Lobstah Gettah?

This spectacular bicycle was parked next to a beach entrance at the National Seashore on Cape Cod. The frame is ancient, but clearly the bicycle is very much functional. The red Raleigh grips look like a comparatively recent addition, but all else seems original - including tires and saddle!

Rear wheel. Note the chainring and guard on the other side. The bolt-on on the stay indicates that it is coaster brake.

Front wheel - note the original parking stand.

The blue plaque between the tubes says "Donut Shop".

The lobster pot is shiny and new. The lid is secured with pink bungee cords, but I wonder how the pot itself is secured to the front rack without the need to make holes in the metal? The owner of this masterpiece was not in sight, or I would have loved to ask. This is one of my most exciting bicycle sightings ever!

Political attention & during/after Mt Rainier's flood photos

Mt. Rainier is getting a lot of attention these days. On the political side of things, the new Director of the National Park Service, Mary Bomar, visited last week. She toured flood damaged areas firsthand and spoke with NPS personnel about the event, the progress and the longterm difficulties. And today, U.S. Representative Norm Dicks followed suit. The Congressman also visited many of the damaged areas, and like Mary, wanted to get a better sense of what it was going to take to get Mt Rainier National Park reopened.

This flood/rain/storm event has made evident the challenges of managing facilities and roads in the shadow of a major glaciated peak that is slowly loosing its glaciers. Kautz Creek is quickly becoming the poster child of how Mt. Rainier National Park will manage this complex situation. As it stands now, Kautz Creek continues to flow over the Nisqually to Longmire road because it jumped its main channel upstream in an area that is legally designated "wilderness." The hard question is, how do you provide safe, reliable, and financially feasible road access through a threatened drainage that is known for glacial outbursts and episodic floods? The photo above displays the culprit, Kautz Creek, shortly before it enters unchartered forest as it forms a new channel. This picture was taken roughly one mile upstream from where the creek now intersects the main road.

And speaking of photos... Here is another set of "during and after" pictures of Mt. Rainier's flooding. This set focuses on the Nisqually River bridge near Longmire, seen here on Nov. 6th.

Compare this to roughly the same image today, an obvious contrast to the muddy storm flow above.

On the media side of things, the News Tribune digressed from the storm damage coverage to tell us how high Mt. Rainier is, EXACTLY! Who'd have guessed how complicated this answer was?

Working dangerously

Sad facts of life: Construction workers here in the Philippines work dangerously for under PHP 300 a day. EUR 1 is PHP 60 so do the math. And I highly doubt if they are insured, but this guy needs to feed his empty stomach and perhaps other empty stomach’s as well. Life is not fair.

Just a thin steel rail for this man’s balancing act and a harness for protection.

Spotted at uptown area near Don Mariano Qui Street (near NBI, Capitol and Cebu Doctors Hospital)
.

The Bike Shop Next Door

It is the hottest day of the summer when I visit the finished space - a space I have watched transform from a dusty vacant storefront around the corner from my house, to Boston's only transportation-oriented bike shop. Carice and the Small Brown Dog are basking in the morning glow of the homey sun-drenched interior.The newly installed air conditioning is blessedly strong. The phone rings, and it appears that someone wants to order a bike. It is official: Bicycle Belle is open for business.






I have known Carice for about 4 years now - an architect, local bike blogger, DIY addict and lover of vintage 3-speeds. On occasion, we would meet for tea. Funny to think it was only months ago that, engaged in that very activity, we discussed taking the cargo bike plunge. She was considering buying a Dutch bakfiets.I was leaning toward an Xtracycle Radish.We debated the pros and cons of each.








Now both cargo bikes stand side by side in her very own retail space. It was that quick: from idea, to decision, to action, to completion, in just a couple of months. And yet, what happened felt neither hasty nor impulsive. Sometimes an idea develops dormantly, swirling around under the surface for years, ripening, just waiting for something to crack that surface open. In the Spring of , Carice felt that something and the idea became reality. And once the decision was made, her organisational skills, work ethic, and industry contacts from years of bike blogging, made everything happen swiftly. A bit of luck with the retail space cinched the deal.





The retail space had several compelling qualities to recommend it. First, the address. Situated on the border of Somerville and Cambridge (quite literally: half the building is on one side of the town line, half on the other),it sits at the start of Beacon Street - a bicycle super-highway through two of Boston's most bike-friendly boroughs. With its triangular footprint, the structure is distinct and no doubt an architect's dream. Windows on all sides, the interior is penetrated by gorgeous natural light. The wrap-around storefront also makes the wares on display highly visible to local traffic.








Finally - and rather remarkably - the space was available for immediate occupancy. Carice saw an opportunity and took it.







