The Clipless Ambush: a Tale of Failure

Well, my first encounter with clipless pedals occurred sooner than I anticipated. Last week the Co-Habitant decided to update his pedals, and the new set arrived in the mail today... which meant that he could gift me his old ones. I thought that surely this gifting would take place some time in the future - a distant, abstract future. But no. Cheerfully he attached them to one of our vintage roadbikes right then and there, so that I could give them a try. Don't get me wrong, I myself had expressed interest in this. But... I don't know, I just didn't expect it to happen immediately!



I already owned a pair of compatible shoes, having bought them on clearance last summer "just in case." With apprehension I watched him attach the cleats to the soles, trying to gauge the correct position. I then put them on and dragged the bike over to the kitchen sink, so that I could hold on to the edge with one hand as I tried to figure out how the contraptions worked.



I expected that clipping in would be relatively easy, but clipping out difficult. It was the opposite. At first I could not to clip in. I tried and tried, but my foot stayed on top of the pedal and the mechanism would not engage no matter how hard I pressed. I struggled to figure out what I was doing wrong, but the explanation turned out to be simple: I am a weakling. We had to loosen the tension almost to the max for my foot to engage the mechanism. Even after that, I still had trouble pressing down with enough force and in the exact position necessary for the cleat to catch. Clipping out, on the other hand, was intuitive: the sideways twist of the foot is exactly the same motion required to get out of Power Grips, so I found it natural.Transitioning from the kitchen sink to the trainer, I practiced for some time, clipping in and out successfully. I then decided it was time to go outside. I felt pretty confident at this point. Nothing to this.

It was around 10 pm and the small side street behind our house was well lit and empty of cars. Confidently, I carried the bike outdoors, swung my leg over the top tube, and clipped in my right foot. Now all I had to do was push off, coast for a bit, then put my left foot back down on the ground. That would be such an easy first step. No different from Power Grips. Just need to do it. Now. Go! But... it was not to be. Like some malfunctioning marionette, I kept clipping and unclipping my right foot, trying to mentally force myself to push off, but it wasn't working; nothing was happening. The amused Co-Habitant offered to stand at the end of the street and "catch me" if I found myself unable to unclip when I got there. But imagining that just made it worse. It began to feel as if I'd forgotten how to ride a bike entirely.

There is no redeeming ending to this story. After a good ten minutes I gave up and went back inside, my head hung low in shame. Obviously I am just not ready.

Aside from the tale of failure, I have some observations about the shoe and pedal set-up. I can't find the model name of the shoes, but in retrospect getting clipless shoes with laces was silly. Being stiff and unyielding, they are difficult to put on and tighten, and it's a pain to tuck the laces under the velcro. I am also not sure these pedals are right for me. They are Shimano SPD 520s: mountain bike style, double sided and with a very small surface area. I know that many love this type of pedal, but to me it felt like not enough of my foot was connected. Pedaling on the trainer, I had the sensation that there was too much pressure on the spot where the cleat meets the pedal and that a larger contact area would have been better. Maybe these particular shoes are not stiff enough, or maybe I would do better with a different style of pedals. There seems to be a consensus that the mountain bike clipless system is easier than the road system, but I wonder whether I might prefer the latter. Unfortunately, there is no way to try these things out.

Navigating the world of clipless shoes and pedals is complicated, and at the moment it seems best to postpone it... at least until I am brave enough to use the ones I have beyond the confines of my kitchen!

Gunks Routes: Silhouette (5.7+) & Moby Dick (5.8), plus Keep on Struttin' (5.9)

(Photo: David almost to the GT Ledge on Silhouette (5.7+).)




Last Sunday I met up with David to climb in the Gunks. The weather was gorgeous and I was feeling pretty good. I wanted to hit one of the 5.10's on my list, and for some reason I was focused on Feast of Fools.




