer!). All in all, it is a bit of an overload on the "stunning" scale. I can only imagine how I would react if I saw this bike in my favourite green-gray colour, which is also one of their standard options. No, better not think about it!

After our faces and fingers went completely numb, Anna carried Paula up the stairs into her department building and we all paid her office a visit.

Amazingly, all three of us fit into the tiny elevator.

Paula was kind enough to wait in the storage room while Anna and I had coffee in the downstairs cafe and recovered from the freezing cold. We had a nice time and it was good to see Anna again... but the downside is that I now covet her bike. Shame on me!

Into the Ice Cave

Here is one of my favorite ice shots from this weekend. This "ice cave" was actually the hole in Hollow Rock, at Hollow Rock Resort in Grand Portage, MN. The hole was absolutely FULL of icicles, and was fascinating to photograph.

From the Highway

These are photos of the high desert country that can be seen as you drive on Highway 550 between Rio Rancho and Jemez Pueblo.

Bikes You Can't Ride

Last night, Anna (from Cycling Is Good for You) and I went to a party thrown by a local law firm. As a form of entertainment, the party offered its guests a number of exotic bicycles to try, courtesy of our friend and fabled bicycle collector Wolfgang.

Among the more notable was this super-long chopper.

Don't be deceived by the fact that Anna is actually pedaling it in the pictures - these things are incredibly difficult to ride. The freakishly long fork throws the steering completely out of wack requiring extraordinary balancing skills and trust in the universe to control it.

And here is Wolfgang riding a Swing Bike. If it looks like the bicycle is folding in half whilst in motion, that's because it is.

The seat tube is split in such a way, that it pivots and allows independent steering for the front and rear wheel, to the point that the wheels can be almost parallel to one another.

When I first learned about modified bicycles, I assumed the point behind them was eccentricity and creativity. I never realised that often such bikes are intentionally designed to be difficult to ride. By altering the bicycle in a way that disturbs balance, the cyclist is challenged to compensate by improving their own balancing and steering skills. Though I prefer my bicycles ridable, I appreciate the skill it takes to handle these - especially after having tried (and failed) to ride them myself!

Mountain Top and Valley

One wonderful thing about where Nathan's family lives is that you can see the mountains pretty much from anywhere you are at there. The scenery is breathtaking. It is so lush that we find ourselves saying, "it is so green here" each time we visit. It's a wonderful place to enjoy nature at its finest.





I never tire of this scenery. I don't think I ever will tire of it. I mean, can you imagine seeing this and saying, you know what...I'm done with all of this beauty? Nope, not gonna happen.











What I rarely did when we lived here, and really enjoy now though is the ride coming in. The ride that allows us a whole different view of this magical place. The drive over the mountains, where we look down on the valley below. That is what we enjoyed today.



It is still so green and still so beautiful.



Just an entirely different perspective.



Living the life in Virginia!

Wordless Wednesday :: Another Rainy Day

Mother Nature seems to be alternating between two days of gray, gloomy, rainy days then two days of beautiful blue skies and sunshine, etc., etc. You learn to take advantage of the “good” days!

Magic in Vermont: the Old Spokes Home

Over the weekend, a bunch of us (it was actually an entire delegation) made our way from Boston, MA to Burlington, VT for the New England Randonneurs Vermont Fall Classic. The ride was to begin early in the morning on Sunday, and since Burlington is quite a distance away most of us arrived the day before. There are many interesting things to do in the area, but the destination I truly wanted to visit was the Old Spokes Home. When I described it to my companions Bikeyface and Vorpalchortle, they agreed that we must see it immediately.






Rolling into town in the pouring rain, we headed straight for the legendary establishment while there was still daylight to be had.






So what is the Old Spokes Home? Oh what indeed. To call it a bike shop is not sufficiently descriptive, though it is that too. But it is also a local hangout, a museum,a piece of history in the making. It is a place that is guaranteed to make bicycle lovers happy. That last bit happened to us within moments of approaching its gingerbread house-like exterior.






Overgrown with vegetation and stray bicycle parts, the "come-hither" energy was quite strong.






It is as if someone unleashed the power of their imagination on the place without holding back.






The bicycles parked in the gravel driveway coyly hinted at what awaited within. Upside-down North Roads. Mismatched frames and forks. Fenders and fixed gears. Holding our breath in anticipation, we rushed inside.






In the initial moments I hardly knew where to look. There was just so much of it that my eyes could not focus. Classic racing bikes peeked out from behind modern inventory.





Velocipedes and penny farthings hung suspended from the ceiling.






And these looked downright commonplace next to contraptions with labels such as "Crypto Alpha Bantam."






And then my eyes fell upon this.






Displayed quite casually between the wicker baskets and the bells shaped like cheeseburgers, was an all-original 1949 Rene Herse randonneuring bicycle.






Chromed. Vitus tubing. 650B wheels. Hammered fenders and chainguard. Single Stronglite crankset.






Though I had glimpsed a couple of Rene Herse bicycles in person prior to this, those experiences paled in comparison. The bicycle at the Old Spokes Home was at once so well-preserved, so classically Rene Herse-ish and so accessible, that I was beside myself. Could I touch it? Yes. And so I did. All over!






