A Raven Flies Through the City: The Bella Ciao Corvo Citta Donna

A couple of weeks ago I received aBella Ciaobicycle as part of a work-related trade. I have never been compensated for anything in bicycle before, but I think I could get used to this if absolutely forced to (at least for the benefit of providing test ride reports for my readers, right?). The bike was assembled with my preferences in mind, and I was invited to offer an honest critique.



The bicycle is aBella Ciao"Corvo Citta Donna". The model name translates into something like "urban raven" anddonnaindicates that it is the lady's version. The colour (chosen by me) is "verde arsenale" - a pastel army green. Half a dozen other colours are available as well. The "Corvo Citta" models can be ordered as single speeds, 3-speeds, or 7/8-speeds, with or without coaster brake. I asked for a 3-speed coasterbrake version. The accessories are either honey or black, depending on the frame colour, and mine came with the black accessories package.



Bella Ciao frames are individually hand-made (brazed and lugged) by a small family-owned manufacturer in Northern Italy that has been building frames for generations. The standard models are cro-moly steel, though there are also limited editions made of Columbus tubing.Standard features on the Corvo Citta Donna include the classic Italian frame construction, 700C wheels with alloy rims, body-coloured fenders, an enclosed chaincase with a rear opening, leather saddle and grips,rear reflector,and a brass bell.



The frame is made in size 54cm (21.5") only, measured the "standard" way. This is an important point, especially if you are trying to compare the Bella Ciao to the Abici,whose sizing is measured differently. I would say that the Bella Ciao frame isslightly larger than the bigger of the two Abici frames.



With its hardy tubing, modest lugwork, and thick powdercoating, the "Corvo Citta" is attractive, but decidedly utilitarian.



It is not a delicate bicycle by any means; the frame feels as if it can take anything that life has to offfer.



The lugged fork crown warms my heart; very nicely done. And look at the body-coloured cable guide braze-ons.



The only part of the frame that is not lugged, is the connector between the curved top tube and downtube. But if I have to choose between this and the fork crown, the latter is infinitely more important to me. (The connector on my Pashley was not lugged either.)



I like the elegant chaincase, and the interesting thing, is that despite being steel it is absolutely silent.



Somewhat disappointing though, was the choice of theShimano3-speed hub and gear shifter for such a classic bicycle. TheShimanocertainly works fine, but the excruciatingly high-tech looks of the hub and shifter disrupt the bicycle's classic charm. Personally, I feel it would have been better to use theSturmey Archerhub and shifter on these bikes - though I suspect others will disagree.



The Bella Ciao has straight fork ends, which I prefer on an internally geared hub bicycle. There are also chain tensioners installed - a detail the Co-Habitatant found especially exciting.



The bicycle arrived to me with a Brooks B17S saddle, but I immediately replaced it with a B72. I am not sure why both Bella Ciao and Abici use B17 saddles on their city bikes, but I think they need to rethink this choice - it is not an appropriate model for an upright ride, especially for women. The B72, on the other hand, feels absolutely at home here.



As long as I am doling out criticism, I will also mention my perplexity over the choice of brake lever: I believe it may be an interruptor lever, because it is very short. The Tektrofront caliper brake provides excellent stopping power and the lever is squeezable, but it's just not the right one for this type of bicycle. A normal, full-size city lever would be more suitable.



The minimal insignia on the Bella Ciao include a small headbadge on the head tube featuring the black raven logo, the "Corvo Citta" model name inscription near the bottom bracket, and a "fatto a mano in Italia" sticker on the seat tube.



And one thing I should definitely mention is the handlebars - which are proprietary Bella Ciao. They are shaped similarly to Porteur handlebars, but with just a tad more flare-out to them. The shape is super comfortable for my hands and seems perfectly matched to this bicycle's geometry.



Moving on to ride quality... The most notable sensation I got from the Bella Ciao, was that it did not feel like a new bicycle. It felt very familiar, like an old bike that I have always owned.Lovers of classic bicycles complain that "there is no such thing anymore as a simple, well-made, lugged steel 3-speed bike". Well, I think the Bella Ciao isexactlythat. It is easy. It is comfortable. It is uncomplicated. It is not as laid back as a Dutch bike, but definitely not too sporty either (more relaxed than an Abici). It is maneuverable but unaggressive. It is just a bike. A very nice bike that anybody can ride, and that is light enough for anybody to lift.



