A Sock for Your Lock?

image via thelocksock.com

A while ago, some of us began noticing knitted "u-lock cozies" on bicycles, and I always thought it would be neat if someone were to start selling them. Turns out a Lovely Bicycle reader recently did.



The Lock Sock is a hand-knitted sock that will fit a mini or standard u-lock - its function to prevent the lock from scuffing the bicycle's frame. I think these things are adorable, but never made one for myself because I don't use u-locks.



If you do use a u-lock and are longing to dress it in a knitted sock, one of these could be yours. Leave a comment describing how you lock up your bike and include your email address, and I will pick the recipient at random. Deadline is 11:59pm tonight, Pacific Standard Time. You will be able to choose a sock from the colors available and Stephen of The Lock Sock will mail it to you directly from Brooklyn, NY.



Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Visiting My Family in Jackson

Most of us headed over to Jackson to see my family today. Nathan has been sick, so he stayed home. I have an insanely large family, so to get us all together is a big task. We did pretty good this time. I was so touched that everyone scrambled at the last minute to come and see us. My sister Traci and my Mom cooked us all a great steak dinner and we got to chat some. And we even got a group picture! Not all of us are in it, but we at least were able to get a group shot of some of us.

I wish I'd have grabbed more pictures while there, but it was pretty hectic and the time flew by way too fast as it was. I'm grateful to have days like this since I don't get to see my family very often anymore.



We left Ashleigh and Elijah in Jackson. The RV will be extra quiet without them. We really enjoyed our visit with Ashleigh so much. I am especially grateful for the time with her this past week. I didn't know exactly how it would go, because we don't really have company stay with us in the RV very often. And we haven't been around Ashleigh day in/day out for a few years. On top of that, we've had some hard years that were painful for both us as parents, and for Ashleigh who was going through hard things. As the oldest child, she has had to forgive us as parents far more than the other ones. She's been vocal at times about that fact. Within ten minutes of her being around, it was just like she'd never left. Which was really cool to me.



It was so moving to me to see the person she is growing into and that she is still Ashleigh, with a huge heart, even after going through rough things. Just a more mature version of Ashleigh! We love you so much, Ash, and you still crack us up. Get your RV so you can join us on the road!



Living the life in Michigan!

The Gang at Grotto Falls in TN

Here is what we all thought of the falls and the day:

Living the life in beautiful Tennessee!

Deteriorating Dress Guards

I've had my Raleigh Tourist for close to 3 years now and, not counting the brake pads, the only wear on the bike over the course of that time has been to the aftermarket dress guards. These dress guards were acquired new old stock from a connection in Portugal. They are very simple - essentially a bunch of elasticised cords. And I love them: the simplicity of the design does not detract from the elegant form of the iconic loop frame, while being sufficient to do its job. Unfortunately, over time the cords seem to have lost their elasticity and are now kind of saggy. Some have even begun to disintegrate and I've had to cut them off. I am surprised that they've lasted such a short time, and it's a bit of a pain because the number of holes they require in the fender is unique to them. I will have tobother the person who gave them to me for another set, or attempt to make my own.




Assuming that my experience is not a fluke, it might explain why so many vintage bicycles are found with holes in the fenders but no dress guards: Possibly, this accessory had an inherently short life span due to the elastic degrading.I assume the elastic is natural rubber, which would make it sensitive to heat and humidity - same reason it is so rare to find intact original rubber grips.




Those who are making dress guards today (I know there are a few of you out there now) might want to keep this in mind. I'd be curious to know what types of cords you use and how they have held up. If I make my own dress guards, I would like them to last next time!

How Do You Choose a Winter Bike?

With the snow bound to arrive any week now, I am hearing local cyclists talk about "winter bikes" again. Before my first winter of cycling, the very notion surprised me. You're supposed to ride a different bike in the winter than you do during the rest of the year? why?? But then I understood that not everyone's transportation bicycle is a "tank" that is already winter-proof. Some bikes are more suitable for winter conditions than others. And while there is no one bicycle that is universally considered to be the ideal winter bike, there are certain characteristics most cyclists would probably agree are beneficial for winter commuting in snowy climates:




Stability:One reason the number of cyclists decreases so dramatically in the winter, is that cycling on ice and snow is scary. On the right bike, it is much less so. A winter bicycle should handle well on slippery, snowy, muddy and plow-ravaged winter roads. City bicycles and mountain bikes tend to do best in this respect. Those who commute on aggressive bikes during the warmer months may prefer a more relaxed and more upright bike for winter, with wider tires. If there is a great deal of snow where you live, studded tires could be a good idea, or at least knobby tires. Tame, predictable handling becomes much more important than speed in the winter months. Stepover is another factor to consider. A slippery road surface can make it easier to lose one's balance when mounting and dismounting a bike, and even those who normally ride diamond frames might prefer their winter bike to have a step-though frame or a sloping top tube.




