Red and Yellow

This is a small group of red and yellow yuccas that I found at a roadside pull off.

Clermont FL to Wauchula FL

Ahhhh...we are back "home". Or at least our "winter home". We are so happy to be here!

Quick mid weight down jacket comparison?

Whenguys get together there is usually no lack of posturing. When it comes to climbing, the Internet allows all sorts of spewing that won't happen in person, face to face. "Stand and deliver" actually means something on the rock. It is how we measure ability..and mouth some times.



Some might have expected by now that I like measurement and comparisons. I see a lot of gear and the small percentage of what I do like I can easily put words to. But I find it even more interesting when very similarproducts are forced to "stand and deliver". Get down to the details and there is generally a different worth noting.



Two mid weight down climbing jackets I like a lot and have mentioned before on the blog seemed worthy of a side by side comparison. Both jackets run a little small compared to US sizing. The numbers listed here are for a men's XLin both jackets. I am 6'1" and 187#. Both jackets fit me well with even light layers under them. The RAB being the slightly bigger of the two for overall fit. But easy enough to call both patterns "athletic" for fit.



The Narrona Lyngen, 22.3 oz or 632g. 3" of loft at the shoulder. Retail? $348.95 Only one US retailer.

(3/4" ofadditional loft and a big drop of 9.5 oz in weight from my first Lyngen of 3 years ago!) One seriously has to wonder what changed?



"Aero™down proof 30 g



A super-lightweight and down proof technical fabric, aero™down proof weighs about 30 grams/m². It’s soft, water-repellent and windproof, and has a good strength for being so lightweight.

down™750



Our down products use the highest available down quality that we can find, which is a by-product of the food industry (in contrast to being killed just for insulation). Our down comes from the mountains of Pyrenees in France where the birds spend their days outside in a free gazing environment. All treatment of the birds complies with European standards, and the highly specialized washing of the down passes the Oeko-Tex 100 standards. Our down™750 means down fill power from 750 to 800 cu in/oz with the percentage of down cluster from 93–96%.



PrimaLoft™ One 130 g



PrimaLoft™ is a patented micro-structure that gives great thermal insulation to help the body maintain its temperature, minimizing energy loss. Extremely light and soft, it was originally developed by the US Army to replace natural down. As down absorbs moisture, it becomes wet and loses its thermal-insulating abilities. PrimaLoft™ absorbs three times less water, is 14% warmer when dry and 24% warmer when wet, than the competitive insulation."



130g Primaloft is used in the hood and neck, and in side panels from the wrist's cuff to the arm pit and back down to the waist's hem.




http://www.norrona.com/Products/3170-09/lyngen-down750-jacket-m




The RAB Infinity, 17.4oz or 492g, 3" of loft at the shoulder. Retail? $299.95 Andmany US retailers



"[shell] Pertex Syncro (10D ripstop nylon); [lining] Pertex Quantum (10D ripstop nylon)



850-fill European goose down" (It seems RAB likes a short description, but that is all they have listed:)







http://us.rab.uk.com/products/mens-clothing/down_1/infinity-jacket.html


For agear geek is waskinda fun to make this comparison. For the 3" of insulation both jackets offer with premium goose down one has to ask why the weight and cost differences? And which jacket offers an advantage for the climber?



After all RAB has made its reputationbased on customers for the most part, members of the climbing community. Differing with what Narrona has done for the most part in the skiing community.



I have used both jackets climbing with great satisfaction. Again both jackets are sewn through baffling with an extra layer of material used as a wind panel across the chest. Simply sewn through in back. Both have hoods you can use over a helmet. The Narrona hood is much larger though and easier to use with a helmet and offers muchmore protection with a flexible visor and a tunnel design on the neck.






28" back





24" back




The difference in that 4" is a longer back on the Lyngen.

Below is a side view of the front to back taper on both jackets.






But the front, where the harness is, stays the same.





straight cut sleeves and arms





Raglan sleeves and articulated elbows





Sewn baffle comparisons





Hood and neck detail





Hood and neck detail





doublecuff on left and a single cuff on the right





Nylon mesh chest pocket that doubles as a stuff sack with haul loop









small internal chest pocket..of minimal use because ofsize


22.6 oz or 17.4oz ? As expected from two of the cutting edge climbing design teamsyou get a choice. 5.2 oz more in the Lyngen gets you a little more jacket for warmth and coverage. More hood, more garment length and the back up of Primaloft One in areas most likely to get wet in use. And most important a pattern more easilyallows one to climb some very difficult terrain and stay covered.