When a bicycle is this easy, comfortable and undemanding, you end up riding it all the time... which, ironically, ushers in my next complaint: Where are the lights? And more importantly, where is the rack? I would love to ride the Bella Ciao regularly for transportation, but there is nowhere to attach my bag and all the other stuff I take along, which is frustrating. The design of the bicycle will accommodate the VO Constructeur rear rack, and when I have the money I might get one. But I think that a rack in the style you see on some of these bicycles would be more appropriate. Anybody know where I could source one?



The Bella Ciao"Corvo Citta Donna" might just be the closest I have tried to an "all around, normal" bike out there today among classic lugged bicycles. And that was rather unexpected, given the quirkiness of the manufacturer's self-presentation. Free-association collages, stories of resistance against fascism - it is enough to raise the eyebrows of some and to make others wonder whether Bella Ciao is in reality a contemporary art project rather than a real bicycle company. Well, I suppose there is no reason it can't be both...



Though currently only sold in the EU, Bella Ciao is considering North American distributors and the bicycles may be available for sale in the US sometime in . The Corvo Citta Donna would certainlybe welcomed by women looking for more options in classic city bicycles.

Joslin Family :: Grandma Responds to Irwin's Letter

If you haven't already done so, you may want to read the post Joslin Family :: First Contact before continuing. In that post, my grandmother corresponds with Edith Wessler and makes contact with her 2nd cousin, Irwin Joslin. Their correspondence continues... This letter was typewritten. It has been transcribed as written including spelling and typing errors. Click on the image to view a larger, readable version.

=+==+==+==+=

Box 27
North Webster, Ind. 46555
March 21, 1969

Mr. Irwin Joslin
1002 E. Tripp
Peoria, Ill. 61603

Dear Mr. Joslin,

I was so delighted to receive your letter of March 3rd as I had been hoping to hear from the Joslins in the west. I have so many interesting things to tell you of the family, that I hardly know where to begin.

You were right about the birthdate of your grandfather as my records show that he was born January 2, 1852. Then the record shows that Luther Joslin married Dorothy Elliot in 1876. Now may I make a suggestion? Could the above named Dorothy Elliot have died and your grandfather married Phoebe Dorcas some time later? I notice that your father, Virgil was born Feb. 1891. That is 15 years after the marriage record I have, I am having a copy made of the letter written by Andrew Joslin on Feb. 7, 1895 and sent to my grandmother. I will send this to you as soon as I can.

Now I shall tell you some of the things I know about our family, other than that which Mrs. Wessler has told you. The Goodrich family tree has been researched by a member of the family and it seems that they were from Wales and the line was traced back to several Kings(?). This is not of much interest to me as I expect some researcher made some money for this. However, the family was very interesting after coming to Indiana in 1834. They were of the first settlers. Abagail and her husband James Joslin had several children by that time. Lysander was 9 years old. He married Lydia Robison in Aug. 1843. They were both 18 years old. In the next 24 years they had 15 children. Now this was a big family by any standards and I know where the family lived and it was very poor land. They did not prosper financialy as can be understood. By 1877 four of their children were married and five had died. That year they took the 6 remaining children and went to Kansas. I have letters from them written in 1890 and 1894.

My grandmother kept in touch with Eliza, who died in 1885. Her decendents are in Iowa. She also wrote to Roxie Parkinson (their husbands were half brothers) and Madella Quillan and Ida Dressier. I have some old letters from these. Robert Quillan the author and columnist of the 30's was Della's son. Please ask any questions that you would like answered and I shall do my best to help.

Grandma Mellisa Brubaker had two sons, Charles Romain b. Aug. 1872 and Hale b1886. Charles Remain was my father. Hale died when only 25 years old and had not married. I have a brother William Hale Brubaker and a sister Jane Jacobs. I was born 1902, my sister 1903 and Bill 1905. I Have 5 children, 17 granchildren and 7 great-granchildren.

I do hope that you can come to Indiana some time. I know of only one Joslin family here, besides my family and that is the decendents of Lysander's sister, her granddaughter and I are very close friends. I shall send the copy as soon as I can.

