Clay Pot & Cactus

65 Miles Later

Despite our idyllically mild summer, I have not been doing much in the way of long or difficult rides. Somehow I just haven't been able to get into the rhythm of things after returning from Ireland. My body is absolutely treacherous when it comes to things like this, too. The more and harder I ride, the more and harder it wants to ride. But if I ease up, it quickly gets lethargic and soft, creating a vicious cycle. "I can't join that fast group ride today, I am too out of shape!..." but of course that only makes it worse for next time.




Today, however, I woke up with a calm sense of certainty. This was the day I would get off my butt, move my schedule around, and go on a long ride. I didn't know how long, but it was going to happen. Setting off in the early afternoon, I eased myself into it by stoppingat the Ride Studio Cafe10 miles in. I think secretly I hoped there would be someone there who'd ride with me, saving me from the urge to sit around drinking coffee and reading magazines all day. But no such luck. Summoning my willpower I pressed on.




And after that, something strange happened. Namely, I sort of relaxed on the bike and got lost in daydreaming. This happens to me sometimes, but never for this long. Before I knew it I was approaching the end of a familiar training loop on auto-pilot. Surprised and not feeling very creative, I could think of nothing to do but repeat the loop, determined to be more mindful this time around. There is a hill along the way, and it's one I have always disliked. How was it possible that I hadn't noticed it, daydreaming while climbing and not even feeling the dreaded "out of shape" pain?




The second time around the loop, I approached the hill with awareness. Okay, so here it was ahead. I downshifted. Now here I was, cycling up the hill. I waited for the misery of it to wash over me, but it didn't. Instead, it was almost meditative. Enjoying the shade of the leafy trees, my mind wandered in the middle of the climb. Before I knew it, I'd completed the entire loop again and it was time to ride home before it got dark.




I rode a total of 65 miles and it took me about 4 hours. It was not a difficult route, but I am still surprised that I was able to just go out and do it. My muscles may have turned to jelly over the past couple of months, but apparently some of the endurance I'd built up is still there.The mysterious ways in which the human body responds to cycling and changes because of it never cease to amaze me.Several hours and a cheeseburger later, I am now clutching my aching legs,reaching for Ibuprofen,and complaining - but also feeling deliciously alive.No matter what we might think, we are never too out of shape for a ride.

A Luscious ANT Truss Bike

A little while ago I finally test rode an ANT Truss Bicycle for the first time, and the memory now seems like a dream. I cannot describe how much I love this frame design, specifically as executed by ANT. I have a separate post about truss frames, so I won't go into it again here. But something about that truss, in combination with the double plated fork crown, just "hits the spot" for me visually, and I've fantasised about riding one more times than I care to admit.





Luckily, I know Jim A. - a great mechanic at Harris Cyclery - who owns a glorious truss frame ANT, which I was able to ride. In retrospect, I can just kick myself for not taking the pictures before lowering the saddle, because the bike looks better with more seatpost showing. But in my excitement I was not thinking clearly and I hope you can overlook this aesthetic blunder.





Jim's ANT was built in 2007. It is a 53cm frame with 700C wheels, built for fixed gear.





The paint is liquid coat and the colour is a shade of dark cherry that appears to drip seductively as it catches the light.





Photographing this part felt a little wrong, but I decided an invasion of privacy was in order here to show the full darlingness of this sexy creature.





As I've written before, the truss frame is one design that I actually prefer to be TIG-welded (or fillet-brazed) as opposed to lugged, because lugs - to my eye - would look too busy here. The key for me is that these welds to be cleanly done, and this frame does not disappoint in that respect.





Jim A. set up this bicycle very similarly to the way I would have done. The upside-down Nitto Albatross handlebars strike the perfect balance between aggressive positioning and comfort. The single front caliper brake and the fixed gear rear wheel are uncluttered, simple to operate, and in keeping with a vintage look. I would put the brake lever on the right handlebar, but otherwise would set everything up just the same.





The copper rails and rivets on this Brooks B17 complement the frame beautifully. Those are Jim's initials carved into the toptube, in case you spotted them.





Rear brake(less) bridge. Though I have seen some truss frame bicycles equipped with fenders, racks and all sorts of extras, I think it looks best without - pathracer style.





The Sugino 75 is a really nice track crankset that the Co-Habitant thinks I ought to get, should I ever upgrade my fixed gear roadbike. Truthfully, I kind of don't get what the big deal is with this particular crankset, but sure - it looks nice enough.





These Pauldropouts are beyond "nice" though: I'm afraid I will salivate if I look at these for too long. Mmmm!





I wasn't especially attracted to Phil hubs until I saw this on Jim's bike. Gosh, this just looks so perfect.





And from another angle...





I rode Jim's truss bike briefly and slowly - It was in such perfect condition, that I was scared to death to let anything happen to it. Sadly, there was no one around to photograph me, as Jim was working and the Co-Habitant was busy buying components. But just imagine me looking both ecstatic and terrified as I pedaled this graceful machine along West Newton side streets, past pensioners and mothers with baby carriages... Of course they all wanted to ride it. As their eyes followed the glistening Phil hubs with longing and admiration, I felt like the luckiest girl in town.





