Kitten Energy

Oh, to have the energy of an 8 month old kitten.
Willey attacking Murphy.

More Blackberries

After breakfast we decided to take a walk around the large yard that Paddy calls home. It was so pretty and green and there was one of northwestern Oregon's light, misty rains sprinkling on us. But that didn't stop us from exploring the huge blackberry patch to find the fruit that Jim had missed earlier. For once I had my fill of fresh blackberries.
Of course you have to fight the birds and deer for them. But that is part of the fun.

Cross-Pollination

There has been an increasing trend for "cross-pollination" lately between bicycle makers that specialise in transportation vs sport. Every mainstream manufacturer at Interbike seemed to have a step-through city bike on display, and custom builders known for catering to the racing crowd have come out with commuter models as well (the Independent Fabrications Caffeine Racer being one extreme example worth having a glance at!). But it would be inaccurate to suggest that the industry is moving away from roadcycling and toward transportation, because the reverse is happening also.

Pashleystunned Interbike visitors by displaying a lightweight Clubman model with a carbon fiber fork and threadless stem. Rivendell caved to its speed-loving customers and introduced the Roadeo earlier this year. Velorbis sent round press releases about its new line of "sport bikes." Velo Orange published a blog post entitled "Why I race and why you should too" (could a cyclocross bike be in the works?). ANT is considering launching a pure road-race model after experimenting with the Fire ANT line.

While bicycle commuting is more popular than ever, so are racing, touring, club rides and bicycle camping. And what seems to be happening is that manufacturers are "diversifying" their offerings to cater to the general rise of interest in cycling of all types.

The trend is exciting to observe, but one question often raised is that of whether the other side can ever really "get it." Can a manufacturer specialising in racing bikes make a comfortable and practical transportation bike with a long wheelbase and relaxed geometry? Can a transport bike manufacturer let go of their "weight does not matter" and "fenders are a must" principles and make a competitive performance-oriented machine? Some would say no. But then remember manufacturers such as Raleigh and Gazelle, whose production of iconic road and transport bikes in decades past would suggest otherwise. Ultimately we will have to wait and see. This could get interesting.

Snowflakes at Night

Lee took this shot of my dads elk antlers about midnight the night it snowed. The white dots are snowflakes.

Retrovelo Klara: Cushy, Zippy, Gorgeous

On a recent trip to New York City, I test rode a Retrovelo Klara, courtesy of Adeline Adeline. There are already test ride reports of other Retrovelo models posted here, but the last time I rode one was two years ago and I wanted to see how my impressions of the bike might have changed since. Also, while the Retrovelo I rode previously was the 7-speed Paula, I was curious how the 3-speed Klara would feel in comparison. Finally, my previous Retrovelo test rides took place in Austria and I wanted to compare how the bike handled in a North American city.





Founded in 2003, Retrovelo is a German manufacturer based in the town of Leipzig. True to the company's name, their classic line of lugged, balloon-tire city bikes in muted colours looks almost overwhelmingly nostalgic. But the "retro" reference is more nuanced than what meets the eye: Behind the facade of an elegant European city bicycle, the Retrovelo is actually a remake of an early mountain bike design. I have described an entire category of such bicycles in an earlier post aboutcity bikes with mountain bike heritage.






An interesting fact about Retrovelo, is that they were the first company to use the now very popular Schwalbe Fat Frank tires. In fact these were originally made for Retrovelo and named after its designer Frank Patitz. What made the Fat Franks special when they appeared on the market, is that they have the look and cushiness of vintage balloon tires but are impressively fast rolling - making them ideal for navigating pothole ridden city streets and unpaved trails alike.





The frame is cro-moly steel, hand-built in Taiwan and finished and assembled in Leipzig (The very first batches of Retrovelo bikes were made in Germany from scratch, but production has since been reorganised).







Fully lugged, the most fetish-worthy aspect of the frame's construction is the triple-plate fork crown.





Here is what the seat cluster looks like.





Headtube lug.





Loop and seat tube junction.





The stem and rear rack are custom made for the bike and powdercoated body colour, as are the chainguard and fenders.






The components on the lady's 3-speed Klara model are pretty straightforward: Shimano Nexus drivetrain withfront and rear roller-hub brakes and dynamo hub,wide swept-back handlebars, large Retrovelo-branded bell,






front and rear dynamo lights with standlight feature,





Brooks B67S saddle,







city pedals,




and textured rubber grips.





