Fuji "Vent Léger": a Vintage Mystery

I spotted this unusual bicycle near Union Square in Somerville.

It is imprinted with the romantic name Vent Léger (which means "light wind" in French).

Every part of the bicycle is branded, even the handlebar basket.

Apparently, it was made by Fuji: There is a Fuji headbadge and headset, as well as a sprung Fuji saddle.

The interesting thing, is that I cannot find any information what so ever on this bicycle. It has what looks like a Japanese registration sticker on the downtube. It may have been made exclusively for the Far-Eastern market.

Underneath the dirt and rust, the lugged steel frame is a very nice shade of dark blue-gray.

There are two brake levers on the handlebars, but the lever for the rear brake is not connected to a cable. There could be an after-market coasterbrake hub on the rear wheel - Or could it be that the bike is a fixed gear conversion? It is a single speed, so technically that is possible - though I shudder to think of anyone climbing hills on a bike like this in fixed gear.

In any case, the enclosed chaincase protected Vent Léger's privacy, so I will never know what was up with the rear brake.

A close-up of the Sanden dynamo light.

And a close-up of the rear rack and wire dressguard.

I can see no dates on the bicycle, but by the degree of wear I would estimate 1970s. I know that not everyone will find this "mystery bike" fascinating, but I am intrigued by the complete lack of information about it and drawn to the very logistics of its presence here. I mean, someone must have actually flown this bicycle here from Japan. God knows how many years later, it now stands in the overgrow grass next to a chainlink fence in Somerville. But at some point, someone must have carried flowers in the basket and groceries on the rack. Someone must have loved it and cared enough to want it with them.

Ohio From My Window

We are really loving the landscape here. The flowers are in full bloom and the fields are full of life.

Colin Haley, Alpinist

While working on the Norrøna jacket review I really wanted to use two of Colin Haley's photos from his and Bjørn-Eivind Årtun climbs on Hunter. We had never met in person but our face book connection in the climbing community made access easy. So I sent Colin an email asking permission to use his pictures for that blog piece.

Take a look there for links to Colin's blog.

Turns out Colin was in town and doing a presentation for the Mountaineers last night. Colin and the Mountaineers were gracious enough to allow me to invite myself.

Colin did a great presentation on winter climbing. Equally as good was he answered questions through out his presentation and stayed long afterwards taking questions from the audience.

I took written notes, learned a few things (no surprise) and hope that I am relaying what Colin said and not just what I heard...but as always, "caveat emptor!"

Take a look at Colin's climbing resume' if you want more details on how he came up with his opinions.

In no particular order. What is listed below is just how it came out of the conversation last night. I intentionally duplicated my "short hand" notes here. Adding anything now is just going to be me adding my own commentary which I did not want to do. Call it, an hour of "Colin distilled" :)Here it is, hope you find something useful!

"The Cascades Can have some of the best "winter" climbing in the world...certainly better than Colorado :)

Always take a good foam pad...
Always take a tent even solo (Bibler, ID or First Light from comments and his pictures)
Always cook inside your tent
Always use a cartridge stove
Warm weather use a Jet Boil
Cold weather use a MSR

No need for a heat exchanger because he cooks inside his tent on a foam pad.

Don't be afraid of taking jumars on winter routes, it might be faster overall.

Lots of rope options to choose from in winter. Use what is best for your project :

single
single and a tat
twins
a dbl and a tat

Skinny rap rings can be a good thing to carry and use on occasion.

April and May are the best alpine "ice" months in the Cascades.