I don't know how useful it is to review a custom-built bicycle, and one ANT truss frame may not necessarily feel or handle like another. But in case you are curious...





The first thing I noted, was that the bicycle felt significantly lighter than I expected it to. I guess because of the truss construction, I assumed that it would be on the heavier, clunkier side - more like a roadster. But this truss was whippet-sleek, lightweight, elegant and compact.





I got on and was surprised at how far forward I had to lean in order to reach the handlebars - Jim must have used a long stem to compensate for the swept-back Albatross bars. The aggressive posture made it easy to accelerate once I began riding and to go faster than I had intended.It was at this point that I realised how unaccustomed I'd gotten to riding fixed gear without foot retention, and also to the brake being mounted on the left. Thankfully, I figured it out in time to stop for the next red light - but after that I slowed down and was more careful. The ride was comfortable - nothing hurt and there was no excessive strain or pressure on any part of my body.For a bicycle with 28mm tires, it did not feel harsh over bumps. It felt stable, but then I tend to feel more stable on fixed gear bikes in general, so I don't know how telling that feedback is.Having never ridden a vintage pathracer, I cannot compare it to one - but I am fairly certain that the geometry of the ANT truss frame is modern and does not emulate actual vintage pathracers. If I had to categorise the handling, more than anything it felt like a light and fast "casual" bicycle for those who are used to roadbikes but want something a bit gentler and more upright for Sunday afternoon rides with friends.





While some might question the practicality of a vintage-styled pathracer in an era when racing is done with dropbars and commuting is done with fenders and racks, I think that's beside the point. The classic truss frame pathracer is an idealised examplar of what ANT can create, and I find that appealing. Not all bicycles need to be versatile and practical in every respect.When I get myANT, it will be almost exactly like this one - just because I want to support and celebrate what I believe to be Mike Flanigan's craftsmanship at its best.





Though I only managed to take this shabby picture of Jim A. with his bike, some day I will meet him outside of work and take a nicer portrait. Until then, I thank him for entrusting me with his Truss. This is truly one of my favourite bicycles.

Night sky over the Teton Range

(Above: Deer at sunset near the Snake River)

We were pretty tired after our long day in Yellowstone and our early morning of shooting the Teton Mountains, so we decided to take it easy in the afternoon and just spend some time relaxing in our suite back at the hotel. Which, by the way, was really an incredible place. If you are planning on visiting the Tetons and looking for a REALLY NICE place to stay, check out Hotel Terra (http://www.hotelterrajacksonhole.com/). Its pricey, but if you have a couple of friends to split the cost with, its not so bad.



After getting some rest, we headed back out for sunset. We decided to try Oxbow Bend, another popular place... a bit too popular, as it turns out. When we arrived at Oxbow Bend the parking area was full and the cars were lined up on the sides of the road for quite a ways in both directions. The area was crawling with people, so we just drove past and turned on the next road we came to, which was a gravel road on the left. This road went for a little over a mile and ended up at the Snake River, just upstream from Oxbow Bend. We walked around a little bit, and just decided to head back to Oxbow Bend after the crowds were gone. Our focus this evening was going to be shooting the night sky and the stars. Thinking ahead, I was looking for nice foreground subjects for the star shooting to come later, and thought that the tree in the image above might fit the bill.




We waited until about half an hour after sunset then headed back to Oxbow Bend. Almost all of the cars were gone; only a few remained. We had enough light to make some really nice exposures of the river with Mt. Moran in the distance. An added bonus was the moon, which provided some extra drama to some of the shots:



I know Stuart and Jake were excited to do some night shooting with me... and me, well... I'm always game for staying up late and shooting the night sky :-) We had a perfect night for it, clear skies and no wind! And to top it off, while we were making our long exposures of the sky we could hear bull elk bugling in the distance!!! It was pretty incredible to be sitting under this awesome sky and hearing the mating calls of elk in the distance. Without a doubt, one of the most memorable experiences of my life.



Above and below: 30 second exposures at an aperture of f 4.0, ISO 6400 using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera and Canon EF 17-40mm L lens.



Below: This one was a 29 minute exposure, aperture f 4.0, ISO 100 using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera and Canon EF 17-40mm L lens.

Good Skiing and Narada Falls Face Snow Pit

Howdy Everyone!



Afterseveral daysof cooler weather and some precipitation, the mountain has come back out in full sunshine with a good 6" of powder on her flanks. There is some great skiing on the south and west aspects right now; while the eastern aspects are getting crusty.



This weeks snow pit was dug at the top of Narada Falls Face, just below the Steven's Canyon Road. As you can see from the profile, the main layer of concern is between 10 to 20 cm below the surface. Some moderate failuresfor the stability tests indicated that point releases are possible especially on lee slopes. However, no propagation was observed during the stability testing.





CTM(14) @ 12 cm Q3

ECTN(18) @ 12 cm Q3

RB3 @ 12 cm Q2



Keep an eye out for possible point releases on south facing aspects...there's plenty of sluffs coming off all around the Paradise area; especially the face onPanorama Point and the 4th Crossing area.

