Water, Water Everywhere...But Is It Safe to Drink?

This Katadyn "My Bottle" purifying water bottle was given to me by a thoughtful coworker. She had meant to give it to me before I left for India, but I boogied before she could.

But my mind quickly went back to a cyclo-touring trip DartreDame and I did a year and a half ago in Eastern Oregon. The guidebooks and map indicated that we could get water at the campgrounds, but not so fast succotash. No such water!

It led to landing a story from a bunch of Elk hunters about their encounter with a nearby Wolf pack. We got this story when I asked them for water for our bottles.

But this bottle solves that issue because there were countless streams we crossed and soaked our bandannas in for cooling purposes. And what about on certain brevets?

Interesting possibilities. Probably weighs more than the SteriPen, but doesn't depend on batteries. Dependable. I like that. I see experimentation in my future.

Keep it pure,

CurioRando

Cycling in India...Himalyan Style

Himalayas from the International Space Station, courtesy of Wiki.



I have recently marveled at riding through the crowded streets of India, but there is another, higher side to Indian cycling. The Himalayan mountains. I've only been there in my mind and via a recent great read: The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen.
But straight from the spirit of the French cyclo-touring pioneering comes a blogger with whom I've been communicating and his blog cataloging some wild riding: My Crazy Rides. He's got some excellent photos of the high mountain roads, accounts of multi-day cyclo-touring, funny renderings of self-dialogues and daring adventures that others find a little out there. I like it.

If you want a taste of the higher, wilder India, do check it out.


Keep it mountainous,

CurioRando

Not So Wily Nor Badgering Anymore

DartreDame, left, and the SingingCyclist who finished his first ever 50 mile ride!

We rode from Enterprise, Oregon North up the Lewiston Highway and back.

During our lunch stop.

See those big front claws?

Nasty teeth too!

See the Bison in the background?

Not so wily anymore. According to the Wiki post on Badgers Coyotes and Badgers will hunt cooperatively for the same prey! Wow, that was a revelation to me. Do you think this Badger and this Coyote offered to help one another crossing the road and they both double crossed one another? Given their respective reputations...?

Keep it building,

CurioRando

Custom Framebuilding by Tony Pereira

Detachable Low Rider Front Rack.

What I like about Tony's framebuilding is the combining of imagination with clean lines and execution.

I may have to ride it without panniers just to display the low rider rack lines.

Light mount for battery headlight.

Detail showing generator-powered light mount.

For the full collection of Tony's photos of my new Randonnneuring Bicycle, please check out his Flickr site. For more on how my new bicycle got to this point, please check out "custom bicycle" in the "Topics" sidebar to the right.

Keep it elegant,

CurioRando

Audux-Style Wolves and Out-and-Back Ants

Background for newbies or the otherwise uninitiated about "Audux-style" randonneuring from the Randonneurs USA (RUSA) website:

Audax (oh docks) - A style of group bicycle touring found mostly in France, but also in Holland and Belgium to lesser degrees. A steady pace is set by a road captain, who is in charge of a group of fellow club members. In modern times the pace is usually about 22 km/h between stops; the itinerary and resting places are planned in advance. Audax groups often ride about 16-20 hours per day until they reach their pre-arranged sleeping point. In the case of Paris-Brest-Paris, each group's objective is to finish inside the 90-hour limit with all its riders together. ("All for one, one for all" is their motto.)


In the U.S., we follow a more individualized style where one goes at one's own pace or joins up with others, whatever the pleasure. The Audux-style or in-line version has always intrigued me due to its collective nature, but I also very much enjoy the individual freedom.

Now to the wolves: this past summer, DartreDame (Pramila, my wife) and I took a two-day cyclotour of the the mountains, from Joseph, Oregon to Halfway, Oregon and back. I posted about that here.

I mentioned then that some Elk hunters who gave us water told me about how in bugling in Elk they inadvertently bugled in a wolf pack...twice. I'd heard that wolves had moved into the area, but some were skeptical. This video proves it.

I especially enjoy how the last wolf--the mama?--swishes her tail as she turns back after checking out whoever was checking them out. Classic canine disdain, but here not in a domesticated dog but in a wild wolf.

Hail the wildness!!! Welcome back, wolves.

Did you notice their Audux-style manner of randonneuring up the mountain? Methinks wolves have a captain and a bunch of followers, and so it appears from the video!


