Me & Dustin

While Dustin was here a few weeks ago I got Lee to take a photo of the two of us.

Yard sale!

A few new things if you are in the market and the right size... Baruntse size 43.5, TRAB skimo race bindings, couple pair of skisand some shells and insulation.....among other things.



http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com//03/yard-sale.html



Gotta pay for those new toys to review some how ;-)

Signs Found on Our Walk

Rain, rain, and more rain

By Saturday the ice went from great to unsafe. Joel Torretti, Josh Hurst and I made the best of poor conditions. Josh came all this way to climb so we did. We even put him to work. We decided to equip a new line at Upper Meadow Amphitheater. A short ice start leads to steep roof climbing, from there leave the rock, punch the curtain and finish on the last 15' of the ice pillar to the top OR continue left passing 1 more bolt to the left hanging curtain. Despite a single attempt by Josh and numerous attempts by Joel and I the line still remains unclimbed. (Josh was feeling under the weather with a head cold and busted ribs from a fall on Caveman extension the previous day). If he weren't in bad shape I'm sure he'd fired the line with little trouble. The line is strenuous and powerful. When completed it could be the hardest mixed route in SWPA. With all the rain in the forecast I doubt the finishing ice pillar will still be upright, thus rendering a true ascent impossible until ice reforms at the lip. Dont let that deter you. The route stays day and can be worked on rain days. Keep the season alive, go give it a go. Today we went back to work the line some more and possibly equip another. Instead we were lucky enough to witness a very cool natural event. As the morning temperatures rose an ice dam broke further upstream. The small, tame Meadow Run became quite intimidating in less than 2 min. We quickly gathered our gear and headed for higher ground up in the ampitheater. we sat and watched in amazment. Large ice debris and class five rapids lasted for 20-30min. then slowly the water receded. Quite a cool thing to see happen. Even though it was warm and rained we still had a great weekend, climbed hard and laughed most of the time. (Hope your ribs are feeling better Josh)!

Aerial Afternoon

It looks like fun, but I don't think I would ever do it :-) Heights don't really bother me, but the thought of hanging in mid-air with nothing under my feet makes me kinda woozy. The hotel we were staying at in Teton Village was right at the base of the ski hill, and the cable car that goes to the top of the mountain was right behind our hotel. These guys were taking the cable car up the mountain, then sailing down and landing in a small field right across from the parking lot of our hotel. I'm guessing it was an instructional course, as some of them were doubled up.




This afternoon Stuart and I decided to take a drive to the town of Jackson (Jake opted for some nap time back at the hotel), which was only a few miles away. One of the tail lights on my car had burned out, and since I was heading for home after shooting sunset I wanted to have that fixed. So, we drove into town to look for an auto parts store and on the way back we came across this Osprey nest which was just off the road. Stuart has an eye for spotting birds and he noticed it well before I did. We pulled over to watch the nest for awhile, and were lucky enough to see an Osprey carrying a fish in its claws.

The iGene Awards for Kinexxions

It's time for the Annual iGene Awards in which we announce our “best” blog posts from last year in five categories. Created by Jasia at Creative Gene for the Carnival of Genealogy, this year marks the 5th anniversary of the awards.



And this year, the ceremony for kinexxions is coming to you from Salt Lake City! What better place for such an event? And now, the winners...



Best Picture: Going through my Mother's papers after her death last February, I discovered a photograph that I had never seen before. In Mom :: Before she was Mom I presented that photo and several a lot of others. Is this my Mom?





Best Screen Play: The post Joslin Rendezvous :: The Homestead discusses a few of the trials and tribulations encountered by Virgil Joslin when he homesteaded in South Dakota in the early 1900s. Additional material written by his son Irwin would be used to create a feature-length movie that would star Sam Elliott and Meryl Streep as Virgil and Mary Joslin.



Best Documentary (investigative research): This past summer I decided to take on my Switzer family in Columbiana County, Ohio and found that there were Not One, Not Two, Not Three, but Four of Them! with “them” being men named Jacob Switzer. One of them was my ancestor, but which one? Yes, this is one of a series of posts, all of which are listed here.



Best Biography: The rules are going to be stretched a little in that two series of posts are being selected, neither were actually “written” by me. The Life of Hazlette Brubaker presents the story of my Grandmother's life, as told in her own words, in a series of 15 articles.



