Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico

This sign sits in the park or town square in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico. My friend and I decided to take a walking tour around the shops and sights while she was visiting on July 15, ... She had never been but I have been going now and then ever since I was born. Although it has been about seven years or so since I was last there with my two aunts on one of their trips to Albuquerque. http://www.albuquerqueoldtown.com/ The town of Albuquerque was founded in 1706. The church of San Felipe de Neri Church sits on one side of the square and the other three sides are full of shops, and cafes, as well as one old, large, and famous restaurant named La Placita. When visiting you need to remember that Old Town now is mostly for the tourist trade and prices may be higher here than in other, more modern, parts of Albuquerque. There are lots of gift shops, jewelry stores, and artist shops and galleries. Some shops have the cheaper tourist trade gift items but lots of unique, and very high quality items can be found in other shops.
http://www.virtualalbuquerque.com/VirtualABQ/OldTownPlaza/ This website has lots of photos, history information, and tourist information about Old Town.
I have posted a lot of the photos and some brief descriptions of the day that we toured Old Town. I have tried to put them in a semblance of an order of the way we walked and so that it would make since to those readers that have never been there. Hope you find it interesting and that maybe if you are ever in Albuquerque you will find time for a visit to one of my favorite places in my home state.

Swallowtail and Hawkweed

Wildflowers are blooming like crazy everywhere right now and local insects are loving it! I captured this Swallowtail butterfly enjoying a patch of hawkweed along Esther Lake Road in Grand Portage State Forest recently. Both sides of the road were lined with millions of flowers and it was difficult to pick out a particular patch to photograph. That is, until Jessica noticed a field of hawkweed combined with a large patch of bunchberry! We stopped to photograph the flowers and that's when this swallowtail flew in and began working the hawkweed. I got down on my stomach to get at eye level with the butterfly. There was a constant breeze, so getting a sharp exposure was a challenge as the flowers kept waving back and forth. Eventually I got a good one :-)

Game cam bucks

Hubby moved the camera to an area where we'd spotted a buck rub. It worked!

I think he's leaving a scented "keep out" message for other bucks.

We mainly get does on the game cam, so I forget how powerfully built the bucks are.



We'd gotten this shot just before moving the camera. At first I thought it was the same buck, but after examining the zoomed-in views, I think the first one is actually a 6-point (as opposed to the second 4-pointer).

A Walk Along the River :: San Antonio

After leaving Davis Mountains State Park (on December 10th), I spent the day driving to San Antonio. The fog wasn't too bad once I left the mountains and got onto the Interstate Highway and I didn't get into any significant rain until about an hour from the city.



I spent three nights in San Antonio with my friend Diana. She is also a Joslin cousin (3rd cousin once removed). Her great grandfather, Luther Joslin, was a brother to my great-great grandmother, Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower. Our families made contact for the first time in 1968, lost contact a few years later, then were reunited in 1999 through the wonders of the internet! The folks I'll be staying with in Louisiana for the holidays are also descendants of Luther. Don't you love it when distant family members become friends too?



One evening we ventured down to the Riverwalk for a stroll and supper. All types of Cafes and Restaurants line both sides of the river for a considerable distance. And, of course, the area was all decked out with lights for the holidays.





Trees were wrapped with lights on every branch and all the way to the top!





It was a rather cool evening but not uncomfortable – if you could stay out of the wind!





I hesitated to include this photo since it is out of focus, but I think it provides more of the ambiance of the evening. I actually kind of like it! Just consider it an “impressionistic” rendition of the Riverwalk...

SST (That's Sorting, Scanning, Trashing!)

For the two weeks prior to my mother's 80th birthday much of my time was spent in removing the pictures from several of her albums, scanning those pictures and then putting them into archive albums for her. This resulted in approximately 575 scanned image files! I then selected the "best" and printed out perhaps 75 images for display at her open house. I'm very happy to say that the photo-montage was a big hit and well worth the time and effort.