Very sincerely yours,
[since this was grandma's carbon copy, there was no signature]

=+==+= Some Notes Regarding the Letter =+==+=

The confusion over Luther's wife was partially because the bible record stated that Luther had married Dorothy Elliot. Apparently grandma had not seen the Whitley County marriage record (Bk2 p521) which gives her name as Phebe D. Elliott. Also, in Irwin's first letter to grandma he simply wrote his grandmother's name as Phoebe Dorcas and my grandma interpreted that to mean her maiden name was Dorcas. Irwin's father, Virgil, was the fourth child of Luther and Phebe. Their first two children came rather quickly then there was a six year gap between the second and third as well as between the third and fourth child. Their fifth (and last) child was born two years after Virgil.

James and Abigail come to Whitley County in 1838 and they were among the first settlers in the county. That makes Lysander about 13 at the time rather than 9 years of age.

The sister of Lysander's that grandma mentions in the last paragraph was Emily Eliza Joslin Long and her close friend was her 2nd cousin once removed, Gladys Burnworth Moore, who was only 4 years older than grandma. Gladys was one of the "girls" that grandma played cards with on an almost weekly basis for many years. I don't recall ever having met Gladys, though my mother knew her too, so it is possible. I attended a Burnworth Family Reunion in the summer of .. after tracking down Gladys' two sons who live in Columbia City. One of Gladys' nieces, who also happened to live just two blocks away from me at the time, compiled a history of their branch of the Burnworth family. They knew that Emily's parents were James and Abigail (Goodrich) Joslin. She graciously loaned me her book so that I could make a copy. It was chock full of family pictures and obituaries, a real treasure!

Other posts in this series:

• Joslin Heritage Tour
• Joslin Family :: First Contact

Aerial Mount Rainier, Climbing Route Images

Moving the bear aside... This picture tells a long story. Here is Mount Rainier on May 30, 2006. I was able to capture a few climbing route images during a flight.

A series of recent storms dumped a lot of snow on the mountain. In some places, there were reports of 3 feet. There are rumors that more is expected later this week too. Winter is not over...

Today, however, climbers contended with blue bird skies and light breezes (and quite a bit of postholing.) The tracks indicated that a few made the summit too! Here, two climbers took on the arduous task of breaking trail up the Emmons Glacier... It didn't appear as if anyone else was on the route either. These climbers are at roughly 11,400 feet, exiting the top of the corridor to the left.

Parties were having a hard time making it to Camp Schurman until Sunday, so it's good to see a team getting up the route. This may mark the first successful ascent of the route in 2006.

And here is a nice image of the Ingraham Direct and Disappointment Cleaver routes. The green line traced the visible climbing route up the Disappointment Cleaver. Notice how directly it climbs the spin of the cleaver... Nice...

More images later, this week. All images by Mike Gauthier

Brooks Colt: New vs Vintage

I have a new-releaseBrooks "Colt" saddle on loan from Harris Cyclery (for comparison with the Gilles Berthoud) and have just received a vintage "Colt"from a reader to try out as well. The weather we've been having has not allowed me to ride either of them just yet, but I thought a side-by-side comparison might be useful for those who are wondering how the re-released version compares to the original (produced 1979-2001).



What attracts me to the "Colt" model, is its shape, which in some ways resembles theSelle Italia "Turbo" and similar models of 1980s Italian racing saddles. Those saddles have fairly narrow (but not too narrow) platforms that gently curve in a way that feels very comfortable to me. But while the foam, plastic and padded leather surfaces of the "Turbo" style saddles start to bother me after a while, the suspended leather of the Brooks "Colt" should solve that problem.



Like the '80s Italian racing saddles, the "Colt" has a fully covered, squarish, down-turned nose. It is the only Brooks model where the nose is styled in this manner, and to me the design holds the promise of anatomical comfort. The new and the vintage versions of the "Colt" appear to be identical in form, dimensions and basic construction - differing only in colour, in the shape of the Brooks placket in the back (see previous picture), and, of course, in the amount of wear.



I have two roadbikes for which I need saddles, and I have more or less decided to keep theBerthoudfor one of them. For the other, I would ideally keep the vintage "Colt," and return the new one. One reason I prefer the vintage version is the classic, rich brown colour (the only normal colour the new release comes in, is black - the other options being purple, mustard, turquoise and hot pink). The other reason, is that everyone complains about the "Colt" being difficult to break in, and the vintage version looks like it has most definitely been broken in by the previous owner.