I also wanted to do some other climbs in that same area. I hadn't done much in this little section of the cliff. Apart from Hans' Puss (5.7 and a great route all the way to the top), I had not done any of the climbs on the buttress that sits to the right of the Arrow wall. I was interested not just in Feast of Fools, but also the two hard 5.9+ routes on this buttress: Proctoscope and Proctor Silex. I was also intrigued by Silhouette (5.7+), a climb to which Dick Williams grants two stars in his guidebook but which he also warns is not for the beginning 5.7 leader. I was even interested in an obscure 5.8 on the far-right edge of the buttress called Man's Quest for Flight.




Silhouette seemed like a nice way to begin the day, in spite of its PG-R rating. It sounded like the part with thin pro was right off the starting ledge. I wasn't too worried about handling the 5.7 climbing, provided I could find the route and not feel lost.I figured I could always back off if I didn't like the look of things.




It is easy to spot the starting ledge/pedestal for Silhouette from the ground. It is about 40 feet off the deck and the usual way to get there is to scramble in from the right, passing the start of Andrew and actually beginning the climb a fair distance off the ground. When we arrived, however, there was a party on Andrew. To avoid getting in their way we elected to climb directly up to the pedestal from the bottom, starting just slightly to its right. This climbing is easier than 5.7 and the pro is fine. Soon enough I found myself on the little ledge atop the pedestal contemplating the PG/R section of the climb.




There are a number of placement opportunities right at the top of the pedestal. I put a good cam in one of these slots and then began the real business of the pitch. The line isn't completely obvious but there are good holds-- just follow the path of least resistance, trending left off the little shelf at first, and then back right. After a few moves I found some gear and a piton, and shortly after this, as I placed another piece, I realized I must have cleared the supposed PG/R section. I guess that until you get some gear, you might hit the little ledge at the start if you fall. So I don't argue with the protection rating. But still, I don't think this climb is poorly protected by Gunks standards. There are many many more poorly protected PG climbs at the Gunks, see for example Moonlight (which we climbed later the same day). I thought the gear on Silhouette was fine.




And the climbing is great. The route wanders up the face to a roof and then you work your way to the edge of the roof on the right (where there is another pin) and pull over. The climbing up to this point is very nice but then the real fun begins, as the route follows a vertical crack system all the rest of the way to the GT Ledge. This is a good hand/fist crack. You could jam the whole thing (which I should have made myself do, for practice), but you don't need to as there are other holds. You can throw in a jam whenever you like, though, and in this section above the little roof pro is always available. The hardest moves on Silhouette are in this section, and it is G-rated all the way.




The way we did Silhouette, in one pitch to the GT Ledge and starting from the ground, it is a rope-stretcher. I was almost at the very end of Dave's 60 meter ropes by the time I made it to the GT Ledge. There was enough rope left for me to set up the belay on the ledge, but not much more.




Silhouette is a great route. It has interesting movement, good rock, and varied situations. Keep your head together for the first few moves and you'll be fine.









(Photo: Dave heading up Andrew (5.4) off the GT Ledge, on the way to the obvious V-notch of Moby Dick (5.8).)




Once we made it to the GT Ledge Dave decided to lead Moby Dick (5.8), a variation that starts up Andrew (5.4) but then veers left to an obvious V-notch when Andrew traverses right. There is another variation called Android (5.8) which starts further to the right and then crosses Andrew to arrive at Moby Dick's V-notch. It doesn't seem that either Android or Moby Dick is very popular, despite the fact that you can see Moby Dick's notch from the ground and it just begs to be climbed. I had never done it so I was happy to follow Dave up Moby Dick.









(Photo: In the V-notch of Moby Dick (5.8), placing pro.)




Dave made pretty quick work of it. It looked like an interesting traverse left and then a few good moves through the notch.




When I got up there I found it highly worthwhile. The move left to get under the notch is airy and then getting through the crux takes technique. The obvious comparison is V-3, a very popular 5.7 climb with a fun V-notch. Moby Dick's notch is harder and a bit longer. On V-3, as soon as you get your back into the notch you're basically done. Moby Dick, by contrast, is more of a stem problem with a few moves in succession. Good climbing and unusual, with good pro.