Reliability:Related to the above, it is important that the bicycle's crucial functions - in particular, braking power and shifting ability - are not compromised by winter conditions. Rim brakes and derailleur gears can function poorly (or not at all) if clogged with snow or frozen over, which is why many prefer for their winter commuter to haveenclosed hub brakes and hub (or single speed) gearing.




Durability:Understandably, cyclists may not want to expose their nice bikes to freezing temperatures and road salt, for fear that doing so might damage the frame and components. This is why some recommend getting a "beater bike" for the winter. Personally I am uncomfortable with this advice, because a beater bike is unlikely to be reliable (see above). The approach I prefer is to get a bike that is not vulnerable to the elements in the first place. A tough paintjob, stainless and aluminum components where possible, hub gears and a chaincase should get your bike through the winter relatively unscathed with little maintenance.




Visibility: Not only does it get dark much earlier in the winter months, but snowfall can further decrease visibility - making good lighting more crucial than ever.




Presentability:Just because it's winter, does not mean that we are no longer expected to look presentable at work. With road conditions messier than ever, it is important that a winter bicycle be equipped with features that protect the cyclist's clothing: full fenders, and ideally a chaincase or chainguard.




Taken together, these features suggest a number of candidates that could work especially well as winter bikes. If buying new, fully equipped classic city bikes are worth looking into: They already offer hub gears, hub brakes, a full chaincase, a resilient powdercoated frame, stable handling, generous fenders and reasonably wide tires. Recently I wrote about city bikes with mountain bike heritage, which might be particularly appropriate due to their super-stable handling. For those who prefer to put a bike together from scratch, frames with horizontal dropouts (suitable for hub and single speed conversion) and clearances for reasonably wide tires are now easily available from a number of manufacturers: Soma, Surly, Rawland, Rivendell, Salsa and Velo Orange are just a few that come to mind. For extreme conditions there are even all-terrain models that will fit monstrously wide tires, such as the Surly Pugsley and Moonlander, and the Salsa Mukluk. If you prefer to refurbish a used bicycle, an old mountain bike converted to a single speed and fitted with some upright handlebars could work nicely. Same with a vintage 3-speed, fitted with a modern wheelset with hub brakes.




It goes without saying that not everything mentioned here will be applicable to every cyclist who reads this. The kind of winter bike that is ideal for you will depend on everything from the harshness of your winters, to the character of your route, to your bike handling skills, to your bike storage situation, to the amount of time you are willing to devote to bike maintenance, and to the type of clothing you wear when cycling for transportation. Your current bike may already be a winter bike, either as is or with minor modifications. Or you may need to get an additional bike specifically for winter cycling. My own preference gravitates toward classic city bicycles, and those I've owned have made great winter bikes. But I've been increasingly curious to try a mountain bike with knobby tires and see how that compares. What is your idea of a winter bike?

Glacier

Here is more of an close up of the mountains. You can see the snow and a glacier almost right in the middle. It is the closest I could get to the glacier at this time. According to a sign at the viewing center there are more than 60 active glaciers on the mountains that are in Olympic National Park.

Benjamin's Calabash Seafood Buffet

I don't tend to write about the places we eat at that often. We don't eat out tons and when we do it tends to be when we are out on a date so I'm not thinking of taking the camera out then. I really couldn't resist this week though. We saw a bunch of advertising for different seafood buffets and it had me wanting to sample one before we left. We picked Benjamin's Calabash Seafood Buffet as our pick.



The place was very nice, our service was terrific and with over 170 items on the buffet-we ate more than enough seafood before we left. Yummy!



Afterwards we went to Outdoor World/Bass Pro Shop and I have to tell ya, the guys just crack me up in this store. It is one of the few places that Nathan actually enjoys shopping at and Austin has every camo inspired gadget that he could dream of all in one place.





Living the life in South Carolina!