Woodsy idyll

The kind of thing you think you'd be geting away from out in the woods

Happy Hour at the Zukas

We love a good Happy Hour and we really love them when they are hosted by someone as fun as John and Shelly. They threw the first Happy Hour of at their place, which was conveniently located right in front of the pickleball courts.



As usual, there was tons of food and lots of fun friends. John entertained us by teaching us a game that started with "the moon is round".



Some of us tried to figure out the trick behind this unique game.











You can see the crowd trying to figure it out too:



After that, John and Julia entertained us with a joke each.







Since we were right there, some of us headed over to play some pickleball. I didn't get any pictures but you can see them on Rich and Donna's Blog. It was a great night!

Wind Again

Visiting Rich and Donna at The Villages

We planned to take a trip to visit Rich and Donna the weekend that we were visited by the tropical storm, so we moved it to this past weekend. It was well worth the wait! We have only been to The Villages to visit when we were buying pickleball paddles and we did not even begin to truly see all this interesting place has to offer.



I decided while there that if I did not love to travel, this place would be where I could easily settle in and never want to leave again. The place is beautiful. Everything is manicured, perfectly decorated and laid out in a well planned, easily navigated fashion.



There is more to do here than I could ever fit in during my lifetime and most of it is things I love to do, like pickleball. There are reasonably priced restaurants, stores, movie theaters and town squares with entertainment every single night of the year. There are recreation centers full of every fun thing you can imagine to do! We might just have to be part time residents at some point and travel part of the year!



During our visit, we were able to play pickleball both days. Donna and I played at one place, the guys played at another. We had not played in months so it was great to play again. In the afternoon, the guys played again while we girls did other things. The first afternoon we went to play Bunco, which I had not played before. I loved it. Donna introduced me to So You Think You Can Dance so the second afternoon we watched some of those shows, which I loved! We also had happy hour and frozen yogurt. We visited both town squares, had a boat ride and learned more about The Villages history and ate at great restaurants. We were spoiled rotten and I loved every minute of it.



We were able to cram in so much and yet the weekend flew by way too fast. We ate dinner together before we had to head back home, and as was everything else during our trip: it was wonderful. Great food and great entertainment.







Thank you again Rich and Donna for such a wonderful weekend! We hope we can squeeze in that one more trip before you head back to Wauchula!

Anti-Theft Cozy

Spotted around Harvard Square, this road bike is sporting a green knitted U-lock cover!

Knitting a "cozy" for your U-Lock is a fabulous and pretty hilarious idea. But if I think about it, there might be more to it. The hand-knitted cover humanizes the owner of the bicycle. It calls attention to the deeply personal anxieties over the safety of our cherished belongings. If cruel acts are possible because the perpetrator depersonalises the victim, then perhaps this piece of knitted handywork will disrupt that process by evoking empathy.

Edited to add: After searching for "knitted U-Lock cover" on google, I've discovered this post from Bikes and the City. Bi-coastal trend?

The Other Side of the Road

Back in Boston for a few days, I am in re-adjustment limbo - feeling tentative, not altogether present. Everything here is so familiar - the roads, the sounds, the smells, the people. And at the same time it all feels utterly strange, as if replaced with a hologram of the real thing. A muggy heat engulfs me when I exit the airport, giving the landscape that hazy, blurry, flickering look.



In this disoriented state, I decide to join my cycling club's Tuesday morning 100K ride. I need to feel more solid, planted, integrated into reality - and I realise this is the best way I know how. The thought irritates me. Since when did cycling turn into this? This... defining thing, this part of my chemical composition?



In the morning, logistics are irrelevant. I pull together a mismatched outfit from the hamper. I don't have my roadbike, so I grab the cyclocross bike that still lives at my house. And then I push off - on the right ("wrong!" my brain screams) side of the road, in morning commuter traffic. On autopilot, I weave my way to the Ride Studio Cafe and the miles between us disappear.



No one knows I am coming, not evenPamela. Reluctant to admit to myself that I miss her, I nonetheless watch the door in anticipation, until there she is - platinum braids thick as ropes,tanned slender limbs,Southern accent and all. She is duly surprised by my presence and we talk in bursts, in the way of friends who have not talked in some time. "You think I'll be okay on this bike?" I point to the fat all-terrain tires. Pamela waves it away nonchalantly, as if to say "Bikes! What do they matter. Let's go."