One thing that struck me about this bicycle, was how relatively plain it looked by today's standards of custom builds. It wasn't any one thing that created this impression, but the sum of the parts. In person, the bike did not stand out, but disappeared into itself - into the strong visual logic that dominated it. In that sense, the vintage Herse reminded me more of my modern roadbikethan it did of classic constructeur-inspired designs.






As I mulled this over, the owner of Old Spokes arrived - Mr. Glenn Eames. We recognised each other and there was much delight. Glenn was on his way to the Fat Chance party that was being held nearby, but I am glad to have gotten the chance to meet him. Had I made my way upstairs, he asked? I was just heading there.






The upstairs of the Old Spokes Home contains a small museum of vintage and antique bicycles. The collection is labeled, catalogued, and part of it is viewable online. But nothing compares to seeing it all in person.






It is difficult to photograph in the densely occupied attic space, but basically there are several pen-like enclosures behind which the oldest machines are kept. Others are hung from the ceiling. The oldest specimen in the collection is an 1868 Calvin Whitty Velocipede, and there are hundreds of antique machines on display showing the development of the bicycle as we know it.






While my personal interest in antiques is limited, I could not help but marvel at the sight of bicycle history unfolding in front of my eyes.






Bikeyface felt much the same.






Entranced by the magic of it, the three of us wandered around in a daze.






For me some of the highlights included the 1898 "ladies first" Iver Johnson Tandem,






the 1897 “Old Hickory” Tonk Manufacturing all-wood bicycle






(build using layers of laminated bent hickory, including fork and bottom bracket),






and some of the very early path racers and roadsters, such as this 1899 Tribune “Blue Streak" - a30” wheel light roadster.






And I especially enjoyed seeing some of the early step-through frames with lightweight dressguard and chaincase solutions. The earliest lady's frame on display is an 1899 Gormully & Jeffery Roadster, which I really would not mind taking for a spin.





Others wandered in and out of the museum while we were there, and the bicycle that impressed new visitors the most seemed to be this 3-person tandem -





- with its enormous rear chainring. I did not have a chance to ask about this bike and I do not see it listed in the collection, but some have suggested that the purpose of the large chainring was for the bike to be paced by a train - much as Charles "Mile-a-Minute" Murphy did by drafting behind a Long Island Rail Road boxcar.






Deeper within the attic are aisles of vintage bicycles that are available for sale.





Some are refurbished, others not. "This is an antique, not an everyday rider," warned a label attached to a machine with a spoon brake.






But most of the vintage vintage 3-speeds for sale would make excellent everyday riders in a small college town such as Burlington, VT. I was impressed to see how many there were on offer.






In part because of the Fall Classic brevet the following morning, and in part because of the Fat Chance party, the Old Spokes was a popular place that afternoon. Local framebuilderHubert D’Autremont stopped by. His work has garnered some attention at the Oregon Manifestand Cirque du Cyclisme lately, and I've been following it with interest.






As we made our way back downstairs, Fall Classic organiser Mike Beganyi stopped by to drop off some supplies for the following morning. The Old Spokes Home would serve as the start and the finish for the event.






I was glad to learn that the owner Glenn would be taking part in the ride, as well as many of the Old Spokes staff.






We were excited to meet such a nice group of local cyclists, and they were excited to learn that so many of us (I think it must have been over a dozen total) were making our way from Boston despite the downpour that was being forecasted for the entire weekend.






With all the coming and going, meeting and greeting, the atmosphere in the shop felt dynamic and warm, but I don't want to leave out the business side of things. Far from focusing on just exhibiting antiques, the Old Spokes is a fully stocked modern bike shop and repair shop. Burlington has experienced a boom in transportation cycling over the past several years, and the Old Spokes does a brisk trade in repairs and sales. The mechanics station is surprisingly large and busy for such a small town and it was exciting to see the sheer variety of customers' bikes that were up on the stands.






As far as new bikes, the Old Spokes Home carries floor models from Surly, Salsa, Brompton, Yuba and others. They are also an Independent Fabrications dealer. What impressed me the most was their enormous selection of Surly Pugsleys. In Boston, a bike shop might have one hanging up somewhere just for show, and a request to get it down tends to elicit surprise. Here, there were maybe a dozen of these things, ready and waiting to be ridden and bought. I imagine the Vermont winters might have something to do with the Pugsley's popularity!






It was also great to see a Velo Orange Polyvalent that belonged to one of the mechanics. All of the Old Spokes staff seem to ride interesting or unusual bikes.





With the evening upon us, it was soon time to check into our lodgings, and so reluctantly we bid the Old Spokes Home good-bye. We would be back for the brevet the following morning, but honestly it would take a dedicated visit lasting days if not weeks to really look through all the vintage and antique bikes they have stashed in there. My biggest regret is that I did not get to see the Hetchinses and the Flying Scotts (yes, plural), but maybe some other time.






If you like bicycles and find yourself anywhere near Burlington, Vermont, to say that the Old Spokes Home is worth a visit is an understatement. From the extensiveness of the vintage collection, to the warmth and knowledgeability of the staff, to the interesting selection of contemporary bicycles on the floor available to test ride, the Old Spokes can be a travel destination in of itself. This bright, happy, magical place was truly a highlight of our weekend. A sincere thank you to everyone who showed us around and made us feel so welcome! More pictures of the shop and museum here.