I’ve enjoyed the explosion of video resources on the net. People have yet another way to share moments from their lives, etc. etc. And along with that come life’s little mishaps. And as almost everyone will admit, viewing a prat fall, a slip, a fall, or a splash can be funny. It’s part sympathy, recognition that we all walk a tight rope with dignity on one side and humiliation on the other… and partially just the simple fun of watching others get in to trouble.
But I’m troubled by something as I watch some of these videos.
People face plant, bang their heads against rocks, launch themselves onto all manner of nasty surfaces and time and again the person taking the video (and you can tell when it’s hand held and when it’s not) does absolutely nothing besides watch. I was horrified when I saw one sampling from the Fail blog where a cyclist smacked their head against a rock with significant force and the person behind the camera did nothing besides ask the person (eventually) if he was alright.
Folks, two thoughts. If you witness an “unintentional result” in front of a camera… see if the person needs help rather than worry about “the shot”. The second thought is, if you’re going to do something in front of a camera know that Heisenberg understood that the camera was going to have an affect on the proceedings. For some reason, these effects seem to be almost universally negative for the person being observed for any “cusp” event.
How do you feel about being charged for search and rescue? [Interesting. It’s a lucky thing I’ve never needed that sort of help. Then again, I believe in Daniel’s first rule of the mountains, when in doubt, head down and/or back. Seems like 99% of all mountain tragedy’s occur because people keep going up to what must be “right over that rise”. Second rule is never tie yourself into a rope with someone who you wouldn’t give your life to/for/with. That rope’s a contract of overwhelming strength.]
Source: The Adventurist
Nicely done. Displays the never ending need for people to rethink how things are accomplished. http://djb.posterous.com/. And awesome socks.
[This is awesome news. There’s parts of both frameworks that I love, and now, with a bit of luck, all of them will wind up in the same place.]
Source: Brainspl.at
Watch this. We have much work to do.
A while back I took the Mavic Kyserium ES wheels off my bike and ordered a set of Hed Ardennes. I completely understand the wider is better thing (from a riding stand point… and I’m beginning to think that the thinking behind super skinny tires is, in almost all cases, flawed.
That said, I’m not a aerodynamics expert, nor is it clear that the science word has a really clear idea of all the forces in action as a bicycle tire, tube, wheel, and road interact. Rolling resistance is debated every which way, and the degree to which a given aero improvement has value in the real world… but all that, and all the marketing aside, I can tell you that wider feels better. It’s not a large switch from 19 to 23mm wide, but the effect is noticable, and I really like how nicely they corner.
My disclaimer is that I recently started riding on a set of Salsa Gordo hoops, which are 35mm wide, and love them too. Some part of me is clearly and forever a fat tire guy.
That said, the wheels (which are a slightly tougher “stallion” build (larger bearings, a few more spokes)) are still plenty light. They have a bit of a hollow hum from hubs, but it’s musical and not annoying. The rear engagement mechanism is quiet and solid. The wider rim spreads the contact patch and shortens the sidewall a bit, but I didn’t really notice much difference there with the following exceptions: The transition from straight up to tilted over is far smoother, and it feels like the tires are putting more rubber on the road when it’s leaned over. The bearings and races are clearly of high quality, and the front wheel feels like it will spin forever. I didn’t opt for the ceramic bearing option. Seems like a waste for most of us (or at least me). All in all, the wheels felt great. I’m very pleased.
The downside… the rims are wider! The Zero Gravity brakes I had no longer fit (they didn’t open wide enough). Your mileage may vary, but mine didn’t. So I sold them and replaced them with SRAM Red brakes. They’re only about 50 grams heavier, open wider, and are plenty good enough for me. Also, should I decide to upgrade the Force group on the bike, it would be to Red. Annoying that the 0Gs don’t open up enough, but not a big deal in the scheme of things, and certainly not a reason not to buy the Ardennes. For most folks, this clearly wouldn’t even be a consideration.
On today’s ride Jenni was in a celebratory mood, which in her case apparently means hill climbing (Really? Crazy Girl(tm)). So that’s what we did. We got a late start for us and so lights were the order of the day. I love riding as the sun sets for two reasons. One, it’s the opposite of when I ride most often (daybreak). Two, it feels like I’ve been riding all day, yet I feel really fresh. Heh. The day had finally warmed up a bit although it never came near the 46F promised degrees. And of course, was getting colder rather than warmer. But I recently added a piece to my riding outfit straight from my closet… a very windproof soft shell thingy, and it has greatly improved my comfort level in the cold.
Before I left on the ride, I was getting things together with my bike and of course, since there were tools and things about, Noah was not far behind.