Of course everyone but me is on skinny tire racing bikes. The thought that this might be brutal drifts through my mind.The Tuesday rides are described as "social pace," but of course for me that means "best effort pace."My eyes are swollen from lack of sleep and my legs ache from the sum of all earlier rides. I realise that brutal might actually feel good right about now. Again, I am irritated at the thought. Now why would brutal feel good, what on earth is wrong with me?



It is obscenely hot and the turnout is low today. The 5 of us set off in a single file and stay that way for most of the ride. Remarkably, I am in the middle of the group, rather than struggling behind it. My legs turn the pedals as I play a little game I learned in Ireland, called "same cadence, bigger gear." It is a fun, but painful game. I have played it for 10, 20 miles at a time before. Today I would play it for 60.



We arrive in Harvard, MA, eat lunch, then climb to the Fruitlands. On top, we stop at the side of the road to take in the view of surrounding mountains. After Northern Ireland, this strikes me as funny, that there is a specific destination with "the view." Over there, the landscape is so open that the view is everywhere. As you're riding, you can see for miles and miles - undulating glens, the sea, the entire Sperrins mountain range, even the hills of Donegal across the water. By contrast New England is so woodsy that you seldom see beyond your immediate surroundings; it is as if you are riding through a tunnel the entire time. Psychologically this feels very different. Riding through forests turns me inward; riding through glens opens me up.



The descents here feel tame compared to what I've been doing in previous weeks. On the other hand, the condition of the roads is even worse than I remembered - enormous cracks, ridges, gaping ditch-sized holes in the crumpling pavement - stunning when you're not used to it. But the texture of the pavement itself is smoother. In Ireland, the tarmac is a sort of chipseal, its surface nearly as rough as gravel at times.



By the afternoon, the heat has reached its apex and we all feel it. We start to take breaks now. We groan, we pour water over our jerseys. I am drained, but also lulled into a pleasurable trance by the intense scent of pine trees in the heat - this is something I've missed.My legs are leaden and I am caked in salt, but I give it one last push, inspired by Scott's relentless pace. Scott is a strong rider, whose compact, muscular body looks like a purpose-built machine when he pedals. I focus on staying on his wheel. Even though I know he is controlling his speed for my sake, just being able to follow him like this feels unreasonably good. Then I push further still and lead for the last couple of miles.



Back at the club house I hear "Hey, you're back!" The familiar voices are as welcome as the blast of air conditioning that greets us. Suddenly shy from the attention and the disconcerting sense of ...what's the word I'm looking for, belonging? I mumble "Yes... Well no, I'm only here for a couple of days." But with my legs weighing me down, Pamela sipping iced coffee at the bar, and the jungle of bikes suspended from the ceiling, I do start tofeel more grounded, and Boston starts to feel realer.

French Experiments Continue: Belleville Handlebars and Inverse Brake Levers

Spare bicycle parts, a restless spirit, and a willing "guinea pig" can make for a dangerous combination. In her latest reincarnation, Marianne sports VO Belleville handlebars and Dia Compe inverse brake levers - a practice run to determine how a similar set-up would feel on the Royal H. mixte.



Here are the bars and levers in all of their French glory - on a Motobecane mixte with an Ideale saddle.



The Belleville handlebars are similar to the Porteur handlebars shown here. Both are a classic style of upright bars found on vintage French city bicycles. These bars are narrow, with long gripping areas that are nearly parallel to each other - placing the rider's hands in a position similar to holding a tray. The Bellevilles are 5cm narrower than the Porteurs (43cm vs 48cm) and are completely straight across the front (whereas the Porteurs have a slight forward sweep).



It is typical to see handlebars like this fitted with inverse brake levers. My assumption is that this is done to maximise the gripping area of the bars. Because the levers are installed at the ends, there are no interruptions along the handlebar's surface and the cyclist is free to move their hands pretty much along the entire bar.



The inverse brake levers you will find today are most likely either Tektro or Dia Compe. Here I have installed the latter, and you can see that their brown rubbery tips go nicely with twined handlebars. It surprised me to learn that some dislike the Dia Compes because of the brown tips and prefer the Tektro levers instead - which are all-metal. To me, the rubbery surface felt nice, but I suppose it isa matter of personal preference. If you have used either of these levers, I'd like to hear your thoughts.



Braking with inverse levers. I have found that I am able to get pretty good leverage almost no matter where I hold my hand along the bar, with the exception of the very front.



Can't brake from here, near the corners. But if I move my hands 1-2 inches back, it will work. This set-up is amazingly versatile in terms of the hand positions it allows.



The inverse levers are set back from the bars far enough so that they do not interfere with the grip. You can see in the pictures that they are nowhere near my knuckles. Truly a neat design.