The Berlin Family :: John D. and Susannah is the first in a series of articles that includes family Bible Records as well as 35 letters written between 1861-1895 between family members. (Links to those documents are included at the bottom of the selected post.)



Best Comedy: Humorous writing is not really my forte (I've often been told that I have a very dry sense of humor, almost humorless.) At any rate, I've selected One Half of an Old Mare called Van Dora for this category. Maybe you “had to be there” but finding Van Dora in the inventory of the estate of William B. Jones had Carol and me cracking up for several days.



And that brings to a close the iGene Award Ceremony for ..... hmm, well, not just yet. Since I've been doing a bit of traveling I thought I'd modify the categories in several areas and present a “travel” version also...





Best Picture: Nature's Trifecta



Best Screen Play time with Geneabloggers: Ah... Anastasia and St. Augustine



Best Documentary: It Sounded Too Good to Pass By



Best Biography Unique Event: Badlands :: Where the Buffalo Do Roam



Best Comedy: A Great Big Ball of Twine

Written for the 114th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

Happy new year

Laura on approach to climbing this morning!

A Most Excellent Adventure :: A Gorgeous Azure Iceberg

Friday, August 27th - - About half an hour after leaving the whales we started seeing small icebergs in the water. There was one in particular that was extremely large and Captain Steve said it was stuck on something as it had been in the same spot for several days.

It didn't look too impressive from a distance but Steve said it was worth taking a look at. He slowed the boat, went in close (very close), and cruised completely around it. The color was so intense and amazing, especially on the other side where the light was better. Incredible, actually.






And even more wondrous things were yet to be seen...

The Tale of a Midtail Cruiser

Traveling through the suburbs last week, I suddenly spotted something green and curvy zipping toward meon the opposite side of the road. It was a Yuba Boda Boda cargo bike - not a common sight around these parts. The woman astride it looked happy and carefree. As we passed each other, both of us waved with the zeal of true bicycle obsessionists, and yelled hello. I then spent the rest of the morning wondering who this mysterious woman was and how I could get a better look at her bike. But I didn't have to wonder long. Having recognised me, she soon got in touch and we arranged to meet up.






Josetteis a local cyclist and mother of two boys, ages 6 and 3. She lives in a hilly outer suburb of Boston and works in a neighboring, equally hilly suburb. Her typical daily commute involves taking her younger son to preschool, as well as cycling to and from work, for a total of 13 miles plus errands. Josette got back into cycling as an adult a few years ago, and has since owned a couple of bikes, including a modern hybrid and a vintage English 3-speed. She now wanted a cargo bike that was both easy to ride and could handle two children. She tried several cargo bikes, before settling on the Boda Boda - a new "midtail cruiser" model from the California-based Yuba: The Boda felt easier to manage than full sized longtails, and the handling felt more intuitive than that of the Dutch bakfiets. Josette purchased the bike at Ferris Wheels in Jamaica Plain (Boston) and has been riding it since October.







Yuba refers to the Boda Boda as a "cargo cruiser." Named after African bicycle taxis, this model was created in response to requests for a shorter wheelbase, lighter weight and lower stepover.On top of that, it promises casual handling combined with the ability to tackle hills. Featuring an aluminum frame, 26" wheels, fat tires, swept-back handlebars and 8-speed derailleur gearing, the Boda weighs 35lbs and is rated to carry over 200lb. There are two versions of this model: the Step-Through, shown here, is smaller in size and features a lower stepover. The base retail price is $999.






The midtail rear end of the Boda features an integrated rack with a bamboo platform and an optional "Soft Spot" pillow - handy for ensuring passengers have a comfortable ride. Josette personalised hers with a customcrocheted cover, which gives a charming and unique look to the whole setup.






The platform as shown here can fit both of Josette's children.






Although I only met her younger son, this picture illustrates how both boys fit on the bike. Josette's blog post on riding with kidsprovides more details about her experience.






The "apehanger" style handlebars in the rear were an aftermarket addition, as Yuba's standard "Hold On Bars" did not work here. The main issue was that, given Josette's saddle height and the height of the rear rack, there was no way to install Yuba's standard handlebars so that they'd reach above the rack. In addition, the wider and more swept back apehanger bars make for a more accommodating and comfortable position for Josette's boys.