Evening in Cathedral Valley

After yesterday's hikes it was nice to relax in the truck for a while and enjoy a little road time between Natural Bridges and Capitol Reef. Speaking of which, the drive between those two parks has some of the most incredibly scenery to be found anywhere! It is also a very desolate road with almost no development. We arrived in Capitol Reef National Park during the early evening hours and were hoping to camp at the park's campground, unfortunately it was FULL. So, we headed into the nearby town of Torrey hoping to find a nice private campground. We certainly did find a nice place! We actually ended up renting a small camper cabin at a private campground on the west end of town. The cabin was warm and cozy, there was a shower building AND the cabin had wi-fi! We were in heaven :-)





































This morning we had a nice breakfast at the cabin then headed out to explore Capitol Reef National Park. We did a hike through the Grand Wash, which was really cool but also overloaded with people, being that it wasn't that far from the visitor center. After that hike we couldn't wait to get into the backcountry of the park, which was our plan for the rest of the day and the next morning. Earlier on in the trip we had decided that we wanted to see Cathedral Valley, which is a very remote part of Capitol Reef that is in the northern part of the park. There are 3 different ways to reach the valley; we went in from the southeast direction via the Caineville Wash Road. The road, like many in southern Utah, varies between a base of gravel, clay and sand. It was actually in very good shape and we had no trouble at all passing through. It is still a very remote area, though, and we only saw 3 or 4 other vehicles during our time in this part of the park.





































The first area of the valley that we came to was Lower Cathedral Valley, which is famous for its two massive sandstone monoliths known as the Temples of the Sun and Moon. These monoliths are incredible... they are sobig that you feel truly insignificant when standing alongside them. We walked around the temples and photographed them from various angles then continued on the road to Upper Cathedral Valley. We were, of course, hoping for a magnificent sunset but it was not to be. Clouds moved in and made our evening light rather flat. We drove up to the backcountry campground and set up our camp then returned to the valley to spend more time taking in the wonders of the cathedrals. The sandstone here is endlessly intriguing. The lines and patterns in the cliffs surrounding the valley made for some pretty interesting photographs. As the light faded we made our way back to camp where we enjoyed a very calm and peacefulevening. There was only one other party staying at the 6-site campground that night and we didn't hear a peep from them all night. We crawled into our sleeping bags glowing from the excitement of another amazing day of adventure in the southwest, but also a little sad knowing that tomorrow we have to head home :-(

Adieu, Crooked River

Georgia has been left behind. I won't say I'll never go back, but after 2 weeks and 2 days at Crooked River State Park in St. Marys, Georgia I think I've had enough of it for now. Crooked River is a very nice park. It has lovely trails. The people were friendly. For the most part, I enjoyed my time there. But it was cold. And it rained. A lot. Seemed like every other day it was raining.

But a change in location does not always mean there will be a good change in the weather. I came south, into Florida hoping for a little more warmth. The first (and second) morning here I woke up with frost on the windows! Night time temps have been in the low 30s and daytime highs have been in the low 50s all this year. I can say that “this year” because it is only five days into the new year. I sure hope I'm not able to say that for very much longer!

I didn't take a lot of pictures at Crooked River. Like my friend TJ says, a tree is a tree, a river is a river, and one pretty much looks like another. I didn't take many sunset or sunrise photos either. The campsite was in a shaded area and it was hard to tell when the sun was coming up, when it finally decided to show it's face. There were a few sunsets that had a nice “after glow” but, well, they didn't get photographed either.

I took a lot of walks, just to keep warm. And spent a few hours in the library, but it was closed half the time I was there. Silly Holidays, you know?

I'm into my fifth month of traveling. It's really hard to believe that so much time has gone by. Speaking of time, I have no concept of time. I seldom “know” what time of day it is. Or how much time has passed since the last time I ate. I eat when I get hungry, not according to some established schedule.

Many of my posts while on the road have mentioned the weather. Actually, most of them have. Thing is, the weather is what governs what I do and when I do it and whether I enjoy it or not. And, the weather is the one thing that I have no control over. There is nothing I can do about it. I don't affect it, it affects me. It is what it is.

This morning I awoke to the sun rising over the tree tops. A short while later I saw clear blue skies. So, even though it was 30-something I went for a walk in the woods. The movement warmed my blood. The trees and birds and unknown somethings scurrying in the underbrush warmed my soul. The sun is shining. It's a beautiful day. What more could I ask for? (Warmer temperatures, that's what!)

My campsite at Crooked River State Park. The tent was purchased that morning. After coming back to the campground the previous night and finding someone had pulled their rig into my site (even though my tag was on the post and my bicycle chained to the picnic table), I decided that I needed a “presence” in camp even when I wasn't there. It's been a godsend, especially with the cool/cold weather. A small electric heater makes it a cozy place in the evenings. And, no, I don't sleep in the tent – a cot and warm sleeping bag in the van are my nightly resting place.

A tree is a tree. But these are at Crooked River. Really.

The roots of a tree that was long ago downed, by what? The forces of Nature or those of Man? Even in “death” it is Magnificent.

A palm frond, after the rain.