As a complete package, the Retrovelo Klara comes together nicely, equipped with everything necessary for transportation, other than a full chaincase and dressguards. The men's equivalent of this model is named Klaus and is basically the same except a diamond frame. The Paula and Paul models are the same as well, only built up with either a 7 or 8-speed hub instead of the 3-speed. The weight of the Klara model is listed as 38.5lb. It is available in size 52cm only and in a number of colour options. You can view all the stock colours here. The bike I test rode is ivory.





I rode the Retrovelo Klara around lower Manhattan for a total of about 5 miles. This was my first time cycling in New York City. I started out on the quiet side street where Adeline Adeline is located, then rode along the West Side Highway bicycle path for a while, then got off the path and explored the streets, making my way back to the bike shop. Probably half of my route involved riding with traffic on streets that either had no bike lane, or had the bike lane obstructed by so many vehicles that I took the car lane anyway.



Riding in a new city - and especially a city as hectic as NYC - I would not feel comfortable doing this on just any bike, but the Retrovelo's handling is confidence-inspiring. The front end is exceptionally stable: No twitchiness when starting from a stop or getting up to speed. The bicycle goes where you point it and insists on staying upright.





I would describe the Retrovelo as an intuitive bike that does not require getting used to the way a Dutch bike, or a low-trail bike, or an aggressive roadish bike might. To the typical person of my generation who grew up in North America, I think "mountain bike-ish" handling generally feels pretty intuitive: Many of us rode mountain bikes as teenagers and it's what we are used to. While I was a terrible cyclist back then, I nonetheless used my beater mountain bike to get around and probably on some level that type of handling is still engrained into my procedural memory. Of course the Retrovelo is considerably faster and more responsive than my old mountain bike ever was, as well as far more beautiful. Win/win.



Comparing the Retrovelo Klara to other bikes I have ridden in its class, I would say the handling is most similar to the Scottish Paper Bike and the Swedish Pilen. For me the Retrovelo handles considerably faster than the Pilen but a bit slower than the Paper Bike, while behaving similarly to both as far as balance and maneuverability.





As far as load capacity, the bike is equipped to carry considerable weight in front and rear, including children. Retrovelo owner K., whom I met in NYC, routinely rides with her toddler and a full load of groceries and finds it quite comfortable. She has had her stone gray Retrovelo for a couple of years now and loves it. My friend in Vienna has had her pigeon blue one for about two years as well. Retrovelo owners generally tend to have good things to say about these bikes.



As far as drawbacks, the Klara and Paula models are only available in one size - which happens to fit me perfectly but will not be suitable for everyone. At just under 40 lb, the bike is on the heavy side and could be challenging to deal with for those who plan to store it in a walk-up apartment. The missing dressguards and the lack of a full chaincase could be a deal-breaker for those who require these accessories. And some (myself included) would prefer narrower handlebars, though these can be swapped out.






Having ridden the Retrovelo around hectic NYC, my impression of the bike did not differ significantly from what it had been riding it through the Austrian countryside. Two additional years of cycling experience did not alter my impressions much either. I believe the stable handling makes the Retrovelo a good choice for beginners. The responsiveness and mountain-bikeyness make it a cool ride for more experienced cyclists. The beautiful construction makes it appealing to the vintage lovers and lugwork fetishists among us. For city riding, I felt that the 3-speed model was definitely sufficient, though others might opt for the 7/8-speed. The current retail price for a fully equipped Retrovelo Klara is $1,450 USD.




While personally I still prefer my cruddy vintage 3-speeds to anything modern I have tried in the same genre so far, when it comes to currently produced city bicycles the Retrovelo is firmly among my favourites. Many thanks to Adeline Adeline for the test ride.

It's Not About the Weather

While we wait for Hurricane Sandy to arrive, I am still finding sand caked on my bike from an earlier rainy, muddy ride. It seems that every time I have ridden this bike so far, it has rained. Of course today, on my inaugural ride with fenders, it is sunny and dry. A friend consoles me by reminding me of the approaching hurricane. Surely I will have the opportunity to test the fenders then. I take the idea seriously and begin to mentally map out a route on some local trails, before realising how utterly insane that is. When the townsfolk are stocking up on canned goods and flashlight batteries, I should probably stay indoors.




With the season marching on toward starker days, I find myself thinking of weather.As cyclists we all tend to have an idea of the "perfect weather" for riding. For some it's the height of summer. For others it's that elusive "60 degrees and sunny, with a mild breeze." A few riders I know prefer cooler temperatures, and some even claim to enjoy rain. I think for me, the biggest revelation has been that, when push comes to shove, I can feel good in almost any weather.