If you are curious about this type of French set up, both the bars and the levers are surprisingly inexpensive. You will like them if you are a fan of narrow handlebars, and if you prefer to hold your hands to the sides rather than flared out or straight in front of you. I certainly fit that description, so both the Belleville and the Porteur handlebars feel as if they were made just for me. The super-wide Albatross bars were comfortable enough, but with the Bellevilles and the Porteurs I get that "spot on!" feeling. I also think that they are better match for French bicycles - especially for the Motobecane's aggressive handling.



I will pause and confess here, that this is the last change I will be making to Marianne...because she no longer belongs to me. Yes, I did sell her after all - to a lovely local woman whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making this morning. Riding the Motobecane with the French handlebars and inverse levers yesterday, I finally felt that this bicycle was "perfect" and experienced a calm sense of satisfaction - not dissimilar to how I feel when a painting is finally "finished" or when a photograph looks just right. And after that, it finally felt appropriate to let her go. I hope the new owner enjoys her as much as I hope to enjoy my Royal H. mixte - which I will most definitely fit with a similar handlebar set-up.



Oh - and if anybody wants someNitto Albatross bars (the alloy version) or VO Milan bars, drop me a line. Thankfully, I have no more "spare" bicycles to put them on.

Good Day Sunshine

One of the things I love most about Florida is the sun. We are settling into our "winter" routine and enjoying being here again. I am really loving all of the sunshine after being in cloudy and rainy weather.





It was a bit cold today though. Not too cold to wear shorts while playing pickle ball and hiking by the river. But cold enough that at dusk, I could see my breath in the air. We built a campfire to keep us warm and at some point it was still too cold to be outside. I'm not complaining though. As long as the sun shines and I can be outside, I'm a happy girl.

Winking Kitty

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1941)

August 31 - 1941

The 32d Annual reunion of the Phend family was held at Nappanee Community Park Aug 31st 1941 with 47 present. The dinner was served at noon a little late but nevertheless seemed to be enjoyed by all.

The meeting or reunion of 1940 was cancelled on account of Infantile Paralys.

Business session then called to order by the Pres. Henry Phend

Officers elected for the ensuing year as follows
Pres Henry Phend
V. Pres Fred Ernest
Sec & Treas F. A. Wehrly

Motion made & 2d that the reunion be held at the same place next year, on the 4th Sun of August

Motion made & 2d that the present Pres. Be retained

Motion made & 2d that the present Sec & Treas be retained.

[page 2]
Motion made & 2d that Fred Ernest be V. Pres. Motion carried.

Motion made & 2d that Evelyn act as chairman of the entertainment committee.

Balance on hand $1.11
Coll 4.40
[balance] 5.57
Expenses last year 1.11
Expenses for park 1.00
Bal of 3.40
Ice Cream 2.00
Bal $1.40

Arrangements made for the use of South End of Pavillion for 1942 the sum of $2.50 for Pavillion.

Marriages for 1939 & 1940, 1941
Madeline Phend & John R. Walters
Josephine Phend & Lowell Poyser
Richard Ernest & Priscilla Kelley
Warren Pletcher & June Bosse
Robert Thornton & Lio Zman [Leona Zeman]
Harry Pletcher & Ruth Lyons
George Ernest & Florence Stickel

[page 3]
Births.
Judith & Sally [to] Mr & Mrs Donald Phend
Jerry Lee - to Mr & Mrs Lowell Poyser
Patsy Kay - to Mr & Mrs George Ernest
Judith Ann - to Mr & Mrs Guy Phend
June Ellen - to Mr & Mrs R. O. Bechtel
Edith Patrice - to Mr & Mrs H. L. Wehrly

Deaths.
Lulu Allen and Scott Allen - 1940
Wm Phend July 25 - 1941

A general good visit was had by all and some enjoyed a couple games and the small children had a good time on the slides & rides after which Ice Cream was served. All started for home seeming well pleased with the day well spent.

F. A. Wehrly Sec. & Treas.



The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Northern Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. The events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

Deerleap circular

With Harry and Esther. Fine, not too cold, bright. big puddles, but generally good underfoot. Just over 4 miles.


After a caffeine and scone boost at the Wildlife Centre's café, we walked to Deerleap car park , and along the track.

There is sun, somewhere

Then we turned right to follow a track through the woods, carrying straight on at the first junction, and eventually turning right.



None of us has seen ponies here before, but there were three, all with magnificent winter coats.



It was simply a question of following the track until we arrived back at the gate. From here it's about a mile back, retracing our steps.