And how about those out-and-back ants? Did you catch the story on NPR about the "pedometer" ants that count their steps? Apparently, some scientists tested the theory that the desert ants count their way out to their food source from their nest and repeat the count to get home.

The scientists experimented by cutting short the legs of some ants and Super Glueing pig bristles onto the legs of others to make their legs longer. This proved it is the steps they count, not the distance they measure. To fully grasp the ingenuity and the hilarity of this you have got to watch the video I reference below.

Just like us randonneurs on an out-and-back ride who use our odometers, these ants count their way home. Crazy ants. Check out the NPR website that has an animated video as well as actual photos of ants with pig bristles glued to their legs. The animated video is not to be missed!

Which is the weirdest? Wolves who walk in line, ants who count steps, or randonneurs who don't know when to stop?


Keep it wild at heart,

CurioRando

The God of Things That Ought to Be

Have we got a slacker God? By the shape of things today, it seems the little God of Things That Ought to Be has been taking time off. Never heard of Billiken? I hadn't either until I saw the play Two Wheels North.

A little while ago I posted about the Book-It Repertory Theatre's production of Two Wheels North, an adaptation of the book by the same name by Evelyn McDaniel Gibb. Two Wheels North is the tale of two high scool graduates who rode borrowed bicycles from Santa Rosa, California to Seattle in 1909 to attend the much ballyhooed Seattle Yukon Pacific Exposition. The author is the daughter of Vic, one of the two intrepid young men and she won the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Nonfiction Book Award for Two Wheels North. This Book-It production was adapted and directed by Annie Lareau and starred Damian Peterson (pictured above) as Vic McDaniel and Nik Perleros as Ray Francisco. Supporting actors included Kelly Kitchens and John Ulman.

The other character, our aforementioned Billiken, isn't depicted onstage, but he was a big deal in the U.S. in 1909. Especially at the Seattle Yukon Pacific Exposition. Billiken, the God of Things That Ought to Be, was a clay totem for the Exposition. Haven't heard of the Seattle Yukon Pacific Exposition? Neither had I until recently. But aside from a double shot of gumption, Vic and Ray carried Billiken on their journey as a good luck charm. And while he didn't reshape the world into the way it ought to be, Billiken did the boys alright.

The actors relax just before showtime at Book-It.

The actual Vic (left) and Ray in Santa Rosa as they readied to embark. Photo scanned from the book, but originally courtesy of Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Close-up of the 1930's era Excelsior bicycle loaned by Recycled Cycles for the production.

There are many ways to take in Two Wheels North. One is as a coming-of-age story of two young men who set off as friends are wont to do, to see what the world is all about. Another is as an exploration of the world 100 years ago. Or, more specifically, as an exploration of cyclotouring a century ago. Still another is as an introduction to the Seattle Yukon Pacific Exposition, a fascinating subject itself.

Then there is Vic's and Ray's journey as an epic tale: the myth of Ulyses by bicycle. This is how I absorbed Two Wheels North. A constant tangle of heroic choices, moral minidramas, and creatures that sought their demise.

Think I'm exaggerating? How about a very large rattle snake that bites and doesn't let go until his head is shot off. Even then, it hangs on. How about a fistfight between naked bathing workmen over the treatment of a young orphan boy whom one views through the lens of homophobia while the other sees a fatherless boy making sense of a world that oughtn't be. Or the knocking of almonds out of a tree, veritably manna from the heavens. As for sacred places, this epic tale has them too. Mount Shasta is a mystical mountain, and the Exposition--if you really place yourself back in time--was as close to a world wonder as most would ever see. And if you've got young men, you've got young women and hot young love. And unfortunately for the young lovers a watchful mother not to be messed with on an epic scale!

And of course, the heroics of long distance, unsupported cycling--randonneuring the hard way--is ever present. Falling over the edge of cliffs. Crossing high train trestles at night. Meeting a train midway through a narrow tunnel.

The author, Evelyn, was there for the show and graciously posed with the actor who posed as her father.

I thoroughly enjoyed Two Wheels North, and I'm grateful that Evelyn took the time as her father aged to talk with him for an hour a day to get down the details of this amazing tale. I bought an autographed copy, and though I haven't finished it yet, I highly recommend it.

As for the production, I thought it too was well done. Good acting, creative effects, and simple staging that left me--sitting in the first row--feeling like I was aboard for the ride.