After a recent post describing a rainy ride on dirt roads, a reader wrote:"It's in our nature to want to be comfortable and coddled, but you celebrate the joy of pushing yourself through rain and mud." I felt guilty reading this, because honestly I don't feel as if I am overcoming discomfort or pushing myself when I ride in those kinds of conditions. And I think that is the key to my being able to do it. The secret is to find a way of being comfortable, to just go with it and appreciate the situation for what it is, rather than spending energy on trying to overcome it. Maybe this is just a different way of looking at the same thing, but to me it makes a big difference. Rather than pushing through discomfort, I extract comfort.




Part of it is of course practical considerations. Figuring out how to dress, eat and drink in different conditions. Over the summer I stumbled upon some tricks that enabled me to ride in heat in humidity like I'd never managed to do before. And last winter, I discovered that riding in sub-20 degree temperatures was also very doable with the help of strategic layering. But equally important is the attitude. We have to be curious, interested. We have to want the experience.




What is my idea of perfect riding weather... Probably high 40s to low 50s, with heavily overcast skies. I feel most alive then; the raw energy in the air makes me want to ride faster, further. But in the end, it's not about the weather, but about finding comfort in whatever is thrown at me, about feeling coddled by the beauty of the surrounding landscape.

Dark Secret

Last night I posted a picture of a gimlet-sippingbikeyface at dinner, and a reader emailed to ask what bikes we ride when we go out. It would be great, she suggested, to write a post about being out on the town on bikes.



Hmm that does sound nice. But it would be pretty tough. Because the truth is, we didn't ride bikes. Last night our destination was only 15 minutes away and walking just seemed easier. The other week we did the same when going to see a movie. Come to think of it, most of the time we see each other there are no bikes involved. We live in the same neighbourhood and are usually so tired that we stick to local places and walk to them. Does that make us bad bicycle bloggers? Maybe I should have kept this a secret!





When I first began cycling for transportation 3 years ago, I was so excited about it that I would ride everywhere no matter the distance just for the heck of it. I would ride down the block, or to the store around the corner and back. Now that cycling has lost its novelty, it seems too much of a hassle to get my bike out just to ride a short distance. I would rather walk.



In a sense there is some sadness in having lost that beginner's excitement. But I think it also means that I've transitioned to a stage where transportation cycling has become truly normalised. With cycling established as an inherent part of life, I don't feel the need to ride down the block when I can walk. If you've been riding for a while, have you had the same experience?

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.

Free Clinics for Climbers on Saturdays in the Gunks

Joe Vitti works for Alpine Endeavors, a guide service based in New Paltz.




I hired Joe back in 2007 when I was firstlearning to leadtrad climbs.Joegave metwo days of intensive training in placing gear and building anchors. And we did some fun climbing. I didn't know the cliff at all in those days-- it seems like another lifetime even though it was just five years ago. Joe took me up several great moderates and only as an afterthought did I ask himthe names of theroutes we'd climbed.They were allclassics: Hawk, Snooky's Return, Madame G's, and others. Along the way I learned a ton about how to keep myself safe at the cliffs.




Since then I've seen Joe guiding around the Gunks on several occasions. He is always friendly, always professional. He's an all-around good guy.




Now in response to thetragic accident a few weeks ago Joe has gotten together with some other guides to offer free clinics for climbers on Saturdays, at 5:00 in the Uberfall. (See the flyer I've reproduced above.) At these clinics these guides will be offering (for free!) the kind of priceless information I got by hiring Joe several years ago. I would urge climbers of every level to try to check it out one of these Saturdays. I hope to stop by myself one of the next few Saturdays.




If you would like to attend, email Joe at joe@alpineendeavors.com, or call Rock and Snow at 845-255-1311, or EMS at 845-255-3280.

Observation Rock North Face ..

Happy 100th post!

Elevation Gain: 3800'
10 miles RT
Left car: 7:30 am
Summit: 3:00 pm
Back at car: 6:45 pm
11.25 hours car to car


GPS route and topo provided by John Banes. The GPS has us going 11.5 miles and 4332' of elevation gain.

Planned a climb for Observation Rock mid week to avoid the crowds and was joined by Adam, Rich and John. Adam, John and I drove down from Seattle and met Rich at the Mowich Lake Trail Head. We geared up and were off.