Reflections and puddles:













of the route

Rock Magazine - the article.

I was asked to write a report for Rock Magazine.
I did. They didn't want it, and rightly so, it was a re-hash anyway, so here it is reheated and served up again. How embarrassment.





Style report

Readers of jjobrienclimbing.blogspot.com know that round here style triumphs over substance. Bookmark it, climber flavoured light infotainment. Fewer climbers get their latest hard ticking news from jjobrienclimbing than any other loosely climbing and fashion related excuse for a promo vehicle on the web. But they do get a face full of over-saturated snaps, gauche graphics and the occasional insight into the inner workings of Australia's climbing legends and crag hopefuls.

It's bright and brash and the text can be read from the top of a Chinese multi pitch, but for those who are unfamiliar, or just have no crimping idea what the blog is on about, I'll tell you what's driving it.

It's the desire to recognise the extraordinary in the familiar. To see the hero in everyone, Numpty to Rockgod. Lee Cujes (Rockgod) put it well, it's "The rockstar treatment for the everyman".



My desire to expose every climber to a wider online audience outgrew the reach of my blog and my camera. And so "I Fucking Love Climbing" the bastard Facebook child of the illegitimate blog was born. The jjobrien photo search team have invested inappropriately long and late hours to digging through YOUR online albums. You thought Google was invasive? If you climb, and you don't want to appear on the run-away success page, then tighten your privacy settings, wet down your firewalls or risk becoming the latest unwitting face of IFLC.

So in case you missed, or thought you had avoided, Queenslands' highest rating year in climbing and style here's a little re-chalk for you.



The female of the species, Monica Wormald, was the late surprise hit on IFLC with this leggy panorama from Kenny's secret crag high above the Rural A hinterland elite zone of Mt. Ninderry.

I was falling up neighbouring Zazen 26 when I spotted Mon unfolding some extraordinary limbs on the steep and nasty Funnel Web 25.

It's a must-do route starting on a broken ledge, in a razor sharp cave, half way up a rotten cliff. Still wanna try it? It's got a Funnel Web too.











Well bouldering photography is a lark. You stand on the ground and press the button, answering the question "Why is the web awash with block shots?".

I've never been able to hang on to the things, so the beach-style team at jjobienclimbing got Nate Foster to bounce some golden rays back off the reflector with his abs.







Issy Morgans-Johnson flexed some serious style strength at Coolum Cave for a sponsor shoot. Always a strong performer on jjobrienclimbing, as she is on the steep stuff.







Tracey Hua, sister Red Phoenix Emporium sponsored climber to Monique Forestier, went dark and dangerous for this shoot on Nitro Glycerin 25

She wears "They Only Come Out at Night" accessories from the Skulls and Crosses collection at www.redphoenixemporium.com

Style cast: What will the top styling climbers be wearing on the rock in ? The look will be edgy but feminine, sleek with a hint of darkness. And for the girls - probably Lycra.









The year in review includes climbing, shooting, writing and cooking the Winter away with the Carters as they climb every hard route and document every crag in the corner of SEQ.

Mike Law featured on the blog. In what I expect was an attempt to atone for his ethically bankrupt climbing youth he notched up some honest multi-pitch ticks on two Sunny Coast crags in one talk-drenched day.









And the photographic high point of the year. A few belayers dropped their gri gris when this image hit the screens. Hanging free on a sling from the roof in Cave 5 Tibrogargan, belaying with one hand, shooting with the other as the sun set over Pumicestone Passage. Lee Cujes narrows his focus on the Creationism project.









jjobrienclimbing all started when fellow Queensland cave man and encyclopaedic gear nerd Brad Babel hooked me up with Expedition Equipments' Matt Adams. EE were looking for a Red Chili brand rep, and I knocked together a few posts to shop my wares. Deal. What is less known is the Wild Country link.





So then it happened that on a high friction, low carb, winter day, in the hallowed Cave of Mt. Coolum, Steve Foster(UK)the marketing director of Wild Country, explained to me that Wild Country, Red Chili and DMM were all owned by the parent company Excalibur Wales. Climbers, you know I love to weave a myth. And with these words to Matt, "Get this guy into some Wild Country gear, we can't have him climbing on that French rubbish" Steve Foster brought Excalibur gently to rest my shoulders. I arose a loyal Knight of the Wild Country. And so, as long as I have strength, kneepads, and a willing belayer, I will spend my remaining years gratefully doing battle in the jaws of the most terrible beasts in every cave across the realm.





And of course, bring back the look. Yours, jj







Photo: Matt Schimke