Learning and Loving My Smartphone Camera

With a little prompting, I decided to move into this century and get a smartphone. Keep in mind that I just upgraded from a Razr flipphone this past year. A phone that I had to purchase used off of Craigslist and Ebay in order to replace mine when it broke or somehow got lost at Busch Gardens.



I liked my old phone. It was simple and easy and I could use it without thinking too hard.



And although I still can't figure out how to answer the actual phone part, or even hear it when it rings-there are other things I am loving about having a smartphone. Like the fact that the pictures it takes are surprisingly decent.



With some apps, you can grab some really fun shots. Still not sure I'm glad I upgraded the phone but I love not having to lug my huge camera onto the beach each time we visit there.

Ice tool rotation?

1st genPetzl Nomic and a new Trango Raptor




"Here is a bit of rehashed info (from ) on the rotation issue some are having with the newest tools.



If you have bought a "new" tool that looks a lot like a Nomic something worth pondering if it isn't "working" quite right for you.A few people coming from a Nomic are finding an uncomfortable "bounce" in a few of the newer tools on ice and the tool being a little scary when pulling bulges. If you are new to this kind of tool likely you will have even more problems climbing pure ice and be blaming all sorts of things. Generally what is getting blamed is not going to be a "fix".



Climbers have little or no no institutional memory generally.

Yes even a couple of degrees one way or the other on pick angle will make a difference. But if it were only that obvious it would be an easy fix. Blaming the pick angle as "too steep" generally isn't the problem. I can think of two tools specifically that opening up the grip even just a little and gaining more rotation in the swing makes a big difference.



It is not a hand /glove size issue for length of grip. Much as one might first think between pick angle and grip size. I've foundthat it is neither of those particular issues.






more rotation





less rotation




Many of us asked for a spike on the Nomic. ThenBD gave it to us as the new Fusion. But if you have climbed very long you'll remember how we all choked the end of a shaft to get a better swing on short tools often almost negating/chopping the spike off all together for steep ice performance to eliminate bounce and help pulling bulges BD's Fusion spike you can remove. Take a close look at thenew DMM, the newest Grivel "Machine", Edelrid's, Camp's X Dreamoffering orTrango Raptor. Not all the grips are the same. Tight grips for the little pinky limit rotation as do spikes (most every one's) or additional blades (Petzl). Bigger is likely better when it comes to the size of the constriction for the little finger. Smaller is better on the spike. Simply because either in the wrong size(any size?) willlimit the rotation available from the tool. Limited rotation means a unfriendly tool in many ways on pure ice.






Brian pulling on 1st gen Nomics




For some the arc of swing on a new tools with a spike intact is limited to small side of 180 degrees without changing your grip. While the olderNomic and a smooth pommel (no blade) can go something like 210 degrees. Don't hold me to the exact numbers but realise one tool can swing a bigger arc than the other inside the palm of your hand. It is important for pulling bulges.











Nomic/Fusion over lay






Very cool to have a removable spike or no spike. Remove the spike for steep mixed and ice and you'll gain some but not all of the arc/rotation back. Most of the bounce will also disappear. With the use of a Dremel/grinder/hand file (or just some good rough emery paper) you can get an equal amount of swing arc on the new Fusion/Raptor by rounding the inside and end of the pommel more like the olderNomic grip. Might make a big difference for you if you are having small issues with any of the newertools with a tight bottom grip.Opening up the trigger slot on the bottom of the grip will gain rotation of the tool in your hand.



A simple, inexpensive mod, takes just a few minutes with power tools, that might make a big difference for you. Down side is you loose the umbilical attachment on the spike. But that's not a big deal on hard cragging anyway and most will use umbilicals and the spike on longer stuff no matter what small disadvantages on hard technical ground they both might create.



More rotationin the shaft will alsoallowa strongergrip with less effort. Much as you might like that super tight grip on your little finger. Some times bigger is better!"
