The only negative to Moby Dick is that it takes fifty feet of so-so 5.4 climbing to get to the good stuff. I suppose this is where the 5.8 Android start comes in to save the day. I'll have to try that some time. The guidebook description is confusing, but I bet when you get up there it all makes sense.




After we got back down to the ground I went to look at Feast of Fools but it was a nightmare over there. A large party had a top rope on Feast and another group was laying siege to Supper's Ready (5.12). It was all to be expected on a beautiful Sunday, but I was still disappointed. I consoled myself by knocking off a couple of 5.9's that I've been wanting to lead for a while: No Glow andKeep on Struttin'.




I was particularly happy about Keep on Struttin', a 5.9 that in my opinion has at least two little sections of 5.10 on it. I linked pitches two and three together into one lead. This combined pitch has to be one of the very best pitches in the Gunks. Both of the roof sections are solid 5.9 challenges but to me the cruxes come, first, at the thin moves below the first roof right off the GT Ledge, and second, at another face move off of a poor intermediate crimp right after you clip the bolt. Then after you make this hard move up to the good holds you have to move left through the pumpy roof. Here the main challenge is to place pro without flaming out. I think my solution is a good one. If you lean left from the stance above the bolt, placing a good cam as far to the left as you can reach, you can make the next few moves to the awesome horn without placing anything else. Then, with the horn in your grip, you can place one more piece and then gun it up over the overhang.




After the second roof, as you enter the traditional pitch three of Keep on Struttin', the character of the route changes completely, to a beautiful technical corner plus a few more interesting reaches around obstacles, all on that great white Arrow rock that you find on many of the upper pitches in this part of the Trapps. What a fantastic line!




After leading No Glow and Keep on Struttin' (and, I admit, flailing for a while trying to follow Dave up the bouldery start of Three Vultures (5.9)), I was feeling hot and tired, and my fingertips were sore. I decided to forget about 5.10 for the day and cool us down with Moonlight (5.6), which I hadn't done in nearly five years. It was a great finish to the day, but it merits its own post. Watch this space for my exciting account of Moonlight, yesterday and today!

Sweet FA (First Ascent)

You've worn his kneepads.

You've read his forum.

You've done his training.

Now let's see him climb.



You know the rules: If you bolt a new route, it's your project. No questions.However, if you leave the State it all gets a bit ambiguous.

William Monks bolted an extension to Friends in High Places, leading intobrave new territory between Gasoline Rainbow and Cleared for Take Off.



Willmade a public announcement opening the project on29th July .

By 10:00am on the 30th Lee had sent it.

The lower section is in common withsedate and slopy Friends in High Places 21





But the top goes nuts !

Along the way there's some spectacular scenery, big strong moves, razor sharp edges and the odd kneebar.













Did I mention the kneebars?





That is one spooky top out.

Climbers, you know the feeling: You are a long way off the deck, your rope is coming from below the overhang, everything slopes the wrong way, and you are pumped spastic.







Lee displays his trophy. The faded red tape that once marked the route's ownership to Mr Monks.

Thanks Will, for a terrifying new addition to an already intimidating wish list at Coolum Cave.

Tentatively graded 26.



Photo: Sam Cujes

Senior climbing photographer and style director from jjobrienclimbing was there to get the story.



jj

On Bicycle Maintenance and Limitations

Some food for thought for those who believe that all cyclists must do their own maintenance and repairs: Not everybody has the physical strength for it. I've lately spoken to several persons who have sheepishly admitted this, and were then relieved to hear that I have the same problem. My personal weak point is lack of hand and upper body strength, which can result in difficulties with even routine tasks. For example, I am not always able to open the quick release levers on wheels. On some bikes it's easy, but on other bikes I simply can't - no matter how hard I pull. Similarly, tires can be difficult to get off the rim: With some wheel and tire combinations I can work the tire iron until I am red in the face, but it won't budge and the tire refuses to come off. It is frustrating, because with many bicycle repair tasks I can give precise step-by-step instructions to someone else, but just can't physically do the work myself. And it's even more frustrating to watch the Co-Habitant do in 2 seconds what took me 10 minutes of pantingnot to be able to do.