He helped me get the wheels on the bike, and attempt to adjust the brakes, which led to a quick trip to the bike store for parts. After changing wheels and tires around this week… the spare bedroom had that winter look to it. Trainers are out, wheels are everywhere… from the reverse angle you’d see the Jones bike having been reshod with knobbies… really looking forward to hitting some trails with that baby.
Anyway, bring on the steady state intervals…
http://philly09.livestrong.org/daniel
I’ve been personally affected by Cancer this year, although thankfully not to myself, or my immediate family. But it surrounds me… family, friends, co-workers… it’s everywhere.
Anyway… I appreciate if you can do something to help. Please click here and donate what you can.
Not much… but some. Bring it!
The Jones frameset arrived… and was as quickly as possible unpacked and assembled. Jenni came over to help, bring gifts from her recent trip to Portland to do a fitting and talk with Natalie Ramsland.
Noah was naturally underfoot as he loves helping, building, tools and pretty much anything of mine, so a shiny new bike is premo. Jenni rapidly included “hammer prevention” to her list of tasks, as Noah believes that the hammer is the tool of choice for virtually any situation. We tried to get him to only hammer the rubber tires, but a few spokes and frame bits got tapped. Fortunately he’s already learned not to hammer with all his strength when he’s not sure he’s allowed to be hammering at all… he comes by all this honestly as I grew up seeing the results of my hammering the dining room table (tiny little half moon divots in one corner) and sawing through the wicker arm of the living room chair. Apparently, I had tools that were more “real” than Noah’s plastic hammer, or little wood puzzle piece hammer. There are some things you can’t outrun.
The outcome of all this fun and assembly can be seen here, on top of my car. The picture is post facto as it was fairly dark when I set out. We had our own little “cranksgiving” festival as we said goodbye to Gerry, one of our favorite ride partners who’s headed south for a few months (to where he rides more miles than I do all year) while he participated in the Turkey Trot, a five mile race around the lake. We stood around talking, joking and generally goofing around, and still managed to mix 11 miles of riding in there. We even rode amongst the racers (race is relative term here), where we both realized some personal progress as riding up this one little steep behind walkers showed some strength and bike control. It wasn’t even hard… a few years ago I’m sure I couldn’t have done it at all.
As for the bike? It’s a great ride. Riding on the road it quietly minds its own business. The ride is refined and gentle. No doubt in part because of the Schwalbe Big Apples Jeff recommended for this purpose. Those are some serious balloon tires, but the frame supports the concept as well. The balance and geometry of the bike come alive when you have the slightest bit of “trail”. Hop a curb, absorb a pothole, do anything that asks anything of the frame it responds. It has that “cry of delight” that best bikes all seem to have. They all scream “Let’s go!” as you begin to ask something of them. I’ve never hopped curbs, swooped up and down little rises or ridden such a responsive bike in those circumstances. It’s effortless. I can’t wait to put some knobbies on and hit a real trail…
Jenni was on her road bike… and after negotiating the road apples left by the Clydsdales the mounted Sheriffs left behind (nothing like fresh, steaming, horse poop to remind one that the addition of cars to cities was driven by more than just advancing technology.) So we’re winding our way through the back of the race, and decide that this was one of our less ingenious ideas… and we bail through a back parking lot. The lots in this state park do not get a ton of care and so are very broken up. And while Jenni gingerly picked a line through the broken pavement I rolled with one hand on the bar, talking with her (all right, taunting would be more accurate) since the Jones, equipped as it with the fat tires, and Jeff’s build of the brakes with a combination of Nokon and stainless steel tube housing made for one finger/one hand control of the hill we were on.
But it was really before and after the ride that I learned the most about what this might be capable of… even in my hands. I parked in a lot that has a short rise just as you leave the north corner. I was impressed by how easily the bike climbed it on the way out, considering the tires are essentially slicks and the icy morning dew, but on the way back I let the bike have the drop and it was smooth and controlled and in that effortless manner it displays. Sure, I rode a rigid mountain bike for a long, long time. On the road and off. So there is a certain amount of “home coming” riding this bike. But there is a controlled, facile, manner that was exactly missing from the dually I built 2 years ago. It’s early days, and I have lot of learning to do, but I’m impressed with Jeff’s design, and am looking forward to it becoming an old friend. Jenni asked me what the “point” of this bike is for me. My answer is “adventure bike”. The adventure has begun.
In this picture we are already frozen, as we waited to take a picture of Gerry running by… the wind was blowing, there was no sun. Bah. Thus, my lame attempt at a smile.
turnings :: daniel berlinger 