On the other hand, the vintage saddle may in fact be too broken in. The colour variations in the leather make this difficult to capture in pictures, but basically the sit bone indentations from the previous owner are so deep, that a narrow, raised ridge has formed along the center of the saddle. There are several online tutorials that give instructions for re-shaping saddles that exhibit such distortions, and I am considering doing this. The process (as described by Hilary Stone) basically involves getting the saddle wet, then stuffing it with paper and reshaping it as it dries. Curious about the experience of those who have tried it!

A Day in Stoney Clove

Ice climbing sure is fun.



I have very little experience doing it. On New Year's Day I went up to the Catskills with A for what would be only my third time trying it. I don't own any ice tools, crampons or appropriate boots, so I arranged to rent what I needed from Rock and Snow in New Paltz.



The forecast looked good as the day approached. It had been quite cold for weeks and the websites were reporting that many lines were in good condition. But then on New Year's Eve I started to get worried. Suddenly it was in the forties, in the city and up in the Catskills. The overnight low as turned into was above freezing. And the projected high for our climbing day had crept up all the way to 47. My last few rock climbing trips up to the Gunks in were on colder days than this! I thought we might be wasting our time heading up there looking for ice. But A thought it would take a few days for the ice to melt, so we decided to go for it despite the warm temperatures.



At Rock and Snow they gave me a pair of leashless Black Diamond Vipers. I had never climbed using leashless tools, so I asked if they had any leashes (the kind that attach to your wrist) for me. Instead, saying "leashes are overrated," the guy behind the counter gave me a spinner leash (which is more like a tether, attached to the harness, so the tools aren't lost if you drop them). Then headvised us to look for shady walls, and we were on our own.



My partner A has led a ton of ice over the years, but neverhere in theEast. He was interested in some grade 3 or 4 climbs just to get his bearings. We set out for the Stoney Clove area, since there are so many different options there. A was thinking we should check out the Little Black Dike (4-), which he felt he could comfortably lead, and while the dike ison the West (i.e., sunny) side of the road we thought it might still be in the shade given its corner location.



Upon arriving at the parking area, we got geared up and started back up the road to the top of the hill and the climbs. But as wewalked we got the sense that the climbs on the sunny, West side of the road might not be the best idea on this particular day. The climbs on that side were baking in the sun, and not long after we began walking wecould hearthe constant sound of large chunks of ice breaking off and smashing on the scree below.We werestill on the road, near the top of the hill, whenwe decided to just head up to some East side climbs and see if the ice seemed more solid in the shade.



We scrambled up through what seemed like an endless pile of loose choss to get up to the ice. Given the heavy snow that had fallen in the areajust afterChristmas, I was surprised that there wasn't more snow on the ground. In places the snow was quite thick over the sticks and rocks, making it much easier to work your way upward, but there was lots of territory with no snow cover at all, and these uncovered patches were kind of miserable to work through. Even though the approach was probably over within ten minutes, it seemed far longer.



Once we arrived at the nearest attractive wall of ice, we roped up and had a nice enough time. I'm still not exactly sure where we ended up. In retrospect, using Molitoris' guidebook, Ithink we climbed on the unnamed flows of ice mentioned in the book between the East Side Corner and the East Crag Pillar. We took a look at at least three different walls of ice, all of which had some nice steep flows, none of which were very tall. The ice was reasonably fat and in the warm temperatures it was really very plastic. Good sticks were easy to get.



This was my first time belaying a leader who placed screws in the ice.As I watchedA leading it almost seemed sane to me. At a couple different walls, A led up one route and then set a toprope from which we could try a few different lines. Cleaning the screwswas simple enough. The idea of relying on them while climbing on lead... now that's a different thing. It's something I'd have to consider after more than three tries at ice climbing, when I have more certainty about when my sticks are good and my feet are solid.



I started out a little shaky with the ice climbing technique; my last attempt was two years ago. On our firstpitch I found the feet really tenuous and my arms started to tire quickly. After A gave me some pointers on lowering my heels so that all four front points of the crampons were engaged with the ice, my footwork improved dramatically. I didn't take a single fall all day, althoughmy feet didfail mea couple times, leaving me hanging by my arms. In one spectacular sequence both of my feet skidded out and at the same time my glasses fell off my face. Somehow I managed to catch the glasses on my knee while hanging on with my arms. Then Igot one foot back on the ice while I kept the glasses balanced on my other bent knee,so thatthen I could let go of one axe, pick the glasses up off my leg and put them back on my head. All without weighting the rope.