For a bitless than a 1/4pound in weight savings the Infinity gets you a very basic jacket with a great attention to detail and a littleless of weight.Hard to turn a blind eye to that fact with all the basic needs covered and$50 less @ retail.



Both jackets have single slide front zippers. Too bad because both could use a dbl slider to get around the harness. Both offer good zipper buffers/baffles and coverage.



The integrated stuff sack and tie in on the Lyngen is a nice feature. The Infinity chest pocket barely has enough room to carry thestuff sack that comes with it. The integral pocket with the net backing seems a bit fragile on the Lyngen. But it stretches to fit. The Infinity comes with its own stuff sack. Both carry systems have integral haul loops attached.













Compression is about the same on both jackets. Either will easily fit in the RAB stuff sack.



The shell material on either jacket will shed water for a good bitof time. But neither material is "water proof", The Lyngen 's nylon isheavier physically than the Pertex RAB uses. Neither material will do well wrestlingwith limestone.



So what did I get from this review? Comparisons generally have a single winner.



I added up the "points". Lyngen has a better hood, better cuffs, better pattern and articulated elbows. It has a better internal pocket to dry gear in and would make a better pillow if that is something you require. Call it 6 points better than the RAB.



TheRAB is simple. I like the fit and how light it is. I like the Pertex. I didn't notice the smaller hood or the simple pattern cut on the RAB while wearing it, only as Ilayed them both out on the floor for photos.



I knew I liked the Lyngen better but wasn't sure exactly why. But no question I like the $50 savings on the RAB. The RAB versionmight well have a better quality down and more of it. Ican't tell.



I am obviously nit picking here. Others may preferthe simplicity and less weight above everything else on the RAB. Both are seductive.



Both of thesejackets are exceptional garments for my own use. This review, like many I do was simply for my own edification. I am keepingand will use both jackets.

Springtime Transformations

Can you spot the differences between this picture and the Mercier in its initial state?

If you are thinking that the colour scheme looks a bit different, you are right. Originally, the Mercier had black lugwork and paneling - but to my eye, this created too harsh of a contrast with the cream frame. It also had the effect of stopping the eye at the frame's joints and making the bicycle look "choppy", whereas I like mixtes to have an elongated, fluid look to them. So after considering my options, I bought some enamel paint and hand-painted over the black lugwork and panels. The new colour is a light green-gray; very French and Spring-like. I have yet to redo the gold pinstriping around the edges, but from a distance it looks passable as is.

Another visible update to the Mercier is this fantastic Ideale saddle - acquired in a trade with a Lovely Bicycle reader (thank you!).

Ideale saddles are French, and described in this interesting article as "celebrated and enigmatic". This one is a Model 6, which is a short-nosed women's model from the 1970's.

It is comparable to a Brook's B72S and has two rear loop springs.

An extremely comfortable, elegant saddle. And the engraving is gorgeous. I have cycled a total of maybe 50 miles on it so far and it feels just perfect.

The last significant update has been replacing the tires. The shop where I found the bike fitted it with 20mm racing tires. To give you a point of reference, 20mm is narrower than the wheel rims. I think the fact that I was even able to ride on these tires at all - let alone 10 miles to Harris Cyclery to get new tires - is a testament to how stable and comfortable the Mercier is. The only problem I had, was with cracks in the road: 20mm tires are narrow enough to get stuck in the most innocent-looking cracks! After this happened to me once and I almost got knocked off the bike, I became hyper-vigilant.

Thankfully, now the bicycle is fitted with 32mm Panaracer Pasela Tourguards - a beautiful vintage-looking tire with tan walls and superb puncture protection (These are the same tires I have on Marianne, and I have been very happy with them over the past year).

In addition to these updates, there are other little things we've done, like remove the spoke protector and the reflectors from the wheels, remove the Pletscher rack (which did not look right on this bike), clean the handlebar grips, and replace the black tape used to patch up a crack in the white cable housing with white tape, making it less visible. Future updates will include a set of inexpensive fenders from Velo Orange, a vintage front rack, and switching the downtube shifters to a set of old stem-mounted ones. So far, the only new components or accessories I have bought for this bike have been the tires. Everything else has been vintage, and for the most part acquired in a trade. I think I will try to do the same with future updates. Will see where this goes!

Someday -

- Yes Someday, I'm gonna catch that bird in that TV screen.

A Sock for Your Lock?

image via thelocksock.com

A while ago, some of us began noticing knitted "u-lock cozies" on bicycles, and I always thought it would be neat if someone were to start selling them. Turns out a Lovely Bicycle reader recently did.



The Lock Sock is a hand-knitted sock that will fit a mini or standard u-lock - its function to prevent the lock from scuffing the bicycle's frame. I think these things are adorable, but never made one for myself because I don't use u-locks.