From the correspondence I get, I know that there are cyclists out there who feel sad when they read unkind remarks on bicycle websites about those who don't do their own maintenance. If bicycle repair is easy for you, that's super. But please keep in mind that it is not easy for everybody. After all, just because knitting and sewing are easy for me, does not mean that everyone who buys their clothes ready-made is "just being lazy." Some people have arthritis, others have a bad back, others still are simply not strong enough - or even not dextrous enough - to work on their own bicycle. In areas where cycling is more common, this is acknowledged as "normal" and people are not expected to repair their own bikes unless they are enthusiasts. But in the US there is often an "oh please!" mentality when a cyclist mentions that they don't work on their own bicycle.



The way I see it, it is helpful to be aware of your limitations and to plan accordingly.If you can't repair a flat, accept it - and be prepared. Buy tires with good puncture protection. Know where all the bike shops are in the area where you travel, in case there is a problem and you need support. Know where the nearest subway, train and bus stations are. Carry a mobile phone, cash and a credit/debit card as a matter of course, in case you are stranded in the middle of nowhere and need to call a friend or a taxi to get you. And most importantly, please don't feel bad if you can't do repairs on your own - you can certainly still ride a bike! We are all good at some things and bad at others, and there is not a thing wrong with that.

Rolling Log

Here is one of the logs coming into shore. It was rolling in the water as the tide came in. It couldn't go out due to the rock behind it, and seemed to be taking it's time coming on in. We didn't get to near as you could tell it was very heavy and would be deadly if a big wave were to pick it up and throw it on to the beech. We took it's photo and wondered on.

This and That

You can get with this

or you can get with that

Sometimes I wear a helmet



sometimes I wear a hat



Sometimes I work from home

with my lovely assistants



Sometimes I go on rides

in the cold wearing mittens



Sometimes I ride with others

sometimes I ride alone



Taking wacky pictures

with my camera phone



meeting nice people



eating hot soup



climbing hills along the

Concord-Lexington loop



Now let's all get cozy

with a warm cup of java



Or how about a crazy

wool balaclava?



Enjoy your weekend

and the beauty outside



No matter what you're into

it's time for a ride!

Oh, Dark of Night

A couple of nights ago the dogs decided they had to take a midnight stroll under the moon, actually it was about 3 am. After a few minutes I went to the door to call them in as I won't leave them outside while I am sleeping. As mostly happens they wait until I doze off then bark for me to come let them in.



Having 4 cats in the house I know better than to do more than crack the door so the dogs can come in without a cat getting out. Cats out at night have no chance due to the large coyote population we have which is another reason I don't like to leave the dogs out at night.

Usually the cats are good and don't even try to get out if it is dark out. But this night Wiley, our 'wild child black cat' decided to slip under our shepherd cross, Ziva, as she was coming in. And he was off!

So was I. I knew if I ever let him get away I would never see him again what with coyotes yelping over in the arroyo about a half mile away.

I had on a thin nightgown, thin robe, and floppy slippers. And we live on a sand dune. So as soon as I ran out there was sand flipping up into my slippers. The only good the slippers were doing was to keep me from stepping on a sticker. Or some kind of creepy night bug wondering across the driveway. Wiley ran under the Chevy truck, then under the old car, and then over to and under the horse trailer. I ran to the trailer and knelt down to peak under it. I saw two big yellow eyes glaring at me. Wiley is a black cat so only his eyes showed up. "Here, Wiley. Come here, you devil." I kept calling and almost cussing him as he would move around under the trailer and I went round and round it trying to grab him before he could take off for the far places around our property. The trailer is about 3 feet from the fence where the ponies are so I quickly had two ponies coming over to see if they could join the funny game being played in the middle of the night. I think they probably thought it was great to have some entertainment as nothing much happens to get their attention at night. Once Wiley almost made it to the fence but ran into a black pony nose and returned to the trailer.

