15 Swoonworthy Velo-Valentines

Just over a week ago, I announced a Give-away for Valentine's Day - inviting readers to submit bicycle-themed Valentines for a chance to receive a beautiful, bright red Bobbin Birdie. Over 70 submissions were made, and I have looked at and read them all at least twice. All were beautiful and thoughtful, and I sincerely thank everybody for sharing them. I would now like to present 15 Valentines that, with difficulty, have been selected as the final entries. They are numbered (in no particular order) and your feedback is welcome. While this is not an outright "readers' choice" vote, your selections will be taken into consideration in the final decision. Thanks for looking, and enjoy!




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1. "Be Mine" Submitted by Park Girl: "'The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets' - Christopher Morley".




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2. "Together We'll Go Far ... On Love & Bicycles." Submitted by Stephen Lee Ogden.




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3. "Bicroscopic Valentine." Submitted by Jessi: "Portraits sourced from the Commons, Bobbin Birdie bike, and original photograph of silk threads under glass slide, taken with a Nikon 1970's microscope mount. Everything but the silk fibres are halftoned, because that is how I roll."





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4. "Diamonds are a girl's best friend. But my valentine is a mixte."Submitted by Mindy: I wanted to draw a picture of my bike, because I do love my mixte! The text still works even if you're not familiar with the mixte/diamond frame thing (see what I did there?)."







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5. This evocative poem was submitted by Robin.




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6. "A day with... is better than a day without..." There is another side to this card, and it is shownhere. Submitted byWillie Bailey.



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7. "Hip hoppin' & Bobbin' for you, Valentine!" Submitted by Julie: "My dog, Bonnie, is a little shy and eccentric, and is always the star of our "family" greeting cards. She was going to make a Valentine anyway, but she decided to go with a flashy Valentine theme in hopes of winning her dear mother, me, a pretty new Lady Bike."




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8. "All I want to do is make tricycles with you." A collage submitted by Michelle B.




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9. "The story, context, high-res sharable files (including vector) for anyone who wants to have fun and make their own for someone can be discovered here." Submitted by nandapocentric.




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10. An embroidered Valentine! Submitted byyn0405:"My entry, inspired by the little Birdie"




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11. "The two things in this world that are true: my sturdy lugged frame and my love for you!" Submitted by LT: "When I read your latest post this morning I thought immediately of my favorite old family photo, so I added a few bits to the photo to make it a vintage-themed Valentine."




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12. A poem submitted by William B. The text reads:



"Said the front tire to the rear

Follow me; I’ll lead my dear.

Round and round we’ll roll together.

‘Cause when you push I steer better.

If miles from here the road’s not fair

We’ll just let out a little air.

I will not shimmy, I will stay true;

That is the promise I make to you.

At dusk, to emphasize our genders,

We’ll slip into some silver fenders.

Your tread is slick; your spokes are fine;

You’ll always be my valentine."




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13. "Sending you... Love." Submitted by Margaret.






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14. "I wanna ride with you."Submitted byAinsleyW:"Happy Valentine's Day!! Here's my entry, designed specifically in the likeness of mine and my sweetie's bicycles."





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15. Submitted by Audrey W., the poem reads:




"true love

discouraging, tiresome
amassed frustrations
quick release–
escape
restore sanity?

true love, loyal to
youth, to health, to
the beating-
heart

celebrating curves,
bearing pain and
bliss–
eternal"





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So, what do you think? List the numbers of the Valentine(s) that appeal to you in the comments, and your feedback will help determine the recipient. There are no rules by which to judge the Valentines, these things just sort of have to "hit" your love receptors. How much work went into making them is, of course, worth considering as well. The recipient will be announced on Valentine's Day, February 14th. Please feel free to contribute to the comments up to the eve of that date. Thank you everybody for looking, reading and participating. Have a lovely weekend!

Frosted Leaf

We got up one morning and there was heavy frost on everything. Of course i had to take photos. It is common other places but not hear to have frost like this.

MMMushrooms

I had a feeling that the rain last week would make a few fungi shout for joy. I think these are oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus).



But I'm not sure enough to try to eat them.



Even though there are so many.



And they look so tasty.

-----

Everything I know about mushrooms is from books. The only one I'd be confident enough to eat would be a morel. And I never seem to find more than one of those at a time, so I just leave them and hope they'll make more.

People in Europe gather wild mushrooms all the time, but I've never had anyone here (in the south) tell me that they do.