If you do use a u-lock and are longing to dress it in a knitted sock, one of these could be yours. Leave a comment describing how you lock up your bike and include your email address, and I will pick the recipient at random. Deadline is 11:59pm tonight, Pacific Standard Time. You will be able to choose a sock from the colors available and Stephen of The Lock Sock will mail it to you directly from Brooklyn, NY.



Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Once More with Feeling: the Return of the Winter Tire Dilemma

After last year's mild winter, this holiday season caught us off guard with a bountiful snowfall. My two ridable transport bikes at the moment are a Brompton and a 650B prototype mixte (more on that soon). The mixte sports 42mm Grand Bois Hetre tires, and so I thought it would be a great idea to ride it in the snow. After all, the Hetres ride so nicely over unpaved, uneven terrain. Crusty snow feels kind of similar. I took to the streets.




Here I will pause to admit, that despite 3 previous winters of cycling behind my belt, I had never before ridden on roads that look quite like what's pictured here. There was never a need to, since our neighbourhood usually gets plowed and salted pretty thoroughly. Typically the streets look morelike this-with snowbanks piled high on the sides, but the travel lanes mostly cleared. This time around, maybe on account of the holidays, they had not cleared the snow all that well. I got to experience the real deal.






The snow on the roads created terrain of three distinct categories. There was the even, packed snow. Riding on it felt similar to riding on post-rain dirt roads, nicely packed and kind of softish. The Hetres handled well there. There was the crusted-over snow, uneven and slippery at times, though not outright icy. This too felt manageable. And then there were the occasional stretches of deeper, slushier snow. I expected it to feel similar to mud, but it was way more slidey and my front wheel kept fishtailing. Still, overall I thought that the tires did fine. There were only a few stretches where I felt uneasy, and I attributed that to a lack of confidence.




So I got home and uploaded some pictures of my snow ride, planning to comment on how decently the Grand Bois Hetres handled. But promptly the pictures received feedback from others to the opposite effect, warning that these tires ride poorly in the snow. The fact that I happily rode them and felt they were fine strikes me as funny - in a concerning sort of way. Ideally, I'd like to be able to tell the difference between lack of traction and lack of confidence.






And so, once more the Winter Tire Dilemma is upon me. Naturally, everyone is suggesting studded tires. This is my 4th winter commuting by bike and I have yet to try them. Partly this is because they are expensive and I cannot seem to commit to a wheel size. I am riding 650B now, but in winters past I've ridden 26", 28" and 700C, and who knows what I'll be riding next winter. I am also convinced that getting studded tires and mounting them on my bike will activate the Umbrella Carrying Principle, ensuring that I will not need them.






Finally, the very fact of having gotten through 3 winters without them makes me question whether I really need studs. Winters here aren't really that bad, and tires with some tread seem to do pretty well. The Schwalbe Marathon Plus are the husband's favourite for city slush and snowy paths alike, and they are even available for the Brompton's wheel size. The performance-oriented Continental Top Winter IIs also come highly recommended. Knobby mountain bike tires are another popular choice. One issue, as I understand it, is that no tire is equally good for both snow and ice. Studded tires help with ice, but not snow. Tires with heavy tread help with snow, but not ice.This winter, my commutes cover longer distances and more remote areas than previously, so a good winter tire is worth considering ...though with all the choices and factors involved, I suspect spring might come by the time I decide.

Spring!

Its spring - or at least it is for today. Here in the desert we only have a bout a week of spring and then it jumps right into summer. Trees are blooming, horses are shedding. So we have flower blossom petals and horse hair blowing in the wind. What a combination. He is a pic of some of the redbud tree blossoms. I adore flowers, and leaves on trees. I admire and marvel over each and every leaf, petal, stamen, and the unique colors that are so brilliant against the desert tan, and dirt colors. Each one is special.

Got slides you wanta digitize?

If you've been following my blog recently then you are aware that I've been on a digitizing spree. It started in April with scanning a few photos for my mother's 80th birthday and evolved into a project to scan our family's picture albums. That's almost done, just waiting for my niece to get her part of the project completed ;-)

The next phase was started this past week with the purchase of a ScanSnap S300 scanner for digitizing my genealogy documents and correspondence. I really can't say enough about that little scanner. It is amazingly quick with very good quality. I heartily recommend it!

All the while I've been wondering how to digitize my slide collection. I've researched scanning services found online but the cost per slide (anywhere from $.35 to $.65 cents EACH) was prohibitive. Too much money. I tested the slide scanning capability of my flatbed scanner. The results were good but it took several minutes to scan each slide. Too much time. I investigated purchasing a scanner made specifically for digitizing slides. But after reading reviews and blog posts about the process have decided against that method. Too much time and too much money.