We were going to use the Knapsack Pass approach to the climb as I felt it may be faster, or at least shorter. It took a bit of finding near the ranger's cabin at Mowich Lake and then we were heading up the trail. It took us an hour to reach Knapsack Pass (where we took a short break) on a pretty good trail which continued down the other side for a bit. Around 6000', the trail disappeared into a boulder field. There were a few cairns and then nothing. We picked our way through the boulder field which was somewhat loose and arrived at a gully on the other side. We watched a herd of goats scramble up the hillside before we were able to skirt the top of the gully on a snowfield where we picked up a faint trail and continued down to the Wonderland Trail.

The hike down to the intersection of the Wonderland Trail took longer than expected. Once there, we turned left and went about a 1/4 mile up hill (steps mostly) to the turn off for Observation Rock. We got on the climber's trail and headed up. This trail too is longer than it appears, and we spent a good deal of time getting closer to Observation Rock. Once closer to our destination the trail peters out a bit and we had to pick our way through a few little bumps on the ridge to where we could leave the moraine and head to the base of the north face.

We stopped there to gear up as rockfall is always hazardous this time of year at the base. We geared up, and scrambled the last bit of loose rock to the base where we got pelted with small rocks falling.

Adam and John quickly started out on their respective leads while Rich and I dodged golf ball sized rocks at the base. Soon we were simul climbing and getting out of the bulk of rockfall danger. (Although it did not feel soon enough.) The climbing was generally lower angle and easy at first, and Rich and I did join our respective partners at the first belay.

I led out on the next pitch going up through some solid ice with running water on top. Then conditions changed to a hollow snice on top of who knows what. I ran up a section of this between two muddy sections flanking it and was able to place a screw at the top. I continued a bit further where there was a nice stance and decided to set a belay. (I thought about continuing, but the stance was too nice to pass up as a belay.) Rich had made it a bit farther than me over to my left, but his stance looked significantly less comfortable than mine. And I remember from last time I climbed Observation Rock, that I got tired at bad belay stances.

I started to bring Adam up right after a softball sized rock whizzed by within six feet of him. He made his way up to me where he complained that his calves were toast, but that didn't stop him from racking up to lead off on the final pitch. I instructed him to use the water grooves as good rests and to try to resist front pointing to save his calves.

Adam headed out trending rightward up the grooves until it was feasible for him to head straight up. It was around this point that we realized he wouldn't hit flat snow/ice with the amount of rope left. He was fortunate to get to significantly less steep terrain with a decent ledge to set up a belay. I headed up quickly as my heels were hurting from my boots and I was a bit dehydrated and wanted to drink and eat at the top. Once passed Adam, he tore down the belay and we headed closer to the rock wall in hopes of getting in the shade.

Due to the moat and the crumbling rock wall, we had to stay on the snow to remove our gear and eat lunch. Fortunately the partly cloudy part of the day was starting and we were occasionally gifted with clouds blocking the sun. We sat down and eat and drank for at least a half hour. I took off my boots and taped my ankles even though I am pretty sure I was not getting blisters. However, I had to do something as I was experiencing lots of discomfort. Adam took a brief nap. Then we packed up to head to the summit.

The hike to the summit was a little rough. Typical two steps up and one step back on loose pumice. At least the rock was small and light and you are less concerned about injury from it. Just below the summit we dropped our packs before the last bit. What a relief. We all agreed that not having a pack made uphill travel easier. (Thank you team obvious.) We lounged at the summit a bit before starting back down.

We picked our way around the summit to the descent plunge stepping into loose pumice and even skiing it a bit. We made a brief stop to filter some water. Then we made our way back down to another section of the Flett Glacier between Echo and Observation Rocks and started walking down it. It soon turned to ice and we put our crampons on for a speedier direct descent down the glacier. Around a rock outcropping we continued down the glacier until we could move left toward a snowfield and regain the rock. We continued with our crampons on through a loose rock band and then down another snowfield before taking our crampons off near a well developed bivy site.

We regained the trail and started our long trail walk back to Knapsack Pass. Once again the trail took longer than it seemed. (Perhaps because we could see the pass the whole time?) We returned to the intersection with the Wonderland Trail and proceeded to get on the trail to Knapsack Pass. Now on the trail we had less navigational issues as it was fairly easy to stay on trail. Although due to the lengthy feel of the hike, we had thought we were off route at one point, only to be confirmed on route by John's GPS. We continued until we hit the boulderfield where we initially took a higher crossing and moved through it a bit quicker. Nearing the trail on the other side of the boulders, we dropped lower to a cairn only to have to climb back up to the trail. Back on the trail we dispatched that last of our uphill hiking to take a brief break at the pass before dropping the 1200' down to Mowich Lake.