Roe-Dee-Oh :: Bull Riding

Sunday, August 21st - - The “main” event, the one that we waited nearly four hours to see, was the Bull Riding. There was only one rider that was able to go the full time but it was an exciting event, definitely worth waiting around for....

The Harmon Sutton Family

Harmon Harold Sutton was the son of Bert Alva and Nellie Gertrude (Knight) Sutton. His obituary was published in the Iola Register [Allen County, Kansas] on April 3, 1945

Harmon Harold Sutton was born in Wichita, Kans., April 2, 1902 and passed away March 24, 1945, at the age of 42 years, 11 months and 22 days at his home in Compton, Calif. He moved with his parents to Iola in 1905 where he lived until manhood.

On August 21, 1920, he was united in marriage to Florence M. Wilson who passed away January 7, 1924. To this union two sons were born. James H. Sutton, age 23 years, now attending Merchant Marine Officers Training School at Alameda, Calif., and Kenneth Wilson, age 21 years, now deceased.

On May 14, 1925, he was married to Marjorie Rogers of Moran, Kans., and to this union two sons were also born, Robert Eugene, age 18 years, now serving in the U. S. Navy, and Donald Earl, age 8 years.

The surviving relatives are his wife and three sons, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Sutton of Iola, and two sisters, Mrs. W. H. Saling of Long Beach, Calif., Mrs. Gerald Curtis of Wichita, Kans.

He was a good husband, and an affectionate father, and a friend to all who knew him.

Published immediately beneath the obituary for Harmon Sutton was that of his son:

Kenneth Wilson Sutton was born in Iola, Kansas, November 20, 1923, and was killed in action December 14, 1944. He was serving his country with the 7th Army under General Patch and was a S-Sgt. Of the 36th Division, 143 Inf., Co. L.

Kenneth moved with his parents to Compton, Calif., in 1937 where he attended school and entered the U. S. Army in February 1943. He trained at Camp McCain, Miss., and was later sent to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, before going overseas in April 1944. He served in Italy and France and it is presumed he fell in action near Strassburg, Germany.

The Sutton family plot in Highland Cemetery, Iola, Kansas. The three stones in front are for Harmon, his wife, and their son.

HARMON H. / 1902-1945

FLORENCE M. / WIFE OF / H. H. SUTTON / 1899-1924

S/SGT. KENNETH W. SUTTON
NOV. 20, 1923 – DEC 14, 1944
CO. L 143 INFT. 36 DIV. 7th ARMY
FELL IN ACTION
IN FRANCE

Obituaries and tombstone photos were obtained September 10, .. on a visit to Iola, Allen County, Kansas. I have no information on James H. Sutton or the two children from Harmon's second marriage, Robert Eugene and Donald Earl Sutton.

La Sportiva Lo5 ski review

Dave on the Low5in the cold smoke of the Brevent. photo courtesy of Ross Hewitt




“I didn’t know La Sportiva made Ski’s, how are they?”



Seems to be something that I get asked a lot when I take MY Lo5’s out in Chamonix.



Up until last year I didn’t know they made ski’s either. Everyone knows them for their boots and we’ve all seen the ridiculously light Ski Boots sat in the shops looking very racey. But Ski’s? In an already vast market of ski’s you need to find a good neash and do it well to get anywhere and I’m happy to say that quality wise they are very good.









Let me first describe my skiing and what I look for. I live in Chamonix which is of course a haven for steep and technical descents which are primarily human powered with the exception of the ‘big pheriques’. Therefore there are two different days that I usually have in Cham. If there is fresh then the norm is to lap the Midi or the Grande Montet until I can’t stand. These days require big ski’s, stiff boots and a powerful approach to skiing. We don’t get that many days like that unfortunately. This brings me on to the other type of skiing we have where you head out with a bag full of what you think might be useful i.e ropes, poons, axe(s) skins and you head to either a pre-planned objective or and area where you think it might be good… For days like this you need a predictable, stable ski with good edge grip and enough float to get you through the 3 day old pow. They need to be stiff enough to plow the crud and crust and light enough that you can rinse out 1200m+ of vert and still have enough in you to ski back to town. Finding a Ski which does it all is tough I agree so compromise needs to be made however I think I might of found my perfect partner with the Lo5’s for days like these…..



http://davesearle.me//01/25/y-couloir-aiguille-dargentiere-one-of-those-days/



http://davesearle.me//01/27/s-couloir-aiguille-de-leboulement-d%C2%B2/



Most of the people I ski with will run a 100m waisted ski as their touring ski. We all like to enjoy the down with big turns and airs and we don’t have time for mincy skiing on floppy Rando planks. We want to go deep into the massif in a day and ski out fast so we can get back to our homes to re-hydrate, refuel and plan for the next day.