The other day a friend and I were discussing our scanning projects. She had purchased a slide scanner but gave up after scanning only a few as it took too much time. Then she mentioned that someone had told her about a place where you could get slides digitized at a very reasonable price. That place? Wal-Mart. Yeah, right. So I stopped by my local Wal-Mart store and found out that they do indeed scan slides to CD. (I don't know if every Wal-Mart has this capability though, you'll have to ask.) Their price? $2.50 for 40 slides. That's only 6.25 CENTS for each slide! To say that I was skeptical would be putting it mildly.

On Thursday, after selecting 80 slides of varying quality and subject matter, I dropped them off for processing. Yesterday I picked up the slides and their accompanying CD. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. They are NOT high resolution archival images but they will give you a decent 4x6 printed image. And they look good on the computer screen. And, I think for my purposes they will do just fine. Very few of my slides were ever printed. I'm not interested in making large prints or prints of any size for that matter, I just want to be able to view the pictures again and enjoy re-visiting the places I've been.

The old adage "you get what you pay for" definitely applies here. You won't get archival quality images for 6 cents but you will get acceptable images for viewing on-screen. So, as I'm scanning my genealogy documents I'll also be spending some time sorting through my slides selecting those to be digitized. This may not be acceptable to you but I thought I'd present it as an alternative to the higher priced digitizing services. Try it with a selection of 40 slides and see what you think. At worst, you'll only waste $2.50 to find out if it is worthwhile for you.

Yellowstone National Park, July 1979
Copyright © 1979/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Oh, John? I'm Looking for You!

My heart sank as I went through the Grantee and Grantor Deed Index Books for Columbiana County. There was just one entry for John Ruppard between 1803-1850. Lots of entries showed up for Adam Rupert and Jacob Rupert during that time period. But just a single entry for John.



That entry (v9 p47) showed that John Ruppard and Barbara his wife and Andrew Richard Ruppard and Mary his wife of the county of Columbiana in consideration of the sum of $300 sold a parcel of landto Durs Walserin the SW 1/4 of Section 26 of Township 15 in Range 4, which quarter section was confirmed to John Ruppard by Patent under the hand of James Madison President dated the seventh day of December Annon Domini One Thousand eight hundred and nine... [description of the land...] containing 70 and 79/100 acres.



Bottom of page 47 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9from microfilm 926865 at the Family History Library, Salt Lake CityJohn Ruppard and Andrew Richard Ruppard selling land to Durs Walser(As always, double-click on the images to view a larger version.)

Page 48 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9

page 48 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9Signatures of John (in “German”), Andrew Richard, Mary, and Barbery Rupert/Rupard

That was nice, to say the least!



The deed confirmed that Barbara was John's wife. And, Township 15 in Range 4 is Hanover township. And that means that he is probably the John Rupert mentioned on page 157 in the “History of Columbiana County, Ohio” (Mack, 1879).

“John Rupert, a German, who upon his arrival in Baltimore from Germany, being unable to pay his passage money, was sold by the captain of the vessel to a person who, in consideration of receiving Rupert's services free for the ensuing three years, paid the captain's demand. Rupert lived in Hanover until his death, after reaching the age of one hundred years. The farm he owned is now owned by C. Pfeffer, in section 26, Hanover twp.”

But just as interesting was the fact that John Ruppard had obtained the land by Patent. A quick search of the patent records at the BLM Website using his last name, as well as variations, brought up nothing. A search for township 15, range 4, section 26 displayed three entries – for the NW 1/4, the NE 1/4, and the SE 1/4. That was a bit confusing. What happened to the SW 1/4?



In a moment of serendipity later that day, I decided to take a look at the May issue of “Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library” that was still sitting in my email unread. That issue included an article by John D. Beatty on Ohio Public Land Records. Talking about the BLM database, Mr. Beatty states “While Ohio is represented, the database does not contain the names of those who bought land on credit before 1820.”



That could explain why John Ruppard does not show up in the BLM database! A trip to the Allen County Library will be forthcoming since “the records of Ohio’s public land sales, including those omitted from the GLO database, are available on microfilm in The Genealogy Center.” The article continues by providing a resource, also at the Genealogy Center, to find out whether an ancestor purchased land on credit.



There were two enticing grantor entries for “Conrad Yarian Exr etal” one in 1834 selling land to John Sheets and the other in 1842 selling land to Wm Ehrhart. From this entry in a WorldConnect database I knew that Catharina Rupert (presumed daughter of John Rupert) had married David Ehrhart.