If you enjoy history or Seattle or World's Fairs, I also recommend poking around all the great stuff that celebrates the centennial of the Seattle Yukon Pacific Exposition. For starters, check out the hour long special that aired on the Seattle Channel. DartreDame scored me a copy she gleaned from her travels (I think from the producer), but you can view it online now at the Seattle Channel website.

Of course if you're Buddhist, you'll not highly regard this Billiken, because the world just is. Maybe it oughta be this or that, but it's not. Both Vic and Ray went on to fight in the War to End All Wars, WWI. Talk about wishful thinking!

But for me, I savored the tale of two young lads setting off to just see how the world really is. The original Curious Randonneurs perhaps?


Keep it curious,

CurioRando

Two Wheels North at the Book-It Theater in Seattle

I don't know a thing about this production, nor have I read the book Two Wheels North.

Here are the basics from the Book-It Theater website:

Vic McDaniel and Ray Francisco, fresh high school graduates, set out on their second-hand bicycles from Santa Rosa, California in August of 1909 to take on the challenge of cycling from their home to Seattle for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. They pedal, push, and walk a thousand miles of primitive roads for 54 days, and encounter nearly every imaginable natural, mechanical, and human challenge on their one-speed bikes. While adventure is their primary lure, there is a promised purse of $25 from the Post-Intelligencer waiting for them if they can only make it to Seattle before the final day of the AYP.

Here's a picture of the Exposition from Wiki:

But get this: the shows are free!

Only two left. Go here for the Book-It Theater website and info.

Here's a little video from their website.

Two Wheels North - Book-It Repertory Theatre from 4Culture on Vimeo.

Keep it Northbound,

CurioRando

Take Me Home, Bicycle Trails, to the Place I Belong!

Hot Diggity Dog Diggity!

A New York Times story today about my old pedal-stompin' grounds, and possiblities, possibilities, possiblities. The story, Biking Coal Country's Tracks and Tunnels, is the tale of one writer's bicycle travels on a 132-mile trail from McKeesport, Pennsylvania to Cumberland, Maryland. The photo above and the graph below are from the NYTimes.

How do I connect up? First, I was born and raised an easy spin from McKeesport, and my mother (Hi Mum!) still lives in the area.

Second, I spent a few weeks in McKeesport in 2008 during the Primary Election season knocking doors for Barack Obama, sent there by my union (the first union to endorse President Obama, thank you very much). We didn't exactly win that Primary, but we won when it counted in PA!

Third, my sister and her husband (Hi sister Nancy and Wayne!) took my friend and I to Cumberland, Maryland in 1972(?) from whence we began a round trip on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath to Washington, D.C. and back at the ripe old age of 15 or 16.  This was the trip that changed my bicycling life.

We stayed in Youth Hostels, toured D.C. for our first time, rode through the Paw Paw Tunnel, skinny-dipped, caught a snapping turtle (Whoa! To be clear, the skinny-dipping and snap-turtling were two SEPARATE events. DartreDame can confirm I've still got all my parts, right lover?), and cycled with about 80 pounds worth of Dinty Moore Beef Stew, canvas tent, and wet cotton sleeping bag on our Schwinn Continentals. Oh, and we nearly got hit by lightning (Hi Mum!).

Paw Paw Tunnel

More on that trip of a lifetime some other day. For now, check out the NYTimes article about cycling through old train tunnels and such. You just might want to make the trip, but as every randonneur knows: take reliable lighting!

Oh, another connection to the story. In my college days at Penn State, my pals and I had a strange fascination with aboandoned tunnels. I think this was usually when we had had some of the libations that give Penn State's college town, State College, its nickname: Happy Valley (with a name like State College the town deserves a good nickname, right?). Let's just say we liked to visit abandoned tunnels when we were "Happy" (Hi Mum!).

Here's the route for the coal train trail.


But the best connection is the one that's yet to be made. Adventure Cycling Association is planning the United States Bicycle Route System. It needs your donations and help to keep it on track. More on that later too, but just think of the cyclo-touring possiblities! One piece of the eventual national route is the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath. Go Adventure Cycling! The graphic below is from the Adventure Cycling Association.

Keep that (Bicycle Route) train a comin'!

CurioRando

"Changing a Culture of Negligence"

I attended the Cascade Bicycle Club's Traffic Justice Summit this evening. I was late, but I got there in time to hear the testifying by head-on collision survivors and friends and family of cyclists killed by cars.