Alaska climbing in winter is really cold Climbing in the "real" winter season is toughClimb at night, it is character buildingLearn how to dig through cornices...it is character buildingCarry 2 ice screws for winter routes in the Cascades...might as well take titanium, they are lighter and you'll never use them anyway

Cascade approaches that are complicated (aren't they all) might get snowshoes, a mtn bike and feet
Simple approaches get skis
Alpinists need to know how to downhill ski...well.
Big advocate of approach skis...100cm to 160cm Water is carried in MSR bladders, up to 3 litersHe doesn't mind intentionally getting dehydrated if it will get him to a brew stop earlier

His hardest mixed line in the Cascades is "Intravenous" (unrepeated to date btw... see the red line drawing in the John Scurlock's photo of the face above and Colin's suggested direct finish in green ;)

If you are plunging curved tools in snow for support always face the tool picks up hill

Climbing clothing on two, back to back, ascents of the north face of Hunter.
long john bottoms
pile lined soft shell pants..no zips
wool first layer on top
R1 layer
hard shell
belay jacket...a synthetic
Puff pants with zippers

Boots on Hunter were Spantik, which Colin REALLY likes for various reasons. Laces and how they climb technical ground being the two he mentioned specifically.

(I tried to turn him on the the Baruntse but he wasn't having any of it ;)

He is sponsored by Patagonia, Black Diamond and Sportiva among others so easy enough to figure out what he is wearing.

Crampons...always dual points..the advantage of support and not working all the time to be stable as you would on a mono point.

Vertical front points for "hard" as in physically hard ice, like concrete hard, not technically hard like WI7.

Horizontal front points most every where else.

He likes the Euro death knot, raps a lot on mixed sized ropes and has seen the tests on them all.

Favorite glove at the moment is the BD Punisher, doesn't generally remove his gloves for climbing, doesn't like to carry a spare set of gloves, but will carry one extra pair on occasion, doesn't use hard warmers

Down bags are good for a two bivy climb... past that go synthetic
Belay jackets he suggests being "conservative", his word not mine, and uses synthetic... the DAS of course.

Meals are freeze dried on long climbs for weight and nutrition. Mtn House got the endorsement for easiest on your digestive system. Gu and energy bars on the other climbs up to a 48 hrs push.

Sit up in the tent while cooking with a stove inside...limits the chance of carbon dioxide poisoning by being lower in the tent, like laying down would.

Snow pickets have a limited use in steep snow...and he has climbed a LOT of steep snow.
Pickets probably are best used buried as a deadman. Best belay on steep snow is a deep seated belay, set up directionally"

Well worth the effort if you get a chance to see one of Colin's presentations.

Cats on a Tree

Here are Wiley and Jade posing on their indoor cat tree. They like to sit on it and look out the window

She Won't be Forgot...

A week ago today (December 7, ..) my Aunt Phyllis passed away at her home in Columbia City, Indiana at the age of 88. Due to my own negligence (not checking voice mail for two days – shame on me!) I didn't find out about it until Wednesday night. On Thursday morning I left the nice warm home of my friend in northeast Louisiana and headed to the frigid north. After 900 miles, seven states, two time zones, crossing the Mississppi River three times, and 25 hours later, I arrived home safely Friday morning. Visitation was Friday afternoon and the service was Saturday morning.

But I wasn't the only one to drive a long distance to pay my respects to Aunt Phyllis – her sister, my Aunt Shirley drove from Maryland and my older brother Doug came down from Minneapolis. As her daughter Kathy said, it was a testament to how much Phyllis was loved that we would drive so far to be able to be in her presence one last time. [Update 2:30 pm - I had a memory lapse... Phyllis' grandson Jameson Mitchell and his mother Emmy flew in from California to attend the services.]

It was nice to see many of my cousins and their children, some whom I hadn't seen in many years, and their grandchildren, some whom I had never seen. Though it was sad that death is what brought us together there was joy and happiness in sharing stories and memories of Aunt Phyllis and honoring her long life, one well lived.

One word was spoken over and over during those two days that describes Aunt Phyllis – Special. And that she was. Not only was she so very special, Aunt Phyllis had the ability to make you feel special. She didn't condemn. She didn't judge. She listened. And she talked, and boy, was she a talker! She never spoke badly about anyone. Never an unkind word to or about anyone. She was kind, gentle and loving, and one of the nicest people I have ever known. She was Special.

Aunt Phyllis sometimes did silly or “stupid” things. But she was able to laugh at herself. One of my favorite stories about her involves a little night light that wasn't!