In a lessheroic moment later in the day, I managed to put one of mytools right through one of my ropes. The rope wasn't severed but the pick definitely penetrated to the other side. Since we were climbing with 9mm doubles, I wasn't worried that I wouldn't be held in a fall,so I just finished the pitch and then rapped using the other rope. I wish I'd used my (limited) knowledge of knots; I could have tied the damaged portion of the rope into an alpine butterfly knot, taking it out of the system. But I didn't think of it. Now I either have to chop about ten feet off of the end of both ropes (to keep my doubles even), or buy a new pair.



I loved the BD Viper tools. Going leashless didn't seem like a big adjustment at all once I was out on the ice. I felt really confident using them all day. They felt good in my hands, very natural, and I never came remotely close to dropping one. I'm strongly considering buying a pair, since they're on the cheaper end of the market for ice tools and I don't mind aluminum.



Apart from my idiotic attempt to destroy one of my climbing ropes, there was one negative aspect to the day: the wetness. Because it was so warm, water was constantly running off the climbs. I was wearing clothes I've happily climbed ice in before, in much colder temperatures. I had a base layer, a fleece, and a thin water-resistant shell. I had two pairs of gloves. But it turned out none of these items was up to the wetness, and by the afternoon my shell was useless, and both pairs of gloves were soaked. I was wet all over and I started to shiver uncontrollably. We could have squeezed in another climb but I begged off and we headed back to New Paltz to return my rented gear. We grabbed a bite at the P & G and I shivered all through dinner.



I'm sure I'm making the day sound miserable but really it was a pretty nice time! The best moment for me was when we climbed a very fragile-looking column, which you can see on the left side of the photo above. It wasn't picked out at all but I was able to find several placementsin depressions in the column that did not require a potentially damaging swing of the axe.When I combined the gentlepick work withsome delicatefootsteps Iwas able to ascend the thing withoutdestroying it, a happy surprise. It gave me hope for an alpine climbing future that I might have, if I actuallymanage to ice climb a bit more often than once every two years.

Fog Lights

Have you ever cycled in a dense fog?



For the past couple of days, we have been surrounded by this stunning, surreal landscape. There is no distinction between sky and ocean. The dunes, grasses and rosehip bushes are wrapped in a milky whiteness. There is a tornado warning in effect, but for now everything is eerily calm.



To watch someone approaching through the fog from a distance has always fascinated me. It looks as if the person is coming from nowhere, or from the sky.



I took the opportunity to see how Graham's lights would perform in these conditions, and they were fairly well visible - even at slow speeds.



The lights on my Rivendell Sam Hillborne are powered by a Shimano Alfine hub.



The headlight is aBusch & MüllerLumotec IQ LED Cyo Senso Plus, and its performance is stunning.The beam is not just powerful, but surprisingly large -so that cycling in the dark feels as if there is always a street light on. There is a standlight feature (the light remains on for a few minutes after the bicycle stops), as well as a "senso" feature, whereby the light turns itself on and off depending on how dark it is.



The tail light is aBusch & Müller 4D-lite Plus, which has classic looks, 4 LEDs, and the same standlight feature as the headlight (though the Co-Habitant thinks the standlight on this one is not sufficiently bright).



An additional feature of this tail light is that it is surrounded by a metal cage, which prevents the light from being damaged when it is bumped. This is very useful when the bicycle is dragged through doors and left at bike racks.



I am confident that others can see me in the fog with the light set-up I have on this bicycle. Seeing the road, however, is another matter. What do randonneurs do in these situations? I cannot imagine that any bicycle light can really be strong enough to act as a true fog light in the daytime.

Lululemon Ride On Blazer: A Modern Take on the Riding Jacket

Having recently added a cycling collection to their lines ofyoga and running apparel,Vancouver-basedLululemon sent me and a couple of other bloggers some samples to test and review.The cycling collection is called Ride On and consists of some rather diverse items, from stretch-denim shorts to exuberant raincoats. I found the blazer to be the most interesting and versatile piece overall, shown here in "deep indigo."





