A (Pashley) Penny for Your Thoughts

The Pashley Pennyis the companion model to the Parabike I wrote about earlier. This unusual bicycle looks vaguely old-fashioned, but unlike the Parabike it is not based on a specific vintage design. Part cruiser, part mixte and part mountain bike, its uniqueness is enhanced by eccentricities such as the split curved downtubes. The Penny defies classification, and this seems to be how the manufacturer intends it - explaining that the bike "provides the perfect excuse to experience more rural rides."





While the Parabike's aesthetic is defined by the continuous curvature of its top set of twin stays, from head tube to rear dropouts, in the Penny the curve is interrupted and inverted. This difference is so visually dominant that it overshadows the structural similarities between the two bikes. The Penny also lacks the military/historical somberness of the Parabike, coming across as more light-hearted.






Made of cro-moly steel, the Penny is handbrazed and powdercoated in Stratford-upon-Avon in England, like all Pashley bicycles. It is fairly lightweight for its category of bikes, coming in at under 30lb.





Like the Parabike, the Penny is built for 26" wheels and fitted with 26 x 1.75" Schwalbe Marathon tires.Colour-matched fenders and chainguard are included.







Components include a 5-speed Sturmey Archer hub, hand-operated hub brakes front and rear, a Brooks B67S saddle, a Stronglight crankset, non-slip platform pedals, rubbery "faux cork" grips, and a large bell.Unlike the Parabike, the Penny is set up with straight, rather than swept back, handlebars.






Standing over the bicycle for the first time, I was overwhelmed by all the flowy slender tubes; it was a bit like standing over a swaying rope bridge. Not that the tubes sway. It's the form and the repetition that give that impression of movement. A unique design to be sure.






One thing I had wondered about when seeing pictures of the Penny, was whether the stepover was low enough to be practical. Unlike a traditional mixte, the twin parallel stays here don't extend all the way down to the rear dropouts, but connect to the upper seat stays - which places them rather high. However, this is compensated for by their downward sweep. When mounting the bike, the stepover height resembles that of a typical mixte.






Riding the Penny, my first impression was that it felt too small for me (I am just under 5'7"). My test riding partner agreed that the Penny's "cockpit," even with the straight handlebars, felt smaller than the Parabike's. Later I looked up the sizes of the two bikes and was surprised to see them described as the same: 19" (48cm). Of course this measurement refers to the seat tube length, and it's possible that the Penny's virtual top tube is shorter than the Parabike's. Regrettably, I did not measure the bikes and have not been able to source geometry charts. But the good news is that the Penny will work well for smaller riders and those with shorter torsos.




Putting the fit issue aside, the ride quality and handling of the Penny felt very similar to that of the Parabike, which I liked very much: maneuverable, extremely cushy over bumps, mountain-bikey but with a relaxed cruiserish element to it.These are entirely different bikes from Pashley's Roadster and Princess line.Personally, I prefer the way the Penny and Parabike ride to the classic Princess. Of course the looks are a matter of taste.






One advantage of the Penny over the Parabike, is that - to my eye at least - its aesthetics do not conflict with a standard rear rack. So turning it into a practical city bike would be fairly simple. Unfortunately, dynamo lighting is not included. Also not included are the waterbottle cage mounts that I noticed on the Parabike. Step-through frame designs often do not lend themselves to this, and it's too bad. Finally, I am not sure why the Penny was set up with straight handlebars rather than swept-back bars - I suspect that much of this bike's target market would find the the latter more comfortable.





In their description of the Penny, Pashley suggests that this bike is meant to move effortlessly between town and country. I can see that. Provided that it's a fairly flat area, this bike could feel equally enjoyable to ride through meadows and forests, on cobblestones and on busy city streets, for shorter and longer distances. It is a nice combination of comfortable, maneuverable, and intuitive to handle. The durable powdercoat and the enclosed brakes and gears allow outdoor storage and make this bike a good choice for winter and inclement weather conditions. If the unique look of the Penny appeals to you, the bike is worth taking seriously.






The Pashley Penny is available in "willow green" (shown here) or "dusk blue" - a dusty indigo. Current retail price is $1,195. Both the Parabike and Penny are available for test rides at Harris Cyclery in West Newton, MA. Many thanks to them for setting up these demo bikes.