With that project completed I (finally) began the task of sorting my own pictures that have been stored in three "shoeboxes" (not really, but photo storage boxes about the size of a shoebox) into chronological order. I'm trashing the out-of-focus, really bad shots, and giving away duplicates. I did get a good start on scanning some of those pictures the first part of this week but got sidetracked onto another project the latter part of the week.

On Monday and Tuesday I scanned nearly 350 images working about 12 hours total. These were all 3 1/2 x 5" pictures so I could put 5 photos on the scanner bed at once. Of course, I still scanned each one individually but the fact that there would be a series or group of pictures that had been taken at the same event helped to speed things up to where I could scan about 40-45 pictures per hour at times. I also discovered a neat feature of the scanner software that allows me to set a prefix for file names so that all the images from a group or series could automatically be given the designated prefix. Eventually I'll go back and add identifying information to each picture, once I figure out how it is done. The entire process is both fun and tedious. Yeah, right! No, really, it is! So I keep telling myself...

Of the three "shoeboxes" of pictures, half of one box has been scanned. I considered sending the pictures out for commercial scanning, particularly using the free offer at ScanMyPhotos.com that Apple used. The thing is though, after sorting and selecting the pictures to be sent out, there were only about 300 that were of the 4x6" size, which was what was required for the free offer.

While sorting the pictures into chronological order I realized that I had only had prints made of a few of the pictures from my trip through the western states that I took after getting out of the Navy. Those pictures were slides. Prints from slides were expensive back then, compared to the cost of prints from negatives. And I didn't have a job at the time. Anyway, now I'm trying to locate a slide scanning service here in the Midwest. There are lots of places on the west coast. Some that do the scanning onsite and others that send them off to India or some other country. Really, really don't want to send them overseas. And would prefer someplace closer than California.

I've got seven 3-ring binders that each have 500 or so slides in protective pages. That's 3500+ slides, and no, not all of them will be sent out for scanning! Selecting the slides to send out is problematic. I'm trying to figure out a way to jerry-rig a light box or possibly find someone who has a slide viewer. I did scan a test slide on my HP Scanner that has slide/negative scanning built into the lid. I don't have the time or patience to scan those at the rate it took to pre-scan and scan the test slide (several minutes). The scanner added an overall bluish tint to the slide as well. I was able to adjust the image after scanning to get a usable picture, but it took a lot of time to get it close to the original.

The "other" project that I got sidetracked on this week was sorting through the four HUGE boxes of mounted and framed photos that haven't seen the light of day since they were boxed up in 1996! These are mostly photos that were taken while working on my bachelor's degree from Indiana State University. As part of each assignment we had to mount our work "professionally" for presentation to the class. Needless to say the stack of matt board (nearly 4' high) was far more impressive than the photographs themselves. The majority of the photographs were saved though and the matt board went to the recycling center today.

My plan now is to continue scanning the pictures in the shoeboxes, several hours a day, with a goal of completion by June 30th. (I'm setting a goal hoping it will keep me on track and motivated.) Devise a method for selecting the slides to be sent out for scanning; get them selected and sent out as soon as possible. And there are still all those boxes in the garage that need going through! And all those ancestral genea-documents to be scanned. And, well, lots of other things too.

What I've found while doing all this sorting, scanning, and trashing is that it is difficult to wrap my mind around the task of writing. I've stated before, I'm a slow writer, it takes time for me to put together a decent post. I guess the muse has left the building. As a result, posting has been sluggish. Most posts lately have consisted of recently scanned photographs. They don't take much thought, and are somewhat entertaining. Hopefully my few faithful readers will still be around when the muse returns and I get back to writing and, also hopefully, you will be interested in whatever it is I have to say. In the meantime, I hope y'all enjoy the pictures!

Somewhere along the Oregon coast, June 1979.

