We headed down to a neat place south of us. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had winter estates in Ft Myers, Florida. Their homes were on the same piece of land and Edison had a lab there also. We've been here a few times before, but we had not seen all of the museum yet. It had the usual cool Edison inventions that I enjoyed seeing. I think the first two pictures were my favorite things to see this visit:
and a picture of Helen Keller and her autograph which reads: To Mr. Edison Not loudness but Love sounds in your ear my friend. Helen Keller
For those that don't know, he was almost completely deaf.
Some of his inventions:
I love all of the cars on display there:
My very favorite thing here by far though is the Banyan tree. All of this is the same tree, and I didn't begin to capture all of it because it was raining by the time I took these shots:
Living the life in chilly Florida!
When I ride through parts of town with chaotic car and pedestrian traffic, I find that I need to limit my speed in order for my reaction time to be adequate. I told this to another cyclist one time and he laughed: "But the speed limit is 20mph here! You can do 20 and still be fine." But I don't believe that's accurate. Maybe a car can do 20 and be fine, but their braking system works differently. A driver is unlikely to flip their vehicle over if they brake suddenly at 20mph, but a cyclist is quite likely to either go over the handlebars or be unable to come to a complete stop quickly enough.
These are our lights for Christmas. Electric ones and luminerias from our front door. Hard to take photos of lights.
I know that several of my readers are hunting for vintage mixtes at the moment - intending to use them as sportier alternatives to their main transport bikes. Early summer is a good time to buy a vintage mixte, as many are on the market. But before getting swept up in the romance of those twin lateral stays and buying the first attractive mixte you see, it could be helpful to know what to look for - lest you end up with a bicycle that is un-ridable at your skill level, or with a bicycle where you will have to replace so many parts that the purchase will not be worth it.
Let's start with geometry, and I will try not to make this too technical. It is tempting to look at a mixte and think of it as a cute, comfy "girly bike." But most mixtes from the 1970s and 1980s that you will find on the vintage market were designed as roadbikes. This means that they are not that comfy, and not that easy to ride. And this has nothing to do with whether the bike has drop bars vs swept-back handlebars, but rather with the bicycle's inherent geometry. Without measuring distances and angles, here are some ways to test whether a mixte was designed as a roadbike:
Older and lower-end mixte models will typically have wheels with steel rims, unless the previous owner replaced them. You can identify steel rims by their little pockmark-like indentations (click image above to enlarge). These are not good for braking, especially in the rain. On a vintage 3-speed steel rims are not so bad, as you are not cycling very fast anyway. But on a sporty mixte, poor braking power is not a good feature to have. I suggest choosing a mixte with alloy rims, or if there is something special about a steel-rimmed mixte that makes you want that specific bike, factor in the cost of replacing the wheels.
If the mixte you are considering is fitted with drop bars, and you are planning to replace them with swept-back bars, be aware that you will most likely also have to change the stem for reasons of compatibility. Together, a new stem and handlebars can be a costly upgrade. A mixte that already comes with swept-back bars could be a better deal.
There are, of course, also other important things to consider - like the state of the brakes, derailleur system, headset, hubs, etc. - not to mention whether the frame itself is structurally sound. For this, you will either have to bring a friend who is knowledgeable about bicycle repair, or trust the seller. You will also have to spend extra money on adding fenders, a rack and new tires for the bike. But these issues are common to all vintage bike purchases, so I will not go into them here.
What I wanted really was to give a sense of what to expect from a vintage mixte in terms of ride quality, and how to tell whether the basic geometry and set-up of a particular mixte is within your comfort zone. Hope this helps, and happy mixte hunting!
Tuffee is our Border Collie. She was 6 years old as of Feb. 15. As you may know BC's are herding dogs. So Tuffee is determained to herd our horses since we don't have any sheep. In this photo she is trying to herd Sundance, my paint gelding. But horses don't herd as well as sheep do. So instead of moving like Tuffee wants him to do. He will just stand there and once in a while raise a back hoof to threaten her or to tell her to leave him alone. When she botheres him to much he will make a half hearted kick at her. He has been known to actually kick her enough to make her yelp but never enough to actually hurt her. So Far. And I hope he never does. Two of our other horses, Nita and Star treat her the same way. But Trave, one of the ponies will only take her "herding" so long and then he will charge at her and try to stomp her with his front hooves. The dumb dog doesn't seem to learn not to bother the horses. Maybe it is her way of finding adventure in an otherwise dull life. When I see she has bugged him enough I tell her to get OUT. She knows that means to leave him alone and get out of his pen. I am glad she only trys to herd the horses when I am out in the pen with them. She never goes in their pens when I am not in there.
As we headed to the National Park today, we stopped at the Visitor Center to grab maps. This truck/RV pulled in next to us. I've seen a lot of different RV's over the years, but this one was the first of its kind.
Lucky for me, the guys was more than happy to show and tell. This made my day. I love stuff like this!
"M" is for "make it yourself!" Ribbon. Oil Crayon. Old canvas bag that you're not worried about ruining.
"M" is for "Men's frames can also be beautiful!" I just love the clean, elegant lines of this bicycle. And the silver is a surprisingly warm colour, with a touch of champagne and sage in it.
"M" is for "Makes it easier to see in the dark!" No lights yet. Any suggestions for a good lighting system for road bikes are welcome.
"M" is for "Mmmmmm!"
Today we headed over to York with Mira and Rene to do the factory tour at Harley Davidson. Since the guys all want motorcycles right now, it was really cool to visit here. Although it was not a production day, we still had a great time seeing the plant and hearing the history of Harley Davidson.
Your journey begins with an introductory movie and continues on the factory floor where you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at the people, processes and products of York Vehicle Operations. You'll be guided through various manufacturing and assembly areas, watch as parts are manufactured and see freshly painted and chrome plated parts. Then it's on to the end of the line, where every motorcycle is roll-tested prior to crating and shipping.
Lots of vendors on Laganas Beach selling fresh fruits. They really yell, albeit very loud, FRESH FRUIT! FRESH FRUIT! in Greek accent =)
On the beach I was reading a past issue of National Geographic that I picked up at Schiphol Airport, it was a discounted bunch of older issues (past few months) for 10 Euros.
My beach view on the left and on the right.
My frontal beach views.
Playing beach ping-pong.
Three musketeers with their three marias.
You want some massage?
Fresh fruit vendors.
This guy is selling gadgets. Nice hat though.
In certain parts of the beach it can get rowdy with wild teenagers, especially after lunch when they have woken up from the deep slumber of hangover, only to do the same week-long vicious cycle again starting at the beach.
Buffet lunch, nothing spectacular really.