Ilse has commuted by bicycle for 15 years, three years on the same route. She was hit head-on at 10am by a driver who had crossed over to her side of the road. He had a prior record she said, and two years later killed Tatsuo Nakata, an aide to a Seattle Councilmember.Tatsuo was crossing  a street in West Seattle in 2006, and was well-known and beloved by many.

Michelle spoke of Kevin Black who was killed by a negligent driver according to the final Seattle Police report. There is no law on the books according to County and City officials, so the driver got a ticket in the mail with no appearance in court.

Another man spoke of being struck on Hiway 305 on Bainbridge Island in 2004. He was thrown 85 feet and by that and this man's weight the police calculated the driver was going 48 mph. He had "extensive damages" to his body. The driver was on a hands-free phone and looked down momentarily to see who was calling. According to the driver behind her, she veered into the cyclist. The injured cyclist said: "It has to be against the law to step into a car and not pay attention."

Two others spoke of their friend Carrie who left their house to go cyclotouring. Their friend was a very experienced cyclist, a racer, who was struck by a driver going 55mph. Carrie was struck several days into her tour on a straight road, during daylight hours while Carrie was riding on the shoulder of the road and wearing bright clothing. The driver was deemed 100% responsible, and got a traffic ticket only. Carrie was kept alive so that her organs could be donated per her request, but never stood a chance. Her boyfriend's back was broken in four places as well. It was Emily, Carrie's friend, who declared that she was not an activist prior to this July, but that she is in this fight for Traffic Justice till we prevail saying we must be about "changing a culture of negligence."

Another man was struck by the driver of a stolen car going 65 - 70 mph. He has, he told us, diminished brain capacity and a skull that is one half titanium. More specifically, he told us he had 1/4th the brain on that side left.

My take is this: the Vulnerable User legislation that the Cascade Bicycle Club is spearheading is not a cure-all. But it does one very important thing. It makes negligence inexcusable. This changes the dialogue and hence drivers' awareness so that cyclists are acknowledged to have a right to the road. That right then must be legally respected, and drivers will know there are consequences. That's a good start.

For more on what Oregon has already done, chronicled on film, go here.

For more on the proposed Vulnerable User legislation in Washington State, go here.

For a post on randonneur John Vincent's story of how he was struck on a brevet this year, go here.

For more on a Texan who was killed a few weeks ago, go here.

For more on changing a culture of negligence, I think we all need to go to our own driving habits first, and then do our part to make driving attentively the rule of law.


Keep it attentive,

CurioRando

Purple King Kong Crashes Kitsap Color Classic

Yep, as the sun peeks up over the horizon for the day, Purple King Kong, seen above and below, ambushes riders heading for the Edmonds ferry to attend the Kitsap Color Classic a week ago. The ride was sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club. See how Purple Kong reaches for those bicycles on the cars?

Queuing up for the ferry from Edmonds are those smiling ones who escaped Purple Kong's wrath.

First stop, gazing at Mt. Baker across the sea. Note Dartre's kneewarmer-shorts transition. Who's gonna be the first to find the solution to this problem? One of my cycling pet peeves!

The approach to Port Gamble alone made the ride worthwhile.

At Port Gamble.

Just past Poulsbo, the seals (sea lions?) are kickin' back.

Halloween was in the air. This on the side of a tented carport. Yikes! Bet it's great at night.

Pitstop Plum...Yum.

Norwegian-themed restroom. No, I was not sacrificing Dartre to the Norse gods of the sea or cycling or some such. Just an unfortunate juxtaposition.

Dartre shows a little leg. Niggling kneewarmer issue, I tell ya. Is she the Fay Rae Purple Kong was seeking?

The original Fay Rae, who when told she was being asked to star opposite the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood. asked : "Calrk Gable?" Nope. King Kong.

Curio ponders curiously while awaiting the ferry home. Hooked up with a few old work colleagues here.

Salt-craving Dartre aboard the boat for the ride home: "Give me Chips!"

Purple Kong was not there on our way home from the ferry terminal. Did Purple Godzilla get him?

You thought I was crazy, didn't you? The Polish believe King Kong is purple!!

In the end, we headed home and Purple Kong didn't get my gal. A good day cycling!

Keep Purple Kong away from your gal,

CurioRando