Cycling and Self-Portraiture

I have long been interested in the connection between cycling and amateur self-portraiture. Anyone familiar with the world of bicyclists' image galleries is also familiar with the ubiquitous "panda shots," storefront reflections, snapshots of one's bike shadow. Taken quickly with tiny low-quality cameras, these provide spontaneous glimpses into how we move through the world, what we encounter along the way, and how we relate to our bicycles while doing so. Over the years it has become a distinct genre.




But why do it? Looking in from the outside, it is easy to interpret it as a contemporary obsession with documentation, a marking of territory, or in the case of "panda shots" (pictures of yourself taken while cycling) as a showing off of skill. And of course to some extent it is all that. But what makes it bike-specific? I have never encountered another group outside of the art world that is as prone to self-portraiture as cyclists. Joking around with bikeyface, we tried to start a trend for "walk pandas," but somehow pedestrian self-portraiture does not hold the same appeal.






Last year I wrote aboutbicycle blogs and exhibitionism - describing a culture among the blogs of beginner female cyclists where women communicate and encourage each other by showing pictures of themselves doing everyday bike-related activities. Outside of the intended audience (for example, when observed by experienced male cyclists), this is sometimes misinterpreted as exhibitionism. But for the intended audience it is in fact a "teaching by doing" sort of tool that can be more effective than any advocacy.




Still the trend for self-portraiture among cyclists is not limited to this alone. It is more widespread than that and encompasses a more diverse demographic. From racers to retrogrouches to randonneurs to pedaling fashionistas, cyclists just seem compelled to snap pictures of themselves on or next to their bikes.







It is possible that moving around by bicycle, particularly when we are new to it in adulthood, heightens our sense of self-awareness and it is this that inspires the self-portraiture. In a sense, the cyclist keeps a visual diary. And a true diary, be it written or visual, is more than just about what happens in one's environment; typically the diarist also focuses on themselves.




How well this works as an explanation, I don't know. But as a psychologist and a painter I am fascinated by the tradition of self-portraiture I've seen emerge as more and more cyclists share their images with the world. If you take pictures of yourself on or with your bike, why do you do it?

I walk the Brampton Valley line_0001.wmv

Lightning Warning

There were signs warning that lighting up on the Crest could and is very dangerous. They warned that it is advisable to leave when there is lightning. But there was none that day while we were there.

Monday Mailbox: Treating Saddle Sores

Monday Mailbox is a series of posts dedicated to questions received over email. Here is one that pops up now and again:

This is embarrassing, but lately I've been getting what I think are saddle sores after long rides. How can I tell that is what they are? And do you have any advice for treating them?

Saddle sores are one of those common, yet mysterious problems that cyclists love to discuss endlessly. I am just one voice among many and by no means an expert. Happily, I was spared the affliction of saddle sores for my first three and a half years on the bike. It is only recently, when I started covering longer distances, that I began to get them occasionally.




What exactly is a saddle sore? Part of the reason there is so much mystique and different advice out there, is that there is no single medical definition. But at least everyone agrees about their location. Saddle sores appear on the crotch, where it comes in contact with the saddle. Popular spots include the uppermost inner thighs, the "taint," and that transitional ridge where leg becomes butt.




One opinion is that saddle sores are boils caused by abrasions. Another is that they are some special, horrible type of cyst that forms as a result of fluid buildup. But probably the most popular opinion is that they are infected hair follicles. It is very possible that in fact they can be any or all of these things, depending on the rider and cause - which also means that treatment and prevention methods might differ depending on what type it is. Based on my own observations, the infected follicle theory makes the most sense, so that is what I am going with. And as it happens, I've discovered a fairly quick and simple way to get rid of them. Who knows, it might work for you. So here is what I do:




After a ride, shower as soon as possible using non-perfumed soap. Once the area is clean, you will need two ingredients: tea tree oil and vaseline. It's important that the tea tree oil is just that, and not, say, a moisturiser containing it as an ingredient. Plain tea tree oil is now available in many mainstream pharmacies, so sourcing it should not be a problem.