Overall this was a fun trip with a friend and some new people. The conditions of the climb were much worse than when I had previously climbed it in 2007. This time around the ice was dirtier, and there was more rockfall. (And we climbing in late September in '07.) This is probably due to the extremely warm summer we have been having. Another thing too was that the face seemed to be mostly lit. I remember having no sun on the face for the climb and being quite cold last time. This time I prepared for it, but the sun raced up the slope with us leaving me somewhat dehydrated after the technical portion. (I drank five liters of water throughout the day.) Temps were high and this led to a general discomfort on my part as I was expecting things to be a touch cooler above 7000' and in the shade.

I have to say while I don't know if the Knapsack Pass approach was any quicker, it was a more interesting way to go. The 3+ miles of trail to get to Spray Park are not boring, but are tedious on the return and don't provide much along the way of views on the way in. The alternate approach kept our interest and gave us good views of Mist Park and some light scrambling as well. Although it may not be specific to this approach, the goat herd(s) in the area were actually afraid of people which I guess means they are not acclimated and expect food etc. from us. This is a totally different experience than Washington Pass or Enchantments goats. Also, I presume if you wanted to, you could also summit Fay Peak on the way out if you had the energy.

Speaking of scrambling peaks, my original intent was to scramble Echo Rock after the Observation Rock climb. However, we were a little late, and my feet were acting up. Adam was also in the fourth day of climbing out of the last five and was pretty knackered. Upon getting a closer look at Echo and the route up it, I don't know if I'd ever scramble it as the rock just seems horribly loose and the terrain steep enough to incur death with a mishap. John made the comment that it was a giant cairn.

Another issue is what was happening with my boots. I had a hot spot on the way up to Knapsack Pass in the morning which I addressed, but it continued. I then got a hot spot on the other foot as well. I attempted different lacings and by the top of the ice climbing I was practically in pain. Surprisingly I had no blister, but soggy feet. I bandaged and taped them, but they still gave me discomfort on the way down. This is the first time I had experienced problems with this particular pair of boots. I thought it may be due to walking a long distance is a stiff boot. And I am not unwilling to rule out walking in warm temps in an insulated boot as a contributing factor. It could be that my feet haven't truly recovered from the Forbidden epic, and wearing boots is going to be uncomfortable for me for a while.

My pics are here.

Boone Hall Plantation~Live Oaks

These deserve a post all of their own. The driveway is lined for 3/4 of a mile with these fabulous Live Oak trees. They were planted in 1743. One of the tour guides said one of the Live Oak trees here is believed to be 800 years old. They are truly incredible to take in!

Typically Swiss: Toblerone Sandwich and Raclette

The nearest café restaurant from the office in Geneve is selling some Toblerone. Nope they are not the usual chocolates that we see sold in the airports and grocery stores. They are ‘Toblerone Sandwiches’!

This was my first time to see something like this so naturally I snapped a foto =).

The Toblerone chocolate is melted inside the bread. Didn’t buy this for lunch though. I chose a green salad.

Each day the café restaurant has a theme for the chef’s main course and during the week there was a day that they went local with the Swiss specialty, ‘Raclette’. I was quite tempted to take it but my Swiss colleague told me not to. He said its best to take them somewhere else. He mentioned the name of a restaurant that I could not remember.

It is usually 4 Swiss cheeses and they are melted. You can eat this (dip) with bread, thin slices of meat and vegetables (potatoes, pickled gherkins and silverskin onions). When eating raclette do not drink water because water can cause the cheese to become thick/solid in your stomach. Drink wine!

I was not so sure if I was happy not taking the cheese. The only reason why I didn’t take the raclette for lunch was because I had to pay it upfront at the cashier. Well I am lazy and stubborn, I don’t want to pay upfront so I went to the salad bar instead.

On some days I didn’t have lunch. It is too much for me sitting down in trainings and meetings the whole afternoon. It makes me feel so full and heavy, and sleepy as well.

Jacqueline in the Light of Day

Hopefully these daylight pictures of Jacqueline will do her more justice than the blurry ones from the previous night. These were taken yesterday in my courtyard. I rode her around Vienna all day in a state of disbelief. She rides wonderfully and the folding basket-panniers are amazingly functional. It does not matter what I am wearing, what I am carrying, and where I need to go - this bicycle is ready for anything.

