Mirabelle's First "Hike" ..

So last Thursday we were running some errands in Shoreline and decided to stop by Shoreview Park as it was not raining and we needed something to do that was not our errands. Jennifer and I had stopped by there previously, but I think we were on bicycles and it was our turnaround point for a ride, complete with bathrooms. We only knew of the ball fields and were not fully aware of the wooded paths at the park. Heading there last Thursday, I presumed there must be some type of wooded trail system.

When we arrived last week we poked around a bit before discovering the map of the trails. We headed in for a walk. It turns out, for a city park, Shoreview/Boeing Creek Park has fairly rugged trails. Muddy eroded off camber trails provided us with some interesting footing as we headed down to the creek. Jennifer was fortunate enough to be wearing running shoes with some tread, while I was slip sliding around in my treadless Sanuks. There was a "wet" creek crossing that I had to help Jennifer navigate as she was toting around our precious cargo.

Some of the trees in the park were of good size too. (With signs telling you just how big they are.) Plenty of 200'+ Douglas Firs in the park with sizable trunks. We walked all the way down to Hidden Lake, and then back up to the dog run before eventually returning to the car. I recommend to anyone in the north end of Seattle to take a short trip up to Shoreview if they are looking to get away from their typical walks in Carkeek and Golden Gardens. Just be prepared to get your feet wet.

Closure Systems on Bicycle Bags

Cristobal Pannier

Having now owned and tried a number of bicycle bags, one of the features I pay close attention to is the closure - particularly on bags I use every day. Many classic bicycle bags are fitted with traditional buckles. While I love the idea of it, in practice I find that I fiddle with the closure way too much every time I want to open or close the bag.

Carradice Kendal Pannier

And with bags that use really thin straps, there is the additional issue of the straps fraying and breaking off from frequent use.

Zimbale 7L Saddlebag

Zimbale bags use a quick "Sam Browne" style closure that does not require undoing the buckle. This is the biggest reason I favour my Zimbale over my near-identical Carradice; it simply takes me less time to open and close the bag. I've had this bag for 2 years now, and over time there has been some stretching in the leather eyelets, but not so much that the closure comes undone.

Philosophy Pannier

Philosophy bags use a snap closure, also independent of the buckle. It works well and does not seem to stress the leather. I sometimes worry about the security, but it has not come undone as of yet.

OYB Pannier

Some vintage Swiss Army bags feature an interesting "latch" system where a stiff cord is inserted into a metal loop. It is simple and secure, though the cord may need to be replaced after some use.

Ironweed Pannier(more pictures and review soon)

Nylon cords with plastic buckle closures seem pretty easy and convenient, but it's a system I haven't used until just now.

Ostrich Handlebar Bag & Berthoud Medium Handlebar Bag

I love the simplicity of elastic closures. But in my experience, it's not always easy to get the tension of the elastics just right, and I've been in situations where various parts of my handlebar bag have flung open en route. The elastics also tend to stretch out over time, so they may need to be tightened or replaced after some use.

Fastrider Deluxe Shopper Pannier

Zipper and velcro closures work nicely - except when the bag is full and cannot close completely.

Po Campo Loop Pannier

All closure systems seem to have their pros and cons - from ease of use, to security, to durability. Overall I tend to favour the quick and easy methods, though I do wish I had the patience and digital dexterity for tiny buckles.



What closure system do you prefer on bicycle bags?

Making Sense of Handling Characteristics

"Hey, so how does it ride?"



It seems like such a simple question. But the more I learn about bikes, the less certain I am how to answer it.As cyclists, our experience expands as we ride more, and as we try different bikes. And our vocabulary expands as we talk to other cyclists, bike mechanics, salespersons; as we read cycling literature, including myriads of bicycle reviews in magazines and blogs.One thing I notice is that while there are default terms used to describe bicycle handling characteristics, these terms are weakly defined - with different persons using them in different contexts.In particular, it fascinates me to navigate descriptions of bicycle stability versus twitchiness.



In reviews I will often read that a stable bicycle "tracks well" or "rides like it's on rails."As I understand this notion, it means that the bike holds its line of travel on its own accord, without the rider having to constantly micro-correct the steering. This is generally considered to be a good thing. But can it be too good? For me, when experienced at high speeds the feeling of the bike being on rails can also make it resistant to turning. And what about going around sudden obstacles? If the bike tracks so well that it resists changing course, would this not present a problem when encountering an unexpected pothole, or when the rider in front of us swerves?