Using a cotton swab, apply tea tree oil to the affected areas - but be careful not to get it onto any mucus membranes, as that could hurt. Once it dries, follow up with vaseline. Repeat every few hours, washing the area before each re-application.




While the sores heal, either stay off the bike, or ride a bike where the way your crotch contacts the saddle is sufficiently different. Wear breathable underwear made of natural fibers.




Using this method, any saddle sores I get go away within 2-3 days. For anything more serious I have no advice, as I've never experienced it myself. Needless to say, if your sores are not going away, consider seeing a doctor.




As far as prevention, there is of course the common sense advice: Find a saddle and shorts that work for you. Increase distances gradually.Use chamois cream to reduce friction. Be sure to shower before and after every ride. And always, always wear clean shorts. However, this is not always sufficient. Even the cleanest, most hygienic pair of shorts will turn into a bacterial cesspool after 10+ hours of riding. Even the most comfortable saddle can start to chafe eventually. And even if you start a ride squeaky clean, you will soon get filthy. That is to say, I don't think there is a sure prevention method once you start doing long distances. Some riders are more prone to saddle sores than others and some situations (such as hot weather) are more likely to cause them. You just have to deal with it when you get them. Hopefully for most of you saddle sores are just an occasional nuisance and not a serious problem.

Seventy Two- Keep on Keeping On

D

I found out what you give for the 70th- platinum,(platinum what I don't know) but the seventy-second has me stumped. Yes, the parents made it to another anniversary today, even though it was touch and go when Dad insisted on not calling a plumber the last 3 weekends at the beach...and all the times the plane tickets for Greece have been changed was a challenge. I thought it was pretty exciting when the trash can literally blew its lid since no one got hurt. And the lifetime supply,vat-sized peanut butter that Dad dragged home from Costco never fails to dismay Mom. But all this is pretty minor compared to the rock hard cement of love that binds these two. I think somebody ought to write a country songabout these two-maybe on a Greek bouzouki to get the culture clash aspect down. (remember it's Mississippi Meets Athens)

And while we wait, let me just add that I know I speak for many people when I say that Bebe and George have been and continue to be an inspiration to all who know them.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

(Photo taken this month in front of their first house on Dix Street NE)

World Snake Day

Just another vine hanging out on the fence... nothing to worry your pretty little heads about, my sweet little tweetie birds...

I was going to post this tomorrow, but I found out from Bug Girl that it's World Snake Day today so I had to put it up a bit early.

I wrote about Black Racers earlier this spring. (Still not sure if this one is Coluber constrictor constrictor or C. constrictor priapus.)

He didn't like me standing so close. I raised my arm to point at a Green Heron flying over and VOOM! The Racer was gone.

My Bradford Pear

this is my little Bradford pear tree that is only about 5 years old. It had more blossoms this year than it had last year. I have another one by the front door. It only has a few blossoms but is a much bigger tree.

Guess what is (nearly) finished!!!

Okay, this is a "brag" post. . .

Four months ago today I embarked upon my second major scanning project for ... The first project was to sort and scan my mother's photograph albums which took from April through August. There is still one group of photos left with that project and, in my goals for .., I stated that I hope to have those done by the end of March.

The second project, sorting and scanning my genealogy files and documents, was started on September 22nd and I'm *EXTREMELY* happy (relieved, thrilled, pleased as punch, etc.) to report that it is *ALMOST* done! The last group of documents to be sorted and scanned are those that pertain to my ancestors, shown on the table in the photo above. The two tallest piles belong to the Brubaker and Phend families. These will be scanned to both jpg and pdf format. After being scanned, these documents will be put into protective pages and placed in three-ring binders.