At its core, the Ride On blazer is a classic Edwardian riding jacket, re-imagined for cycling in the 21st century. Tailored in the torso and cinched at the waist, it skims the lower abdomen in the front, then lengthens and flares out in the rear to fully cover the derriere. As someone who rides a bike and also likes to sneak yoga pants and leggings into my wardrobe, I like this design for two reasons: (1) It is long enough to cover my lower back when I am leaning over my bike's handlebars, and (2) it allows me to wear stretch pants as street-wear without worrying how my butt looks. Just being honest here.





The pleats at the rear have held their shape after a week of rather careless wear on my part. Despite its structured appearance, this garment is not something you will have to take an iron to.






Though visually the fabric resembles denim, it is in fact a stretchy jersey material - a cotton/poly/spandex blend. It allows for a great amount of stretch, and the jacket does not restrict movement even when worn on a bike with drop bars. The fabric is on the heavy side and I would rate it as best for temperatures between 50°F and 70°F.




Aside from the length in the rear and the stretch, the Ride On blazer is designed with a number of cycling-specific elements. The extra-long sleeves feature thumb loops that I find to be quite ergonomic both in their placement and in the shape of the opening.





If you read customer reviews of this blazer on Lululemon's online store, there are lots of complaints about the sleeves being too long. However, I doubt that those who voice these complaints ride a bike. The sleeves have to be this long, or else the thumb loops will dig into the space between your thumb and forefinger when your arms are stretched out over the handlebars. I'd say the length is appropriate if you want this jacket for cycling, and there are plenty of other jackets with standard length sleeves for those who do not ride a bike.





Another cycling-specific feature is the reflective detailing on the sleeves and on the back of the collar. The narrow scalloped ribbon used for this is very pretty, but I wonder why they were so stingy with it. For instance, why not incorporate it into the seams on the back of the jacket?





In the front of the blazer, there is a lot going on. It's mostly good, just overwhelming at first. In addition to the standard lapel design, the Ride On blazer is fitted with a second, detachable inner lapel with a stand-up collar.





Zipping up the inner lapel and then closing the outer one around it provides several layers of protection against the wind in the chest and throat area, which is quite useful for cycling. Those who don't cycle might find these features unnecessary and bulky.





There are lots of buttons and zippers to facilitate opening and closing the jacket to different degrees, as well as two zip pockets. The benefit is that everything is kept tucked in at all times; nothing dangles or flaps around in the wind as you ride. The downside is that it's a little cluttered and complicated. The exposed zippers also give the front of the jacket an edgy "biker" look that competes with the refined equestrian look of the rear of the jacket.





The two front pockets with zip closure are large enough to house things like a wallet, phone, and other small items, but they are designed in a way that keep these objects tightly enclosed - so that when you're leaned over on the bike the weight doesn't make the pockets hang down. This is an especially useful feature if you're riding a roadbike.






All things considered, the Ride On blazer impressed me with how comfortable and convenient it is to actually ride a bike in, while being wearable as everyday clothing off the bike as well. I find it flattering for my body type, though the sizing isn't perfect (loose in the abdomen and torso, but would be narrow in the shoulders had I gone a size smaller). One thing to note is that, being made of soft and stretchy fabric, this blazer undergoes wear at the rate of a jersey garment and not a traditional blazer. The hem and the sleeves on mine are kind of filthy already and need washing.




The biggest negative for me about this garment, is the faux denim print. They have other colour options, but the "black" is also faux denim and the "fossil" looks a little sweatshirty. I gather they were going for the edgy urban look, but the result is too "hip teenager" for me. I also wish the zipper-happy biker aesthetic of the front of the jacket could be toned down and brought in line with the more classic and elegant design of the rear. As it stands, the overall look doesn'treallyfeel like "me" and I am torn about whether to keep it or not, despite how comfortable it is. Most likely I will give it away to a local cycling acquaintance - lots of women here like Lululemon and want to try it [edited to add: I have now given the blazer away; the new owner loves it!].