Phyllis and Walt lived in Columbia City in an old two-story house that was difficult to keep warm in the winter. During one particularly cold winter in the 1960s they purchased an electric blanket. It was their first one and she was quite pleased with it. One day while showing it to her brother Bill, after raving about how well it was keeping them warm and comfortable at night, she commented that they didn't need the night light that was on the control so she always turned it off. When Bill pointed out that the “night light” was actually a light to indicate that the blanket was turned on she laughed about it and got through the embarrassment and the story has been told over and over through the years.

Phyllis Elizabeth Phend was born in Columbia City, Indiana on September 29, 1922 and was the first child of Rolland Victor and Hazlette (Brubaker) Phend. She lived most of her life in Whitley County, graduating from Larwill High School with the Class of 1940. Phyllis married Walter Eugene Mitchell on December 6, 1942 (the day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor). She passed away on December 7, .. (the day after what would have been their 68th wedding anniversary).

Phyllis and Walt opened “Mitchell's Bait and Tackle” store in their home in Columbia City in 1946. They kept it going for 23 years closing it down in 1969. Walt was also a collector of post cards and old bottles, while Phyllis loved collecting buttons and old dolls. For many years they attended shows and auctions buying and selling their stuff. And since Aunt Phyllis “never knew a stranger” they always had a good time while doing it. She enjoyed it immensely.

Phyllis was the mother of five children: Kathy, Mike, Patrick (died in an accident in 1948 at the age of two), Jim and Kevin. She had 8 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, 4 step-great-grandchildren and was expecting 1 great-great-grandchild due in March of ... She was a “second Mom” to many of the kids in the neighborhood.

Mike, Kathy, Walt, Phyllis, Kevin, Jim
I think this was taken at their 50th wedding anniversary in December 1992.
March ... The siblings.Patricia, William, Shirley, Virginia, and Phyllis (seated).

Domesticating the Transportation Bicycle?

[Bowery Lane bicycle, made in Brooklyn; image via bowerylanebicycles]

When a skirt-wearing woman is photographed astride a step-through bicycle, she is inevitably described as riding a "European bike."Transportation bicycles in North America are to a large extent synonymous with European bicycles, and the cause is understandable: Most classic bikes currently on the market are indeed imported from the EU. But ultimately, how good is this association for the fate of transportation cycling in North America? Tom Bowden taps into this idea inHow to Talk About Cycling to a Conservative, where he suggests to"refrain from gushing praise of European cycling culture, e.g. the Dutch, the Danes, or whoever. Conservatives are not inclined to emulate pre-colonial imperialist has-beens - at least not consciously." Funny, but true. And in my view not limited to conservatives. The US "as a whole" (inasmuch as there can be such a thing) prefers to be a cultural trendsetter, not a follower. Is it realistic to believe that bicycles are immune to that?

[vintage Schwinn, made in Chicago; image via eva.lu]

A separate issue is that of cultural affiliation. Does a European bicycle really mean anything to the majority of the North American population? Are images of Amsterdam, romantic as they may be, really of personal significance? I don't see how they could be. Images of a glowing midwestern girl riding a '50sSchwinn through the noisy streets of Chicago, or a carefree Californian on a beach cruiser, are likely to be more relatable. And thatbrings me to yet another point: the US has its own upright bicycle manufacturing tradition. From Victor Bicycles and Iver Johnson in Boston, to Worksman Cycles in New York and the aforementioned Schwinn in Chicago, the history is there and the cultural associations are there. Can new American manufacturers emerge from these historical roots?



[ANT basket bike; made in Holliston, MA]

Please don't misunderstand: Obviously, I love European bicycles. English Roadsters, Dutch bikes, French mixtes, Italian city bikes - I am crazy about them all. But in addition, it would be exciting to see the US revamp its own distinct cultural specimen. To some extent, Mike Flanigan of ANT does this nicely - but he is a custom framebuilder and not a manufacturer. Perhaps over time, someone will step up to the plate and we shall see the classic (lady's!) transportation bicycle domesticated.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Today Ashleigh, Nathan, Austin, Elijah and the dogs headed to Sleeping Bear Dunes. I will get Nathan to write something up so he can remember the day. All pictures and words will be his.