DMM Switch










Edelrid's












Trango Raptor







Camp X Dream





That is the modern stuff. The idea of the tool having enough rotation in the hand to be useful is not new. I didn't come up wiht this stuff by myself. Just been around long enough to see how it has changed climbing and always made it easier if the reasoning is better understood.



Here are the ferrule and spike from the classic Chouinard Bamboo Piolet (top) and the secondmore technical tool, the Chouinard Bamboo Zero (bottom). The Zero has been taped for a better grip.















The Ferrule on each tool is the same size. The spike on the Zero is almost exactly a 1/2 size replica of the original Piolets. 6cm cut down to 3cm. One reason....and that was to allow better rotation in the hand. Which resulted in easier sticks and less effort.



Some even went to the extremeand prefered nospikefor their own water falltools.

A foodie’s haven in Copenhagen: Torvehallerne KBH

With Noma recently taking the spotlight as the best restaurant in the world, Denmark is seriously becoming a foodie paradise. Before the Copenhagen trip, which was before Noma was again selected as the best restaurant for , I earnestly checked out my options of having dinner at Noma but later on realised that my chances are regrettably very slim, i.e. getting a table at Noma is like getting invited to a presidential dinner, and secondly, since when is it nice to dine alone in a Michelen starred restaurant?

So while in Copenhagen I backtracked at the idea and concentrated on finding my way to Torvehallerne KBH instead, a showcase of culinaire slash farmer’s market haven.

My hotel’s concierge informed me the night before that there will be snow flurries in the morning, however he said that after 10AM it will stop and then we will have sunshine.

It is now past 10AM and I have just finished dressing up and now watching TV in my hotel room but outside is grey and I can still see snow falling down. This spring long weekend trip has turned into a last hurrah winter trip. Nevertheless, it was getting late for my breakfast so I decided to just wing it to Torvehallerne KBH. I am hungry, and I have a map and a sturdy hat anyway.

The Torvehallerne KBH is a great place for first timers in Copenhagen (foodies or not) to sample Danish cuisine, as well as other popular international cuisines, i.e. Spanish, Italian and French. It is actually a farmer’s market with the usual raw produce of vegetables, fruits and meat available, as well as stalls selling gourmet charcuterie and cheeses. Moreover, there were cafés, restaurants and bakery stands offering ready-to-eat foods.

The market is housed in 2 separate galleries that resembles a greenhouse. You have to physically go out to go to the other hall. When in Copenhagen, DO NOT MISS THIS.

Here are my pictures when I toured the place:






This stand called ‘Ma Poule’ (french cuisine) has a long queue of customers. It is selling duck confit sandwiches. Here are the guys busy tearing the meat into pieces before serving them on a sandwich.


Here is the fish section:




Cheese and charcuterie, my favourite by the way, and more:




I had a very nice smushi breakfast here. A smushi is a smaller and more artistic version of the smorrebrod (Danish open-faced sandwiches). It was a very pleasant respite as well to be sitting inside with a warm cup of coffee while outside is snowing.

Their website in Danish: Torvehallerne KBH. The market is located on Frederiksborggade.

Dressguards and Chaincase: Do You Need Them?

Sometimes I get emails where ladies send me pictures of their bicycle and ask whether I think "it would look better" with dress guards and/or a chaincase. Ladies... You do realise that these things are not there for the looks, right? Although a set of dress guards and a chaincasedo lend a certain charm to a bicycle, aesthetics are not their primary purpose. So let me explain why I put them on my bikes, and then you can decide for yourself whether you need them or not.



The purpose of dress guards is to stop fluttery, loose clothing from flying into the spokes of your rear wheel and either getting ruined or causing an accident.The main determinant of whether you need dressguards is whether you wearthe sort of clothing that requires their protection - for instance: flared skirts, dresses, long coats, or flowing tunics. Once you have had something get stuck in your rear spokes or have seen it happen to someone else, you know that the possibility is real and that it can even cause injury. Personally,I will not ride a bicycle without dress guards if an article of clothing I am wearing is long enough to reach the rear spokes. And since much of my everyday clothing is in that category, it is a good idea for me to install dress guards on any bike I plan to use for transportation.