This past week in Cham I have exclusively skied on the La Sportiva Lo5 to give them a proper test. I was skiing for 4 days around work and here’s what I did.









Day 1: Two laps of the Aiguille du midi via the Valley Blanche/Envers du plan. Deep, fresh powder and an icey, Bumpy track back to town. A good day- Perhaps better to have been on a bigger pow ski but still the Lo5’s put a smile on my face and gave me a good day out for sure. They handled the bumps very well and kept me on the straight and narrow (track).



Day 2: Y Couloir on the Aiguille d’Argentiere. Steep (up to 50 degrees) decent in perfect cold snow. 1200m up and 2650m down in a day up to 3900m. I felt super confortable and secure on the Lo5’s putting in jump turns in the steep and narrow couloir and they felt light on my back during the hike up. Skiing the Grande Montet homerun (red run) in the failing/flat light was a breeze. They handled very well on the piste with good carve ability.



Day 3: Col hopping in the Aiguille Rouge. We wanted to ski a steep north facing couloir but ended up skiing a sloppy south face with variable snow and some fun drops to get through the rock bands. The ski’s handled all the messy snow well. They delt with the cunderballs, debris, powder, semi corn and icey track in equal measures and again I appreciated the low weight as we spent most of the day going up.



Day 4: South Couloir of the Aiguille De l’Eboulement. 1500m of vert in a day and 2250m down in variable snow, which was mostly breakable crust. Tricky skiing for sure and not really that pleasant. Only a massive reverse camber ski would have been fun on the way down. I still felt glad to have the Lo5’s on my feet as they were predictable to turn on the steeps and the early tip rise helped no end in the crust.



All in all a pretty full on week in Cham. All kinds of snow experienced and I’m still loving the Lo5’s as my touring ski. As a light and reliable SKIMO tool these pretty much hit the nail on the head and would be a good companion to any Climber or Ski Mountaineers/ Tourer who needs a reliable and predictable yet fun ski to rip the resort, pow, steeps and bumps with ease.



Other info:

I mounted My Plum Guides 1cm forward from the line with quiver killer inserts. I have the 178 and my set up is exactly 4Kg in total.











editors note:



Dave and my buddy Jerry, a ski patroler in Montana, have been ripping and raving on theLo5s this season.



Jerry's comments on the Lo5.



Dane -

Snow here has been so thin I have only skied them once (but am going for three days starting saturday). I took them up to Bridger on a day with 6-8 inches of very cold powder (@0-10F) and a firm base. Skied bumps, pow, chop, nd a few rocks. Was skiing with a former US Team member and his son so we were mostly hauling ass.



I didn't know when I ordered these that they were the same dimensions as my 165 Kilowatts (the sportivas are 178) so I have a good comparison although the BDs are around five years old. Both have dynafits mounted.



My first impression is that I now get it when they say the early rise skis seem short. These feel about the same as the BDs - not a bad thing except for steep bumps where a longer ski would be better. That sounds counterintuitive but this ski in a 188 would really smooth out the foreandaft. Even with a more traditional boot (I was skiing the green dynafit),youjust can't get that tip to do much. Opposite on the powder and chop where they require no effort. They are more fun than my Fischer Wateas at 114 atthe waist. More control and feel. No issues on the packed and I couldcarvepretty easy with an upright over the feet stance (I ski a lot like Pierceand Arnold - not as well but standing pretty upright).



As a one quiver ski I think they would be fine if you kept them out of thefirm bumps (did I mention these were really firm bumps). Since I have nointerest in skiing that sort of terrain I would ski them every day at BS. Would like to try the 188s. I patrol on a big Dynastar Legend at 188and really enjoy them and think the Low 5 in that length would be stellarespecially at about a third the weight. I think the sidecut is the newstandard for an all round ski and have no problem keeping an edge in firm spring snow.



I've never skied the DPS so can't say how them compare but based on talkingwith those that own them they either come with a lifetime supply ofcocaineor are some of the best skiing boards out there. (DB sez: Its true, the DPS do ski well ;-) For me and how and whereIlike to ski the Lo5 is going to be fine. I spend more and more time in the BC taking tours and skiing open faces and tight chutes. This ski is goingtoreplace my BDs, save weight, and give more float skinning and skiing -what's not to like?