Not only did I have the ponies watching my antics to catch the cat but the dogs were doing their best to help by chasing him back under the trailer just as I would reach to grab him. And then I noticed there were about 3 cars driving by. At 3 in the morning? We don't hardly get any traffic at that time but we did that night. I don't know that the people in the cars actually saw me but I was sure they did and were about to call the men with the funny jacket that fastens in the back - the one for crazy people.

I guess Wiley decided the game had gone on long enough as he came barely within reach and I got my fingers in his fur at the back of his neck. "Got ya, Cat." He was firmly in my arms and we headed for the house. The amusing sight of the crazy women chasing a black cat in the dark was over.



The next evening we were eating supper on the sun room that over looks the back yard. It was only about 5:30 and still very light. We saw a coyote walk up to the back fence and smell the small hole in the fence that we cut for the quail to use as they don't like to fly over the fence to get to the water we keep out for them. Of course Wiley uses the same hole to get to the several acres of native desert land that is behind us where he hunts for rats, mice, lizards. We do let the cat out some in the day other wise he gets cranky and goes from door to door meowing pitifully while jumping on the other cats picking fights. We were glad he was in the house at the time the coyote came by and he didn't get out again until late the next day even though he did a lot of complaining.











Here are the 3 photos I got of the coyote. First one is by one of our apple trees with the coyote at the fence. If you look close you can see it's nose below the tree leaves. The next photo he turned and looked away from the tree. And the last photo is of him walking along the fence. Sorry, no good photo of it's face.

The Castle Snow Pit and a big temperature gradient!

Howdy Everyone!
This week's snow pit was dug in the Tatoosh Range on the east side of The Castle. General observations: 10 cm of great powder on top of a hard, multi-layered, 10 cm crust. As you can see from the graph there are two thin ice layers with softer snow beneath both. The layer of most concern is between 17 and 20 cm deep. Small faceted crystals (i.e., angular crystals) were observed in this layer, which can be expected due to the large temperature gradient in the top part of the snow pack. (Any time the temperature gradient exceeds 1oC over 10cm, the potential exists for faceting.)
Stability tests did not show any propagation, but failures were consistent at 18 cm. The Rutschblock Test showed a failure at 10 cm (the interface between the powder and the icy crust). But I have to admit, the crust was so icy that I slipped before I could get in a good jump on the block.
In summary, the strong temperature gradient and faceted crystals are signs of instability in the snow pack. However, the near- surface crusts are very strong, and seem to be adequately supporting sun-seeking recreationists.Great skiing conditions can be found where the wind hasn't scoured off the powder. Terrain and conditions will vary, so stay alert out there! More precip is headed our way for the weekend. Get out while you can.

It's Looking Better...

One day this past week was spent at the Allen County Public Library attempting to determine the validity of the statement made in an article by Carrie Bray in 1949 that her great-grandfather (my 3rd great-grandfather) John Bray had arrived in Indiana on March 5, 1816.



An affidavit by Daniel Bray in the Revolutionary War pension file of his father John Bray, stated that “Some time in the early part of the year 1816, he went to the land office of Cincinnati to enter the North East quarter of Section No 25, town No 2, range 3 West. That owing to some mistake in the land office he could not effect an entry and he was obliged to return home and that his father John Bray, then went to the office and entered the said quarter...”



So the “problem” was: When was the land actually purchased and why did Daniel state that it was in Range 3?



The book “Indiana Land Entries Volume I” by Margaret R. Waters, published in 1948, contains the records for Indiana that are from the Cincinnati Land Office. It covers the area known as the “wedge” in the southeast corner of the state.







The map above shows the status of the Indiana Territory in 1810 with the four counties in existence at the time: of Knox (Kn), Harrison (Har), Clark (Clk), and Dearborn (Dea). The “wedge” mentioned in the Waters book was the area known as Dearborn county in 1810 as well as neighboring portions of Clark County.