The Boda's rear rack height is an interesting topic. You can't quite see this in my pictures because the bags cover it up, but the Boda's rack platform sits unusually high. This is because the e-assist version of the Boda (aka the El Boda), has its battery stored underneath it. Josette's feedback is that the extra height of the rack feels suboptimal, both as far as weight distribution when carrying passengers and cargo upon it, and as far as saddle height adjustment. For example, very short riders may have difficulty moving the saddle all the way down despite the extra seatpost showing, because at some point the saddle will start to interfere with the rack. Also, because the handlebars had to be threaded through the rack, I was not able to raise the saddle to my optimal height when test riding this bike. Despite the quick release skewer, the setup shown here cannot be easily shared between persons of different heights.




This issue aside, the owner is happy with the carry capacity the Boda affords. In addition to allowing her to carry two children on top of the platform, each side of the rack accepts two full-sized panniers, or Yuba's own "Baguette Cargo Bag" (The orange bag pictured is apannier hybrid bag from Vaya, made in NYC).The front "Bread Basket," rated to carry 50lb of weight, can be purchased for even more carry capacity.






The Boda Boda comes standard with swept back Dutch stye handlebars, cork grips, city brake levers, and painted bell,






26" wheels and wide, cushy cream tires,






platform pedals,






and a minimalist chainguards.






Fenders and a double-legged kickstand were added as accessories, as was dynamo lighting front and rear, and the front wheel "Deflopilator" stabiliser.







I took the Boda Boda out for a quick spin. Though Josette graciously offered to lend me her son, I did not feel comfortable with that plan, and just rode the bike with 3 panniers on the rear. Mostly I was interested in the feel and handling, so I did a short loop that involved a local hill.




This bike is a little strange to describe. If you've ever ridden a Northern European hybrid circa the mid-2000s (à lathis), the position the Boda puts you in is very similar.The closest non-obscure equivalent I can reference is maybethe Breezer Uptown, but it's really closer to the European bikes. Mounting and dismounting, the stepover was indeed very low. There wasno toe overlap with the front wheel when turning, although it was surprisingly close; not much clearance. Yuba does not provide geometry charts, but the cockpit area felt extremely compact, and there was something about the position of my butt in relation to the pedals (or saddle in relation to the bottom bracket, if you will) that I associate with a particular type of hybrid or cruiser type bike. At the same time, I have to admit that the Boda felt light and speedy. And the low gearing allowed me to pedal it up a major hill without having to dismount (Josette tackles that same hill on a daily basis, and only has to dismount when both kids are on the back of the bike). The ride quality over potholes was nice and cushy.






In essence, my first impression is that the Boda Boda is what it claims to be: a cargo cruiser with easy handling that is ridable in hilly areas.




Considering my recent test rides of the Xtracycle Radish, a comparison of the two is probably in order. The obvious difference is that the Boda is shorter and a bit lighter. This will make it more manageable for those who consider full longtail bikes unwieldy, but at the expense of giving up load capacity. The Boda has a somewhat lower stepover, which makes it easier to mount and dismount. As far as fit and handling, I prefer the Radish, simply because it feels more natural and intuitive for my style of riding. Others might feel differently.






Having ridden the Boda on a more or less daily basis since October, the owner is pretty well used to it and enjoys the freedom of mobility it's given her.






With her boys and without,Josettehas ridden the Boda in all sorts of weather, though overnight she keeps it in her garage and during the day at the bike parking facility in the basement at her work.The bike has served her well in the course of daily use. Some words of criticism include the rear rack height, the delay with receiving some of the accessories (she is still waiting for the Bread Basket), and the fact that the price of each accessory adds up to make the true price of the bike, once it's fully equipped for commuting, nearly double the stated MSRP. Still,3 months down the road Josette is pleased with her decision to choose the Boda over other cargo bikes. It suits her riding style and her lifestyle.

Hairy Beastie

Time to brush the horses. First I did the bay mare, Nita, then on to the old paint, Sunny. But Nita really likes to be brushed and tells me she wants more by shoving her nose in against Sunny. But Sunny is the worst of my Hairy Beasties so he gets the most. The hair comes off in swirls that almost look like big hairy worms. then it is all in a pile at his feet. Hate to say it but I know I will have to do it all over in a day or so.