The concept of twitchiness is not so simple either. There seem to be different kinds, and I can think of at least three: There is the "squirrely" twitchiness of a racing bike that makes it hard to controlat slow speeds.This is not to be confused with the twitchiness of low trail - a very different kind of feeling, that gives the rider a more active role in the bicycle's line of travel. There is also the twitchiness associated with a "light front end," regardless of geometry.



Stability can vary with speed. On some bikes there seems to be a linear relationship: The bike will start out twitchy when slow, stabilise at moderate speeds, and "ride like it's on rails" when going especially fast. The faster you go, the more stable it is. Other bikes will be stable at slow speeds and track exceptionally well at moderate speeds, but then level out or even ease up at fast speeds. Other bikes still will handle more or less the same regardless of how fast you ride them.



Whether a bike is described as stable or twitchy, it is hard to know what that means without additional detail, which is not always available. What I wonder is, have there been efforts to maybe create a guideline for both reading and providing descriptions of how a bicycle rides? Without context and well defined terminology, it seems that anything goes and we can easily misunderstand each other's impressions of handling characteristics.

But now they only block the sun...

Sunday morning (August 15th) I woke up early and was just lying in my cot looking out the window when I noticed the sky getting brighter. Then when I looked toward the eastern sky it was filled with a beautiful pink and orange glow. I quickly changed clothes, grabbed the camera and walked to Land's End on the tip of the Homer Spit.

6:09 am
6:12 am
6:18 am
6:20 am
6:22 am
6:40 am
The colors began to fade as the sun started to make its appearance. I say “started” because the lower bank of clouds/fog quickly grew and the sun was hidden for yet another day.

I've cropped off the bottom portion of all photos except for one because that part didn't really add anything to the beauty and simplicity of the clouds and the colors.

The title of this post comes from the song Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell.

The Closest Thing to a Valentine

In all of the photo albums and family papers of my grandmother's, I haven't come across any valentines or love letters written by or to anyone. None. Zilch. Nada. And I don't have any personal valentines (that I'd care to share). So with my birthday being just 3 days after Valentines Day, I thought these cards might be good substitutes for inclusion in the 20th edition of Smile For The Camera. My niece Carrie made them a “few” years ago (when she was 9 or 10 years old). The images were previously published here on kinexxions in July ...

Sunset Arch

When we were done hiking Coyote Gulch we headed for our next planned adventure of the day, which was a sunset hike to Sunset Arch! We had read about and seen photos of Sunset Arch in the guide book that we had and knew it was something we didn't want to miss. The hike was described as easy but without any marked trail so we were hoping this would mean we might have it to ourselves. Sure enough, we did! We ended up not see a single other soul in our time to and fromthe arch. It was wonderful!


As we left the Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch trailhead we turned left and continued down Hole in the Rock road until we reached 40 Mile Ridge Road, then we followed this road about 4 miles to a marked trailhead on the left. This trailhead was for a different hike, and our book recommended hiking from there to Sunset Arch, which was in the opposite direction from the trailhead. We instead opted to backtrack along 40 Mile Ridge Road to a spot we had seen on the way in that looked like it would make a good campsite (you can camp pretty much anywhere as long as it is an area that has already been disturbed by humans). We found our spot and it was indeed a terrific place to camp. After setting up our camp and relaxing for a few minutes we got our gear ready, plugged the coordinates for the arch into our GPS unit (the coordinates were provided in our guide book), and off we went across the open desert right from our campsite.







We couldn't see the arch from our campsite, but we knew which way to go thanks to the GPS. After walking about 3/4 of a mile across the desert we got our first glimpse of the arch, still over a quarter of a mile away. It was fascinating to see from a distance, and we wondered just how big it would be once we got up close to it. We kept walking towards the arch and reached the base of it a few minutes later, 1.15 miles from our campsite. Indeed, it was much bigger than we thought it would be when viewing it from a quarter mile away! The arch was mind-boggling, just standing there all by itself surrounded by nothing but relatively flat desert. We spent about an hour admiring and photographing the arch, then just after sunset we headed back to our campsite, arriving just as it was starting to get really dark. Jessica prepared a delicious meal over the camp stove then we washed up and crawled into the tent to get some much-needed rest before the next adventure which awaited us the following morning: Willow Gulch and Broken Bow Arch!

Redbud at Night

I took the dogs out about 2 am the other night and noticed that the light that had been moved recently was shining on the blossoms of the redbud. I got the camera and tried a couple of shots. Had to work with it a bit to get the right setting but thought that the effect on all 3 photos was at least different.