Other files that were scanned and kept were put in folders and are being stored in small "bankers" boxes in the garage. Only about a third of the files that I had were kept. Everything else has been recycled, most of it scanned first, but not all. The binders on the shelves and the folders and in the filing cabinets consumed nearly 40 linear feet, while what was kept amounts to about 13 feet (9 bankers boxes 15.5" deep and the papers on the table).

Two empty filing cabinets. Now there is the "problem" of what to do with the 3-ring binders and hanging file folders that are no longer needed. As you can see below, the three tall bookcases have been removed. They were sold, at a very reasonable price ;-) to a friend.

The "before" photo, above, was taken November 13, ... And below is what it looks like now (photo taken yesterday).

Another view.

The "before" photo is above (taken November 13, ..) and what it looks like now is below.

How did I accomplish this feat in four months? It is due to several things actually, among which are:

• Retirement. No way could I have gotten it done in four months if I was still working, maybe in four years, maybe!
• Being single with no kids. Though I do have errands to run for my Mother and I have to make sure she gets to the doctor and other appointments.
• A stubborn streak (perseverance) that was inherited from my Mother. I just made up my mind that it was going to get done, one way or another!
• And finally, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 document scanner, which I heartily recommend. In four months of use and after sending nearly 30,000 pages through it, I had only a couple of paper jams and none of them seriously damaged the paper being scanned. I've definitely gotten my money's worth from this little gem. Thanks, Denise!

Of course, I still have to add file data and captions to all of those image and pdf files, but at least they are scanned and accessible on the computer. I've already had a need to access some of those files and I must say, it is much quicker to click through several pages of a pdf file than it was to find the binder they were in and flip through the pages. And yes, they are all backed up to the laptop and an external drive, though I haven't yet overcome my fear of "losing" all of those electronic files...

Black-Eyed Susan

Black-Eyed Susan, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Minnesota has some great prairie wildflowers. This black-eyed susan was out in a field of daisies near St. Paul. Minnesota is a nice place to visit - when it's warm!

Floods and Flowers

A ride that starts with mild rain, luring me out, ambushes with a downpour. I am too far out now to turn back. Might as well keep going.



This is all right. My tires slice through puddles.



Rain, rain, pouring rain. Drumming against my helmet. Dripping from my visor. This is okay. This is rather peaceful. The roads are all mine.



Meadow, meadow, forest, farm. Farm, farm, forest.



But darn, what's this. Country road, traffic backed up around the bend. I pedal carefully along the shoulder.



Endless line of cars, deep puddles, feet clipped in, water pouring down my face off the soggy visor,thinking "This is crazy," feeling calm, humming to myself.



A woman driver in a pickup rolls down her window. She points to my bike, then points to the back of her truck. I half-raise my hand in a half-wave like "I'm good, thanks." She shakes her head and smiles. I pass her in traffic.



Pedal, pedal, pedal. Rain, rain, rain. Cars, cars. Honking. Brake lights.



Two teenage boys in a Jeep roll down their window and lean over. "Cool bike! Cool braids!" Thumbs up to me from the teenage boys.



There is a soggy book on the grassy side of the road. Tossed by a kid out of a car window? Kittens on the cover. Bloated, wet kittens.



Let's see, what is going on at the front of all this backed up traffic...



A broken light. A ditch at the intersection filled with deep water. The bigger cars rolling though it slowly. The smaller cars frantically flashing their signals, making U-turns.



I pass them all and turn right. No one else wants to go there. What's wrong with right?



No matter. An end to the chaos. A silent empty road. Trees, trees. Darkness at noon. Streams of water across the pavement. Rain.



This is okay. This is all right. This is rather peaceful. The road is all mine. My shoe touches water on the downstroke.



And then I smell the flowers. A deep, heavy scent, almost an odor. The raindrops carry it, like perfume oil. A low-hanging branch of blossoms. I grab it and pedal home.



My bike is upside down in the kitchen. My flower, my prize is on the table. The rain has stopped, like none of it had ever happened. But water droplets glisten on the petals. And on the pedals.