I was never a fan of Lululemon's yoga apparel, but the Ride On collection intrigues me. The ladies at Let's Go Ride a Bike are testing it as well, and their review of the Ride On blazer is posted here. Lululemon's foray into cycling-specific designs goes hand in hand with them having become a co-sponsor of a women's pro cycling team, which I think is great. Though I'd love to see some modifications to the Ride On blazer (adjust the sizing and nix the faux denim, please!), overall I feel that Lululemon is on the right track here, and I appreciate the opportunity to test and review their products. Full set of pictures posted here.

Road to Trail: Speed, Skills and Bikes

Among the people I ride with it is popular to mix stretches of dirt roads, paths and trails into what are otherwise fast road rides (well, they call the rides "social pace," but there is a certain level you have to reach in order to be social at that pace!). At first I would only join the rides that promised not to do any off-road whatsoever, but now I am gradually starting to ease into riding stretches of dirt trails.



Doing this in the company of experienced cyclists has given me a different perspective than riding in similar terrain alone. The biggest difference is that they go fast, whereas on my own I used to see cycling off road as something to be done cautiously and slowly. Now I am noticing that going fast can actually make things easier.Riding on rock-strewn dirt and gravel requires more effort and lower gearing than riding on pavement, particularly when going uphill. Ride too slowly, and the bike can get bogged down. But maintain speed, and the momentum "carries" the bike through sections that might otherwise seem difficult or scary. It's counterintuitive for a beginner, because the natural inclination is to slow down if the terrain gets challenging. And this is where riding with a group is helpful: following their pace means quickly learning the "faster is easier" lesson through experience. Of course partof it is also psychological. When I am focused on trying to keep up with the group, I don't really have the opportunity to worry about every single ditch and rock and root formation - my instincts kick in and somehow I end up riding through sections I would have considered too challenging if given a chance to think.



As far as skills, I am finding once again (as I did with roadcycling earlier) that I improve quickly with others and very slowly, if at all, on my own. I've ridden on dirt trails before, but now I feel that all those rides taken together did nothing for me compared to the single stretch of off-road I did as part of a ride last weekend. It wasn't a long section, but it had a bit of everything that terrifies me: ditches, rocks, mud, a bit of climbing and descending, even a tad of residual snow and ice. We rode through it quickly, and afterward I suddenly felt like I "got it," whereas on all of my slow and cautious lone rides previously I wasn't really getting it at all.



It seems to me that a good bike for transitioning from road to trails and back needs to be fast, light, responsive, and ideally to have wide tires. Last year I would probably have started with "wide tires" and listed everything else as optional, but recent experience makes me reconsider. I have found it easier to "push" a faster, lighter bike through dirt, especially uphill, than a slower and heavier one. And I have found it easier to avoid obstacles on a quick-responding bike than on a stable but sluggish one. And while wide tires would make things better still, it seems to me that those other factors are crucial.



My impression is that for a while there was a tendency in the bicycle industry to associate wide tires with more relaxed, heavier and slower touring-style bikes - the reasoning being that if you want wide tires, you probably do not need to go fast. Therefore, it was difficult to find bicycles that both had clearance for tires over 25mm and were sufficiently fast and aggressive. That began to change with the rising popularity of cyclocross, and with people like Jan Heine reviving interest in the classic randonneuring bicycle. Races and other competitive events with both road and dirt sections have become more mainstream over the past several years as well. I am not sure whether in the long run any of this will be relevant to me, but it is an interesting development. More builders and manufacturers are starting to specialise in fast road-to-trail bikes, and locally this type of riding seems to be all the rage. Whether I have what it takes to take part in it remains to be determined.

Pickle Ball and Bowling Fun

We've had quite the crew here for pickle ball! There is a family that has about 12 extended members that has joined our pickle ball fun. That has probably doubled the normal numbers. That means you sit out an awful lot waiting to play a game. That was ok with me today though because we did some bowling in the afternoon so I needed some energy for that.



Not that it helped me any, because I still didn't do well with the bowling. We went with a group from Torrey Oaks and with Faye and Ken. Poor Faye and Ken got stuck with us and while they bowled well, we did not. Although Austin did come in second the last game. He was doing great that game! We had fun even with the stinky scores!





Stan and Ken taught Austin some moves, so now he's taking the game seriously!





Faye and Ken:



Stan and Sally:





Even after a day full of activities, Austin wanted to go and join the Y here. He stayed and worked out for two hours. I'm hoping this means he goes to bed sometime soon tonight due to being worn out!



Living the life in Sunny Florida!