Control

Tuffee is determained to keep control of that darned water hose. As you might have guessed we frequently have tooth holes in the hose.

Dream Wool Cycling Jersey Concept

A number of manufacturers have come out with updated versions of the classic wool roadcycling jersey over the past few years, and I've accumulated a few. All have some nice features, but none are perfect. Yesterday I noticed one that I think might come close, and exchanged some emails with my Ibex contact Julie lamenting that there is no women's version. This ended with the people at Ibex saying they will consider it for Fall , which, in turn, inspired me to be more specific about what I envisioned. This is not directed at Ibex necessarily, but at wool manufacturers in general. It is a simple concept, and shouldn't be difficult to execute - yet no jersey quite like this exists at the moment as far as I know.





The key to my dream wool cycling jersey is a very lightweight merino fabric. And by lightweight I mean summer weight, t-shirt weight. The wool Swobo and Woolistic use for their jerseys is too heavy. Rapha, Road Holland and Shutt Velo Rapide use "sport wool," which is a wool/polyester blend that, for me at least, works nicely over a base layer in cold temps, but not against bare skin. Icebreaker adds a touch of lycra to their paper-thin wool jerseys for stretch, and I like their fabric as a possibility. But the nicest I've worn so far has been the 18.5 micron, 195g/m2 merino used by Ibex for their Indie line of jerseys. That fabric feels pretty much spot on.




I prefer cycling jerseys with long sleeves, even in summer, because this way my arms don't get burned. Also, if the fabric is lightweight enough, I actually find it more comfortable to have my skin covered in the heat than not. The combination of the t-shirt weight wool and the long sleeve length is perfect for temperature regulation on both hot and cool days.One thing to add here, is that I beg whoever makes this jersey to not do anything crazy to the sleeves - like what Swobo did here by adding seams. I have both the older (no seams) and the newer (seams! why?) versions of their long sleeve jersey, and the seams on the newer one make the sleeves constricting. Please just leave the sleeves be; they don't need reinventing.






One feature I would absolutely love to see in a cycling jersey is a 2-way zipper. I think this would be an especially useful feature for women, as it would enable us to unzip the jersey for extra ventilation just like men do, but without exposing the bosom. With a 2-way zipper we can unzip along the tummy and leave the chest covered up. I am surprised no one has tried this yet actually. The zipper should be covered on the inside of the jersey, so that it doesn't come into contact with the skin.






Women sometimes complain that cycling jerseys are unflattering, and one way to remedy this would be to tailor the jersey via shaping darts - which Ibex already does in some of their athletic tops. However, I am reluctant to suggest this, because it does introduce additional seams which for some may cause chafing. Personally I am okay with or without darted tailoring, though a women-specific fit would be nice.






In the back, all I want is the classic 3 jersey pockets, elasticized at the top. No more or no less; no bells and whistles; nothing weird. Some manufacturers have been getting clever with the pockets - adding all sorts of secret zip-up compartments for pumps and wallets, which I really feel is unnecessary, and if anything, limits the use of that potentially vast pocket space. Just the standard 3 pockets please!






As far as looks, I am open - just please keep it simple. No flowers, no swirly shapes, no faux-oriental designs, and no clever slogans. Classic colours. Maybe a stipe or two somewhere, with room for embroidering a club name across the chest and back. I love this colourscheme from Ibex, and these from Rapha (sans prominent logo), and this one from Shutt Velo Rapide - and of course these vintage beauties from Bridgestone. Less is more, and a couple of contrasting stripes go a long way.






I have not described anything complicated here, and I hope manufacturers reading this will consider producing something like it. Ibex is probably in the best position to do it, because they already have the perfect fabric and a design that comes very close. But I'd love to see more options for lightweight, women-specific wool cycling jerseys across the board. Your thoughts and input are, of course, welcome. Who knows, maybe we can make something happen.

Cotton

Cotton is a major crop in southern New Mexico. But the drought didn't do the cotton crop any good this year. 1st photo is of cotton still on the plants that were dead at this time of the year. Most of the fields had already been harvested.

Mountain Bikes... Approaching the Beast

Of all the lakes in the vicinity, I had to fall in love with the one on top of a mountain, accessible only via a steep rough gravel road. I have been up there in a car with friends a few times now. But what I really want is to be able to go on my own - ideally without motorised help. My tentative plan was to ride up the paved part of the mountain on my roadbike, then hike the remaining 2 miles up the gravel lake road - either leaving my bike hidden in the woods below or dragging it along.




"Or..." said my friend Keith, "I can lend you my mountain bike, and you can ride all the way up through the woods."




Quickly I began to mutter something about it being too much trouble, but Keith saw right through that and laughed."No it's not, we ride the same size bike. Lower the saddle and off you go."




Damn. Quick, say something to make this sound like a bad idea, I thought. But I could come up with nothing, other than the truth - that I feared the mountain bike. That I would rather sit through a root canal than have to ride one 6 miles up a winding forest path with 1,500 feet of climbing, and then - gulp! - back down.








But I said none of these things. And two days later I found this propped against the side of the house when I came home.




So... Oh my God, I don't know where to start. Beefy aluminum frame, suspension fork, 2" knobby tires, narrow straight handlebars, disc brakes, and a drivetrain with a triple crankset and thumb shifters. The bike is a Carrera Kraken- an inhouse brand of the UK department store Halfords. However, this is not a "department store bike," as the concept is known in the US. According to locals in the know, Halfords actually sells very decent quality budget road and mountain bikes. Keith's bike is a good few years old and everything is a little rusty - though it all works fine.