As mentioned previously, Jacqueline is a lady's Steyr Waffenrad - which is one of the oldest (if not the oldest?) Austrian bicycle manufacturers. In my previous post someone commented that this is "the Austrian version of a Dutch bike", but while it's true that these are generally referred to as "Hollandrads", I do not think that is really the case. Waffenrad was established in 1895, and was influenced by the British roadster manufacturer BSA rather than by anything from the Netherlands. It later became a generic name used to describe a certain kind of bike, and the most popular manufacturer of these was Steyr. I have been told that at one point Austria had over 180 bicycle manufacturers. Sadly, most are no longer in business.

Jacqueline is a 1980s model, though its components are from a variety of time periods. The frame design is a "swan frame": The downtube curves around the front wheel and the top tube forms a complimentary curve. Put together, they form a "swan's neck" shape.

To my eye, the lugwork on the headtube resembles swan as well, though I may be imagining things.

Lugged connector between the downtube and the toptube.

Is the bicycle equivalent of "hood ornament" a "fender ornament"? This bike has one in the shape of a wing-like art deco "W" - appropriated from a German Wanderer bicycle.
Both the headlight and tail light are dynamo powered. I have never ridden a bike with a bottle dynamo (only hub), and based on what I'd heard about old dynamo bottles I expected it to be pretty bad. In fact it works splendidly. There is a distinct hissing sound of the bottle rubbing the tire, but it does not feel any harder to pedal. To de-activate the light during daytime, simply push the bottle sideways away from the tire. To activate it at night, press the release switch and it pops back into place. Easiest lighting system I've ever used, and the bottle feels extremely durable.

The beautiful tear-drop tail light. I very much want one of these for one of my bikes. You can see the little wire coming out from under the fender and running along the rusty stay, zip tied to it. The winged "W" logo is once again from a Wanderer, though the fender itself is native. Notice the holes that have been drilled into the fender for the original dressguards. You can also see the double kickstand (I prefer this one to the Pletscher) and the rear coaster brake hub. It is not a Sturmey Archer; in fact I saw no markings on it at all.

The coaster brake functions extremely well, but the front (hub) brake is mostly decorative - It works when you're stopped at an intersection and want to prevent the bicycle from rolling forward, but doesn't really make an impact when the bicycle is in motion. The coaster brake is plenty though, and I quickly got into the habit of simply ignoring the front brake lever. The hub gears are operated via the "Torpedo" shifter. The gears are widely spaced, similar to the Sturmey Archer AW hub on my Raleigh. Parts of Vienna are quite hilly and I anticipated using the 1st gear a lot - if not getting off the bike altogether in some areas. But to my surprise, I have mostly been using the 3rd and 2nd gears. I by no means have legs of steel, but old 3-speed hubs seem to be magically versatile.

The handlebars are what people today usually refer to as "Porteur" style, but actually they are similar to the version of North Roads that are put on Raleighs with rod brakes. The bar is mostly flat, with the grip areas curving sharpishly upwards and towards the rider. I prefer these to the classic North Road/Albatross bars, which are curvier and more flared to the sides. The plain grips are also surprisingly comfortable. That stuff in front of the handlebars is a folded-up front rack, with a beefy cable lock hanging off it. It all looks like a tangled mess here, but I find it a very comfortable set-up.

Here is the view from the front, with the rack unfolded. The rack is bolted to the stem and strapped to the handlebars with aged leather belts. It is not supported enough to carry heavy loads, but it is a convenient place for things like extra layers of clothing that might be removed and then put back on during a ride.

The rear basket panniers, on the other hand, can pretty much take anything you want to put in them. My large work bag fits into these perfectly, as do grocery bags (2 in each). The ride quality is hardly effected when the basket panniers are loaded. I think I need to install these on one of my bikes. The tires are 28" cream Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, just like on my Raleigh at home. They roll fabulously and swallow cobblestones without a peep - wonderful.

The one thing I would change about this bicycle is the saddle (just looking at these plush Selle Royals is painful!), but that of course is an easy fix (if only I'd brought one of my vintage Brooks from home!). Ideally, I would also like a full chaincase - but the chainguard here has been effective so far.

Overall, I feel that every part of this beautifully rusty bicycle has been extremely well thought out by its owner Wolfgang. Everything from the puncture resistant tires, to the super-stable kickstand, to the self-sustaining lighting set-up, to the roomy collapsible panniers, has a feel of perfectly functional design to it. I love Jacqueline. How will I give her back?