J.



Here in the PNW, on Cascade Cement much of the time I have been using the Hi5 for the last two seasons going on three now. I still haven't found anything to replace them and I have a a few more pairs of skis now. So it isn't without trying. More on the Hi5 here:



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//10/la-sportiva-hi5-rock.html



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//06/la-sportiva-hi5-skis.html

The Desert

This is out on the desert near where I sometimes ride. On this day I walking my Border Collie Tuffee. You can see the Sandia Mountains in the distance. Albuquerque is hiden between us and the mountains down along the Rio Grande valley.

Cycling Shorts: Care and Rotation

The process of laundering padded bicycle shorts has confused me for as long as I've worn them. Over the summer I cycled pretty much every day, which meant having to wash the one pair of shorts I owned every night (the shorts were wool, but the chamois still had to be washed). After several months of this the shorts looked like they'd been dragged through the hedge backwards, and I am sure the frequent washing and wringing caused this at least as much as the wear. The same happened in the fall/winter season with my synthetic tights. I've tried different techniques, washing by hand in the sink in the most gentle manner possible. I also try to wash just the chamois area and not the entire short, which speeds drying time and decreases wear on the rest if the fabric. Now that I have a new pair of special club-embroidered shorts, I don't want them to meet the same fate as my old ones. Is there a special soap I'm supposed to use? Is there a way to dry the shorts overnight without wringing them out?



The other day I received the packing list for CORPSCamp - my upcoming 5 day trip to Death Valley - and this list says to pack 5 pairs of cycling shorts. As in, one for each day. I was kind of shocked to see that, and suddenly felt like that kid at school who gets made fun of for wearing the same outfit every day. Are you seriously telling me that cyclists own that many shorts? What about the people I ride with who always wear their club's kit - do they own multiple pairs of identical shorts, so it just looks like they're wearing the same thing?..The logistics are mystifying.



So let me ask this straight out: Assuming you are a roadcyclist, how many pairs of bicycle shorts do you have in rotation at a time? And how do you launder them?

Jake's Peaches

Last April I told the world the story of Jake's peach tree - the saga of a Harry & David peach pit, planted a few years ago by my sister and her husband and son Jake. In its fourth spring the tree burst into beautiful pink bloom and Red and her family hoped there would be peaches.

Next came a photo of the developing green fruit and then in July the photo above showed them beginning to color.

A week ago my sister Red sent this photo of the ripening fruit with the guy who planted the tree and had faith that it would grow and bloom.


And she also sent a photo of some peaches in a bowl. They weren't huge, but they were beautiful peaches!


When a recycled Harry & David box arrived this afternoon - I had to share the joy!





Dear Family,
There's a light fruity fragrance already - maybe Philo and I can sample one of these very special peaches tomorrow. Thank you all - I can't believe you did this!


And Red - sure hope you and sister Josie will have a chance to get to Mamma Mia soon if you haven't already been to the theater together.
I wrote about seeing it this week with my friend MSS over here at Annie's Addendum and don't think there are any real "spoilers' in my post.


I bought the CD yesterday - guess what - the booklet has all the words, so by the time the DVD comes out - I'll be ready.


Now I just hope you are as thrilled with the movie as we are with the peaches!

Through the Valley of Fire

Wednesday, November 30th - - The road led me south from Zion National Park. My destination for the night was the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas.



I arrived about an hour before sunset and the sun was casting a warming glow over the landscape. The park's website (link above) tells us that “The Valley of Fire derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, 150 million years ago. Complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion, have created the present landscape.”





As you drive around the park, numerous formations jut out above the desert floor.



The formations were piles of swirling rock. It was like Mother Nature had dipped her hand into a bowl of whipped cream and mixed it up to form these incredible rocks.







Wind and rain have added their “artistic touch” to the formations to produce a dazzling display.



Thursday, December 1st - - High winds and rain came through the valley last night. The van was buffeted around quite a bit and if there had been room in the campsite I would have turned the van so that it was facing into the wind. It wouldn't have been quite so bad then. But, from what I've heard, the winds through the Valley of Fire were not nearly as bad as those in California. I've been through a few other bad storms and this compares to some of the worst. I was glad to see the sun come out in the morning, but that didn't last long either.



Rather than stay and be miserable in the wind, rain, and cold air I continued on my drive south.

Bee in a Blossom

These little bees are helping pollinate my squash plants.