Lantaw floating native restaurant in Cebu

When we were in Cebu, Philippines last October-November, I heard from the grapevine that there’s a cool new Filipino native restaurant in town. Of course, moi is not going to miss the world for it especially knowing that the restaurant drifts on water. I right away scheduled the family for a trip to Cordova in Mactan Island.



'Lantaw' is a Visayan word, a Filipino dialect and my mother tongue which means VIEW or SEEN/SEEING FROM A DISTANCE.



Yes, the restaurant floats on water and you will notice this more during high tide when the restaurant glides a bit. The scenery here is divine. Fresh! You’ll see fishermen passing by and if you arrive here before dusk, you will be treated to an exquisite going-down-of-the-sun-from-the-horizon spectacle.



Because we did not reserve a table in advance, but luckily we arrived early, we were not able to get a table on the open deck terrace but in the restaurant itself. This is fine but next time, we will make sure to reserve because the terrace has a much nicer ambiance.



We also noticed that a lot of people who came here were balikbayans, meaning Filipinos who are already living abroad and are vacationing in the country. Include me in the statistics =)



We started with some merienda (snack) and drinks. Banana turon (fried banana crepe) with vanilla ice cream and a fruit cocktail juice. Ordered 3 servings.





Then after 45 minutes dinner arrived!



2 orders of lechon kawali (pan roasted pork), 2 orders of kinilaw tanguige (spanish mackerel fish ceviche), 2 orders of crispy kangkong (water spinach), 2 orders of grilled chicken, 1 order of sisig (marinated-boiled-grilled pig ears-snout-cheeks), 1 order of crab, 1 order of chicken and pork adobo, 1 order of grilled bangus (milk fish) and 1 order of halaan (clam soup).



For dessert we had 3 orders of bibingka (rice cake) with vanilla ice cream topping, and coffee as well.





Is this a lot of food for 7 people?! (6 adults and 1 kid)



This is the reason why I always gain a kilo or two whenever I visit the Philippines. SIGH.





The cast of characters in this eating party: My mom and dad, my brother, brother’s wife (not in picture), my little smart aleck nephew, the Dutchman (not in picture of course) and moi. The only one missing here is my sister who already flew back to Singapore.



TIP!



3 things you need to know and prepare yourself before coming here:



1) Reserve a table ahead of time, like a week or earlier before said dinner appointment. Due to the popularity of the restaurant, the waiting time to be seated is very long, especially if you arrive in the evening. In fact the queue of people waiting to be seated (those who did not have reservations) was shockingly long. I have never ever seen a restaurant in Cebu with that queue! We were thankful we arrived early.



Go here for details: Lantaw floating native restaurant



2) Because the restaurant is located at the tip of Cordova in Mactan Island, this means that this place isn’t going to be an easy reach for the general public. Thus, you need your own private transportation to get here.



3) Parking is an issue if you arrive later than 7PM, so come early. Not only that you get parking near the restaurant, but you will have the opportunity to see the lovely sunset as well.



But other than those, this new restaurant is a promising addition to Cebu’s growing gastronomic industry. The food here is quite good, and the setting and ambiance are hands down fantastic. Most people actually come here for the latter.



Prices are very reasonable as well. In short, highly recommended!



More pictures here:





The open-air deck terrace. Because this part of the restaurant is very popular, you would need to call and reserve in advance to get a table.



The restaurant is currently building an extension of the deck terrace.





The grilling area of the kitchen:





The lovely views:





This is the reason why you need to reserve a table in advance if you arrive later (after sunset):





I know its dark in the picture but can you see the long queue? See the people on the left waiting on the bridge.

Rainbows at High Falls

Now that the rain and cloudy weather from earlier this week is gone, the high water level in thePigeon Rivercombined with bright, sunny days means that the rainbows at High Falls are incredible! I captured these photos today at Grand Portage State Park throughout the morning and early afternoon hours. With clear skies and mild temperatures in the forecast for the next few days it looks like it's going to be a perfect weekend for waterfall watching!