The bike is a Small (16" frame with a 56mm virtual top tube) and the fit feels pretty good to me. I wouldn't mind it if the handlebars were a tad lower, but what do I know about mountain bike sizing (how upright are you supposed to be?).



What took the most getting used to was the super-high bottom bracket.I kept playing around with the saddle height and it took me a while to set it properly; I couldn't believe how high I had to make it in order to get good leg extension. Being on the bike felt a little strange at first as well - so high off the ground! The disc brakes are insanely grippy, especially the front, but modulating them became intuitive with some practice.Slowly, the fear began to turn to curiosity.





I spent an easy afternoon with the bike, just trying to get to know it and get comfortable with the idea of riding it. There is a back road with some steep pitches just outside my door, as well as woodsy stretches of dirt, gravel and grass I could try. Skeptical that on a bike this beastly-looking I could handle the long steep climb up to the lake, one thing I wanted to do was see how it went uphill. As it turned out, not bad - even on pavement, with those knobby tires. The gearing is low enough to climb a fairly steep pitch seated, so I don't have to worry about stalling out. Standing up on the pedals feels different than on a roadbike - like I have to heave myself forward more forcefully to get my butt off the saddle - but once I got used to it, it was fine. And descending felt much, much nicer and less scary than I anticipated - the bike has an easy, tame feel to it when going around bends.



So... I think I am ready to try riding this thing to the lake and back. The path through the woods is winding dirt for the first part (with roots and things, but nothing too bad), then loose rough chunky gravel for the final stretch. There is nothing technical there, so if I can take 6 miles of straight climbing on a mountain bike and then not get scared and do anything stupid on the descent, I should be fine. And look: I will be using this bike for transportation to the lake, not for "mountain biking" as such, so please don't think this is the beginning of an interest in mountain bikes. I mean, that would be crazy.

Knitting Cyclists and Cycling Knitters

Last week I finally got back on the roadbike enough to start marking miles on my calendar again. Birds were singing, legs were spinning, flowers were pushing through. Then yesterday, this happened. It's still on the roads today. And it's supposed to happen again tomorrow. I lost my temper and did something I hadn't done in some time: I knitted.



I am not a committed knitter, but I learned as a child and do it whenever the fancy strikes. Or when I'm frustrated. The winter of -11 was terrible for cycling, but great for knitting. I made myself an entire new wardrobe, made presents for friends, and did a brisk trade in hats for bicycle components. I must have knitted over 50 hats that winter; it was pretty bad. I can never just sit there and knit, so it's always done in conjunction with another activity, like reading, or talking, or watching a film. I did try knitting while cycling on a trainer a couple of times, but the rhythms are too different for it to work well.



It's been a surprise to discover how many women who ride bikes also knit. They seem like such different activities on the surface: one is domestic and stationary, the other exploratory, active and physically draining. Maybe it's the contrast that's attractive. Or the rhythm. Or the element of independence and self-sufficiency that both provide.



Apparently Lyli Herse was a prolific knitter. She would knit before bicycle races and brevets, because it kept her from getting nervous at the start. She made matching sweaters for her tandem partners and randonneuring teammates, their patterns distinctly recognisable in the historical photos.



Today, there isEmily O'Brien, who is not only a knitter, but also a spinner (can make her own yarn out of fleece). Bobbin and Sprocket knits and crochets. Knitting Lemonadeknits and embroiders. There isRoseread, whoknits lovely socks. The writer Sally Hinchcliffea bicyclist and knitter.There is alsoThe Knitting Cyclist. AndThe Knit Cycle. And Knitting by Bicycle. And more! Some are predominantly cyclists who are also attracted to knitting. Others are predominantly knitters who also ride bikes. Either way, it's an interesting convergence of interests:Knit your own wheeling costume (or a handlebar flower?). Get on a bike. And ride where you like ...once the snow melts a bit.

Ruh-roh

All that's left of an Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus).

Diagnostic help?

A little early in the season (March 5 or so), the wildflower group I'm in performed a survey on a tract of land in Blount county. There were a few plants we didn't recognize, so I had the idea to put them here to see if anyone else had any ideas. Sorry for the bad lighting in all of them. I couldn't take long at each stop, because our trip leader was a fast mover.

They're all wild plants, in hardwood areas near a largish creek.


These dried stalks were sometimes very tall, to six feet or so. They were always near edge, usually close to the water but sometimes just at the edge of a path. The stalks below this point were bare (I think).


A close-up of the seed pods. I couldn't find any seeds left in any of them.


Someone had thought this was Shooting Stars coming up. It isn't, but I don't know what it is. It was under deciduous cover.


Another dried plant mystery. This one was much smaller if I remember correctly... maybe a foot or two tall. Under deciduous cover.

There was another mystery plant that I forgot to photograph. At first I thought it was deciduous ginger. But there were more than 2 leaves coming up together, and the texture wasn't quite the same. I kept thinking it was ginger of some sort -- there was lots of evergreen ginger on this site -- but I couldn't find anything that matched it exactly. It was in edge areas.

Clicking each picture should make them larger. Let me know if you have any idea what these things are. We should be going back to this site but I'm not sure when.