Light is always right

It doesn't matter if you are sport climbing at your local crag or in the greater ranges, light is always right if you want to push the limits of what you are capable of.



Every trip outreinforces that mantra to me. It doesn't matter if the object under discussion is a super light weight forged wire gate carabiner,your climbing pack,the helmet or clothes you choose. All of them add up to significant weight as a whole. How you decide to climb, be it unroped, scantily protected or lacing it up matters as well. Are your skills up to the task and your chosen style?



How fast you climb will define what you bring for food and water. How you dress will define that equation as well. Too warm and you'll need more water and your body won't work as efficiently. Too warm and you'll climb slower.



Going lightmeans speed in the mtns. And speed in the mtns is all in the details which includestaying aware and alert top to bottom. Are the ropes organized? Did you bring enough gear but not too much gear? Will the climb push you or will you push on the climb?



The picture is a scan from the 1984 Wild Things catalog. It is worth a dbl click to read or reread.







In April of I publisheda "weight list" here on the blog. I didn't do it for anyone but myself. I update it it as needed and refer to it myself all the time. If you don't write it down and keep track of the info you'll never know what you carry or how much it weights. And what it weights matters if you what to push yourself. It is a habit worth developing.



My list:

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//04/weights.html



If you are reading this blog then likely you are aware of the amazing climbs getting done in the alpine. If you aspire to those sorts of climbs it also pays to look at the gear and systems the major players are using.



There are few Willo Walzenbach's going off on their bicycles and using wool over coats to climb the big north faces these days.



There is how ever a ton of technology available to us today. All ofthe most recent hard climbs have depended on that same technology to some extent. Saying that takes nothing away from the climbers involved. It has always been that way. Modern gear and the resulting technology has just allowed us to push the envelope farther. Just as it has previous. Take a look at your "favorite flavor". I've mentioned or posted pictures of mine on the blog any number of times or just check the other links. The same guys that aregenerally pushing hard and going extremely light.



You don't have to climb at a professional level or in distant mountains to take advantage of what I am suggesting here. And to get good at it you need to do it in small doses, locally first.



Gear doesn't climb mountains, men do.



Alpine climbing (or any climbing) is a thinking man's game.



Smart climbers think about what gear they use, what it weights, the tactics they will try to use on the climband why. If you aren't doing all of that, you are missing well over half the game.

Saving With An Electric Range

This Pepco ad featuring my mother appeared in 1950 in the Washington Post.

Brilliant Orange Colored Poppies

By a consensus of opinion of my readers, it has been determined that these are a variety of Poppies! As are these and these. Thanks to everyone for their input... and that's all of the flowers!! No more, at least until the next time ;-)









The "pod" after the bloom is done.



The dappled coloring comes from the bright mid-day sun. A cloudy day would have been much better for taking these pictures. In reality, they were the darker orange color all over, as in the first photo. Temple Square Gardens – Tuesday, June 7th.

Poor Van Dora ...

Wednesday, March 7th - - My decision to leave Salt Lake City yesterday morning was made the previous week. I was ready to go after five weeks researching in Genea-Mecca but in hindsight perhaps I should have waited a few more days... I was headed to California but high winds with strong gusts were forecast for all of Nevada (and much of the west) for the next two days. I could take the northern route and get into the snow storm that was predicted and coming towards Salt Lake City. Or I could take the southern route through Las Vegas then west. After checking the weather reports before leaving yesterday morning I decided the safest route would be to go south.



I haven't checked to see what the weather was like along I-80 so I don't know if my chosen route (I-15 south) was the best or safest! But I do know it sure wasn't an easy day of driving! It wasn't too bad until I got about half way to St. George, which is about 300 miles south of Salt Lake City, when the winds really picked up. By the time I got to St. George, it was definitely two-handed white-knuckle driving! Then when I got into Nevada, there were times when visibility was extremely limited due to the blowing sand. There was an amazing amount of tumbleweeds blowing down the highway too, as well as plastic bags and bottles and various other debris.