Glen Canyon and Lake Powell

From Lees Ferry it is a short drive to Glen Canyon and Lake Powell, near Page, Arizona. It seems like it would be a nice place to visit, with lots of things to do. It would be really cool to rent a house boat with a bunch of people and explore Lake Powell and the various canyons. Problem was, it was hot. Really hot. Like in the upper 90s. I know what you're thinking. For many months I've been saying that I sure would like some warmer weather. And that's true, just not quite that warm! Give me temperatures in the mid-70s and lower-80s and I'd be happy, maybe.

But, despite the heat, I decided to spend a few days at Wahweap Campground on Lake Powell a few miles north of Page. I found a site with a little shade, not that it helped all that much with the heat, but it did provide a little respite from the sun, and there was usually a light breeze that helped also. Of course, it cooled down a little after the sun went down so the nights were comfortable.

Page has a beautiful public library with free wifi, which I gratefully took advantage of during the hottest hours of the day! I was able to get blog posts written and scheduled up to the start of Jamboree though I didn't get quite as many posts written as I would have liked.

The Dam at Glen Canyon.

A small portion of Lake Powell. The cluster of boats on the far left are at Wahweap Marina.

Clouds over Lake Powell are touched by the last rays of the setting sun.

Handsome Fellows

Men's bicycles can be just as lovely as ladies'. Here is evidence!

An elegant transport bike in an ivy-covered courtyard. I love double top bars on a man's bicycle.

I see these Falter bicycles sometimes and don't know what to make of them. The frames resemble beach cruisers. But unlike beach cruisers, these bikes are enormous and are fitted with all sorts of practical components. I think of them as transport bike / beach cruiser hybrids. Either way, they are handsome indeed.

Even a relatively plain bicycle can be made lovely via stylish presentation. The slate gray frame on this mountain bike goes perfectly with the distressed, soft brown leather satchel secured to the rack off-kilter with a black rubber band. Very masculine and very lovely.

And of course there is this bronze-painted bicycle, parked against a bronze-painted wall. I call this "minimalist bling".

The 'Lady's Bicycle': Descriptive, Offensive, or Merely Obsolete?

[an unsuccessful attempt at parody]

There has been some discussion lately about how appropriate it is to refer to diamond and step-through frame bicycles as men's and ladies' bikes. After all - gender roles are flexible these days, women are no longer expected to wear elaborate skirts, and a low standover height can be convenient for everyone. So why use gender specific terminology? Am I just intentionally being quaint?



Well, not exactly. You see, when a bicycle model exists in both diamond frame and step-through designs, the latter is usually not just about lowering the standover height. It is also about taking the female anatomy into account. For example, have a look at the pictures below and see whether you notice anything interesting.



[image via Gazelle USA]

These are the Oma and Opa versions of the current production Gazelle Toer Populair bicycles. If you look closely, you will notice that the Oma on the left has a considerably higher headtube than the Opa on the right. This is done in order to set the Oma's handlebars higher, so as to accommodate the typically shorter torsos and arms of female cyclists. The bikes are named "Grandma and Grandpa," because they are, in fact, gender-specific. The expanded headtube tactic is used by many manufacturers on their step-through models, while others use the alternative tactic of shortening the virtual top tube. Either way, more often than not the step-through version of a given bicycle model is designed for the female body. This is not to say that men cannot or should not ride step through frames, but only that step-through frames are typically optimised for female proportions.



Of course, one could ask: Why confound gender-based anatomical differences with preferences for standover height? After all, some women may prefer diamond frames, while some men may prefer step-throughs. That is where statistics and market research come in. Most manufacturers cannot afford to make two versions of diamond frames and two versions of step-through frames within the same model. And statistically, women are considerably more likely to wear skirts and are thus more likely to prefer a step-through transportation bike. Therefore, it makes more sense to optimise the step-through design for the female anatomy, while optimising the diamond frame design for the male anatomy. Naturally, there will be some females who prefer the diamond frame and some males who prefer the step-through. Furthermore, not every woman has a short torso and not every man has a long torso. But when it comes to manufacturing decisions, it's all about tendencies and probabilities - not about individuals.