At the start of July Bicycle Belle was soft-launched under the slogan "cycling for city life." At present, the core collection includes transportation bicycles from Bobbin, Papillionnaire, Beater, Paper Bike and Soma, cargo bikes from Workcycles, Xtracycle and Kinn, and a slew of accessories from the likes of Basil, Brooks, Cleverhood, Vespertine, Yepp, Burley, Iva Jean, Velo Orange, et cetera. With utility/ transport/ city/ family bikes (circle your preferred term) more popular in North America than ever, there is nothing unusual about the inventory - save for the fact that a store with an exclusive focus on this market did not already exist in Boston, a major US city teeming with bicycle commuters.





Over the years, many of us have wondered why that was so. Not only was there no transportation-specific bike shop, but many shops that did try to carry some of that merchandise would often drop it after only a year or two - citing lack of local interest. "Boston is too aggressive of a city for these types of bikes" bike shop owners have told me - meaning cargo bikes, utility bikes. And yet, more and more of "these types of bikes" kept filling the streets. Clearly locals were buying them, and they were traveling out of town to do so - or else ordering online. Bike shops in places as remote as Oregon, Florida, California and Washington State have reported routinely selling bikes to customers in Boston.



One possible explanation for the discrepancy, is that the shops citing a lack of local interest have not been sufficiently "into" utility bikes to successfully sell them. When you don't fully believe in a product, customers sense that and failure can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. By committing wholly to the utility bike target market, Bicycle Belle hopes to experience a more positive response.






Will the approach work? After only weeks in business, it is far too early to tell. It's worked for a dozen or so successful city bike shops that have sprung up throughout the US. But there are also those that have failed. Since opening its doors, Bicycle Belle has received a healthy amount of orders. But initial buzz does not mean long-term success. In other words: Let's wait and see.





Last Thursday night, Bicycle Belle held its official opening party. Due to limited space, it was intended to be a semi-invitational, low key affair. Yet the turnout was impressive and the atmosphere charged with excitement.






It was good to meet local activists, such as Jessica Mink.





And local bike bloggers, like Bike Style Boston





and Car Free Cambridge.





There were also plenty of familiar faces, including cartoonist Bikeyface and fashion model Vorpal Chortle.





Many of those in attendance were dressed up - lots of skirts, heels, suits - all arriving by bike of course.





At first I thought they'd dressed up for the party, but actually this was simply what people had worn to the office, since the party was immediately after many finished work.





Another trend of the evening was pregnancy - I spotted at least half a dozen pregnant cyclists in attendance. (Perhaps a future group ride theme?)







It was a good evening of wine, food and sparkly conversation, that showcased Boston's utility and family bicycling scene.






And all the while, outside, a steady procession of cyclists could be observed through the storefront windows.






Business as usual for the end of the workday commute down Beacon Street.






Local reactions to Bicycle Belle have been mostly positive, of the "It's about time!" variety. As anyone in the industry knows, a bike shop is never a get rich scheme - not even close. But the business must prove sustainable, and I sincerely hope this one does. Boston has been crying out for a resource like this for some time, and it's exciting that we finally have it - in my very own neighbourhood, no less. If you're in the area, drop by and pay theBicycle Bellea visit! More shots of the space and opening party here.

Big Cottonwood Tree

Lee is standing under a big cottonwood tree that looks like someone tried to chop it down once. But the tree is still alive. On the other side there was a really odd branch that started high up then dropped all the way to the ground and then shot up again. I couldn't get a photo of the whole branch as their was a small evergreen that hid the branch right where it was almost on the ground. So I tried from the other side and there were larger evergreens that hid the tree instead of the branch.

Our Special Fun in Tennessee

Updating our blog, because I don't think Aric ever got around to sharing what we saw at the park. First, I have to ask people who live in Tennessee to explain the above picture to me. In North Carolina we saw people riding in the back of trucks. I don't mean sitting in the back of trucks. I mean couches and lawn chairs were in the back of trucks, with people riding in them.



In Tennessee, we saw this happen though. More than once. Vans driving down the road with doors open and people hanging out. I don't get it, so any help would be greatly appreciated.



Ok, now to the fun. This is what we encountered at the park.

Those were Nathan's shots. He had a great view because he was very close to this guy. I won't tell you how nervous that made me. I won't tell you what I had to say about that on the ride home. I'll just say it was an amazing experience to be that close to this creature. And next time, I hope Nathan does not have my camera in his hands. It would be a real shame to lose both him and my camera.

A serious question about Arcteryx insulation?

I am sitting at my desk with a ton of information at hand. But nothing on the Arcteryx ThermaTek or Coreloft that I can verify. I asked Arcteryx directly twice but didn't get an answer. I want to make an informed decision on a jacket purchase and this isn't making it easy. When the jacket is $699 retail one might pause before "jumping in".