I have also been asked what kind of dressguards are better: netted or solid. There are probably differing opinions on this, but in my experience it does not matter. My vintage Raleigh(above) is fitted with very minimal dressguards that are basically just stretchy cords fanning out from the rear dropouts. For me, this has been sufficient; the cords - closely spaced - provide a perfectly functional barrier.The obvious advantage to dress guards that are woven, is that they are lighter (and usually more attractive) than plastic ones. The disadvantage is that they can be more expensive and more difficult to clean.



Moving on to chaincases, their purpose is two-fold: (1) to prevent the bottoms of your trousers from being caught in the chain, and (2) to keep the chain clean from street grime, especially in bad weather. Since I seldom wear long trousers, the first function is not that important to me. So while I do appreciate that the chaincase keeps my chain nice and clean, this accessory is not as crucial for me as dress guards, because it is a maintenance feature rather than a safety feature. I can still ride a bike without a chaincase for transportation.



Furthermore, while I have found dress guards to be effective in preventing clothing from getting stuck in the spokes, I have not found chaincases to be entirely effective on those rare occasions when I do wear trousers. A couple of times, the bottoms of my trousers have actually gotten stuck on the chaincase itself, which has only increased my bias for skirts once I started cycling. Don't get me wrong, I still love a nice, elegant chaincase. But I admit that this feature does not hold as much functional purpose for me as do dress guards.



Dress guards and chaincases are not affectations, but necessary accessories for transportation in everyday clothing. As the popularity of "city bikes" rises, I hope that more American bicycle shops will realise this, and start carrying these useful items.

Crime vs. Accident?

I was cycling across town with a friend today, who suggested that we take the side streets instead of my usual route along the major roads. We were cycling on one of these quiet streets, when a sedan passed us too closely and hit my friend's bicycle with the side of their car.



The impact was not strong enough to knock the bicycle over, but it did happen - and the driver kept going until forced to stop at a red light. We caught up to the driver, and my friend quickly took a cell-phone picture of the license plate - at which point the driver stopped the car and came out, expressing annoyance. My friend said, "You hit me with your car." The driver replied, "Well, you should have been more careful!" (More careful? We were cycling in a straight line in broad daylight!) At that point my friend took out their phone and called the police - telling the driver that they were going to file a report. Bewildered ("The police? But you're fine!") the driver got back in their car, pulled over to the side of the road, and we all waited.



The officer arrived and asked whether anybody was injured and whether there was any damage to the bicycle. When we replied in the negative, the officer seemed confused: "So there is nothing to do here then." We repeated that the driver hitmy friend with their car, to which the officer (politely) replied, "Well, if nobody was injured and there is no damage to your bicycle, that's not a crime. That's an accident." He then proceeded to file a report of the "accident," stressing verbally that there has been no injury or material damage. Both my friend and the driver gave testimony, and I gave testimony as a witness. We were then informed of where and whenwe could pick up a copy of the report,and everyone went their separate ways.



And this brings me to my question. Is it correct, that unless a driver actually injures a cyclist or damages a bicycle while hitting them, then hitting a cyclist in itself is not illegal? That is basically what the officer was telling us, but it does not sound right to me. What about the "passing no closer than 3 feet" rule? If a driver hits a cyclist while passing, does that not automatically mean that they were closer than 3 feet? The driver was unapologetic about what happened, and did not deny that they saw us prior to hitting my friend's bicycle. Yet the officer did not even ask the driver why they did not pass us at a safer distance. Perhaps what the officer meant to express, was that there was no way to determine what actually happened without video cameras or tangible evidence (such as injury or damage to the bicycle) - but his words did not come across that way.



Regardless of the outcome, I am glad that my friend filed a report. As I understand it, these things get entered into the DOT statistical data, and can lead to the development of safer infrastructure on that street if enough such incidents are reported. But I remain confused about what type of collision between motor vehicle and bicycle constitutes an illegal act versus what constitutes an accident. Can any of the cycling activists out there fill me in?