By 1814 there were a few more counties in the Indiana Territory. Franklin and Wayne counties were created in 1811 while Switzerland was created in 1814 from that Dearborn “wedge” area as well as from portions of other counties. The two maps above are from the Genealogy Inc. website.



In the introduction of her book, Margaret R. Waters states that the records were copied solely for genealogical purposes to enable a searcher to learn if an ancestor located in Indiana and if so, where and when. To save time and space the acreage and final certificate numbers were omitted. A minimum amount of information is given (name, property description, date of entry) but enough to determine if the person of interest entered land in what would become the state of Indiana.







At the top of page 79 was the entry for John Bray showing that he entered the “NE 1/4 of S25 on 3-5-1816”. The line just below John, includes the name of Edward Ray who may be the same person who married Jane Bray, daughter of John. The previous page (78) showed that the land was in Switzerland County in T2N, R4W of the 1st PM (Township 2 North, Range 4 West of the 1st Principal Meridian).







The map above (from the Waters book) shows the “wedge” area of land from the Cincinnati Land Office included in the book “Indiana Land Entries Volume I”.







This enlarged portion of the previous map shows the townships that comprise Switzerland County. The dotted lines show the boundaries of Switzerland and Ohio Counties. (Ohio County was created in 1844 from Dearborn.) The land that John Bray purchased was in T2N R4W, which is in that tiny red triangle bordering Range 3 West.







Portion of a Switzerland County Map from the My Indiana Home website showing the location of Braytown in Craig Township.



Luckily for me, the Allen County Public Library has a series of microfilms called “Ohio Land Records” which includes the records of the Cincinnati Land Office. Film OLR-110 contained “Cincinnati Land Office Entries, 1814-1829” and it was even indexed by page number. Most of the page numbers were missing or illegible but it didn't take long to find his entry since I had the date he entered the land.







Cropped portion of the page showing the entry for John Bray (last entry on the image). The date at the top shows the transaction was made on March 5th 1816. The text in the column on the right states “John Bray of Franklin County applied to enter the North East quarter of Section 25 Town 2 Range 4 West - Containing 159 44/100 acres and produces the Receiver's Receipt No 30668 dated this day for $79 72/100 amt [?] being the one fourth part of the purchase money of said quarter Section of Land.”



So it seems that the date of March 5, 1816 as given by Carrie Bray in her 1949 article correlates to the date of purchase of the land. It also confirms the statement made by Daniel Bray in his affidavit that he went to the land office in Cincinnati “some time in the early part of the year 1816”.



But there was a surprise in the land entry document - the statement that John Bray was “of Franklin County”.



In searching the web for information, I came across the site Cincinnati Land Office Records, which appears to be a part of the Ohio Memory project even though those records are not included in their list of collections. The site contains images of the original land patents issued to the purchasers. There are only a little over 300 documents currently online but it is going to be an awesome site when they get more documents published. Anyway, at the bottom of the second paragraph of “About this collection” it states

“In certain instances it has been impossible to determine the correct state of origin of the purchaser; generally this is due to the fact that both Indiana and Ohio have identically-named counties, such as Franklin County. In these cases, both Ohio and Indiana have been listed as the state of origin.”

So that might present a little problem. However, Franklin County, Indiana is so very close to Switzerland County while Franklin County, Ohio is further north and east, closer to the central part of Ohio. Since we don't know the whereabouts of John Bray between 1805 and 1816 (as mentioned in The Evidence at Hand) it is possible that he could have ventured further north, but I don't think so. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking on my part. If he was “of Franklin County, Indiana Territory” then that would be evidence that he was actually residing in the area and would definitely be eligible for membership in the Territorial Guard Society of Indiana.



We have the record of the land entry on March 5, 1816 and the statement by Daniel Bray that he, then his father John, went to the Cincinnati Land Office in the early part of 1816. Does that constitute enough evidence to be able to say that they were then residing in the Indiana Territory?



What other records exist during that time period that can be used to help substantiate the claim that John Bray resided in the Indiana Territory in 1816?