In the 1834 entry, Conrad Yarian and George Snoke were the executors of the estate of John Snoke. For $2,000.00 they sold 190 and 75/100ths acres in the SW corner of Section 6 Township 8 Range 1 to George Sheets. Date of transaction was July 3, 1834. John Snoke (Snook) was married to Mary Rupert, daughter of Adam. I moved on to the next item.



As I began reading the deed record of the 1842 transaction (v33 p649), my heart skipped a beat and then started pumping faster. The names David Ehrhart and Conrod Yarian were there but the name John Rupart nearly jumped off the page! The record stated, in part:



“This Indenture made this sixth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two between David Ehrhart and Conrod Yerrien Executors of the last will and testament of John Rupart late of the county of Columbiana and state of Ohio, deceased, of the one part and William Ehrhart of the same county and State of the other part witnesseth that whereas the said John Rupart by his said last will and testament did authorise, impower and require his said executors to grant, bargain and sell the West 1/2 of the South West 1/4 of Section 26 Township 15 Range 4 in the said county of Columbiana...”



Page 649 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 33David Ehrhart & Conrod Yarian executors of John RupartSelling land to William Ehrhart

Page 650 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 33

It was almost “happy dance” time, but not quite. It still didn't prove that John was Eva's father. I was thrilled that I had found this because it meant that he DID have a will, and there would be estate papers! But when did John Rupert die?



I pulled microfilm (927750), which contained “Probate records, v. 11-13 1841-1846” and found an entry for the estate of John Rupert (I neglected to write down the volume number, but it was on page 360 and dated the August term of 1842, so probably book 11). But all it contained was the financial accounting of the final settlement of the estate. No mention of a distribution to heirs. It did, however, provide a clue to his date of death in an item for “Cash for Rent of Real estate” dated July 14, 1836.



Presuming that John died prior to July 14, 1836 when money was received for renting his land, I pulled the microfilm (2032650) “Estate records, no. 1694-1862 1834-1837” and went through the entire roll without finding anything on John Rupert. It had taken over an hour to read that roll of microfilm, looking at the names on the packets and hoping for positive results. I was concerned when I kept seeing the “Missing Packet” place holders and I was more than a little disappointed that I hadn't found the estate record for John. Was his one of the missing packets?

A Look at Berthoud Handlebar Bags and Thoughts on Attachment Options

I finally received a Giles Berthoud handlebar bag for the Randonneur. It's the Model 25 in gray, which is their medium size and features elastic ties for the pockets instead of leather straps.

The visual presence of this bag is almost too much for me. There is something about its colour scheme and construction that says "I am French and I am exquisite," and I find this both interesting and intimidating.



But happily, the Berthoud does not overwhelm the aesthetics of the bicycle. The size is a perfect fit. And the darker fabric and lighter leather combination parallels the contrast between the frame and lugwork. In comparison, the Ostrich handlebar bag on my own bike is more drab and also more bulky.



The bag has a large front pocket,



two side pockets



and two rear pockets. The top flap closes toward, rather than away from the cyclist, which is the opposite of what I am used to with the Ostrichand makes it counterintuitive for me to use - but this is of course user-specific. You can see that leather straps are provided for wrapping around the back of the rack. However, there are no provisions for securing the bag to the rack's platform, which surprised me (Ostrich includes straps for this). I know that some devise DIY systems, and if you've done so I'd love to hear about your process.



There are leather straps provided for attaching the bag to the handebars, though most opt for installing a decaleur. And here is where we are experiencing a little glitch. Ideally, the owner would prefer to forgo a decaleur: He plans to ride both with and without the bag, and a bagless decaleur sticking out of the bicycle doesn't look great (I agree). The handlebar straps hold the bag up fine, but without being secured on the bottom it bounces on the rack when filled with stuff and going over bumps. I am also told that the bag can move from side to side without a decaleur, though I haven't experienced thisyetduring my one test ride so far(with 10lb of weight in the bag).



As far as decaleurs go, we had planned to use one of theseif going without proved impossible, but I have since been warned that using it with the Nitto lugged stem (as opposed to the regular Technomic stem) is not a good idea, for complicated reasons related to clamp compatibility that I won't go into here. An alternative would be Berthoud's own decaleur, but it too apparently presents issues with the lugged stem - plus it is fairly obtrusive without the bag on. A headset-mounted decaleur is not possible here, because it would sit too low. So I am seeking a solution, and also wondering whether securing the bag at the bottom would in itself solve the problem. The bag is not nearly as large as my Ostrich, and I know that some do manage to use it without a decaleur. Sharing of experiences in this regard would be most appreciated.

Critters