"Fisson SL (76g) and a
Duelly (152g) of ThermaTek"



The question I want answered is: How does the



Arcteryx Fission SL, shell is2 layer Gortex, 76g g/m fill, weight27.6oz and $699 retail



compare with some thing like a



RAB Alpine Generator Hoody,shell is Pertex® Endurance, 100g/m fill, weight20.7oz and $235 retail










Or very close to the same if not equal warmth....below, the Arcteryx Atom SV Hoody, 100g/m Coreloft, weight 18.6oz and $259.00










I find the difference in retail pricing troubling and the extra weight even more so. Having both jackets here at hand makes a physical comparison easy enough. I might believe the Gortex Fission will bethe equal to the Generator for warmth. But theGeneratorand the SV both show more insulation thickness.The Rab version has more insulation and it's insulation is 5% better than Coreloft according to the Arcteryx source. Where does the high tech Polarguard Delta (aka ThermaTec)fit into that equation? Because 76g/m sure doesn't look very warm compared to 100g/m sitting here at my desk! ThermaTechad better be some amazing stuff. And if it is such amazing stuff as the price would indicate how come there is no comparitive numbers to show us?



What am I missing? Because it looks to me like any one of the 100g/m jackets will be warmer (although not water proof like a Goretex garment) and a LOT cheaper. Enough so you could easily still buy a Gortext or Neoshell and still be ahead with only a 8oz penalty on the FissoionSL (Super Light?).



I'd really like to keep the Fission SL. It is a nice jacket. Just wondering how that price point is some how justified. Anyone have an answer they care to share?



This is a letter from Arcteryx to a customer I have seen:



"Currently, Arc'teryx does not have a recorded clo value for Coreloft. Apparently, there are two standards for testing clo value when it comes to Coreloft and even these tests vary with weight. In some instances Coreloft was tested and found to have a higher clo value compared to Primaloft. Other instances, Coreloft was tested with a lower value compared to Primaloft. Overall, I was told

that the accepted standard is Coreloft falling 5% below Primaloft One when tested head to head.



With regards to Synthetic fiber fill there's two factors that relate to warmth.



One is clo and the other is loft.



Insulations with high clo values, like down, are very fast acting. A garment with a high clo value, once on, traps your body heat very quickly. In comparison, insulations with high loft, generally have a lower clo for a given weight. The higher loft takes longer to heat the insulation and feel the insulation warm, but there is the potential to trap a lot of heat. Down being the ultimate combination of both clo and loft.



Frequently, to make up for Primaloft having a higher clo, Coreloft has a little
more loft.



I was also informed that when determining the warmth of down,
knowledge of the weight is really important because the density of the down can
vary. However, synthetic insulation is different because the density does not
vary. When comparing 2 comparable synthetic down jackets, the higher the g/m^2
the warmer it will be."





More to the point I think depending on what is true and what is merely speculation on the author's part:



"This one is warmer and also will be way better at resisting any moisture pickup due to the totally waterproof Thermatek fill. Another consideration is the construction;the insulation is laminated to the inner shell so there are no cold spots from baffle stitching, and this also makes it's loft last longer.



Thermatek is the Bird's trademark name for taking Polarguard Delta insulation, and then dipping it in DWR, and then LAMINATING it to the face fabric. It's spendy because it's just as labor intensive as it sounds, and no one else does anything like it.



The ThermaTek uses a bit different construction so this will be equivalent warmth to the Atom SV.



Therma-Tek and Primaloft-2.7 (78gm)Thermatek and 133gm Primaloft offer the same loft"



This is a good read:



http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/pl1-or-pgdelta.html



RYAN JORDAN is the Founder/CEO of Backpacking Light



More:

Polarguard is the most popular insulation for synthetic sleeping bags. It is an extremely long strand fiber, and it is possible that the insulation in a sleeping bag might consist of one continuous strand. This fact helps the insulation last longer, as the long strands are less likely to clump. Because it is comparably stiff, you don’t see Polarguard in applications other than sleeping bags very often. There are four generations of Polarguard out there, and you still see all of them floating around. In order of ascending performance and cost, they are: Polarguard, Polarguard 3D, Polarguard HV, and Polarguard Delta. Delta is the pinnacle of the Polarguard line, and consists of hollow fibers for the lightest weight and highest efficiency. You will see this fill in most higher-end synthetic sleeping bags.



Primaloft has occupied the opposite end of the construction spectrum from Polarguard, with soft short-strand fibers made from microfiber polyester. Primaloft is highly compressible, very soft, and feels a lot more down-like than any other synthetic insulation. It also has remarkable water-resistance properties. The principle drawbacks to Primaloft are durability and price. Because of its short fibers, Primaloft is more prone to bunching and sees limited use in sleeping bags. While it is still cheaper than down, it is at the top of the price range for synthetics. There are a few varieties of Primaloft, but the most commonly seen are Primaloft Sport, the value option, and the higher-end Primaloft One, which features finer fibers and more water resistance. The newest material from Primaloft is called Infinity, and it is Primaloft’s entry into the continuous filament field. Look for it to compete against Polarguard Delta in sleeping bags.