And speaking of statistics, perhaps we could indulge in another poll (a weekly tradition?). No purpose for this other than my own curiosity, and possibly yours:









In my own vocabulary, I use terms like "lady's bike" or "woman's frame" when I am referring specifically to the bicycle's suitability for females - be it anatomically, or in terms of their ability to accommodate skirts. On the other hand, I use terms such as "step through," "loop frame," and "mixte," when I am describing frame geometry. And while some worry that referring to bicycles as "women's bikes" makes them seem inferior or less valuable, I am not on board with that line of thinking. After all, what is considered "standard" frame geometry in the industry, is in fact optimised for the male anatomy. We are female, we are wonderful, and we need bicycles designed for us. To me, that is neither offensive nor obsolete - it's just common sense.

Central California

Okay, now that I'm “caught up” with posts from before the Jamboree we'll get to the more recent stuff though now I'm even further behind because of the lack of internet access. (Rant: it's extremely frustrating when a place – any place – says they have wifi available but it doesn't work! Yeah, they have it, you just can't use it! Sigh.) Due to where I've been, I don't think that I would have had internet access even if I had an “air card” or some other techno thingy.

Anyway, back on June 15th I left the coast near Ventura and made my way north and east to central California. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that it was cool on the coast but it was hot once you got a few miles inland. A short stop in Maricopa left me drenched in sweat and the van was hotter than an oven after just 10 minutes of it sitting with the windows closed. Dry heat or not, it was still HOT.

That night I stopped at Kern River State Park just west of Bakersfield. In addition to the river, there was a lake in the park also, whose name I don't recall and didn't write down. The campground was huge. But it was empty except for one site, which had several adults and a bunch of kids of all ages. I selected a site along the river about in the middle of the campground a little ways from the occupied site. There were several cars that drove through the campground later in the evening but none of them stopped for the night.

I thought it was a little strange that with the heat there weren't more people at the campground taking advantage of the river and the lake. However, there were several groups of “tubers” that floated by. The river was high and the current was fast. The other strange thing was that no one ever came around to collect the camping fee and there was no self-serve pay station.

It was a pretty park, well maintained and clean and I didn't have any “bad vibes” about the place. Large trees provided plenty of shade from the hot sun and there was a nice breeze. All in all it was very pleasant.

The rather idyllic view across the river from my campsite.

The next morning I was up early and on my way by eight o'clock, going northeast on California 178. And what a beautiful drive it is! Following the Kern River to Lake Isabella the highway twists and turns, winding its way through the narrow Kern Valley with the river on the left and the mountain walls hugging the highway on the right.

Beyond Lake Isabella, Mountain Road 99 takes you up into Giant Sequoia National Monument. Now, why the government did this, I don't know, but it probably has something to do with how the land is used by the different agencies. We have Giant Sequoia National Monument and Sequoia National Forest. Then you have to drive 100 miles or more west, then north, then back east to get to Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National Forest (again), Kings Canyon National Park, Giant Sequoia National Monument (again), Sequoia National Forest (a third time), and finally, to Kings Canyon National Park (again). The latter “string” of Parks, Monuments and Forests are all connected, starting and stopping seemingly at a whim. It's very confusing! But it is an amazing and beautiful area of the country.

All of the rivers and streams in that area are full to brimming, flowing swiftly. There were quite a few waterfalls as well, many with several cascades, such as this one at South Creek Falls on Mountain Road 99 in the Sequoia National Forest.

A little further down the road, in Giant Sequoia National Monument, was the Trail of 100 Giants, which was a paved trail about a mile long that wound its way up, down, and through a forest of (what else?) very large Sequoia trees. It has been 30+ years since my last encounter with these magnificent things and I was impressed all over again.

There is no way that you can capture their immensity in a photograph. Of course, that didn't stop me from taking pictures!

At one time, these were three individual trees. I found it interesting that Sequoias gain their full height in the first 300 years at which time they aren't all that big around. As the years pass, they (like most of us humans) get bigger around. And, if they are growing close to others, they could, as these have done, join together. The boy standing between the two trees on the left is about four feet tall.

One of the things that surprised me regarding these trees is that the bark (or outer layer) is spongy. It gives when pressed upon. This tree has a portion of the outer bark layer missing, but it was still alive and growing.