My “plan” had been to stop at Valley of Fire State Park for the night, which is about 40 miles north of Las Vegas. But there was so much sand and dirt and gravel being blown about that I decided to continue on south. I stopped just north of Las Vegas for gas and had a really rough time trying to stand in one spot to pump the gas.



I made it through Las Vegas before the rush hour and drove the 50 miles or so west to Pahrump where I wimped out and spent the night at a motel. At around five o'clock or so we had a little rain added to the wind and I was glad that I was inside, safe and dry. I learned later on the news that the wind had been steady at about 30 mph most of the day with gusts up to 75 mph – no wonder my right arm and shoulder was sore!





Poor Van Dora. She needs a bath! This is what happens when you drive in blowing sand then a little rain comes along... I didn't really think the van was all that dirty when I got out at the motel. After the rain, all of the other cars in the parking lot were in this same condition, which means that as the rain fell it must have picked up some of the sand and dust in the air. I think it was basically raining mud, at least for a short time.





Van Dora looks worse now than she did traveling on the dirt roads in Alaska!

Traveling to Ireland with a Brompton

Over the past weeks, I have traveled to, from and around Ireland with my Brompton folding bike. Aside form flying from Boston to Dublin and back with the bike as part of my luggage, I also did a great deal of what I think is called "multimodal commuting"in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, making frequent use of localtrains and buses. Overall I experienced relatively few problems and would certainly do this again.




I flew Aer Lingus, and they treat bikes as any other piece of checked-in luggage. Passengers are allowed one checked bag as part of their ticket price. If they want to check in an additional bag (or bike box) it costs extra. The size of the Brompton - no matter what bag it is placed in - exceeds the size limit of Aer Lingus's carry-on luggage allowance and must be submitted as checked luggage. Knowing this, I decided to get a hard case for the bike. I needed to replace my old hard shell suitcase anyway, and figured it made sense to do it this way.






The padded hardshell case is made by B&W (they call it the Clapton Box) and is not technically a Brompton-sanctioned product. However, it fits the bike perfectly and is sold by several retailers as a Brompton accessory. I bought mine fromClever Cycles,and I knowNYCE Wheels sells them as well. There is some debate as to whether the hard case vs the Brompton B-Bag is preferable for airplane travel. Based on my own experience with international travel, I prefer to use a hard case.




The B&W case is nice in that it fits the Brompton so exactly that there is no room for the bike to move around inside. At the same time, the nature of the folded shape allows stuffing the case with other (soft!) items. I packed all of my clothing, as well as 2 pairs of shoes into this case in addition to the bike, rolling each piece up and stuffing it into a crevice. The total weight was just under the Aer Lingus checked baggage limit. The size of the hard case fits Aer Lingus's checked baggage parameters.




The hard case with the bike and all my clothing was the only piece of baggage I checked in, thus managing to avoid extra fees. I also took a small rolling suitcase as a carry-on, and my Carradice bag as a purse/ personal item thingie. The airline had no problem with this.






The problem I did have was with the TSA. When I checked in my hard case at the airport in Boston, the person handling the luggage pointed out that the closure seemed easy to open accidentally when left unlocked. She suggested I lock the case and attach the key to the outside, lest the TSA wish to open it. That is what I did. Once I landed, I was horrified to discover that the closure on the case had been tampered with and the key was no longer there, with no explanation as to what had happened. I had a spare key, but somehow it no longer worked. Trying not to panic, I arrived at my relatives' house, then looked for a locksmith at 7am as my first order of business in Ireland. There was one nearby and I rolled the hard case to them, close to tears at this point, imagining that the Brompton was all mangled inside as well. The locksmith examined the damage. Turned out, there was a piece if key stuck inside, which is why my spare key did not work. They used a pick to remove the piece of key and opened the case. Thankfully, neither my bike nor any other contents had been touched. And there was a note from the TSA inside, with the other half of the broken key taped to it. The hand-written part of the note said: "difficulty opening lluck." There was also a bunch of legal text saying that my case had been opened as part of standard procedure and that the TSA was not liable for any damage.




The lock on my case is still functional, but it is slightly mangled, and I will see whether I can get it fixed. On my return trip on Aer Lingus I did not lock the case again, but wrapped packing tape around it - in addition to the velcro closure strap the case already comes with. Not very elegant, but it did the job. The case was not opened on the return flight.





My trips from Dublin to Northern Ireland and back were completely problem-free. I left the hard case at my relatives' house and traveled with just the small suitcase, Carradice bag, and the bike sheathed and folded. I got to the Antrim coast by train and bus via Belfast, and wrote about that trip here. That went well, but the way back was even easier: On the day I was leaving Northern Ireland a friend took me to see Derry, and from there a bus goes directly to Dublin. I stored both the sheathed Brompton and the suitcase in the luggage compartment on the side of the bus, and it was very simple.I have seen cyclists store full sized bikes in the luggage compartments on the sides of buses, though I don't know what the official policy regarding this is.



Having done both, I would say that long distance travel within Ireland is more convenient by bus than by train. The buses run more frequently, the stops tend to be more conveniently located, the platforms are easier to access when carrying luggage, and overall it was just a more straightforward experience whenever I opted to get somewhere by bus as opposed to train. In the US I do not like to travel by bus, as I get motion sick. Oddly I did not experience this on the buses in Ireland.






Even when not traveling, I would sometimes take my bike on a local bus or train when visiting friends, or when doing a ride with a remote start.





In Northern Ireland, I made use of the Ulsterbus, which runs frequently between the various towns and villages along the coast.







In the Republic of Ireland, I rode the DART commuter train from the seaside suburb of Dun Laoghaire, where I was staying, to Dublin a couple of time. All of this was extremely easy to do, with no one questioning my bringing a folding bike on board. I did not have to sheath the Brompton in order to disguise it, and in some cases did not even need to fold it.





I am happy with my decision to bring the Brompton along to Ireland, and with how I chose to do it. Traveling around with the bike and additional luggage was easy. The transportation system there is excellent compared to most parts of the US. I also enjoyed flying Aer Lingus. They have straightforard baggage guidelines and are pleasant to deal with.




As with any international travel from the US, the biggest risk factor is the TSA. Their behaviour is unpredictable and you just never know. In my experience, TSA-specific locks do not always help: Many of my colleagues have had these locks cut and their luggage damaged regardless. The best thing is not to lock your case, period, and to use extra velcro straps or tape for added security if desired.When it comes to bikes specifically, there is also some debate as to whether it is preferable to travel with the bike in "stealth mode" or to make it as obvious as possible that there is a bike inside. Based on the combined anecdotal evidence I've heard, I believe the latter is best when it comes to the TSA. If they don't know what something is, they are more liable to damage it in the process of trying to find out. Either way, travel insurance is a good idea when overseas travel from the US is involved.




Back in the US now, I may return to Ireland later this year - again with the Brompton in tow. Having my own bike at my disposal at all times was invaluable; I cannot imagine traveling otherwise from now on.

Sunset Smoke Haze

Smoke from the Pagami Creek Fire near Ely, MN makes for a dramatic sunset over Lake Superior in Grand Portage, MN on September 13, . One thing's for sure... all this smoke in our sky makes for some pretty wild sunsets!

Two Stylish Ladies

My grandmother, Hazlette (Brubaker) Phend, and her sister Jane Stoffer Jacobs at Goose Lake, Whitley County, Indiana during the summer of 1954. They may well be "rolling in their grave" at my posting this picture but I think they'd be rolling over with laughter.

Submitted to the 49th Carnival of Genealogy, swimsuit edition.